To think that life seems better in rep of ireland?

[PunnyOliveTurtle]

ok...hear me out...My DM is Irish and she has not been home in a good few years, I haven't been over since I was 15, I'm early 40's now. So i decided to bring her over to visit her sisters as they are all getting older...late 60s/early 70's.

I had a wonderful time. I caught up with all of my cousins...and here is where I noticed the divide...they all have gorgeous homes and I mean stunning! Some in the country, some in the town, all fab new builds or gutted and updated old houses. A couple in new housing estates which were FAB!!
One of my cousins has just bought a new home...her DH is driving a 2025 car, they are off on hols next week. I asked her if she won the lotto and she laughed saying she wished, savings are now depleted and she was "broke". I know she has no credit cards because she metioned that she didn't have one when we wer talking about booking dinner somewhere and they wanted to take a deposit.

They all have great jobs...a lot of them are teachers...like i was. But they are no where near as stressed as I was. They are on holidays already and have been with a few weeks.Some are nurses but work part time in private hospitals, others work in big pharma companies, banking etc.Their dh's also have great jobs, engineers, managers in tech/pharma, one owns a construction company, one is a farmer.
All and I mean ALL of their DC who are of uni age are in university...no student loans. They have a grant scheme apparently. None of my cousins themselves have student loans...they are in 30's to mid 50's. (Can you tell we had an in depth discussion on uni and fees etc!)
Their DC aged 15+ all have summer jobs...in a local chippy, local cafe, one on a farm etc. My 18 yr old cant get a job at all!!

Everything just seemed so positive there...and im sure its not but I cant put my finger on it...it really got me.
I'm struggling most months...this trip was part on credit card. DD looking to start uni and i dont know how I'm going to help her... I know they say dont compare and I know there must be those struggling in Ireland too but there seemed to be A LOT more money being thrown around.

I moved to Ireland in 2016 from London and haven’t looked back. It’s not without its problems but the quality of life is completely different - I live on an island off the west coast. I can leave from the local airport in the morning and be in London for lunchtime …I just don’t want to 😂

This is something I’ve seen from some relatives/friends who emigrated. Almost angry that life in Ireland is very good for lots of people now and nobody envies them for living in London/Chicago/Perth.

Today I spent the morning on a wibit, then went Supping around the coast. After that we went for a seafood lunch.
The afternoon was filled with a sports final (that’s really where you see the community spirit!)
Next weekend we’re going to see the rocky horror show in the Bord Gáis theatre.
And on Monday we are going to Galway for the week.
plans for Galway are
rock climbing
Supping
aerial walkway
the national aquarium
leisureland (swimming pool with slides etc)
The Galway museum&Spanish arch

and that’s not including the Galway arts festival as well have just missed it, arran islands and lots of other things…but yeah nothing to do 🙄

I’m tempted to move back ‘home’, been in UK since 2002. I look at house prices particularly in not so cheap areas like Wexford and could still afford it easily. Sadly DH doesn’t want to move there as sc are still here and so is dd
However I’m still a ‘culchie’ at heart and the West Country like Somerset is appealing in a few years time

Re work ethic, I can only speak for international high tech companies.

The Irish work ethic brings lots of jobs from other sites to our Irish sites because of the quality of the work and the work ethic.

Our Irish managers do extremely well in the global companies, rising up the ranks to top levels of the companies.

I see the same drive in most of our interns and graduate positions.

I just want to add that if your GP refers you to A&E you are exempt from paying. Also the maximum amount you pay for public hospital is limited to €800 a year regardless of the length of time you’re admitted.

We used call my aunt “the yeah but woman” because no matter what we had seen/done, if we talked or enthused about it, she retorted with “yeah but in the States…”. Every. Single. Time. It was actually pathetic. She really wanted Ireland to never have progressed from the 1950s and wanted her life in the states to be the envy of all ‘back home’. She resented that her younger siblings had been able to make great lives for themselves and their families, when she hadn’t been able to. She could not simply be happy for them and us, she was too consumed with bitterness.

Everything seems so positive here?

So the raging local lunatics that set fire to small business hotels housing refugees is positive?

The children up and down the country being failed by schools and CAHMS is a positive, resulting in a mental health epidemic along with government investigations into CAHMS.

The babies remains being currently dug up in Tuam?

shall I go on?

Well I'm home and I didn't have to go to the Mater A+E (since I was on the Northside), nor did I need a taser or Narcan either.

So for my cultural pursuit this afternoon I went to the Hugh Lane Gallery on Parnell Square. I did check that my passport was in date for crossing the Liffey from the Syth Syde. It was. Had a lovely nosey around and great coffee in the Failte le Gra cafe. Bacon's studio there is a fright.

https://hughlane.ie/about/?__cf_chl_tk=HmXBj_ibmfNrkiC90xDlJmr5b0cnF2.XVjFHPED0Whs-1752946439-1.0.1.1-NS5dZ.0rGkxHi_h8RgbjmNqoKqrN5LWZoWXJleQ9TBo

Then went for a walk around the somewhat tired (in places) but great architecture of the Georgian streets and squares of Mountjoy and Belvedere, and North Great George's Street. Didn't see David Norris, but he was an amazing man to bring that street back to its former glory.

From there I strolled up to the Blessington Street Basin. IYKYK. But I'll tell yiz anyway here -

https://www.visitdublin.com/blessington-street-basin-dublin-s-secret-garden

And across to MacGowans in Fizzbra for a scoop, then home on the Hughie Luas from Broadstone.

I'll be back with tomorrow's plans in a little while. Does today sound OK and enough so far? Or should I just move to the UK and be done with this boring old fart of a city.

Regarding things to do, plenty to do here, but you do need to seek it out. Google isn’t that great, ChatGPT is better especially if you keep tweaking your prompt.

Some of my family and work colleagues live rurally, and many of the rural communities make a huge effort putting on events. Much smaller in size of course, but the community spirit gives the events a lovely feel.

Ryanair flights are frequent and cheap.

Many Irish include UK venues when searching for concerts, etc. With cheap flights we can get to UK major cities more cheaply than UK folks can by UK train.

eg Summer flights to Luton less than €20 each way if booked in advance. Dublin by train would cost me more!

I lived abroad for many years, I am delighted we returned to Ireland.

That said, I visit UK quite a bit and always have a great time there. I would love to spend more time there, maybe a nice long holiday when I retire 😊

I had no idea about Blessington Street Basin despite my pal only living a few minutes away from it! Every day's a school day.

Because there is actually is more positive that negative.

The vast majority of people aren't burning down hotels, nor do they support the actions of those who do.

The CAHMs situation is a disgrace, I agree fully on that but I do think there is more light being shun on misplactrice & systemic failure whereas 20 years ago it would have been hushed up.

The Tuam Babies situation is horrific and a damaging reminder of the failings of this country and the control of the Catholic Church. Nothing will ever right what happened. But the Catholic Church influence is fading significantly- divorce, contraception, same sex marraige, access to abortion, less Church controlled schools etc - significantly positive change in my lifetime.

The Ireland pre 90s vs the current Ireland are like night and day.

I'm from Northern Ireland. Back home now after living in England for 8 years. Whilst Ireland is now doing well money wise it wasn't always that way it used to be dirt poor. It has done very well out of the EU. Can't remember who said it but yes there are always loads of southern registered cars in the border towns. Anti English and even anti Northern Irish feelings abound. My son was born in England and has an English accent and he avoids areas or doesn't speak. But the mega big thing for me is the NHS. It is by no means perfect and our waiting lists for SOME things are dire. But it is still free at the point of need. My son was diagnosed with Crohns disease within the last year and he takes medication for that. From the start to end he was diagnosed within 6 months. He has meds for that and other medical issues. Never had to pay a penny. I have met many people coming up to the North from quite far away as the waiting lists in the South are as bad as ours. Just weigh up a move very very carefully because things for Ireland could go tits up very easily.

That's life in the EU for you - subsidies and grants for housing improvements

@Chattygirl123 I think NI is more tricky re anti-English and anti-Ireland sentiment, especially in less well to do areas. I think it is much more relaxed/improved in recent years but there are some towns where I feel a bit nervous with my Southern reg car, and my Irish accent. Same is true for English accents but in different neighbourhoods.

And for sure it can be an issue down South at times too, but to a much lesser extent.

I think anybody moving to Ireland should stay a while before the move is permanent and make sure you are happy with the area. Most places are very friendly, but as we read in this thread, some people had a negative experience.

I’m glad you DS was well looked after. One of my family members had good care in NI also.

Yanbu - believe it or not, the GDP per head in ROI is about 3 x that in the UK.

It's all well and good talking about how the UK has loads to do etc but more than 1 in 3 children in the UK live in poverty, it's more food banks than food festivals for them. Ireland is 1 in 7 which is bad but nothing near the UKs levels which are growing astronomically.

Ireland is far from perfect and with my children being in their mid to late teens now I worry for their futures a little with the state of housing here but they have had great childhoods and great educations. Ireland is a good place to grow up, relatively safe, good education, lots of opportunities. I think we are often our own worst critics and quick to run the place down(when talking amongst ourselves) but things could be a lot worse and were in the not so distant past.

Actually we are basically at full employment in Ireland, hence the mass immigration. I get shocked at some of the low wages in the UK

I have been to Ireland several times and loved it. Like most British people I have Irish ancestors, and it’s fascinating to see where they lived (a great, great grandfather left Cork for London in the 1870s).

I don’t know about wealth so much. My impression is that Ireland’s pretty similar to the U.K. The real difference is the amount of space. In places like Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, etc, you can breathe. People don’t live in tiny rabbit hutches all jammed on top of one another like they do here in Essex. They don’t have to fight through awful traffic just to get to the shop. I don’t think the Irish appreciate what a difference this can make to your quality of life. There are just too many people crammed into the U.K. (There are too many humans on Earth full stop - we’ve gone from one billion in 1900 to eight billion today, just as climate change is about the cause havoc).

Or they are one of those boring types who can't cope unless there is some sort of "entertainment" put on for them. Very lacking in imagination.

Also people are moving to get experience/explore and moving back. In the last 5 years I know people in their early mid twenties that have moved from Cork to mostly Australia, some UK, Switzerland, Dublin and they are beginning to move back home as wanting to settle down etc. Cork has the least amount of emigrants in the whole of Ireland according to a recent poll and I’m not surprised. It is a fab place to live in peaceful but not boring, exciting enough without being overwhelming and an absolutely wonderful place to raise kids. You just get used to everyone knowing each other and the housing crisis is unbelievably bad. As a non ethnic Irish blow-in that is humble opinion.

@bellzelI first kissed my now husband in the bkessington street basin about twenty years ago as teenagers 😝. Completely forgot about the place, in Cork now and I miss those little haunts of north Frederick st, down to O’Connell st into Cathal Brugha st. Also miss walking through the maze that is temple bar and down the Dublin towards Cork street to my local indie takeaway Spice and Rice 😂

It's fine if you have a good job- but you seem to feel your career is over. Ireland is an expensive country to live in, many people are trapped with negative equity in property since the financial crisis- my brother lives in the US and several of his friends relocated to Ireland and got caught with serious negative equity.
My mother used to live in a very Irish part of London (Kilburn ) and none of her friends could relocate back to Ireland because they had no private pensions or NI contributions and the benefits in Ireland are notoriously thin on the ground- they wanted to go, but simple couldn't afford it.

Just for balance… RoI don’t have a public rights of way or footpath network like UK… absolutely nothing like it, it’s quite remarkable. I couldn’t imagine living without the same access to the countryside

@vladimirVsvolodymr Cork people don't leave Cork . Trust me I'm also a blow in who couldn't get the OH to move! Now I'm raising DC with STRONG Cork accents 🫣