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.

You have been gone a long time obviously.

Food and music scene. Food is some of the best in the world. Multinational cuisines or strong emphasis on local produce. Food truck scene is exploding. A Greek one just opened up in my neighborhood.So many pubs with live music any night.

Museums: there are multiple museums in the big cities. (Personal favorite is the Clock Museum in Waterford!)

Culture: there is a huge arts scene , Macnas, Spraoi, Culture Night, lots of art festivals, fleadh ceoil, opera festivals, Galway and Kilkenny Arts festivals..etc,

Outdoor amenities: seriously ?surfing, hiking, climbing, sailing, kayaking ,stunning beaches , kilometers of greenways being built the outdoors is stunning.

Small and parochial: well yes if you live in a small village but it's not the only option. Those small parochial people in the GAA are up a group for children with additional needs (my dd goes) completely voluntary and completely free.

It might be a lot smaller than the UK but doesn't mean it's not an absolutely fabulous place to live.

Ps I don't work for Discover Ireland.

This absolutely resonates. I, too, learned resilience and the importance of treating others with respect and kindness.

There are subsidies for childcare. Before the subsidies I paid 39 euro a day for full time care in a creche. Mine are out of it now but I know you can pay quite little especially if low income.

You don't pay for health in old age. You get a medical card or a gp card over 70 (depending on income)and the public system is free. Pension is 289 a week.

@BridgetofKildare wow, I don't think I have rose tinted glasses on about this country, but I'm shocked to read some of these responses. I'm sorry you were treated that way. Perhaps it is widespread, but I don't move in those circles, if you know what I mean. I obviously know there are bigots and racists in this country, but I didn't think it was so bad. Yes, there is a certain amount of cheering on any country in a game who's playing England, for example, but that could be said for anyone playing Limerick if you're a Cork person, or Dublin if you're from Kildare etc.

That is just not true. We have a theatre/art house movie place in our suburb of Dublin, literature festivals even historic buildings you can visit all within a few km. We have amazing nature to explore close by.
There are many very well maintained/developed historic sites (Kilmainham jail, Newgrange etc). Stunning coastline, greenways for cycling, wonderful gardens to visit for free (Glasnevin & Kilmacurragh).
We do have an arts scene, it wouldn’t compete with London of course but almost nowhere would! We have art galleries and museums again nothing that would compare with London but we are not a cultural desert either.

The GP just referred through the public system and it was free. The GP wasn't sure if dhs mole was looking suspicious so referred on. My veins I went to the gp because they were causing me some pain they referred me on and it was free. There is no charge for overnight hospital stays anymore. That changed a few years ago. All referrals so long as they are through the public system should be free.

Unfortunately London is 6 hours away from me.

Sorry if it's coming across that way. It genuinely isn't my intention. I don't doubt what you're saying. Just that it doesn't align with my lived experience. By what kind of school, I guess I wanted to know a bit more about the area in general without outing yourself. E.g. We are pretty rural so my kids go /went to a very small country school, which still had a mix of nationalities. The part of the country is very scenic and has featured in movies /TV shows and draws a lot of arty people from around the world, as well as being a draw for lots of foodies. So I guess it's normal for me and the kids to interact with people of all nationalities. The feeder secondary, however, is well known as a bit of a cesspit, so my eldest 2 in secondary don't go there.

Agreed. The people claiming there’s ’nothing to do’ in Ireland must be fairly lacking in imagination and motivation.

I spend my free time doing/going to various combinations of:
concerts
comedy shows
theatre
’an evening with..’ type events
book launches
sporting fixtures
cookery classes with renowned chefs
glorious beaches
walking/cycling on the greenways
shopping
historic monuments
museums
heritage sites
food tours
historical walking tours
art galleries
farmers markets
craft fairs
various festivals
days on small islands
cliff walks
touring around various counties

not an exhaustive list and there’s still plenty I want to do and lots I haven’t yet seen, and I’m 46. I’m surprised to read a pp who thinks she has seen ‘all there is to see’ … I don’t think I’ll ever run out of parts of this island to see and explore.

Scans in my part of the country are mostly being contracted out to the private clinics at the minute so the wait is short. A few years ago I had to wait almost a year for an mri on my hip so it's definitely improved here, for imaging anyway.

@LipstickLessons well I'm glad things are improving. Let's hope it filters out to the rest of the country soon.

Agree @sammylady37 there are so many places I haven't seen in this country.
As for sporting fixtures there's a big one this weekend that DH would love a ticket for!

Size isnt everything. Cork City is actually slightly smaller than Southend on Sea in population terms. But I know where I'd be going for a cultural or culinary experience , with all due respect.

Dublin is great. It’s getting bad press here!
Same way that people don’t like London…

Ah, I see now. I'd say it's fairly rural but I definitely knew people from smaller towns. It's a beautiful place, scenery-wise, the view from my parents house is genuinely breathtaking.

My primary school was entirely white Irish children and was hell on earth. My secondary school was vast majority white Irish with a small number of Eastern Europeans and then my English family. I agree with you that any "outsiders" (even Irish ones) were treated badly but being English was, by far, the worst crime of them all.

I wish I could say that the lack of diversity makes it somehow understandable that they were so terrible to us, but I just don't think it's a good enough excuse.

I really hope it's changed since then. I will never take the risk of bringing my children there for anything more than a holiday though.

What??! I’ve paid recently ( bill through the post) for an X-ray… there’s a list of prices per night in a hospital I was in recently !

@Pickone I would like to think things have changed, but I actually think it's worse now than I've ever seen. There seems to be a lot more protests and begrudgery voiced by many in the last few years. I know it's not pervasive everywhere, but it is there and more palpable than I've ever personally known. I understand though that there is similar stirring across the UK and the world.

No, I come back to Ireland for extended periods of time each year. It's a bit of a wasteland in terms of things to do. Look up "10 things to do in Dublin" and you get book of Kells, Kilmainham, Guinness Storehouse...that's about it. And that's the capital city!

And to be honest, if you're boasting about there being a food truck...you really need to explore the rest of the world more! This is not a rare cultural gem 😂

@Pickone @BridgetofKildare I'm so sorry to hear of your negative experiences. For sure there are nasty people everywhere. I think certain towns or areas are much more predisposed to that anti English sentiment, particularly 30 years ago or so. I have many English friends and colleagues who have never experienced anything like this. I would like to hope you were the unlucky minority.

@UrbanOasis it's nice to hear some positive things about Dublin here. I'm elsewhere in Ireland but visit my sister a lot. She lives in one of those buzzy wealthy suburban areas near mountains, the beach like you say with good (relatively) transport. It's a really nice spot to raise a family with local good schools.

As with most places, if you are reasonably well off and you get to live in a nice area, life is good. If money is tight life becomes very different and all the cracks appear.

That makes me sad to hear. But I agree that some of the current negativity isn't specific to ireland.

Don't do that.

It's not cute or funny.

I wasn't boasting about a food truck, it was an off the cuff example.

I note you completely ignored the rest of the post and @sammylady37 s post also of all the amazing things to do that are not the Guinness Storehouse.

Like many Irish people I have explored the world but love to come home.

There's plenty of money to do this in England

It's just none of the councils are agreeable to doing it.

I'd hope so too. My experience was much more recent than 30 years ago but I certainly don't speak for all English people. I'm genuinely glad to hear some parts of the country are less hostile. I'd love to visit those some time!

Yes, I agree, that's unpleasant, sneery and unnecessary.