Tell me why living in Ireland is shite

[NonanteNeuf]

Myself and DH live in Switzerland, we’ve been here 7 years. We’re at a point right now where we are thinking of moving home.

My contract with work is finishing end of December (fixed duration contract for a project) and I’m finding it hard to find another job. DH could get a job in Dublin no problem.

I fear though that we are romanticising Ireland. Please hit me with the reality!

Go raibh maith agaibh.

Banshees

I divide my time between Cork and SE UK and I'm leaning towards making a full time move to my home town.

Yes, the weather can be brutal, saving rain, it's still possible to lead an outdoorsy lifestyle. The quality of food far exceeds the UK and the choice is incomparable, I frequently bring meat back to the UK 😄

Eating out is expensive and I mostly feel ripped off as the restaurants don't provide good value for money and are generally shite.

Access to GP is far easier than the UK. These days should I need a GP, I wait until I go home.
As others have said, education is a far higher standard than here and well regarded internationally.

Despite the huge advancements in social developments over the years, I still find it parochial, and nepotism remains a prerequisite for some employment sectors. Parish pump politics remain the norm, however, with increasing multiculturalism, I see that changing in a few years.

Public transport is basic to say the least which results in horrendous traffic.

There is a housing crisis and rents are eye wateringly expensive.
But, the overall quality of life far outweigh the negatives.

I am a Londoner and have lived in rural Galway for three and a half years. I absolutely love it. I have been to Dublin twice, didn't like it all all! My DD was in Dublin on the night of the recent riots, that obviously didn't cause any of us to like it any more!

Regarding the GP issue, if I ring the GP in my village I can always get a same-day appointment. I have private health insurance but both me and DS have needed emergency care at the HSE hospital and although Galway Hospital is a seriously ugly set of buildings, we had excellent care.

Name changed for this.

I live overseas and when I go back to Ireland for more than two weeks, I start to feel a horrible sense of being dragged down.

I feel like so many people are just u believably negative and judgemental and seem to think that how other people live their life is everyone's business. There is an obsessive bitterness about the success of others and an I credibly colloquial mentality. I don't come from a very rural area or a small town either.

Of COURSE I know that this doesn't represent all Irish people by any means, but this overwhelming sense of heaviness comes over me when I'm a home. I always start thr trip with 'wow, I've missed this place' and end it with a desire to get out quickly.

I don't mean to offen anyone with this, but this mentally attitude in Ireland can be very draining. It certainly affects my mental health. I'm sure non of the craic netters are like this.

@Littlepinkbag I don't get that feeling from Ireland at all and I live in a village. But I am an outsider and an introvert so don't interact much with people, no-one in the village would even know what my job is. I like it this way!

I am one of those people who enjoyed the lockdown, and I moved to Ireland in March 2020 so my first experiences of Ireland were being isolated. I have continued living a bit like that, to be honest, as it suits me. And the beauty of the area (the Connemara) makes that very rewarding for me. I changed my life completely, from north London to rural Ireland, and it was the best decision ever!

Living in Ireland is fantastic. Living in Dublin...can be. Downsides are it's very flat and can be grey and rainy. It's very expensive to live in. Upsides there are plenty, but I'd imagine you'd find the same in Geneva!

Main draw might be having family nearby. I'm in England at present, but would go back to Ireland in a heartbeat if we could get decent jobs there, and also now our kids are settled here (but since your dd is at uni you don't have that issue)

I'm surprised that more people aren't saying this because it's the biggest problem that most people will face when moving here. Ireland can be really shit for people who are renting and aren't in a position to buy a house. Even worse if you're searching for a place to rent because it could take months to find a place. It's not just a case of rent prices being extortionate (which they are) but supply is dire too. I have work colleagues who apply to every single rental advertisment they see and don't even get a reply to 95% of applications. The housing crisis is what's driving a lot of disheartened young people out of Ireland.

Anyway, I'm lucky enough to own a house that was bought when prices were a lot lower and have a great quality of life here. I've lived in quite a few places London, San Francisco and rural Australia and I wouldn't want to live anywhere but Ireland now. I don't live in Dublin but in another Irish city. Found it very easy to make friends when we moved here, there's plenty groups and clubs to join and people were very welcoming. There's loads of great bars and restaurants close by and the general convenience of the city but we're also surrounded by beautiful nature and it's a short drive to go to the coast or hiking in the mountains.

TLDR: I love it here but be aware of the housing crisis before you make any plans.

'There is an obsessive bitterness about the success of others and an I credibly colloquial mentality'

@Littlepinkbag , I can relate to a lot of what you say in your post. Can you say more about the 'incredibly colloquial mentality' you mention? I'm Irish, moved to the UK when I was 20 (24 years ago) and it very quickly felt like home. I only visit Ireland for a few days at a time, and enjoy it for a visit, but I don't think I could live there again

Maybe colloquial is the wrong word. There just seems to be one uniform set of standards and if you deviate from them, you're weird. Where I'm from, there is a way of doing things. If you don't live your life that way, people wrinkle their nose up at you. I've noticed an enormous preoccupation with stuff, with appearances, with houses, cars. A gossipy culture where you're seen like a traitor if you don't want to join in. Obviously I have friends and family who aren't like that, but I feel it deeply when I get back, as do other ex pat friends (Irish). I hate the feeling that I'll meet someone in town and they'll go straight back and tell their friend everything I was wearing. It has happened! The looking up and down is another thing I don't find much where I live but notice it when I get back home. I wear very normal clothes BTW! I'm certainly not alternative or anything worth mentioning. It all seems very petty.

Again, I'm sorry if this seems like a generalised view but it is my experience. The negativity brings me down.

'There just seems to be one uniform set of standards and if you deviate from them, you're weird. Where I'm from, there is a way of doing things'

Yes, I get this completely. As one example, my sister is a primary school teacher in Ireland and is involved in a lot of conversations about First Communion plans. Everybody seems to spend a fortune on balloon arches, bouncy castles, an enormous spread for 40-50 people at their house for after the mass. One mum was asking for advice about how much prosecco to buy and how much to spend - her and her husband are teetotal and they have a dry house, but she felt she had to offer tons of booze after her daughter's First Communion because it's 'the done thing' or whatever. All sounds incredibly materialistic and pretty stifling

Where do you live @Littlepinkbag ?

I don't really recognise what you're describing as a general rule. Where I am maybe the odd person would behave like that, but they'd just be thought of as a gossip.
There isn't so much of a preoccupation with stuff. Or maybe I'm the odd one out and I just don't see it 🤔
I'm wondering if it could it be area dependent too though.

I love it more than anything

@Lottapianos I mean, it's mostly family who attend First Communion parties isn't it? Wouldn't you do the same as you'd do for any family party? Whatever is usual for your own family (plus bouncy castle 😉)

I think the balloon arch things are insanity btw. Surely terrible for the environment?

'I think the balloon arch things are insanity btw. Surely terrible for the environment?'

Well yes indeed. It's all for Instagram I think - happy family photos under the balloon arch 🤷🏻

I get your point about family parties, but everyone seems to be under pressure to do things in the same way, for fear of being thought tight or stingy - an absolute hanging offence in Ireland. Even to the extent that a teetotal couple felt under pressure to provide tons of booze

Well, all I know is I had a family party recently (confirmation rather than communion) and there was no balloon arch. I'm not on Instagram and never post family events on social media anyway. Nor do most of my friends. It's all a bit lower key and I like that.

It's probably because I'm an oldie mind you.

Thank you all for your contributions to the thread.

I both recognise and don’t recognise the points. Small town mentality is not something I experienced and I’ve lived in two different tiny one shop/pub towns in Cork and Clare.

Housing here in Geneva is bonkers. You can easily spend 3k on a 1 bed apartment but with a comparably high salary it’s often a moot point. DH would be get about 170k salary in Dublin and I would be able to get 75-80k. I know that doesn’t solve the problem of actually getting to see rental properties.

We were in Dublin recently and the city centre was a nightmare once the sun went down. We had DH’s parents with us and I was fairly mortified.

I think, from reading all of your posts, that the weather may be something to consider. We have a very outdoorsy culture in Switzerland no matter what the weather.

DD would stay to do her final year in Uni. She’s happy to live in student housing or share with her uni friends. She’s studying Swiss law which is different from Irish system but she wants to work in diplomacy so would do a masters in international law which she could do from Dublin. She’s got 2 EU passports so there wouldn't be an issue for her getting a Swiss work permit should she want to come back to Geneva.

When making these decisions it always feels like we need an adult to tell us what to do 😂

But possibly, as I said, the pressure varies according to location within Ireland too.

Your life in Switzerland sounds amazing. I'd honestly stay there (and I love ireland and dream of moving back some day)! But if money and family ties aren't a big issue for you, I'd stay where you already have a lovely life and better weather

I think it can be very like this in areas that people grew up in and stayed in and don’t have a lot of outsiders coming in. Everyone is similar, lives similar lives and it’s all very homogeneous.

other places are more open with newcomers, more multi cultural and there isn’t just one way to be ect…..

Although a capital city Dublin is actually quite small and lacks a lot of the big ticket sights and attractions that other European cities have. It is insanely expensive be it renting a property, eating out or down the pub. Personally if you want to take the Irish route I would move to Cork or Galway and just stay away from Dublin.

@TheCadoganArms the reason we’re looking at Dublin is because all of my family are there.

DH is an only, not close to cousins or other relatives so it’s important for us for DD to have a close relationship with her aunts, uncles and cousins.