To seriously recommend Ireland

[Ionablue]

Before I start I completely get that it can be expensive, the weather is bad and many Irish residents are emigrating for accommodation & opportunities. But....
A very very large proportion of the Irish people seem put on earth specifically to restore visitors faith in human nature. Genuine and warm, great sense of humour
Many women in particular supposedly find Ireland blissfully relaxing, not just because it is a laidback culture but because the general male culture seems to revolve less around making women feel uncomfortable than in other countries.

Some of the countryside and heritage is literally heavenly. Co. Waterford, especially its western extremities eg Dungarvan. Ardmore, Lismore, is an undiscovered gem.

Yes its not cheap but the food can be exceptional.

Most ordinary people seem exceptionally well disposed to foreign visitors and many have relatives abroad.

In rural Ireland you can drive for miles without seeing a car.

The music is brilliant and the people seem enormously invested in live music.

Well, that's my tuppence.

The fact you just said “idc” and “fuck you, you nasty cunt” just goes to show what a rude person you are yourself .

I'm sure the same would go for anywhere someone has lived for 20 years.

I used to live in Dungarven. Such a beautiful place.

Children murdered in domestic situations. I’m surprised that you don’t recognise this, in this tiny country, kyran durnin still missing, Daniel ambrosa, Maliki al-Katin, mason o Connell, Lisa cash and her twin siblings, Mike’s & Thelma Delaney, Jake’s and Sarah Rutledge, Oisin’s reddin, Henry Keane, Julia dackowsa, Conor, Luke, Carla mcginty, asfira and faizan Syed, there the children that come to mind since 2020. I’m sure there is more.

I'm from Ireland but don't live there anymore.

I'd move back in a heartbeat if my husband agreed. I probably will when my son has left home.

I miss the quiet. I live in the south east of England and there are just so many cars and people everywhere all the time. It takes me an hour to drive 8 miles sometimes. I was in Mayo at Christmas time and drove to Galway on the main road and only hit traffic when I got to Bohermore in the city centre.

I don't like that when I go to the town my parents live in now (not even where I lived growing up) I sometimes have people I haven't spoken to in years telling me things about myself.

The first time my husband came over to Ireland, 4 people told us the same story about the "craic" when the otter got into the post office within an hour of us being there.

some parts of Ireland are now ranked the most dangerous place to be a woman in Europe due to the high rates of homicide against women

This is total bullshit.
Ireland isn’t paradise but having lived in both, it’s a better place to raise kids than the UK for me.

I could have written almost every word of this!

I live in an EU country where there is a large Irish diaspora and so many of us have returned “home” for a while but are now returning back to the EU mainland to settle permanently.

We will always love Ireland and will visit regularly , but we are not quite sure where it’s going right now. We love the countryside, the tight community etc but the flip side of that is that it can be quite insular in the rural areas and some people are very keen to know your business! There is a reason why lots of people leave!

As for op’s views on Irish women and their social position, things may be better than they once were, but by god read some history books please!

Northern Ireland has a shocking rate of femicide at the moment, mostly between partners or families. It’s one of the worst in Europe. I’ve heard it said that the trauma caused by the Troubles is a root cause but that sounds quite theoretical to me.

Feel exactly the same Icelap

I’ve lived between the UK and Ireland so clearly love both.

The OP is singing the praises of rural Ireland which is indeed lovely but remote with little access to public transport and a lot of isolation due to houses being distributed around the countryside rather than in villages like in GB.

The main cities are not easy to live in - even in Dublin, public transport is patchy and poorly planned. There are tram lines that don’t meet for instance. There is a fair amount of antisocial behaviour among teens in the centre which puts people off going in. You can say the same about London but the issues are concentrated in certain suburbs, not in the city centre. The traffic is shocking all around the city and outskirts.

The country is booming but why can’t the government invest in infrastructure like transport?

I don’t think the weather is that bad - it’s like Manchester or Glasgow basically!

I get my impressions of Ireland from “Bad Sisters” and my one visit to Dublin 20 years ago.
The people all spoke to one another! It was nice. It seemed to be normal.
I like a little contact with people and a laugh with them, if I can. You can do that with the Irish, the Greeks. Nice. I wouldn’t mind living in Ireland.

Northern Ireland is now ranked the second most dangerous place to be a woman in Europe due to how many women are murdered regularly. (Apologies I said most rather than second most in error). We have a significant problem with VAWG.

https://www.wrda.net/blog/when-will-northern-ireland-name-femicide

Unfortunately it is not "total bullshit".

It's complete fact. And here's the receipts. It's very worrying.

Oh right. Under the juristication of the UK government so.

My friend went and said it was like holidaying in a car wash.

I think when lots of Irish people say Ireland they generally mean the state also known as the Republic of Ireland, not the island.
I know I do. (The official name of the state is Ireland, not ROI.)

I think it may be different for Irish people in Northern Ireland or indeed for people in the rest of the UK, so we may all be talking a little bit at cross purposes here.

So you are referring to part of the UK then? Not sure how that is relevant to the thread

This very much depends on your politics I guess. Some people very much see it as part of Ireland and some will see it as the UK.

Legally, politically and economically it is part of the UK.

As much as a Unified Ireland is the desire for some for statistics like this it is under the umbrella of the UK .

Perhaps, but how a person identifies is different from the reality. It is officially part of UK and if you are quoting criminal statistics the jurisdiction is very relevant.

We are, but living in Wales I've enough feckin rain do they have to share it so generously here 🤣

We lived in Ireland for a while and when I was younger I was also engaged to an Irish man. There is certainly a lot to love.
But when we lived there we really struggled to integrate. People were quite hostile sadly where we were and my husband in particular found it really difficult, he was ostracised at work for being English which was very unexpected to me.

So it’s not under Irish jurisdiction and not policed by an Garda Siochana.

F

How'd you know it's fake, you a mind reader?! 😂