DEFINE Galway. . .

ErnieBert

Mr Cork Man wrote: »

Waterford is the best city in ireland after cork.

Agreed.

However, Drogheda, Westport, Kilkenny, Tralee, Galway, Letterkenny, Wexford and Carlow are all ahead of Waterford (even if they arean't all categorised as cities). The population of Waterford city is decreasing and it will soon be a 'town'.

Seriously, Waterford is a dump.

Bass Cadet

Mr Cork Man wrote: »

Waterford is the best city in ireland after cork.

The problem with Cork is that it's full of Cork people - unfortunate

Mrs OBumble

[QUOTE=Cheeky_gal;58537065
1. How many days a week does it actually rain? Like I'm imagining a change of clothes like twice a day by the sounds of it!!

2. Are the people nice, sound, not stuck up? Would you get all that d4 aspect that you'd get in Dublin?
[/QUOTE]

5.287 overall. 5.284 in summer, 5.290 in winter.

Everywhere has it's share of nice, sound, stuck-up and not-stuck-up. It all depends on what you mean by "nice". G4 is a state of mind rather than a post-code, but it does exist (listen to the accents in the foyer of the Town Hall theatre when a particularly high-brow play is on).

Mr Cork Man

ErnieBert wrote: »

Agreed.

However, Drogheda, Westport, Kilkenny, Tralee, Galway, Letterkenny, Wexford and Carlow are all ahead of Waterford (even if they arean't all categorised as cities). The population of Waterford city is decreasing and it will soon be a 'town'.

Seriously, Waterford is a dump.

Waterford is irelands oldest city plus the city centre is bigger than galways.

Mr Cork Man

Bass Cadet wrote: »

The problem with Cork is that it's full of Cork people - unfortunate

And the problem with galway is that its full of people like you.:D

Hope this helps

Webbs

Moved here 3 years or so ago, from the sunny south East (of the UK that is) and expected it to be a lot wetter than it is (past 2 summers been crap but then that has applied everywhere), what you do get is a lot more showers that tend to blow over quickly, hence the high number of days of rainfall.

I am also not in my 20s anymore so nightclubs arent really my thing, but Galway is fantastic for pubs, a reputation well deserved.

Would disagree with another poster who pointed out if that isnt what you want then there is nothing to do in Galway, you just need out go out and find it, not expect it to fall into your lap.

There is a good diverse music scene in Galway city and county from trad through to rock, granted there arent many big names that come here but I like going to listen to smaller gigs, admittedly they are mainly in pubs but there are other places that have different stuff on.

As for the rest I have joined a couple of sports clubs, go to the theatre regularly seeing some excellent plays. Gone on organised walks around Connemara and the Burren, watch Connacht play rugby for my sins, and plenty more.
Of course that isnt including the numerous festivals that cater to everyone (literature, film, arts, etc).

For a city of its size it has more to offer than most, if your after amazing choice 365 days a year then of course Galway isnt going to give you that (you'd be better off going to London if thats what you want). As with most places there is plenty to do, its just some people wont get off their a***s and find it.

ScumLord

In Galway the answer to all your questions is, yes.



Unless it's sums, then the answers probably one.

cornbb

Galway is compact, wet, windy, friendly, cosy, safe, fun, beautiful, small, congested, messy, the graveyard of ambition, the gateway to connemara, damp, diverse, young, drunk, crusty, artistic, and it has an amazing selection of great pubs for a place its size.

louisecm

I moved to Galway from Dublin a year and a half ago for work. I love Dublin, and feel a genuine connection with the city, nowhere in Ireland will ever compare to it for me so I'm going to do the whole Dublin is better because thing but...

Galway is small, be prepared for that, the pubs and restaurants are nice, but you don't really have all that much choice. If you don't mind going to the same places all the time and therefore seeing a LOT of familiar faces, then you're sorted. I don't mind it, I have found my favourite spots and like getting to know the staff and things.

If you are in anyway hippily (yes, I just made that word up) inclined, then you are sorted. The crusties open their arms at the mere scent of a dreadlock, and are lovely for the most part, but if bongos and incense aren't your thing then that may be no good to you.

The people generally are very friendly, but it took me quite a while to make proper friends, I think that applies for any big move though.

I'm rambling all over the place here - Galway is lovely. You don't live in Ireland for the weather so I wouldn't let that be a factor in your decision, no matter where you live you have to deal with rain. The only drawback for me really is the size, I miss a bigger city. There is one other thing, and some people may disagree, I have found there is a bit of a Dublin people/ everyone else, divide. Its not that people aren't friendly, its just that there seem to genuinely be some almost cultural differences! Its not a big deal, but its there.

Good luck with your decision.

cornbb

louisecm wrote: »

I have found there is a bit of a Dublin people/ everyone else, divide. Its not that people aren't friendly, its just that there seem to genuinely be some almost cultural differences! Its not a big deal, but its there.

TBH I've never seen a Galway/Dublin rivalry in a big way in galway (except for maybe on this forum :pac:) but you are right, there is certainly a big cultural divide between Galway and Dublin: Galway people in general don't give a rats ass about how much you earn, what you wear, who your friends are etc. I can't speak for Dublin so much as I haven't lived there but I have a sense that many of the pressures of life in Dublin don't apply in Galway. I also think Galway is fairly at ease with its identity as a small city/large town on the outskirts of the country and it doesn't pretend to be anything its not. Having said that I'm sure the small size of Galway and its casual ways would not appeal to some people; horses for courses and all of that.

I don't think this divide takes the form of a rivalry in a big way, but its there alright.

citycentre

Galway for me is a great place to call home, it's definitely relaxed, has many simple pleasures that I haven't tired of in my 6 years of being here like walking across the Claddagh quay, the sound of the river, Shop St./High St./Quay St. on a nice day when its packed and takes two hours to traverse as you keep bumping into people you know... The pubs are great and by that I mean its a very easy place to get chatting to total randommers and make great friends as a result. Pretty good theatre scene whether as an audience member or as a participant and a reasonable music scene although Roisins seems to be going downhill on that front lately. It's far far from perfect and the lack of vision to make Galway a better place drives me mad sometimesHowever it's definitely a great place to live and have as a home base.

But, and it's a big but - If I wasn't able to escape pretty regularly, whether out to connemara (for a bit of peace) or over to London or any other proper big city (for a bit more liveliness and culture) reasonably often, Id probably go mad! Galway can sometimes feel small and lacking in the kind of variety of pursuits that a bigger city will obviously have. Still, no matter where I go I'm always glad to return to Galway so thats as good a "definition" as I can give I suppose...