Northern Ireland - how do you perceive it?

[TheBelleOfBelfastCity]

Genuinely just curious. I was born and raised in NI, opinions on MN seem to vary wildly from no go zone to friendly and welcoming. Trying to got a sense of what the most common thoughts are.

Have you visited? Maybe even thought about doing so? What was your opinion?

I've been to Belfast and loved it. I felt immediately comfortable there. So much so that I'm going back in March.

I'm from the Republic so obviously a different perspective to people in GB. I really enjoy spending time there - I have a few friends dotted around NI and always have a great time.

I live in England though and have had to explain to quite a number of people (usually at work) that NI and the Republic are indeed different countries 🙄 and people my age (37) and younger don't seem to know much at all about the Troubles, which shocked me tbh.

Not sure what your vote is but as to views, I like the coast and countryside, I like the pubs, I like the ease of getting cups of tea the way I like them. I quite like the local trains. I find it a bit weird that as part of a white English couple living in London that in N Ireland we are treated by extended family as an exotic mixed couple because one of us was baptised RC and the other CofE.

Only been once for a conference. Seemed a nice enough place. Didn’t go on the bus tour to see the murals, I think I prefer to be forward looking than digging through that, but I’m not a great history buff. I enjoyed the botanic gardens and the giants causeway and I’d like to go back and do the Titanic exhibition.

I've been a few times and loved it. Last time was in February but only to Lisburn that time and I'll be going again in the next few months.

I think it's a welcoming place now. I was there in the 80's on a shopping trip and was very nervous and only felt comfortable when I crossed back over the border into the Republic. It didn't help when the armed soldiers got on the mini bus we were on to check us all out. I was sitting on a bottle of whiskey I bought and was afraid they'd confiscate it. 😂

I’d love to visit Belfast to see Giants Causeway, Titanic museum and much more :)

The seafood is also really good

My ex is from NI so spent time there I liked it, fairly welcoming reminds me a bit of Glasgow. There’s bits with an awkward vibe and you want to watch yourself but generally nice.

Friendly and rainy!

Landing in Belfast can feel a bit sudden/turbulent but the coastal views are great

Have friends over there. I love it and it is a stunning country and I could listen to the Irish accent all day

I love NI. Jump at any chance to go. Beautiful place, friendly people, so much to see. Love it!

Moved to Belfast in the late 90s for university. Loved it and all the other towns and countryside I visited. Been back many times.

Always like to watch anything set there. Cried buckets at the end of Derry Girls, the characters were just my age.

Grew up with a Grandad who was born and raised in NI but only ever went back to visit his many siblings. He was raised on a farm. He said he would never live there again and said it was because of "the Troubles ". I always remember him saying this to me. It was difficult for him to discuss.

I have been to a wedding in Cookstown in 2008 (friends from university got married there) and from what I saw of NI was positive and I would like to return one day. Didn't get time to sightsee.

I never been but would love to go there. I wonder if it’s a bit like Yorkshire - lots of green spaces and locals are not so easy to understand. Of course I might be completely wrong.

If you like flags you'll love NI

When I was teaching NI literature at a university in England in 2014-19, almost none of my students had heard of the Troubles. Their main association with NI was that it was where Game of Thrones was filmed. The ones who had visited had been to see the Dark Hedges etc.

I'm from ROI but don't know NI too well. I've been there a couple of times and it seemed nice.

I do have friends ( a couple) from NI and they said they wouldn't dream of bringing their family up there because of what they'd experienced. They chose to live in ROI instead. This was about 5 years after the GFA when we had this discussion.
Anotger NI friend warned me not to use my Irish language name when visiting a particular town in NI...this was less than 10 years ago. She was half joking (I think) but only half...
So that sort of thing hasn't left a very good impression. I think things have changed a lot though since 1998.

I was there in the summer and found the amount of Union jacks as we drive through some villages quite odd, I'd not expected that and found it quite odd and unwelcoming (I'm not Irish but my husband was born in ROI and is 'Irish') and found the Israeli flags alongside the Union Jacks in some towns really disgusting.

Outside of those areas we had a lovely time.

Relatively few of our own young people these days are really aware of the troubles - I suppose it’s both a good and bad thing! Encouraging that things have moved on so much but disappointing that they know so little of their own history. DD went to a very prominent Belfast grammar - they had a policy of not teaching The Troubles in history as it was apparently too much of a contentious subject..

Absolutely love it. Been to Belfast countless times. Went to Londonderry, Larne, Portrush and the Giants Causeway in the summer and had a great time.

Certainly a lot has changed for the better. The NI that my 20 year old DD has grown up in and the NI that I grew up in are two very different places

I went there a few times in the 90s. It was an unnerving experience as it was the first time I'd seen a gun. We had to be careful about the pubs we went into. As we left the pub, a tank was driving through the street with a soldier telling everyone to clear out.

I was there once over New Years Eve and the streets were clear at midnight. We were the only people around walking past Stormont. I remember being told that the black cabs were run by the IRA.

We went to Antrim and I was surprised at the all the flags and murals. All the Union Jacks and Tricolours outside the houses and on the pavements. I remember one had a white flag waving.

I'm sure it's different now, at least I hope it is.

I spent my youth seeing NI on the news as some kind of wild West. Later I worked with people from NI and realised that there was more to the country than what the news showed.
Subsequently I've visited Belfast twice, Coleraine and Ballymoney and loved the place. I spent a night in Joey Dunlop's bar and had a brilliant time.
I'd go back any time.

That’s so lovely to hear! What are your plans? Always happy to give recommendations 😁