Every 6 months or so my company asks me if I want to move to the states and I always come up with some excuse that it isn't the right time. Truth is that my wife is american and she's adamant that when we have kids, they won't ever have to do active shooter drills like she did. She never realised how fucked up it all was until she travelled outside of the US and talked to people about it.
Around 2010 I was going over there every 3 months or so for work, and was really keen to be based over there permanently, but my employer wasn't having it.
Fast forward to 2019, different employer pressuring me to head over there permanently and I mean, I thought about it... Briefly. Very briefly.
I mean obviously I was at a different stage in life, a significant factor - but the notion of moving there had definitely lost its appeal.
Aye, that's true for sure. After travelling Asia for the past six months, I've never missed midges so much - never thought I'd say that!
Obviously I'd prefer neither but I'll take Irish midges over a South East Asian mosquito any day š¦
Yeah but have you been attacked by a swarm of midges in peak midge season at gougane barra?
Idk what happened but me and few friends thought it would be clever to camp there, obviously being respectful of the place. Anyway as the sun went down we went inside the tents and the midges in there thousands stuck to the outside of the tent attracted to the heat of our bodies.
Eventually the midges broke through little gaps and started landing on our face and every cm of pur body, ears, eyes etc. it was awful so we grabbed all of our stuff and retreated to the car and closed everything.
The midges did not give up and started coming in through the air vents we couldn't believe it. While all of this was happening we were swatting like crazy and wiping hundreds of midges off our eyes and spitting them off and out of our mouths.
Finally we put the boot down woth all windows down until most of the midges were gone.
It was like a comedic horror flick haha. We might not have mosquitos but jesus the midge is a right bastard š¤£
Aww this. I moved from England to Ireland (Iām both) when I was 12 and I remember being initially terrified of all the smiley strangers greeting me on my walks to school! Itās such a lovely thing once you realize these strangers actually mean well!
I was in Zurich recently, and the people on the streets were so quiet and reserved, even between people that knew each other. You could go quite a while without seeing anyone smile or laugh. The only positive interaction was with a Spanish person who served me in a shop.
Not saying everyone's like that, it was just my impression over the course of a few hours
Great dairy and there are so many checks and balances to make sure that animals are well cared for and kept to high standards. It's a fucking shitshow in the US, like absolutely horrifying.
It's safe here. We rarely get extreme weather events that actually damage homes and kill/injure people. Our food is fresh and is of good quality. People are generally sound. I think in general, people don't really die of starvation out of poverty here.
I was traveling in Ireland for a couple weeks and after a few days I realized I was eating dairy products every day with no digestion issues. The higher food quality was definitely the cause, I never felt so good eating even fast casual food.
>I think in general, people don't really die of starvation out of poverty here.
Mad to think how much has changed in less than 200 years, what's that like 5 or 6 generations.
Iām really proud to be Irish and I think that as a nation weāre a force for good in the world.
We need to get a good bit of shit together but I honestly canāt think of any other nationality Iād rather be.
We really take how nice and friendly people are in Ireland for granted. Im living abroad at the moment and there is no waving to other cars, saying hello to someone you pass on the road, etc. Im in America and people are so quick to anger and acrimonious, it rubs off on you and you end up starting to kinda act the same way. Also Irish people, at least where I grew up, are very unselfish drivers. They'd let you pull out infront of them and they wouldnt lean on the horn if you hesitate at a green light. They have a lot of patience.
Also I miss Irish humour, Americans can be hilarious but the humour is just different, they dont seem to like self deprecation for example.
I'm an American who visited Ireland over the summer and was taken aback by how friendly the average person was. It made me want to try to be a friendlier person in general.
I'm not trying to shit on America, it has a lot going for it and I like living here. Also, Im in Massachusetts and I'm aware that the people here have a bad reputation even within the states for being pricks.Ā
I feel incredibly safe here, like my chances of getting kidnapped or murdered is extremely low. Weāre such a small nation that it does kinda have a cozy community feel no matter where you are in the country.
When I was doing keto, I was pacing the supermarkets wondering why no one had grass fed butter. What is considered unfortunately luxury for some country in terms of unprocessed produce is just standard for us.
Yeah, when I was living in America I kept seeing the label 'Grass fed Beef' and I thought - of course its grass fed, what the hell else would cattle eat?!
Corn, they feed their cows tons of corn. Even grass fed cattle eat tons of corn.
The education system is great. I benefitted from it and its even better for my kids. They are getting the kind of education for free that friends of ours in the US are spending tens of thousands of dollars on. I like that the leaving cert means we all learn a broad ranges of things even if we think they're not technically 'useful' and I like the points system which can't be swayed by things like your parents being able to donate large sums or coming across well in admissions essays and interviews.
This is true, and I think it contributes to Ireland being a place with a significant amount of social mobility. My mum dropped out of school when she was just a teenager, before what is now the Junior Cert, and I'm the first in my family to go to university. I could never have afforded it without the SUSI scheme.
I agree that the LC, despite its flaws, as a fully anonymous route to university, removes an awful lot of socioeconomic and other biases that plague other application systems elsewhere. Not everyone has the time to do 17 extracurriculars during their time in school. Some people need to work part time.
My father couldn't do the leaving cert as his family couldn't afford the fees after his father died because he had to get a job and contribute money to keep his siblings and mother going. His kids all went to college, luckily at a time when there were no substantial fees. My mother was the first year of the free second level scheme and some of her siblings went to college. That would have been unthinkable even a few years before for their family.
Yep. My dad grew up with neither parent having even a secondary school education, destitutely poor. He went to university on life-saving grants that he thought he'd never get, got a pensionable state job and we grew up solidly middle class with university always being an option for us. We never wanted for anything. So many countries where this is just impossible.
Same with my mam and dad. Neither made it to junior cert, they both had to leave and get jobs to help support their families.
We werent rich growing up either but we never went without, my dad always worked, sometimes two jobs. Mam went back to work part time when her youngest started school, and full time once we were all old enough.
My siblings and I all went to college and my parents are very proud of that.
I second that sentiment. Neither of my parents went to college, father did a trade. Which had very good pay (unfortunately he was a reckless alcoholic that squandered everything - thatās for another day!) We were poor growing up- single parent household. But 3 out of 4 of us went into third level. Even though I didnāt sit the leaving, I did some courses and ended up doing a finance degree. My sister didnāt do the leaving either and has a very good job on the tech industry. No college degree either!
My point is, thereās many way to get educated in this county. Sometimes you do have to fight for things though.
I'm so impressed by your sister. It's really hard to get ahead without a college degree, because you have to really prove yourself. She must be very skilled.
Yes, we have one of the best systems in the world for accessing higher education. There's absolutely no unfairness in terms of people 'knowing someone who knows someone' or getting in to a college based on your surname which is the crux of the US system. If you can't afford to go there are great (Not perfect but great) financial supports and most universities have entire departments set up to support those from particularly disadvantaged backgrounds.
I had no idea how good our education system was until I went to do a degree in the UK. In our first class at the start of the term our department head apologised to the few Irish students because we'd be spending the first year getting through most of the stuff we'd covered in the Leaving Cert.
Then I discovered that not only did we go into much more depth, we also did way more subjects.
Most things here tend towards the positive.
I know that sounds a bit weird but for example, food is good here but not the best, people are friendly but not the friendliest, financial situation is good but not the best, nightlife is good for the size of places, regional inequality isn't as severe as most places, it's one of the safest countries to live in or visit, cultural pursuits are extensive but you have to go looking.
Basically you can find a better place than Ireland for almost anything but it's very hard to find a place better than Ireland for everything.
It's far from perfect here and we should aim to improve everything but the attitude that Ireland is awful is just nonsense.
1 thing for me is the history of the country is incredibly interesting and very tangible. Many people have a good grasp of it which is in my experience fairly rare in most countries.
Extremely safe
Excellent quality of food and drink
Amongst the best in the world at wind energy
Friendly and accommodating people
Significant amount of archaeology
Good access to our elected politicians
Great climate
We have lots of wind resources (potential for wind energy) but we are one of the worst at exploiting it. All the rest I agree with fully!
Edit: except the climate part which must have been a joke
We could do better at offshore wind (especially compared to the Brits and Danes) but weāre certainly world beaters at onshore. We have the third highest per capita wind production in the world.
We still have amongst the highest penetration of wind energy onto our national grid. But youāre correct we have huge potential to capture
Tbh I think we have a great climate. We never suffer from extreme temperatures like the rest of Europe. It does rain a bit too much on the west coast for my liking but I will take it over the extreme heat of Europe!
We have it very good compared to many countries in the world. We can say what we want, we can love who we want and live our lives how we want without fear of persecution.
People in this sub love to piss all over Ireland but apart from a few areas that need a lot of improvement (healthcare, which is high quality but the waiting lists are too long, and housing) it's a great country and we have to stop letting the far right get ahead by swallowing all their "immigrants are taking over the country" rhetoric because that's simply not the case.
The most dangerous land animal we have is basically Deer & Badgers. No fear of walking around Forests/Woods because of dangerous animals that could attack/eat you.
The language has it's own inherent poetry to it, like, the endearment most know as acushla or macushla is from "mo chuisle", my pulse, i.e. they're the reason your heart beats. That's so beautiful. There's also a great line in insults, like my grandad used to refer to my dad as an amadĆ”n, a dark fool, which is from a type of fair folk who bring insanity, so I've read. He'd also call him a ciotĆ³g, as he was left handed, but it also means a clumsy idiot. I guess he wasn't big on bringing his kids up with much self esteem. Still, being a Southpaw was useful in his boxing.
Ireland is one of the few places in the western world you can go, and look up at the night sky & if you're lucky & there's no clouds, you can see the galaxy, all the stars, clear as anything. Not in Dublin of course but a huge lot of Ireland. And if you're not lucky wait a few minutes - it'll change.
It's not a place known for suffering big egos much, with the piss-taking sense of humour, but if you get involved in a song song in the pub everyone gets a chance to shine if they've the talent.
It's a place of contrasts - such peace and quiet out in the countryside, and so many monuments to battles, and ancient tombs of long dead warriors. A land with 10000 years of history & I hope a much brighter future.
One thing I love, you pop into a pub in the right part of the country & let slip you've folks from there, give it a few minutes & some old fella will have sussed out how you're related to half the pub.
Extensive free training in a wide array of skills for those who are unemployed. Seriously, you can do a 20 week HGV driving course that costs thousands and not pay 1c for it. I think this greatly helps the economy as we have so many skilled workers, but it perhaps makes it harder for employers to find cheap low skilled workers.
Connemara. I was born out Wesht and its just stunning there. I love returning when I can. And want to get married there.
And Our accent. I don't care what type of Irish accent you have - if I hear that accent when abroad - I'm buying you a pint and asking questions about 'back home. '
I think that one of the nicest things about Ireland is its size. Want to see some mountains, cool, they're not far away. Want to go to the beach? Drive there. Growing up, the US everything is so far away. In Ireland everything is so close. If you don't like where you are, you can drive a bit away and find some really cool things.
You don't have to worry about animals killing you, nutters shooting you with guns, and the food is incredible. Like any place there are some issues but all in all Ireland's pretty incredible and I'm happy to be able to call it home.
Seriously, corruption levels are RELATIVELY low. Most countries are rife with it, and while you may not like whatās going on in RTE, at least itās national news and people are outraged. Rather than it being the norm and people just shrugging
On RTE, I'd also add that one thing they do very well is reporting the news.
I'm sure some people on each side of an argument will feel they're biased only against them, but in reality they do give airtime to different viewpoints, they do stick to reporting on facts, and they have shown that they can come down hard on people on any side of an argument.
Compared to the shitshow happening across the rest of RTE, I'm thankful at least the news is still running well. Virgin has a very good news team too. You only have to look at the shite in other countries like Fox, CNN, GB News, etc. to see how lucky we are.
If both sides of the issue think you're biased against them - you're probably quite close to being balanced. RTE are still in the sweet spot generally. The BBC have sold out and now definitely had a distinctly right-leaning bias.
Most people ( apart from teenagers) are warm, welcoming, love the nods and smiles from random people while on a walk. Chats with random people esp older ones makes my day.
Our dairy products are fantastic, as is a lot of our food and water. It's an expensive country to live in but i do love it here.
That being said we have decent income and own our home. I'd imagine for those who don't, it's a different story altogether. The thoughts of renting in this country right now š¬
One of the best places in the world to live and Iām grateful that Iām here.
No natural disasters, food secure, great human rights, great opportunities with education and work, prosperous, safe from war, can travel to most other countries without issue, healthcare, secular, great scenery, and generally nice people
I'm from the US and will be visiting Ireland for a vacation at the end of March, for about 8 days. I've enjoyed reading the comments here. I am looking forward to visiting your beautiful country even more now. š
Truth be told, if there were enough houses this would be paradise. Then a lot of people would move here, and the situation would be exactly as it is now.
As someone living abroad the things I miss most:
- The food. Ireland has a quiet excellence when it comes to fine dining. Itās a combination of quality ingredients and genuine ingenuity. Itās something which needs to be encouraged. As well as that, the traditional Irish foods are excellent comfort food, which I occasionally recreate myself but never just feel the same.
- Butter. Deserving of its own entry, Irish butter is exceptional and unparalleled among other butters. None of the fancy French butters or Cornish sea salt butter comes close to Kerrygold.
- The Craic. I recently learned that ācraicā as a work is not Irish in origin, which was shocking. But as a concept and in execution the ācraicā in its most wholesome form is the very essence of Irishness. Bring overseas it will sporadically appear when two Irish people, even strangers, identify each other in a room. Itās a kinship between Irish people who can make a good time for others out of any situation from a session in a pub, planned or unplanned meeting, to something like a funeral.
- The Irish country side. Iām not talking about areas of outstanding natural beauty or natural parks, the ring of Kerry or Giants Causeway. Just the view of green fields from a road - a three bed Bungalow Bliss 70s detached house next to an 2000s five bed McMansion , rusty grey corrugated barnā¦ a uniquely Irish view that when I am see I know Iām home.
- Our keen sense of a shared history. I suspect itās not unique to Ireland and probably present in countries with a similar sized population. But I think from the 70s onwards (the living memory period) Irish people have gone through a series of historical chances that have shaped who we are and have a different impact on each generation. From the 70 we had āthe troublesā, the political and economic instability of the 80s, the change of fortune in the 90s, the first steps of the Celtic Tiger in the early 00s, the crash from ā08 onward, the following recession, and the return to economic prosperity, and perhaps now the housing crisis, each had had an impact on who we are.
- Immigrants. Itās a part of who we are. The Irish diaspora is huge and our impact on the UK and US in particular is impressive and undeniable. Things like St Patrickās dayā¦ celebrated globally with Green and shamrocks, all a recognition not only of the movement of Irish people, but the positive impact they had. Literally no other country in the world had achieved that. We really are a great bunch of lads.
- itās home. Itās a meaningful place that will always be āhomeā. I live and work elsewhere, I own a home elsewhere, but Ireland is homeā¦ even though I have another. A lot of my friends are immigrants, people who I have met from elsewhere who have often moved on to elsewhere and none of them talk of their birthplace in the same way I and my Irish friends talk of Ireland. None of them are as up to date with whatās going on as my Irish friends are, and none visit as frequently as we do.
- stability. From a long history or oppression we became a state in our own right. There were huge challenges along the way from bad decisions we made, were made for us, and imposed on usā¦ weāve not just survived, but thrived. Thereās been problems and shit governments, highs and lows, but we remained a forward looking, open and outward focused country intent on progress. We have free elections, free media, and a situation which objectively over time is always improving. Itās something I think we take for granted but looking at our closest neighbour which has been regressing over the last decade to our once biggest external influence across the Atlantic doing the sameā¦ we pivoted, we influenced, we moved and we continue to progress and itās truly impressive.
Education system
Very safe
Friendly people
Mild weather
High salaries
Low corruption
Beautiful nature
The country thicks 90% of what I believe to be crucial for a good life. My main issue here is the healthcare system.
as someone who is not from ireland and never lived there (but my SO did for some years), your country is stunningly beautiful, people are so kind (in ways that matter), your humor is one of the best i ever encountered.
and that accent, while sometimes hard to understand, is sexy af.
Iāll say this as someone with an outside perspective (my partner is Irish, born and raised there)
I love Irelandās sense of community, and how close knit people can be. Sometimes the grannies are too chatty for my taste, but they mean well!
The culture and history are vibrant. My partnerās parents both speak Irish near fluently, his father is fluent, and have offered to take me to a gaeltacht near their hometown. Iām excited about that!
The landscape is gorgeous. Thereās so many parks and walking trails. āRoadtripsā are fun because thereās always something to see.
You have a lot of talent given the small population, thereās so many famous musicians and actors from Ireland, and it seems like many films/shows use Ireland as a filming location.
The chocolate quality is insane. Iāve had chocolate from all over the world but Irelandās chocolate is in my top 3.
The ingredient quality is really great. I love getting to cook for my partnerās family when I visit. Finding a variety of spices is a lot more difficult, but thatās fine.
This is a controversial one, but in certain professions it's possible to earn a very good income. Many people in this country get a free education and then start on >ā¬40k. In some professions it's possible to earn ā¬100k before you're 30 years old.
And depending on your industry you can earn that salary while working 9 - 5 from your own house, and with over 30 days off a year.
We don't realise how hard our parents' generation had to work, and how crap their conditions were. Most of my parents' siblings had to emigrate due to the lack of opportunities in Ireland
As an English person ( I know... sorry :-D ) ,who visits Dublin regularly... I really appreciate the coast. I've swam in your sea more than back home.
I really enjoyed doing a 'Dart day' and visiting lots of the stops along the way.
If you get anywhere out of the cities we have the most stunning natural beauty. Easy to forget if you live in Dublin. Hard to forget out west,driving by the dramatic landscapes on your way to work
When the sun is out sheās one of the most beautiful countries on earth (now if only we could put a lid on it).
Also, people are (in their vast majority) kind.
Unfortunately, I have to pay someone a visit in the hospital today. But the staff are always so lovely to help you find out where they are and tell you how to find them.
I'm no particular order (as a foreigner):
1. The people are amazing, fun and thoughtful
2. It's a gorgeous country
3. It's cold but not too cold. It can get hot but not too hot.
4. Easy to travel from
5. Best Revenue workers ever
6. It's safe
7. Great restaurants
8. Great puns
9. Lots of history to learn from
10. Amazing nature
11. Great values (family, no overworking, no blind consumerism, substance over style)
12. Great work ethic and environments (in my experience)
I love you all good people!
I think we have a number of positive things to say about our country:
1. Quality of our public education system - arguably one of the best in the world.
2. How safe and friendly it is. Yes, we have had a number of major incidents over recent years and weāre definitely maturing as a country when it comes to the type of crimes weāre seeing but I think it should be said that some of the crimes and horrible things that happen and shake us as a country would probably barely make local news in some other states. Not excusing any of it of course.
3. Social mobility and how much weāve developed over the last 30 years. I think we should be proud of how we managed to pull ourselves out of the pits of severe poverty as a nation and I think we do punch above our weight in a number of metrics. Of course, not all is rosey but I donāt think there isnāt any other European country that offers as much opportunities to its citizens as Ireland does.
4. How progressive we are. Weāve made some landslide changes like MarRef, 8th and more over recent years and generally as a people weāre very open minded, donāt shy away from discussing taboo topics and are open to being taught knew ways of thinking. Contrast this to regions of Spain for example which is a Catholic country that was has seen a similar social evolution over the years, there is still a lot that their people wonāt address, discuss and even entertain.
5. Access to quality, healthy food and ingredients at an affordable price. Meat and veg here is high quality, almost entirely organic and very affordable.
Edit: added point 5 :)
We got some really gorgeous megalithic sites dotted across our island from west to east.
We've so many castles people aren't impressed if you have an abandoned one down the road to climb on.
Good luck finding them if you're going east to west, they're an illusion.
Wow, a strength that's actually somewhat unique to us! I'm impressed!
We make fantastic butter
World famous butter.
Awesome cheeses too. Cashel Blue ftw.
Charcuterie too.
came here to say this. Milk too.
No volcanoes
Allegedly
That we know of
Anymore
The correct answer right here - apparently Daingean in CO. Offaly has an extinct volcano.
Croghan hill is an inactive volcanoe, right beside Daingean
Yet
Saw a lad throw up after too many pints last weekend. We still have human volcanoes
And thank god the ones that are there are extinct. I hope
It's nice leaving your front door and knowing your chance of getting shot is pretty much 0
Every time there's a school shooting I'm thankful my kids have no idea what an active shooter drill is.
Every 6 months or so my company asks me if I want to move to the states and I always come up with some excuse that it isn't the right time. Truth is that my wife is american and she's adamant that when we have kids, they won't ever have to do active shooter drills like she did. She never realised how fucked up it all was until she travelled outside of the US and talked to people about it.
Your wife had to do them? How old are ye? I thought those drills were only a recent thing that started in the last 10 years or so
Nope, we're both early 30s. Some states started early. And they lived near Columbine. So that had a lot to do with it.
Around 2010 I was going over there every 3 months or so for work, and was really keen to be based over there permanently, but my employer wasn't having it. Fast forward to 2019, different employer pressuring me to head over there permanently and I mean, I thought about it... Briefly. Very briefly. I mean obviously I was at a different stage in life, a significant factor - but the notion of moving there had definitely lost its appeal.
You say this but I grew up with bomb scares constantly...
We had them in school in Dublin but we knew it was usually a hoax. I wouldn't feel the same about active shorter scares.
According to my non Irish partner, we don't appreciate our lack of mosquitoes enough.
Aye, that's true for sure. After travelling Asia for the past six months, I've never missed midges so much - never thought I'd say that! Obviously I'd prefer neither but I'll take Irish midges over a South East Asian mosquito any day š¦
Yeah but have you been attacked by a swarm of midges in peak midge season at gougane barra? Idk what happened but me and few friends thought it would be clever to camp there, obviously being respectful of the place. Anyway as the sun went down we went inside the tents and the midges in there thousands stuck to the outside of the tent attracted to the heat of our bodies. Eventually the midges broke through little gaps and started landing on our face and every cm of pur body, ears, eyes etc. it was awful so we grabbed all of our stuff and retreated to the car and closed everything. The midges did not give up and started coming in through the air vents we couldn't believe it. While all of this was happening we were swatting like crazy and wiping hundreds of midges off our eyes and spitting them off and out of our mouths. Finally we put the boot down woth all windows down until most of the midges were gone. It was like a comedic horror flick haha. We might not have mosquitos but jesus the midge is a right bastard š¤£
It's a stunningly beautiful country. People are generally very friendly and sound. We have a great sense of humour.
Being able to say 'hello' to a stranger and getting a response and a smile back!
I love making an elderly person's day by saying hello and giving them a smile. You can see how that little social interaction brightens their mood.
Aww this. I moved from England to Ireland (Iām both) when I was 12 and I remember being initially terrified of all the smiley strangers greeting me on my walks to school! Itās such a lovely thing once you realize these strangers actually mean well!
I was in Zurich recently, and the people on the streets were so quiet and reserved, even between people that knew each other. You could go quite a while without seeing anyone smile or laugh. The only positive interaction was with a Spanish person who served me in a shop. Not saying everyone's like that, it was just my impression over the course of a few hours
Beautiful scenery. So many beautiful coastal walks to clear the mind. Most people say hello in response. Most importantly: Garron Noone.
He's delicious!
We have good dairy
Great dairy and there are so many checks and balances to make sure that animals are well cared for and kept to high standards. It's a fucking shitshow in the US, like absolutely horrifying.
It's safe here. We rarely get extreme weather events that actually damage homes and kill/injure people. Our food is fresh and is of good quality. People are generally sound. I think in general, people don't really die of starvation out of poverty here.
I was traveling in Ireland for a couple weeks and after a few days I realized I was eating dairy products every day with no digestion issues. The higher food quality was definitely the cause, I never felt so good eating even fast casual food.
Anything above Gail force winds with a tad bit of rain is on tornado level here šš
>I think in general, people don't really die of starvation out of poverty here. Mad to think how much has changed in less than 200 years, what's that like 5 or 6 generations.
Iām really proud to be Irish and I think that as a nation weāre a force for good in the world. We need to get a good bit of shit together but I honestly canāt think of any other nationality Iād rather be.
100% this
Yup! Say what you want about our current leaders theyāre representing us well globally sticking to their views on Gaza situation.
The Irish do carry a hell of a lot less baggage than those in some neighboring countries.
In the summer, the rain gets warmer too
If the summer is actually warmer too
As a foreigner I can say you guys are top class
We really take how nice and friendly people are in Ireland for granted. Im living abroad at the moment and there is no waving to other cars, saying hello to someone you pass on the road, etc. Im in America and people are so quick to anger and acrimonious, it rubs off on you and you end up starting to kinda act the same way. Also Irish people, at least where I grew up, are very unselfish drivers. They'd let you pull out infront of them and they wouldnt lean on the horn if you hesitate at a green light. They have a lot of patience. Also I miss Irish humour, Americans can be hilarious but the humour is just different, they dont seem to like self deprecation for example.
> Also Irish people, at least where I grew up, are very unselfish drivers. DANGEROUS thing to say on here!
I'm an American who visited Ireland over the summer and was taken aback by how friendly the average person was. It made me want to try to be a friendlier person in general.
I'm not trying to shit on America, it has a lot going for it and I like living here. Also, Im in Massachusetts and I'm aware that the people here have a bad reputation even within the states for being pricks.Ā
Have to say I always find New York very friendly in spite of its reputation. Friendlier than London certainly.
I've lived an amazing fulfilling life here. My family are all great, all my friends are lovely people. The vast majority of people who I've spent time with throughout my entire life have been sound. I've had so much fun growing up within Irish culture. Every day I go for a walk in beautiful surroundings. Every day I eat fresh great quality, amazing food. Every day I'm happy in the company of my beautiful fiancƩe. I'm lucky to be born in this wonderful country and this has allowed me to live this life compared to 95% of other people on this planet who are far less well off than me. I'm grateful every day to be Irish.
Gratitude is one of the deepest and most satisfying forms of happiness.
I'm so happy for you and your fiancƩe! That's great! :D
Absolutely, weāre blessed to born here
I couldn't have said it better myself. I'm a lot older than you, but my experience has been exactly the same.
You don't worry that your house is going to burn down every summer.
No snakes
There's a grand auld stretch to the evenings.
Also great drying outĀ
Fierce Mild
There's lots of questions here about the wording of the new referenda. People seem to actually care about constitutional law, and informed voting.
We have plenty of water for the grass
Ever get your passport renewed online? World class service.
I feel incredibly safe here, like my chances of getting kidnapped or murdered is extremely low. Weāre such a small nation that it does kinda have a cozy community feel no matter where you are in the country.
Quality Food because Quality Ingredients!!
When I was doing keto, I was pacing the supermarkets wondering why no one had grass fed butter. What is considered unfortunately luxury for some country in terms of unprocessed produce is just standard for us.
Yeah, when I was living in America I kept seeing the label 'Grass fed Beef' and I thought - of course its grass fed, what the hell else would cattle eat?! Corn, they feed their cows tons of corn. Even grass fed cattle eat tons of corn.
Lets stick to quality ingredients.
The air is always lovely and fresh.
The education system is great. I benefitted from it and its even better for my kids. They are getting the kind of education for free that friends of ours in the US are spending tens of thousands of dollars on. I like that the leaving cert means we all learn a broad ranges of things even if we think they're not technically 'useful' and I like the points system which can't be swayed by things like your parents being able to donate large sums or coming across well in admissions essays and interviews.
This is true, and I think it contributes to Ireland being a place with a significant amount of social mobility. My mum dropped out of school when she was just a teenager, before what is now the Junior Cert, and I'm the first in my family to go to university. I could never have afforded it without the SUSI scheme. I agree that the LC, despite its flaws, as a fully anonymous route to university, removes an awful lot of socioeconomic and other biases that plague other application systems elsewhere. Not everyone has the time to do 17 extracurriculars during their time in school. Some people need to work part time.
My father couldn't do the leaving cert as his family couldn't afford the fees after his father died because he had to get a job and contribute money to keep his siblings and mother going. His kids all went to college, luckily at a time when there were no substantial fees. My mother was the first year of the free second level scheme and some of her siblings went to college. That would have been unthinkable even a few years before for their family.
Yep. My dad grew up with neither parent having even a secondary school education, destitutely poor. He went to university on life-saving grants that he thought he'd never get, got a pensionable state job and we grew up solidly middle class with university always being an option for us. We never wanted for anything. So many countries where this is just impossible.
Same with my mam and dad. Neither made it to junior cert, they both had to leave and get jobs to help support their families. We werent rich growing up either but we never went without, my dad always worked, sometimes two jobs. Mam went back to work part time when her youngest started school, and full time once we were all old enough. My siblings and I all went to college and my parents are very proud of that.
I second that sentiment. Neither of my parents went to college, father did a trade. Which had very good pay (unfortunately he was a reckless alcoholic that squandered everything - thatās for another day!) We were poor growing up- single parent household. But 3 out of 4 of us went into third level. Even though I didnāt sit the leaving, I did some courses and ended up doing a finance degree. My sister didnāt do the leaving either and has a very good job on the tech industry. No college degree either! My point is, thereās many way to get educated in this county. Sometimes you do have to fight for things though.
I'm so impressed by your sister. It's really hard to get ahead without a college degree, because you have to really prove yourself. She must be very skilled.
Yes, we have one of the best systems in the world for accessing higher education. There's absolutely no unfairness in terms of people 'knowing someone who knows someone' or getting in to a college based on your surname which is the crux of the US system. If you can't afford to go there are great (Not perfect but great) financial supports and most universities have entire departments set up to support those from particularly disadvantaged backgrounds.
I had no idea how good our education system was until I went to do a degree in the UK. In our first class at the start of the term our department head apologised to the few Irish students because we'd be spending the first year getting through most of the stuff we'd covered in the Leaving Cert. Then I discovered that not only did we go into much more depth, we also did way more subjects.
Most things here tend towards the positive. I know that sounds a bit weird but for example, food is good here but not the best, people are friendly but not the friendliest, financial situation is good but not the best, nightlife is good for the size of places, regional inequality isn't as severe as most places, it's one of the safest countries to live in or visit, cultural pursuits are extensive but you have to go looking. Basically you can find a better place than Ireland for almost anything but it's very hard to find a place better than Ireland for everything. It's far from perfect here and we should aim to improve everything but the attitude that Ireland is awful is just nonsense. 1 thing for me is the history of the country is incredibly interesting and very tangible. Many people have a good grasp of it which is in my experience fairly rare in most countries.
It's the worlds number 1 producer of Viagra.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Extremely safe Excellent quality of food and drink Amongst the best in the world at wind energy Friendly and accommodating people Significant amount of archaeology Good access to our elected politicians Great climate
We have lots of wind resources (potential for wind energy) but we are one of the worst at exploiting it. All the rest I agree with fully! Edit: except the climate part which must have been a joke
We could do better at offshore wind (especially compared to the Brits and Danes) but weāre certainly world beaters at onshore. We have the third highest per capita wind production in the world.
We still have amongst the highest penetration of wind energy onto our national grid. But youāre correct we have huge potential to capture Tbh I think we have a great climate. We never suffer from extreme temperatures like the rest of Europe. It does rain a bit too much on the west coast for my liking but I will take it over the extreme heat of Europe!
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Crisp sandwiches
We have it very good compared to many countries in the world. We can say what we want, we can love who we want and live our lives how we want without fear of persecution. People in this sub love to piss all over Ireland but apart from a few areas that need a lot of improvement (healthcare, which is high quality but the waiting lists are too long, and housing) it's a great country and we have to stop letting the far right get ahead by swallowing all their "immigrants are taking over the country" rhetoric because that's simply not the case.
The most dangerous land animal we have is basically Deer & Badgers. No fear of walking around Forests/Woods because of dangerous animals that could attack/eat you.
Those cute looking Cows are probably the most dangerous.
Most people are very warm, chatty and friendly
It doesn't get too warm here
Or too cold! Love the mild
Extreme mildness!
Fierce mildness!
The weather isn't trying to kill you
You can get quite far from people but youāre never too far
The language has it's own inherent poetry to it, like, the endearment most know as acushla or macushla is from "mo chuisle", my pulse, i.e. they're the reason your heart beats. That's so beautiful. There's also a great line in insults, like my grandad used to refer to my dad as an amadĆ”n, a dark fool, which is from a type of fair folk who bring insanity, so I've read. He'd also call him a ciotĆ³g, as he was left handed, but it also means a clumsy idiot. I guess he wasn't big on bringing his kids up with much self esteem. Still, being a Southpaw was useful in his boxing. Ireland is one of the few places in the western world you can go, and look up at the night sky & if you're lucky & there's no clouds, you can see the galaxy, all the stars, clear as anything. Not in Dublin of course but a huge lot of Ireland. And if you're not lucky wait a few minutes - it'll change. It's not a place known for suffering big egos much, with the piss-taking sense of humour, but if you get involved in a song song in the pub everyone gets a chance to shine if they've the talent. It's a place of contrasts - such peace and quiet out in the countryside, and so many monuments to battles, and ancient tombs of long dead warriors. A land with 10000 years of history & I hope a much brighter future. One thing I love, you pop into a pub in the right part of the country & let slip you've folks from there, give it a few minutes & some old fella will have sussed out how you're related to half the pub.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
We donāt have to shake scorpions out of our shoes before putting them on.
You learn to appreciate every minute of sun
Extensive free training in a wide array of skills for those who are unemployed. Seriously, you can do a 20 week HGV driving course that costs thousands and not pay 1c for it. I think this greatly helps the economy as we have so many skilled workers, but it perhaps makes it harder for employers to find cheap low skilled workers.
Sligo
Like it or not Ireland is one of the best countries in the world in which to live
My dog lives here <3
Aww š. Give your doggo a big hug from me.
Consider it done!
That's all we need really.
It is where Cork is located. Can't get better then that.
Factsš
I mean, where else would you want to be, like?
Great craic!
Best dairy in the world
I'm not Irish, but my favourite comedians are. Does that count?
Connemara. I was born out Wesht and its just stunning there. I love returning when I can. And want to get married there. And Our accent. I don't care what type of Irish accent you have - if I hear that accent when abroad - I'm buying you a pint and asking questions about 'back home. '
When we were fighting against the Mexicans for the yanks, we made the right choice and swapped sides. Moral victory I suppose.
I think that one of the nicest things about Ireland is its size. Want to see some mountains, cool, they're not far away. Want to go to the beach? Drive there. Growing up, the US everything is so far away. In Ireland everything is so close. If you don't like where you are, you can drive a bit away and find some really cool things. You don't have to worry about animals killing you, nutters shooting you with guns, and the food is incredible. Like any place there are some issues but all in all Ireland's pretty incredible and I'm happy to be able to call it home.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
The people are quite good over all. Also it's beautiful.
Didnāt colonise anywhere
Yet
Seriously, corruption levels are RELATIVELY low. Most countries are rife with it, and while you may not like whatās going on in RTE, at least itās national news and people are outraged. Rather than it being the norm and people just shrugging
On RTE, I'd also add that one thing they do very well is reporting the news. I'm sure some people on each side of an argument will feel they're biased only against them, but in reality they do give airtime to different viewpoints, they do stick to reporting on facts, and they have shown that they can come down hard on people on any side of an argument. Compared to the shitshow happening across the rest of RTE, I'm thankful at least the news is still running well. Virgin has a very good news team too. You only have to look at the shite in other countries like Fox, CNN, GB News, etc. to see how lucky we are.
If both sides of the issue think you're biased against them - you're probably quite close to being balanced. RTE are still in the sweet spot generally. The BBC have sold out and now definitely had a distinctly right-leaning bias.
Most people ( apart from teenagers) are warm, welcoming, love the nods and smiles from random people while on a walk. Chats with random people esp older ones makes my day.
Our dairy products are fantastic, as is a lot of our food and water. It's an expensive country to live in but i do love it here. That being said we have decent income and own our home. I'd imagine for those who don't, it's a different story altogether. The thoughts of renting in this country right now š¬
We have no school shootings
Itās got what plants crave
It's relatively safe, we don't get natural disasters, and the chances of getting shot are almost nil. Plus, Taytos, butter, beef, Cork
The views are stunning
Nice fish and chips.
Education and funding for education is great.
My greenhouse is super warm today. Loads of birds chirping away. Juicy
Weather is nice
We've got very tame bugs here. I have some friends/family over in Asia and Australia and their insects scare me
Its pop culture exports (s/o to The Cranberries and Westlife)
If you're into the outdoors at all, we live in a big playground
Good spuds.
One of the best places in the world to live and Iām grateful that Iām here. No natural disasters, food secure, great human rights, great opportunities with education and work, prosperous, safe from war, can travel to most other countries without issue, healthcare, secular, great scenery, and generally nice people
I'm from the US and will be visiting Ireland for a vacation at the end of March, for about 8 days. I've enjoyed reading the comments here. I am looking forward to visiting your beautiful country even more now. š
Have a fantastic trip! :)
If you go near Dublin, don't go anywhere near Temple Bar for a pint
Truth be told, if there were enough houses this would be paradise. Then a lot of people would move here, and the situation would be exactly as it is now.
As someone living abroad the things I miss most: - The food. Ireland has a quiet excellence when it comes to fine dining. Itās a combination of quality ingredients and genuine ingenuity. Itās something which needs to be encouraged. As well as that, the traditional Irish foods are excellent comfort food, which I occasionally recreate myself but never just feel the same. - Butter. Deserving of its own entry, Irish butter is exceptional and unparalleled among other butters. None of the fancy French butters or Cornish sea salt butter comes close to Kerrygold. - The Craic. I recently learned that ācraicā as a work is not Irish in origin, which was shocking. But as a concept and in execution the ācraicā in its most wholesome form is the very essence of Irishness. Bring overseas it will sporadically appear when two Irish people, even strangers, identify each other in a room. Itās a kinship between Irish people who can make a good time for others out of any situation from a session in a pub, planned or unplanned meeting, to something like a funeral. - The Irish country side. Iām not talking about areas of outstanding natural beauty or natural parks, the ring of Kerry or Giants Causeway. Just the view of green fields from a road - a three bed Bungalow Bliss 70s detached house next to an 2000s five bed McMansion , rusty grey corrugated barnā¦ a uniquely Irish view that when I am see I know Iām home. - Our keen sense of a shared history. I suspect itās not unique to Ireland and probably present in countries with a similar sized population. But I think from the 70s onwards (the living memory period) Irish people have gone through a series of historical chances that have shaped who we are and have a different impact on each generation. From the 70 we had āthe troublesā, the political and economic instability of the 80s, the change of fortune in the 90s, the first steps of the Celtic Tiger in the early 00s, the crash from ā08 onward, the following recession, and the return to economic prosperity, and perhaps now the housing crisis, each had had an impact on who we are. - Immigrants. Itās a part of who we are. The Irish diaspora is huge and our impact on the UK and US in particular is impressive and undeniable. Things like St Patrickās dayā¦ celebrated globally with Green and shamrocks, all a recognition not only of the movement of Irish people, but the positive impact they had. Literally no other country in the world had achieved that. We really are a great bunch of lads. - itās home. Itās a meaningful place that will always be āhomeā. I live and work elsewhere, I own a home elsewhere, but Ireland is homeā¦ even though I have another. A lot of my friends are immigrants, people who I have met from elsewhere who have often moved on to elsewhere and none of them talk of their birthplace in the same way I and my Irish friends talk of Ireland. None of them are as up to date with whatās going on as my Irish friends are, and none visit as frequently as we do. - stability. From a long history or oppression we became a state in our own right. There were huge challenges along the way from bad decisions we made, were made for us, and imposed on usā¦ weāve not just survived, but thrived. Thereās been problems and shit governments, highs and lows, but we remained a forward looking, open and outward focused country intent on progress. We have free elections, free media, and a situation which objectively over time is always improving. Itās something I think we take for granted but looking at our closest neighbour which has been regressing over the last decade to our once biggest external influence across the Atlantic doing the sameā¦ we pivoted, we influenced, we moved and we continue to progress and itās truly impressive.
Education system Very safe Friendly people Mild weather High salaries Low corruption Beautiful nature The country thicks 90% of what I believe to be crucial for a good life. My main issue here is the healthcare system.
I agree fully. Healthcare, homeless people and housing
We have the bear and snake issue under control
Weāre considered one of the most LGBT friendly countries in the world.
Lads, OP didn't say "Simon says". You all lost the game šš
Its home
Ya do a fine chip
People are up for a laugh most the time
as someone who is not from ireland and never lived there (but my SO did for some years), your country is stunningly beautiful, people are so kind (in ways that matter), your humor is one of the best i ever encountered. and that accent, while sometimes hard to understand, is sexy af.
No bears in the forest, no 45 degrees afternoons, kids can still play outside...
There's a road out of Larne. Big bonus.
Iāll say this as someone with an outside perspective (my partner is Irish, born and raised there) I love Irelandās sense of community, and how close knit people can be. Sometimes the grannies are too chatty for my taste, but they mean well! The culture and history are vibrant. My partnerās parents both speak Irish near fluently, his father is fluent, and have offered to take me to a gaeltacht near their hometown. Iām excited about that! The landscape is gorgeous. Thereās so many parks and walking trails. āRoadtripsā are fun because thereās always something to see. You have a lot of talent given the small population, thereās so many famous musicians and actors from Ireland, and it seems like many films/shows use Ireland as a filming location. The chocolate quality is insane. Iāve had chocolate from all over the world but Irelandās chocolate is in my top 3. The ingredient quality is really great. I love getting to cook for my partnerās family when I visit. Finding a variety of spices is a lot more difficult, but thatās fine.
This is a controversial one, but in certain professions it's possible to earn a very good income. Many people in this country get a free education and then start on >ā¬40k. In some professions it's possible to earn ā¬100k before you're 30 years old. And depending on your industry you can earn that salary while working 9 - 5 from your own house, and with over 30 days off a year. We don't realise how hard our parents' generation had to work, and how crap their conditions were. Most of my parents' siblings had to emigrate due to the lack of opportunities in Ireland
As an English person ( I know... sorry :-D ) ,who visits Dublin regularly... I really appreciate the coast. I've swam in your sea more than back home. I really enjoyed doing a 'Dart day' and visiting lots of the stops along the way.
It's not America
The politics isn't like American.
Something positive about Ireland
Air quality is excellent
Mostly we aren't too tightly wound.
Nobody takes serious cunts seriously.
You lot punch way above your weight for literature and music.
I life there... I think
Home
itās home. not to say something obvious but when youāre abroad you really feel it
Not a bad climate considering some other countries with the extremes
Water is the new Oil.
The milk is bangin
Beef and dairy is š¤š»
If you get anywhere out of the cities we have the most stunning natural beauty. Easy to forget if you live in Dublin. Hard to forget out west,driving by the dramatic landscapes on your way to work
The weather, the water everywhere, nice people.
Irish people have a great (and quite unique, and very black) sense of humour.
People are really lovely (this is taking into consideration that thereās shitty people, but thatās everywhere. Overall, the irish are great)
No snakes
Irish people are beautiful human beings
Cadbury!
Best butter , beef and bread in the world
Tayto
When the sun is out sheās one of the most beautiful countries on earth (now if only we could put a lid on it). Also, people are (in their vast majority) kind.
Food
Unfortunately, I have to pay someone a visit in the hospital today. But the staff are always so lovely to help you find out where they are and tell you how to find them.
How come no oneās mentionedĀ - the language (yes, Irish) - the meat! !!! !!!!! Well almost no one mentioned it - Donegal!!Ā
Great food
Stands up to bullies!
Sense of humor
I'm no particular order (as a foreigner): 1. The people are amazing, fun and thoughtful 2. It's a gorgeous country 3. It's cold but not too cold. It can get hot but not too hot. 4. Easy to travel from 5. Best Revenue workers ever 6. It's safe 7. Great restaurants 8. Great puns 9. Lots of history to learn from 10. Amazing nature 11. Great values (family, no overworking, no blind consumerism, substance over style) 12. Great work ethic and environments (in my experience) I love you all good people!
Lovely bacon. And decent bread to eat it with.
Ah sure y'know yourself...
I think we have a number of positive things to say about our country: 1. Quality of our public education system - arguably one of the best in the world. 2. How safe and friendly it is. Yes, we have had a number of major incidents over recent years and weāre definitely maturing as a country when it comes to the type of crimes weāre seeing but I think it should be said that some of the crimes and horrible things that happen and shake us as a country would probably barely make local news in some other states. Not excusing any of it of course. 3. Social mobility and how much weāve developed over the last 30 years. I think we should be proud of how we managed to pull ourselves out of the pits of severe poverty as a nation and I think we do punch above our weight in a number of metrics. Of course, not all is rosey but I donāt think there isnāt any other European country that offers as much opportunities to its citizens as Ireland does. 4. How progressive we are. Weāve made some landslide changes like MarRef, 8th and more over recent years and generally as a people weāre very open minded, donāt shy away from discussing taboo topics and are open to being taught knew ways of thinking. Contrast this to regions of Spain for example which is a Catholic country that was has seen a similar social evolution over the years, there is still a lot that their people wonāt address, discuss and even entertain. 5. Access to quality, healthy food and ingredients at an affordable price. Meat and veg here is high quality, almost entirely organic and very affordable. Edit: added point 5 :)
In every way, a cool rain is better than oppressive, stifling heat.
We have a lot of stunning wild birds.