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.

People from Ireland are the most educated in the world as reported recently.
I did my Leaving Cert in 88 so I can’t account for the current curriculum but I did think it was a better system than the UK one.
i didn’t do all honours subjects or go to uni, but at least I can say I passed my Leaving Cert which is higher than GCSEs

Hills and mountains are not barren but have their own different eco systems. These can include uplands, peatlands etc.

I've seen this kind of thing too.
I've seen a local politician get awful abuse on FB for speaking up about racism. Also about Gaza.
My only ray of light in this is that i genuinely think a lot of the posts are written by bots, or from one of those comment farms. I honestly think there is a concerted attempt to change the narrative in Ireland, a bit like Brexit in UK.
It's working though which makes me very sad.

I'm curious as to what other cities have that Dublin is lacking? E.g. what does Bristol or Southampton have that Dublin doesn't?

Anyone seen Jarlath Ragan and his Irish mammy skits? https://m.youtube.com/shorts/HbUHJ6wgYI8

You can go public or private for healthcare. Public is free. I waited 10 days for a referral to the public Breast Clinic and the service was excellent and free. Some procedures have long waiting times, e.g. hip replacement so people who have health insurance may go private.

Ah now....Facebook is hardly a measure of typical Irish public opinion.

Those who post most profilically on FB are typically not the best and brightest. They tend to be people who led very small lives and their backward opinions are usually shot down elsewhere, hence the posting online.

@Silsatrip Cricket. Football. Better links to London via roads and trains. English villages nearby. The Cotswolds and South Downs. I assume they are fairly similar in size but each reflect their country in terms of art and culture. However Dublin is a capital city. Bristol and Southampton are not so not entirely comparable. The Capital city of world prominence is London. Not Bristol or Southampton!

@TizerorFizz
Ah now. London is in a different league, it sits there with the other major cosmopolitan capitals of the world.
Population of Greater London is around 8.8 million. That is almost 2 million more than the entire population of Republic of Ireland and NI!’ No point in comparing London to Dublin. Even greater Liverpool area has population of 2.4m compared to Dublin 1.45m.

instead you need to compare Dublin with Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh or Glasgow.

Cork is 2nd largest city, with population of greater city area of just 250k. Similar to Norwich or Peterborough.

We can pop over to London very cheaply to enjoy the great things it offers. It is indeed a fabulous city.

Hate soccer (football IS a totally different game in Ireland) and find cricket boring.
However I’m a huge rugby fan, support Ireland and Leinster. Go to games when Leinster visit UK, I’ve been to Northampton, Leicester, Bath and The Stoop. Hosts have always welcomed us even though we didn’t travel over only from London 😂

Low income families get free healthcare

All children under 8 years old have free gp visits.

If you are a couple (with/without children) or lone parent and you have €607 or less per week after the eligible expenses then you will get a GP visit card. the expenses allowed are…

• rent or mortgage
• mortgage protection costs
• house insurance costs
• childcare costs
• travel to work costs
• maintenance costs
• nursing home costs

They do NOT take into consideration your savings. Only any income from them. That means you could have over 2600 left per month after those expenses and still get a GP visit card!

They are barren, it is a huge problem, acknowledged by the Government. They are not supposed to be this way.

Cultural diversity that is established and celebrated. HTH.

But we're comparing the UK vs Ireland. And lots of us are saying that Ireland can't compete with what's on offer due to its tiny size. That's the whole point.

@WallTree Er yes. Obviously. But a pp asked about Bristol and Southampton vs Dublin. So Dublin is like a provincial city in the Uk. Some people would be happy with that of course. No small country that’s smaller than London is going to compete with London or whole of UK. The op was looking at a narrow view of lifestyle and that might suit her. The horse racing there would suit me but I like football, ballet, theatre, etc which you do of course only really get in major cities. Yes, Ireland is small but perfect for some, but not me.

I can't say that answer would help me plan a weekend!

Thing is, it is not a competition.
Ireland is different than UK. Some will prefer Ireland and others will prefer the UK.

I do like the peace and quiet and nature when i go back to visit ireland.

I dont like the small town mentality.

In rural ireland, I feel like you are judged by who your parents are, who your grandparents are, who your cousins are.
Women in rural ireland have more social standing if their brothers/cousins play gaa, which is ridiculous.
Last time i went back someone introduced me to a woman. As soon as she was out of earshot, they whispered to admiringly "and her brother plays football for county offaly"

Like this made the woman absolutely amazing aswell.

There is a lot of bullshit

Really? How embarrassing for you.

I live in Dublin.

It's not all that great.

Hard to get a GP, rents are huge, immigrants everywhere.

Same as UK really.

I left UK 21 years ago, hated it.

How would that be embarrassing for me?

WallTree projects a lot of embarrassment. Why so insecure? Therapy might help.

Plenty of potholes where I am in the west 😆 🤣, depends what part of the country you are in regards to infrastructure .