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 love Belfast. My bloke was born there so I’ve been there a lot in the last 26 years.

Delving deeper, Northern Ireland is a bit bigger in area than East Anglia but with only about 2/3 of the population. Belfast has a smaller population than Southend on Sea. Derry is smaller than Nuneaton or Stevenage.

One of the reasons many people are ignorant about Northern Ireland as a place to visit is that it is a relatively small part of the UK.

Regular visitor from ROI, mostly to Co Down.

The scenery is stunning! The people are friendly. Better amenities than the South.

I am OK with British Flags flying but UVF flags make me nervous and feel conspicuous in my ROI reg car.

But overall, I love it. And would live to visit more of NI.

I have yet to visit, want to. So a limited view of that part of Ireland.

My baby is born in October 2023
I heard the preschool in Northern Ireland start in September
does that mean I have to wait a year to enroll my child or can I enroll her if she’s just shy by one month

I really loved it. I’m English with an Irish RC mum and I’ve been a few times to visit friends, family and for work.

The people are lovely but there are certain topics where you still need to be very careful, as I witnessed when someone misunderstood what I was saying on the tour around the Shankhill. 😬

Agreed.

Avoid politics. Avoid talking about The Troubles.

I'm an NI "Pressbutton". Got Dual Irish British nationality. Support reunufication. But if I told my proddy family that....

Re flags & painted kerbstones: if that surprises you as a "blow-in" then you've not done much research on NI.

So I'm 44, and recently find all my friends are in their serious relationships or the single ones are too busy chatting men up online 😂 I'm married with a few kids, and just wondering if anyone has any advice on how to meet new interesting people. I love up near alder grove airport so not a city girl. Just afraid to go on any sites incase someone mistakes me for looking to date rather than a few girlfriends to put the world to rights with every now and again