Urban vs. Rural

scientific1982

maxxie wrote: »

Small town girls - not many of them, majority may be rotters, percentage may have gunner eye syndrome, all related ..

City girls - lots of them, better looking, more fashionable, mostly unrelated

Nah, the country girls win on the looks.

juma

feelingstressed wrote: »

Live rural, you must learn to drive or your quality of life is affected

You say that like its a bad thing. Thats one of the best things about rural Ireland compared to urban. Owing a car/driving. Many people in the city never even learn how to drive.

MultiUmm

Dudess wrote: »

Somewhere in between for me. Aspects of the countryside are unrivalled in my opinion - the peacefulness, the beauty of the scenery (although not all rural areas are scenic - e.g. parts of north county Cork), the walks in places with woodlands and lakes, etc, but a degree of hustle and bustle is nice too, and amenities being in close proximity. Plus, those merits of the countryside I mentioned are not so appealing during rainy, dark winter days.
Where I grew up (Inniscarra/Blarney area of Cork to be unspecific about it ) is all of the above - a bit too mad about the hurlin' for my liking, but otherwise, ideal. Plenty of amenities, plenty of housing developments, but fields and woodland too. And only about seven/eight miles from the centre of town; much closer again to larger suburbs like Ballincollig and Bishopstown.

The regional park in Ballincollig is a great example. A big woodland space but in walking distance from peoples houses. A nice happy medium. :pac:

Paparazzo

Rural is poxy. A house with a massive garden in a town is the way to go.

thetonynator

PrincessLola wrote: »

No. Personally I'd buy a big house in Dublin and another in London/New York. The country side needs cities for their shopping/work/university, cities don't need the country as much

bar that little issue of food . . .

Guill

When i go outside in the country i know when i smell **** in the air that it is there for a reason.

kowloon

rarnes1 wrote: »

When the price of a litre of fuel hits €2+ living in the country and comuting will begin to become less common.

I know people spending €100 + on car fuel a week :eek:

How long is that sustainable?

When the price reaches €2/l I plan on cutting one of the arms off my leather jacket and cruising up and down the back roads of Louth fending off gangs of punk raiders.

Dudess

Dudess wrote: »

Karsini, Dublin to Listowel? Ouch!

(I know Listowel, have relatives there, plus some friends from there).

Yep, you heard me! I know it's the same country and all but it was a culture shock. I moved from a school of 390 pupils to one of 47. The school didn't even have a telephone at the time and the principal was one of the two teachers. The GAA emphasis there is unreal, in secondary school I heard of some students getting away with murder because they played on the school's GAA football team. The accents also took some work to get used to and there's still some people there I have trouble understanding.

Not to mention some of the snide remarks I got over the years for being a "blow-in..."

VinnyTGM

I prefer rural living preferably away from towns, where you can do what you want in peace and quiet, no one else bothering you.

Mrmoe

It has to be the country for me. I grew up there and still try and spend as much time as I can there. That doesn't mean that there is a whole lot wrong with city life, just that the standard of living is much better in the country side. The more technology such as broadband technology advances the easier country life becomes.

CorkMan

One big plus in the countryside is you can grow your own weed all you want, and no-one bothers you.

Just a little backhander to the local Sergeant and you're on your way.

squod

mstan wrote: »

But in the city you are within walking distance of most amenities.

In the city you have no choice but to walk to most amenities. If you really, really want to spend your life driving over speed bumps and in-between traffic lights then yes, the city is for you.

WindSock

CorkMan wrote: »

Just a little backhander to the local Sergeant and you're on your way.

Yeah the unfortute thing about cities is most of the Gards are uptight jobsworths from the country :P

andrew163

Neither. Living in the (outer) suburbs of a large city (Dublin/Cork/Galway/etc) is the best of both worlds - it's nice and quiet with a decent amount of open space, but you're also not miles from most amenities, and it's relatively easy to get to the city centre if you need it.

jubella

I grew up in Dublin, and now live in a fairly small village in Kildare. I'm still young but I much prefer living outside Dublin. The noise would be a big factor in this! I never actually realised how noisy it was in Dublin until I moved here. Also, people are just friendlier in small towns/villages. That's my experience anyway.:)

mikom

kowloon wrote: »

When the price reaches €2/l I plan on cutting one of the arms off my leather jacket and cruising up and down the back roads of Louth fending off gangs of punk raiders.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ttKJwvFIgw

Sofaspud

I'd hate to live in the country. I live in Dublin now, about 30 minutes from the city centre and it's perfect, I find it just as "relaxed" as the country and close to all amenities, good public transport links etc.

I'm moving to a village in Cork soon where I spend a lot of time, it's a nice town with good amenities but I don't like it as much because it doesn't have good public transport and it's an hour from the city. I'm a (just outside of) city boy at heart.

My brother lives in the country, aka the "arse end of nowhere", I've spent a good bit of time there, and I find it really boring. Nothing to do outside the house, it's surrounded by fields and there's only so much "nature walks" you can do before it gets tiresome.

starbelgrade

Home is where the heart is.

Sugar Free

I have never experienced rural living but I don't need to to know it's not for me.

Increased crime and traffic aside, I like everything about living in a city and can't imagine not living in one. Even a larger rural town would probably be too much!

That said when I say living in a city I live in Dublin 3 now which is about a 45 minute walk into the city centre from my location. So I'm slightly outside the real hustle and bustle.

I also grew up in Dublin 13 which is in the suburbs. Both of those locations I would prefer to living right in a city centre, I do like a little bit of peace and quiet!

Common as...

The majority or rural people live within 5 to 20 minutes drive of their local town.
If you live in say Glasnevin Dublin, and you wanna get to the city it goes like this:

~5 to 15min walk to bus stop
~10min wait for bus
~20 to 40 bus journey
~10min walk to where you're going

It could take over an hour to get in and its the same again going home, driving isin't much better as you gotta find and pay for parking.
So can someone tell me about these wounderful amenities that are on offer in a city center?

storm2811

You can have the loudest, biggest parties in the country and no one will give two fcuks because your closest neighbour is 2 miles away.

starlit

I'm originally from the country, have lived there most of my life and have lived in two cities too. There are pros and cons to both!

Country life: Pros - Nice fresh air, no pollution, no noise, quiet, tranquil, no body else knows your business except a few neighbours depending where you live, build a house that suits you obviously have to comply to county council restrictions etc, nice to see greenery/fields (I'd miss that when in the heart of the city), scenery is nice to look at, good for ones health (air and places to exercise), broadband access is better sometimes;
Cons - Traveling is a nightmare, not all buses cater for country routes, taxi can cost a lot just for a few km/miles, you need to be able to drive its a nightmare otherwise or have a car in the household a least, weather conditions can affect country people more, difficult to get to the nearest shop/town, not as expensive to live, low crime, can feel isolated;

City life: Pros - Close to amentities, easy to get to the nearest shop just to get the basics like bread, milk and butter, within walking distance to most things like shops, cinema, pub, church, public transport etc, public transport close proximity, meeting people everyday, nightlife is easier to enjoy not as much hassle when living in the country, easier to get around the city by foot;
Cons - Without a doubt its traffic (drives me up the wall), Public transport can let you down sometimes but will turn up in the end for the most part, commuting can sometimes be a nightmare, noisy, pollution, more expensive to live, crime, might not always feel safe, broadband access can vary depends what part of the city you are in can affect how accessible your broadband is;

Can't think of much else!

Balmed Out

Grew up in Cork city and will always love it but now live near Clonakilty and commute to cork. Its a tough question. Whats best about the city is you can meet up with friends anytime you want and use bus or taxi to go in and out from town with no need of dedicated drivers. You can live life doing things at the drop of a hat. In the countryside I love the scenery, fresh air being able to hit the beach and go surfing as i want. Im lucky that clonakilty is as smallish towns go very cosmopolitan. Lot of people who work from home choose to live in area, lot of foreigners, tourists etc so theres always a good mix of people out. Lots of good pubs and restraunts too. From my experience Id say the countryside with a big BUT. I cant imagine living in most rural areas that dont get the same passthrough of new blood, they could be a bit suffocating I think.

muffy

Common as... wrote: »

The majority or rural people live within 5 to 20 minutes drive of their local town.
If you live in say Glasnevin Dublin, and you wanna get to the city it goes like this:

~5 to 15min walk to bus stop
~10min wait for bus
~20 to 40 bus journey
~10min walk to where you're going

It could take over an hour to get in and its the same again going home, driving isin't much better as you gotta find and pay for parking.
So can someone tell me about these wounderful amenities that are on offer in a city center?

Or you could just walk into town if the bus from Glasnevin takes that long cos you'd be in town in 20 mins. Or cycle.
As for the wonderful amenities, we all now Dublin ain't the greatest city on earth but it does have such things as third level education, bars/cafes, one off shops and chain shops, cinemas, night clubs. And its nice to just saunter around and soak up the atmosphere. I also think Dublin affords a nice balance between anonymity ans community. Some where like Glasnevin for example I think you would find a strong sense of community.

symbolic

Common as... wrote: »

So can someone tell me about these wounderful amenities that are on offer in a city center?

I suppose it depends what your hobbies are.

And I don't want to get into a row over Rural Vs Urban, I think at different stages of my life I will prefer Rural over Urban and vice-versa.

BUT for me now, I enjoy going to gigs and Dublin just has so many gigs to offer week in week out that I would miss that a lot.

Also I enjoy going to lesser known movies in cinemas such as the Screen or the IFI, always find cinemas in rural towns just don't offer anything outside of the top 10 hollywood blockbusters.

And it's nice to stroll around Dublin and attend Photography Exhibitions + Art Exhibitions that do be on around Temple Bar.

But again they are just the things I'm interested in. And things I would personally miss if I did not live in the city, at the moment. Maybe I'll grow out of it all someday!

And I don't agree with a point made early that the country relies on the city but the city does not rely on the country..rubbish! Do these people not eat food? Anyway...live where you want...

Common as...

muffy wrote: »

Or you could just walk into town if the bus from Glasnevin takes that long cos you'd be in town in 20 mins. Or cycle.
As for the wonderful amenities, we all now Dublin ain't the greatest city on earth but it does have such things as third level education, bars/cafes, one off shops and chain shops, cinemas, night clubs. And its nice to just saunter around and soak up the atmosphere. I also think Dublin affords a nice balance between anonymity ans community. Some where like Glasnevin for example I think you would find a strong sense of community.

All this stuff is only 5 to 20 mins drive away for most people living in the country

muffy

Common as... wrote: »

All this stuff is only 5 to 20 mins drive away for most people living in the country

So what your saying is in fact its more practical to live in the country as amenities are actually more easily reached than in the city?
I think you are grossly over estimating the time it takes to get from Glasnevin to town and underestimating the time it takes to get from your average rural townland/village/one off dwelling to civilisation.

Common as...

Common as... wrote: »

All this stuff is only 5 to 20 mins drive away for most people living in the country

I would have had to go to Tralee for most of that stuff. About 40 minutes each way.

fonecrusher1

Things that appeal to me about living in the country;

- Not hearing traffic 24/7
- Not having dickhead neighbours who roar into their phones & at eachother all day.
- Not having to look at a row of houses directly opposite where i live.
- Being able to have a bit of an oul fire & a few beers in the backgarden during the summer & not worry about nosey curtain twitching neighbours.
- Being surrounded by nice green countryside instead of varying shades of gray concrete & terracotta rooftiles.

Things that don't appeal to me about living in the country;

- da da ding ding ding ding ding ding ding... (hillbilly banjo music)
- Having to drive 3 miles to get a pint of milk.
- Having to walk 5 miles to have a pint. (Even though this probably wouldn't be a problem as there are 20 pubs per square mile in this country.)
- Lack of interaction with other humans. Toothless joe & lazy-eye mary down the local wouldn't exactly be great company. Even though mary is good at playin the oul spoons off her giant thighs
- deliverance

Would like to live in the country some time when im older. Much older. Or near the sea.

Dudess

Balmed Out wrote: »

Grew up in Cork city and will always love it but now live near Clonakilty and commute to cork. Its a tough question. Whats best about the city is you can meet up with friends anytime you want and use bus or taxi to go in and out from town with no need of dedicated drivers. You can live life doing things at the drop of a hat. In the countryside I love the scenery, fresh air being able to hit the beach and go surfing as i want. Im lucky that clonakilty is as smallish towns go very cosmopolitan. Lot of people who work from home choose to live in area, lot of foreigners, tourists etc so theres always a good mix of people out. Lots of good pubs and restraunts too. From my experience Id say the countryside with a big BUT. I cant imagine living in most rural areas that dont get the same passthrough of new blood, they could be a bit suffocating I think.

Clon's gorgeous - and still pretty close to Cork. Ideal place to live - although if you want a night out in Cork you're gonna have to have a place to stay as you don't want to be paying for a taxi to Clon.

phasers

Common as... wrote: »

The majority or rural people live within 5 to 20 minutes drive of their local town.
If you live in say Glasnevin Dublin, and you wanna get to the city it goes like this:

~5 to 15min walk to bus stop
~10min wait for bus
~20 to 40 bus journey
~10min walk to where you're going

Where are you getting these times from?

The bus from Glasinevin takes about 10 minutes to get to the city centre, and you can walk it in 15-20.

Besides, Glasinevin has all the amenities that the country towns you go to have, so comparing the two journeys is silly anyway.

Dangerous Man

Yet another thread that boils down to 'where I come from is better than where you come from.' Well done.

squod

Sofaspud wrote: »

I'd hate to live in the country. I live in Dublin now, about 30 minutes from the city centre and it's perfect, I

newsflash; 30 mins from the city centre puts you waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay outside of Dublin. Nice try.

Father Damo

Having grown up in both at various stages, country living is child cruelty tbh. A kid growing up in Dolphins Barn will have a somehwat more interesting childhood than one rised down the sticks, from personal experience. For kids in the city at least theres always something to do.

kowloon

I moved to the country when I was almost old enough to drive a motorcycle. Once I had that I was independent and other than takeaways and having to stay in friends places after a drink there was no advantage to living in a town whatsoever.

I would never have survived isolated country living growing up. You need to live around other kids and have your friends close by. For that you need at the very least a small town.

I could never live in a congested city like London. I think there is a level of built up after which there's just no advantage. The centres of large cities have passed that level.

If I ever had children I'd make sure they had the best of both worlds and were able to have friends but also plenty of green space to play in and have pets, get covered in mud and all the other things that children should do.

JayEnnis

Country is better in the case of apocalypse/Zombies.

If power grids all over the world fail I have 3 acres to feed my family and plenty of other farmers who would be willing to sell crops/meat.

In a zombie apocalypse the lower population density + availability of weapons makes me more likely to survive.

But apart from that living in the country ****ing sucks if you're 18 years old, after every night I have to fork out €15 on a taxi just go get home.

Naikon

Rural. I hate the concept of living in a suburb for example. On the same token, I know plenty of people who would not live in a rural area. Mind you, the lack of services is a bitch.

Father Damo

Father Damo wrote: »

A kid growing up in Dolphins Barn will have a somehwat more interesting childhood than one rised down the sticks, from personal experience. For kids in the city at least theres always something to do.

I disagree I see kids hanging around the city etc and I would have hated it, they just end up causing trouble. I spent my youth working on the farm, driving tractors, playing gaa and soccer etc. I think a rural setting is a much much better place for children to grow up.

scientific1982

Father Damo wrote: »

Having grown up in both at various stages, country living is child cruelty tbh. A kid growing up in Dolphins Barn will have a somehwat more interesting childhood than one rised down the sticks, from personal experience. For kids in the city at least theres always something to do.

I call bull**** on that point. The country is the best place to raise kids.

markpb

scientific1982 wrote: »

I call bull**** on that point. The country is the best place to raise kids.

Well done on providing zero content in your post. I know this is AH but ffs, at least try to back up your argument, especially if you're going to be so over zealous.

FWIW I grew up in a village in Cavan and have been living in Dublin for ten years. I can't imagine ever living outside a city again. My estate (in Santry) has 12 acres of green areas to relax in, play football, etc. It takes 15-25 minutes to get to the city centre by bus, 10 minutes to get to the airport and 10 minutes to the Dart. My nearest shop and pub are both a five minute walk away and I have three shopping centres (one with a 24 hour Tesco) a 25 minute walk away. I don't need to drive anywhere because I have buses 18 hours a day, nightlinks during the night and taxis for everything else. Last week, I needed to get to the airport at 4am, walked to the road and waited 3 minutes for an un-booked taxi.

The thing I hated most about living in the country was having nothing nearby. Everything was a drive away. Socialising was hard because everyone had to drive to meet up. If you had a drink, you had to get a minibus home (not a taxi, taxis bring you straight home and leave when you want to, not when they're full).

I can understand why people retire to the countryside but I can't understand anyone under 40 who doesn't work on a farm wanting to live there.

scientific1982

markpb wrote: »

Well done on providing zero content in your post. I know this is AH but ffs, at least try to back up your argument, especially if you're going to be so over zealous.

FWIW I grew up in a village in Cavan and have been living in Dublin for ten years. I can't imagine ever living outside a city again. My estate (in Santry) has 12 acres of green areas to relax in, play football, etc. It takes 15-25 minutes to get to the city centre by bus, 10 minutes to get to the airport and 10 minutes to the Dart. My nearest shop and pub are both a five minute walk away and I have three shopping centres (one with a 24 hour Tesco) a 25 minute walk away. I don't need to drive anywhere because I have buses 18 hours a day, nightlinks during the night and taxis for everything else. Last week, I needed to get to the airport at 4am, walked to the road and waited 3 minutes for an un-booked taxi.

The thing I hated most about living in the country was having nothing nearby. Everything was a drive away. Socialising was hard because everyone had to drive to meet up. If you had a drink, you had to get a minibus home (not a taxi, taxis bring you straight home and leave when you want to, not when they're full).

I can understand why people retire to the countryside but I can't understand anyone under 40 who doesn't work on a farm wanting to live there.

Ok. As a kid I divided my time between Belfast and Donegal. In Belfast I had a large enough backyard and the park to play. In Donegal I had acres of fields, mountains and the beaches within walking distance.

In Belfast I had to watch where I went. In Donegal I could do whatever the **** I pleased. In Belfast I could go to the swimming pool, the cinema and the museum. In Donegal I could go to the swimming pool too, but I could also go fishing, hunting, camping, kayaking.

In Belfast I was close to shops and pubs, but shops and pubs were only a five minute walk from where I lived in Donegal too. Is that ok for you.

muffy

I live in a rural area, I hate walking on the road after dark as there are no footpaths or streetlights, and it's really quite dangerous. Anyone could drag you into a car and no one would ever know. At least in the city, you have the freedom to walk places, much more securely than in the country.

Balmed Out

markpb wrote: »

Well done on providing zero content in your post. I know this is AH but ffs, at least try to back up your argument, especially if you're going to be so over zealous.

FWIW I grew up in a village in Cavan and have been living in Dublin for ten years. I can't imagine ever living outside a city again. My estate (in Santry) has 12 acres of green areas to relax in, play football, etc. It takes 15-25 minutes to get to the city centre by bus, 10 minutes to get to the airport and 10 minutes to the Dart. My nearest shop and pub are both a five minute walk away and I have three shopping centres (one with a 24 hour Tesco) a 25 minute walk away. I don't need to drive anywhere because I have buses 18 hours a day, nightlinks during the night and taxis for everything else. Last week, I needed to get to the airport at 4am, walked to the road and waited 3 minutes for an un-booked taxi.

The thing I hated most about living in the country was having nothing nearby. Everything was a drive away. Socialising was hard because everyone had to drive to meet up. If you had a drink, you had to get a minibus home (not a taxi, taxis bring you straight home and leave when you want to, not when they're full).

I can understand why people retire to the countryside but I can't understand anyone under 40 who doesn't work on a farm wanting to live there.

Different parts of the countryside / cities have different points. Better to say you cant understand people wanting to live wherever you came from. I live in the countryside with a view of fields that I really like but with a few houses quite close by too which i suppose is good security wise. Its an 8 minute walk to Clonakilty town where theres lots of good pubs and restraunts, a cinema etc. 2 of the pubs have surprisingly good gigs with comedians every now and then too. Im 15 minutes away driving from 6 different beaches and theres some lovely walkways nearby too. My girlfriends parents live nearby close to a lighthouse from where during warm weather i often get to see basking sharks etc, theres often whales but never when im there, the feckers. I reckon its a great life there except for the 45 minute commute to cork city which im used to by now. The sense of community around is unreal and people are very friendly but there always tourists passing through which is great as you dont see the same faces all the time.

I really liked living in cork too but im just saying both can be good.

markpb

scientific1982 wrote: »

Is that ok for you.

scientific1982 wrote: »

In Belfast I had to watch where I went. In Donegal I could do whatever the **** I pleased. In Belfast I could go to the swimming pool, the cinema and the museum. In Donegal I could go to the swimming pool too, but I could also go fishing, hunting, camping, kayaking.

Would I be right in assuming you lived in a town in Donegal (since you mention a cinema)?

W.Shakes-Beer

Much prefer the country my self, easier pace of life, better roads unbelievably, less traffic, less scum, less crime, more space, fresh air.

I've never lived in the country for any longer than a few weeks but love it.

scientific1982

markpb wrote: »

Would I be right in assuming you lived in a town in Donegal (since you mention a cinema)?

I mentioned the cinema as a plus of living in Belfast. I lived in a village. The thing about rural Ireland is that its not the outback.

Gary ITR

Urban ftw

John_Rambo

Urban Dublin for me. All the advantages of rural living without the disadvantages! Parks, beaches, wooded areas, close knit community along with the amenities of the city a few klicks away.

Rural suicide rate says it all really. Crying shame, but some of rural Ireland isn't what it used to be, as the OP says, mansions, new cars, multiple bathrooms and keeping up with the Jones's seems to be the rural pursuits now.

The failed decentralisation project prooved that once people live in or near the cities they just don't want to move.

I said only some of rural Ireland before you have a hissy.

flag123

Jaafa wrote: »

Cake. Except if I'm playing the xbox then biscuits.

just correcting a mistake:D