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.

Reading the comments, I wish I had the same five friends from school for the last 30 years (they're abroad) we only meet up when one really pro-active friend is back from America. I don't have a big family either so in many ways, I'm an outsider. Outsider to what? a decent social life. All the pubs and bars and restaurants are there but quite often I have had to buy myself a social life. I go to pilates, I go to a night class. I do have friends but see them one on one occasionally. My current job doesn't help either. They push wfh when I'd prefer to go in. I'm trying to change to a role where a willingness to be in the office might be valued. I think those jobs exist! I put it down to growing older though. When you're younger everybody accepts a new face quickly. When you're older, it takes time. So much time! Even craicnet is quite cliquee! I have posted there and been ignored, repeatedly! But hey ho, they're not paid to respond. I get it. I know that if I were in London still I could be in the same shoes because of my age. You just seem to be moved back to the fifth row.

ps, the weather is no worse in the south east than it is in most of England/wales. London had hotter summers which I liked, but I know people who couldn't cope with London summers and if they took the tube to work, i get that. Winters were more extreme. Where I am, it's the same as an average day in England. Storms aside. ALthough, we get the same storms.

I live 40 mins from Dublin. We never bring the kids into the City centre- it feels unsafe to do so and O connelll st - forget it !! Gone so rough.
Its tough here without money. We both work. Both college educated and honestly pull in 6k a month between us and can save but its getting harder to do so . Every month harder. We rarely eat out . All our compatriots locally have the same std of living - like its a total drudge but isint everywhere !! No houses to rent
Schools mainly catholic. We never go to mass and our kids atttend the local school.
I love my mum friends
None of us from the area. All commute to Dublin and bonded over having no family locally..i dont feel people judgy. Or nasty but the country isint as safe as it was and there is social unrest of the immigration crisis handling

I don’t think it’s shite - but it is a tough place to live if you’re not making a large amount of money. My DH, kids and I moved there a couple of years ago from abroad - we both had to work full time / long hours just to make ends meet and we were bringing in really good salaries. We had to warn £100k just to cover the rent , then there was the bills etc on top. It just wasn’t sustainable and we found we were working ourselves into the ground just to make ends meet. Then we tried to buy a house (with a really healthy budget) and found it so hard - cash buyers / investors swooping in with cash offers way over asking price. We just couldn’t compete. It felt so hard to get anywhere. In the end, we admitted defeat and returned to where we came from - where we had security of house, didn’t have to work so much so had better WLB. Just before we left there was rumblings of anti immigration (the town took in a lot of people from Ukraine) and due to the housing crisis and young ones leaving to go abroad it felt as if it was increasing. I really wanted to make it work but for us it just wasn’t possible. We aren’t too far away and go back to see family. That’s my experience - I know you’ve different circumstances - the main one being if you have a lot of money you should be ok. But it’s definitely a different country from the one I left many years ago but then again everywhere is - as the saying goes “you never really go home”. All the best with whatever you chose

Said it before, and I’ll say it again. Banshees.

Don't be freaking me out 😧

I think maybe parochial’s the word?

Loving this thread, though it’s not directly relevant for me. So interesting.

The cannibal leprechauns can be a problem. Other than that I love living in Ireland.

😄

Banshees are great. A fair bit of warning. Better than waiting 18 months for a biopsy and then 'sorry pal' .

The weather in Dublin and Wexford is pretty similar to the south of England. I live in Cork and its a grand soft day 9 months of the year. There again its never really cold? Swings and roundabouts. My BIL lives in Spain. When he visited he said ' blimey look at those mountains and lakes. If this was in Spain you'd hardly be able to see it for hotels!'

It's an ill wind - and torrential ☔ - that blows nobody any good eh? Might keep property prices more honest ....outside Dubs anyway.

Like @Chickenkeev I have no medical insurance and have not had any problems. Get seen at the clinic v quickly. Scans , biopsies etc no problem.

Pp can't manage on 3k a month?! Things are bad up there. I can't conceive of such riches tbh . But then I'm living in the proverbial rolled up newspaper ie a tiny council house.

People are nosey. Until they discover you are not an eccentric millionaire. Or on the run from Interpol. So feck em. Ireland spoils you for other places after a while ....

????

But the banshees keep the leprechauns down so swings & roundabouts @Abhannmor?

Leave them at it I say. Long as we leave dolmens and fairy bushes alone we'll get along just fine. I did once ask a standing stone for 6 numbers . 6 lousy numbers. But no joy.

@LadyEloise1 I think legend has it banshees can't cross the sea? So away from Ireland one might be safer. Although I'm sure the Scots have her or something v similar?

Would you be able to stay with family while you find somewhere to buy? Getting a rental is incredibly difficult no matter how much money you're willing to throw at it. It can also take a while for a sale to go through. I have a bit of a funny feeling about the housing market, it's a little like the celtic tiger times when they were building like mad and everything is extremely expensive compared to average salary. If the market goes wrong for any reason (eg if a lot of the international companies that are based here moved elsewhere) then prices could drop like a stone again. However if you keep to what you can afford and plan to stay here for 10 years or so it should be ok.

I moved back from London just over a decade ago, after the 2008 crash. I virtually never go into town, all of my life revolves around the suburbs and tbh it's pretty pleasant. Things are bit less hectic than London, but then Geneva probably isn't that hectic either. As a previous poster mentioned, I do find that most of my closer friendships are with people who have lived abroad and moved back to Ireland or people who have immigrated to Ireland, but I also have a wide network of less close friendships with people who have always lived in Ireland.

What about the puca?
One turned up on Spooked in Ireland recently.
Vogue looked afeared.

Ireland is great, however Dublin I wouldn’t be keen on. I lived in Cork, Clare, Limerick and Dublin. I’d live in each of them again except Dublin. I don’t recognise the small town mentality that other posters have mentioned and I’ve lived in very small towns. I actually don’t mind the Irish weather 😂 I love a good stormy dark evening though 😂. People are great here in general. Private healthcare is a must, public waiting list are unbelievable at the moment, EDs are shocking should you be unlucky enough to end up in one. GPs are about €60 a visit but I can get a same day appointment if needed. We were lucky to buy our house about 15 years ago. I would hate to be trying to rent or buy now as it’s pretty cut throat. Best of luck with your decision, and come west if you can!

We lived in a very old farmhouse in Co.Limerick, there was 10 of us living in the house. We all woke up at the same time one night and gathered in the living room, it was about 3am and we had all heard a baby crying loudly. There was no baby in the house, still get chills when I think about it now 😭

Yikes ! Christmas is a good time for uncanny tales like that. We should start a thread maybe?

Not trying to scare you off Op!
But an uncanny tales thread, I am here for it!

That stuff scares the bejaysus out of me altogether!

Do it @Abhannmor
I had typed out my own uncanny experience, and then I thought, not the thread, I'll just come across a bit craycray

@NonanteNeuf some great perspectives here.

I'm a longtime emigré - been in the UK and elsewhere nearly 35 years, bought a house in my hometown (Dublin coastal suburb) 3 years ago but no plans to relocate permanently.

Dublin is as gritty as it ever was and it's true the city centre is still recovering from the impact of 2 solid years of lockdown. I wouldn't say it's unsafe but the problems created by entrenched poverty and deprivation/influence of organised crime in the inner city are more obvious than ever.

Public transport is slow and coverage isn't brilliant - it's cheap though compared to most European cities. If you're in an outer suburb a car is pretty essential. Traffic can be slow but nothing like the awful congestion you can get in SE England.

You've had good advice on healthcare and housing.

Locally produced food is lovely - meat, dairy, seasonal veg.

I've loved being home more and have reconnected with a good few friends from my teens which has been great.

I was worried about moving back to Ireland after living in London for over 12 years but I love where I live and my life here. Definitely better than if I'd stayed in London. The nearest beach is only an 8 minute drive from me and there's at least 8 beaches within a 20 mins drive.

I live in the "Sunny South East" so probably better weather than most of Ireland. It's no wetter or colder than London.

My experience of healthcare has been very positive. I can usually get a GP appointment with my own GP on the same day and if not I can go to a walk-in GP service. I only got private health insurance in recent years and if my GP refers me to a consultant I've been seen very quickly and whenever I've needed surgery or a procedure I get an appointment within a week or two and the consultants secretaries arrange the treatments within a week or two at a date that suits me.

My children have gotten a very good education and we didn't have to pay for college though my son with a contribution from us paid for his masters.

I've made plenty of friends, some really close friends since I moved back and have a great social life more so since my children have grown up.

I've lived in various places in Europe but have never been happier than now living in Dublin. It's the people! Apologies to any Swiss on here, but really they're is NO comparison. You'll find Dublin cheap compared to Switzerland anyway and will be able to afford to go away to sunnier climes if the weather gets you down. Go for it!