Any info on Northern Ireland?

[ANNIE1]

Thinking of moving to N Ireland and was wondering if anyone out there lives there or has lived there. DH N Irish but wanted a different take on it. Thanks!

where abouts are moving to?

sorry for that imcomprehensible message I was breast feeding! where about are you moving to? I grew up in a small village in Co. Armagh. Still have the odd pang to go back. Quality of life can be very good, schools are good, people are lovely. The biggest drawback is fairly obvious, because I grew up there I just zone out the troubles when I go back. To be fair it is alot better than when I was living there but the attitudes might be abit shocking to a newcomer or a 'blow in' as you would be quaintly referred to in my village.

countryside is beautiful. let me know how you get on.

Annie I added a message to your original thread a week or so ago. I will try to find it and paste it here. I live in Derry - originally from here but grew up overseas and moved back at 14.

Sorry annie see you have already read it. Itotally understand where you are coming from - the quality of life here can be great and house prices are definitely cheaper. How I feel is completely personal and I have loads of friends not from here who love living here. If your dh has family and friends nearby then that would be good as you will have a support network already established. ALl I meant by your dh changing was that I noticed when my dp and me were living in London we never really talked about the Troubles etc whereas when we are here it is a regular source of conversation and issues arise that involve it (going to football matches for eg) that wouldnt living elsewhere. Not sure if I am explaining very well so if I can give you an opinion on anything just ask!But remember this is completely personal - my 2 sisters never settled here and both live elsewhere and most of my dps family live in London.

I'd like to echo pesme. Also grew up there and often long to retunn for all those reasons. Also echo the only reason for not returning. It's a wonderful place and the people are v friendly. Am looking forward to holiday at home8 coming up v soon!

Reason I started thsi thread was bacause the other thread, about kids settling, wasa little negative about the country so I wanted to find out a bit more about it and am glad that its been a bit more positive.Am thinking going Co. Antrim somewhere! DH grew up in and parents still live in BAllymena but don't want to live right there, maybe in surrounding areas cos don't want to be too far away from his parents. It's not easy because I don't know anywhere at all to say whether I would want to live there, in the way I would be able to any place in London so I'm having to trust him and make sure we want the same things .
Taramac you sort of said that you have lots friends that aren't froim there was wondering how they settled in and also how 'foreigners' are received (at the school gate, that sort of thing). I think you could be right, DH doesn't really talk about the troubles because it just doesn't feature in our lives, he says he doesn't want anything to do with it IYKWIM but don't know what will be like over there.
Also curious about the attitudes I might come across as I don't really know what you mean pesme.

I was brought up on the north west coast and it is a beautiful place.But I do love it here aswell and although I visit I have no desire to return.My parents have a house there and plan to live there when they retire

I lived there in the eaarly 90's (ex forces wife). Still alot of trouble then though. I always remember someone (a local) saying to me that the country needed a better mix of cultures as in GB, to ease the problems and promote tolerance of different cultures, which I agree with. The world is a much better place if we have a varied cultural climate. I found the pro british quite intolerant. It really opened my eyes to the republicans cause. It may have changed now.

That said, it is a beautiful country and many people are very friendly. Sort of place you could leave your doors unlocked.

Co Antrim is great. I grew up in Co. Down but frequently visited (and still do) Lisburn. It's a pretty good shopping town. As for the North Antrim Coast. I can't think of a more beautiful coastline. Getting from A - B always seems a short journey in NI as it's a much smaller place than here, so you probably wouldn't feel too far away from the in-laws anywhere within an hours drive.
Assuming your kids are primary school age. Lots of new mixed schools now (IYKWIM), so there is a lot being done in NI to integrate all children from a young age and I'm sure you'd be very well received at the school gate. There are loads of people from here living in NI. It surprises me when I visit how many English accents I hear.
If I weren't so settled here with ds1 v happy in school, I'd seriously consider moving back and dh says he wouldn't object. Wish you luck anyway whatever you do.

Well - I am a "blow-in" and will refuse to "blow-out" !!

I have been here ( Just outside Belfast ) and LOVE IT. I have been here about 15 years - married a guy from over here and now have 2 wonderful kids.

Plus points :

• People
• Scenery
• Pace of life
• House prices
• Standard of education ( private much cheaper than England )

Minus POints :

• weather not so great as South of England
• There are no "troubles" as such - but ( huge generaliseation warning ) - there are a hell of a lot of bigots! ( FIL - being one of them !! )
• No John Lewis

Any other questions - please contact me by email if you'd like!

But it's great here!

Interested to know whereabouts you live crystaltips. Am sure you'll have heard of Ballynahinch (where I'm from) and I've been here 15 years or so now. Know Belfast quite well - went to school there. You're right about the weather though. Kind of forgot about that!
(sorry Annie1 - know it's off the subject a bit but it's a small world esp in NI!)

Another 'blow-in' here as well. Almost 14yrs now and, like crystaltips, hubby is from here. We have 3 sons now (1 at primary, 1 at nursery, plus toddler). Originally lived in a small village in North West, not far from hubby's home town. For past 8 years have lived in countryside in County Antrim area.

Like moving anywhere, life will be what you make it and people will be what you accept of them, iykwim. People go about their day to day lifes in much the same way as folks 'on the mainland' do and probably with the same everyday 'ups and downs'.

Whilst I still love going 'home' to Scotland for visits and holidays, I am very happy about my 'home' here too. Any 'home' is what you and yours make it to be, wherever the physical place may be.

butterfly

ps
Are you planning some trips over to get a feel for the areas before making a decision?

I'm from bangor.

Crystaltips
I went to college in Holywood (many years ago) and my parents often took us as kids to Bangor Swimming Pool (considered a huge treat then!), so know it a bit but it's probably changed loads since I was there last. Nice to be near the sea though. Visiting home (still consider NI as home though am perfectly settled here in Kent) soon so might think about a day out there with kids.
Annie1 I assume you've visited NI before? It is a super place to live but as butterflymum says, life is what you make it, wherever you live. I love living here and the good thing is, if I need to go back to NI it's not that far away and doesn't take long to get there. Can't imagine living as far away from parents as dh does (S Africa)!

I also moved here ( Bangor ) 18 years ago from Scotland and all I can say is I love it here in Northern Ireland and like butterflymum I like to go home for " short holidays " but can't wait to get back again, the standard of living is much better than where I came from " Glasgow "

I moved here with my husband and two children due to DH work, both my children were in primary school at the time and both settled very well, one is now married and has a child and the other is doing well in his job, if you are prepaired to try uprooting your family the only peice of advice I would give anyone is this, be prepaired to give it at least two years before deciding if your staying or not, as the first two years was the hardest for me to settle.

Thanks so much for all these messages, I'm feeling much more positive now. I suppose I am scared of the unknown. Totally agree that it will be what I make it and I think I'm enough of an optimist to make it work. That said, these years at home with the kids haven't done wonders for my self confidence. Before I was pregnant with DD1 I don't think iteven occured to me to be nervous of meeting new people and allthat, but nowadays I'm a bit different.
Crystaltips-your plus points are exactly the reasons we are thinking of going over (or rather, actually going!) and thanks so much, I will email you though not tonight because it's 10 o'clock!
I've been over a few times with the kids to visit in laws ect but to be honest I don't think I took much notice of what it all was like for some reason, It was lovely though. We're definitely planning to go over at some point and look around the areas.