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.

Most of the countryside is farmland with either livestock or crops.

Huge amount of investment in greenways though.

@sammylady37i think it was Gerry Ryan who had a segment about this back in the day. Someone had rang in saying the American cousins were very put out that the Irish cousins were no longer poor. I remember being in work listening it was around 2000/2001 and it was hilarious as lots of people rang in with similar stories . @Laurmolonlabeno one should be in negative equity now. Prices are above pre crash levels and where I am much much higher than before the crash.

Absolutely! Cork mammies must be the best in the country. I know a 25 year old guy that moved from home to a house share in the next street 😂 annd his mum was in tears. He came home every night for his dinner and at weekends! Moved to Oz in 2023 with girlfriend and is back home, mammy is delighted fur now as there’s news of wedding bells 🔔

I don't think its that night and day.

There are so many rapes in ireland

G'wan owa dat! You went to McGowan's for a few scoops. Then , a few scoops later , you said ah feck it I'll just Google all the other stuff 😆

Oh stop. I know.🫣
Am most definitely not a Cork mammy like that I must say though!!

I think irish mammies can be a bit dangerous. They favour the boys so much.

I have lits of cousins in ireland. Every one of my female cousins moved out of home before 21.

Of my four male cousins. They all have different mothers.

Three of them are in their thirties and still live with their mammy.

One is forty and he still lives with his mammy. She still makes him dinner every day. Its a co dependant weird relatuonship

I'd agree with a pp who observed there's not much access to real nature. Ireland is the 2nd least forested country in Europe (thanks in no small measure to the Tudors) so walking in parks is about the sum of it. Or a mountain denuded of vegetation. Or getting into the car and driving to the coast which will be littered because Irish people don't know how to clean up after themselves.
North Dublin city - junkies and litter flying everywhere. Grim. So yeah, there's Blessington Basin but you'll likely have to step over rubbish and human faeces to get there.
Mass immigration, social fragmentation and brewing societal unrest. Cost of living, soaring energy bills, creaking health system, useless government etc.

Have you anything positive to say about Ireland? You really hate the place?
Irish mammies have excellent relationships with their daughters.

We love the saying Your son is your son until he finds his wife,, your daughter is yours for life.

DIL welcome the more the merrier

My 3 sisters and I were best friends with DM as adults, always a warm welcome, she loved Dbro too. SIL and her DM often joined us, all the ladies.

whar are you on? Ireland has forests! I go for forest walks all the time! And not at the same place! I also live on a beautiful coastline and there’s very little rubbish!

Their economy doing a lot better than ours because they are members of the EU. Simple as that.

Same in Uk, there’s still a really comprehensive footpath network here though.

your greenways are a good start

Yeah it has forests, that wasn’t the point though - it has one of the lowest percentages of trees in Europe

Ok I get that but we can’t have everything right! No one country does to be fair…

We had a holiday cottage near Wexford a few years ago. Great week - sun shone every day. We were mostly surprised by the lack of gardens. The country seemed to be dotted with bungalows with no attempt at a garden. I guess the weather isn't great for it but we go to Scotland a lot and most houses there have gardens. Is gardening just not an Irish thing?

I said that it has lovely nature.

I lived in ireland. I know loads of peoppe in ireland. Lots of women told me that their mothers treated the sons in the family better than the daughters.

A lot of people self build in Ireland and the garden is the last thing to be done, I think it just gets put on the back burner to be honest.

@Mitara

There are so many rapes in ireland

Can you give more details please? Statistics?

Kindly, Look up the statistics yourself .

There are a lot of rapes in Ireland, and sentencing of rape cases has often been light.

It's OK - your reply told me all I need to know.

Were you in a more rural area perhaps? Less dense population? We don’t have fees for uni here and my teens have jobs from 16. We are in north east Scotland.

That isn’t true. My mum has been living in different parts of Leinster now for over 56 years! Plus my uncle was in Malahide for years and now lives up the North just outside Newry with my aunt who’s from Belfast. My other uncle is the only one still in Cork but he was in the Army and was away on tours in Cyrus and the Leb over the years. Although funnily enough my niece went to UCC and is now back working in Cork for another year (she’s a Louth woman) and my own daughter (who’s a Dub) worked in Cork for a year too.

It’s the multinational tech companies plus we are still in the EU. Trump is our biggest worry obviously.

The UK isn’t all bad. Luton yes, Oxford/Cotswolds no.
Wimbledon is fab, Harlesden not so much. There are shit holes everywhere.

I left Ireland years ago and have never contemplated going home since. I have built a life in a lovely part of the UK

I miss the people in Ireland hugely, as a general population they are far warmer than the Brits. The formality of Brits still surprises me. That’s what would ultimately bring me home, maybe to a house overlooking the sea in West Cork.

Irish people do tidy up after themselves at the beach, I walked Kilkee beach yesterday, it was spotless. Also visited the estuary coast. Also spotless. My teenagers were kayaking, camping, walking safe Country roads, playing ping pong, bbqing and simply hanging out in nature.

No drinking, no drugs, no smoking or vaping, no TV s, just hanging out.