Moving to Ireland, wondering about Waterford..

comeraghs

Did you make a decision yet OP?

shockwave

I'd say we scared her off:D

CuriousG

x.revoLucian wrote: »

-Crime rate might be on par to other places, but why would an average crime rate attract anyone? I do not consider Waterford City safe, and it is becoming increasing difficult to avoid confrontation, harassment, and physical assault. I try to give to my community as much as possible, and I have not been able to avoid these things myself.

-Shopping is abysmal. Anything that is available is from last season or from previous lines. This includes electronics. If you want to stay behind the trends, be my guest and enjoy Waterford's fine shopping.

-Public transport might be fair, but is, just like most other things, becoming overpriced. As well as this, it does often happen that walking becomes a faster mode of transport. And, again, buses do seem to have a dangerous appeal as young men with nothing better to do seem to ride them for the sole purpose of looking for attention.

-Which brings me to this point; the people. While some may be warm and welcoming, most are just like the poor, bleak weather, which, while not the worst in the country, it is by far not the best you could hope for. The general public is cold, alienated, and detached, and extremely unreasonable and demanding if you work in the service industry, and won't help you if you are in need in my experience. Even after eight years and many acquaintances, I am not fully accepted by everyone.

-Best of all, many of these people you encounter will probably spend their evenings the only way available here. Conglomerating around the sweaty intersection of the few clubs and miserable, 'drown-your-sorrows' pubs we have. It is a view to behold as, at closing time, disorientated men and women pour onto the streets in a frenzy of sound and vomit, arguing, and desperate chasing of the hint of possibility of 'hooking up'; think MTV's Jersey Shore style but plethora of times sadder to look at.

-The streets are dirty, with locals having zero respect for throwing their garbage and cigarette butts on the pavement. It is a shabby excuse for a clean place to live.

-Also very concerning, the general state of the economy is poor, and finding a job is hard. I know places where this is worse than here, but I am uncertain of how much of an ordeal it might be for a complete outsider to pursue employment.

-I could keep going on, and on, and on, but for the time being, I will give one more, and possibly the most important example of why not to move here. If you have children, or ever plan on it, I will plead you not to consider Ireland. Let the abuse from the locals come at me, but I will say that the school system in this country is worse than that of a third world nation. If you bring up a child here, he or she is bound to become just like the locals are, and I would pity that. Children are not taught respect by the system. They are neglected and abandoned to fend for themselves. Which, sadly, leads to them using drugs, which are available to most with little to no effort. You can pretty much find drugs faster than a job, you might say. I am not saying every child is doing this, but it seems awfully widespread, far too much to make this city a place where I would consider raising a child.

I am not from Waterford, and moved here just over a year ago. However, from my experiences, I think this sums it up perfectly. Very accurate, couldn't agree with you more.

EDIT: I will be fair though, and say that most places in Ireland are like the above these days.... Also, you get what you put into Waterford, if you are nice to people, about 2/10 will give you a smile back. :P

It's alright if you make it, but it wouldn't be my place of choice, and I would definitely visit and see for yourself before making such a big move OP.

bradknowell

CuriousG wrote: »

I am not from Waterford, and moved here just over a year ago. However, from my experiences, I think this sums it up perfectly. Very accurate, couldn't agree with you more.

EDIT: I will be fair though, and say that most places in Ireland are like the above these days.... Also, you get what you put into Waterford, if you are nice to people, about 2/10 will give you a smile back. :P

It's alright if you make it, but it wouldn't be my place of choice, and I would definitely visit and see for yourself before making such a big move OP.

fair post.

Road-Hog

CuriousG wrote: »

x.revoLucian wrote: »

-Crime rate might be on par to other places, but why would an average crime rate attract anyone? I do not consider Waterford City safe, and it is becoming increasing difficult to avoid confrontation, harassment, and physical assault. I try to give to my community as much as possible, and I have not been able to avoid these things myself.

-Shopping is abysmal. Anything that is available is from last season or from previous lines. This includes electronics. If you want to stay behind the trends, be my guest and enjoy Waterford's fine shopping.

-Public transport might be fair, but is, just like most other things, becoming overpriced. As well as this, it does often happen that walking becomes a faster mode of transport. And, again, buses do seem to have a dangerous appeal as young men with nothing better to do seem to ride them for the sole purpose of looking for attention.

-Which brings me to this point; the people. While some may be warm and welcoming, most are just like the poor, bleak weather, which, while not the worst in the country, it is by far not the best you could hope for. The general public is cold, alienated, and detached, and extremely unreasonable and demanding if you work in the service industry, and won't help you if you are in need in my experience. Even after eight years and many acquaintances, I am not fully accepted by everyone.

-Best of all, many of these people you encounter will probably spend their evenings the only way available here. Conglomerating around the sweaty intersection of the few clubs and miserable, 'drown-your-sorrows' pubs we have. It is a view to behold as, at closing time, disorientated men and women pour onto the streets in a frenzy of sound and vomit, arguing, and desperate chasing of the hint of possibility of 'hooking up'; think MTV's Jersey Shore style but plethora of times sadder to look at.

-The streets are dirty, with locals having zero respect for throwing their garbage and cigarette butts on the pavement. It is a shabby excuse for a clean place to live.

-Also very concerning, the general state of the economy is poor, and finding a job is hard. I know places where this is worse than here, but I am uncertain of how much of an ordeal it might be for a complete outsider to pursue employment.

-I could keep going on, and on, and on, but for the time being, I will give one more, and possibly the most important example of why not to move here. If you have children, or ever plan on it, I will plead you not to consider Ireland. Let the abuse from the locals come at me, but I will say that the school system in this country is worse than that of a third world nation. If you bring up a child here, he or she is bound to become just like the locals are, and I would pity that. Children are not taught respect by the system. They are neglected and abandoned to fend for themselves. Which, sadly, leads to them using drugs, which are available to most with little to no effort. You can pretty much find drugs faster than a job, you might say. I am not saying every child is doing this, but it seems awfully widespread, far too much to make this city a place where I would consider raising a child.

I am not from Waterford, and moved here just over a year ago. However, from my experiences, I think this sums it up perfectly. Very accurate, couldn't agree with you more.

EDIT: I will be fair though, and say that most places in Ireland are like the above these days.... Also, you get what you put into Waterford, if you are nice to people, about 2/10 will give you a smile back. :P

It's alright if you make it, but it wouldn't be my place of choice, and I would definitely visit and see for yourself before making such a big move OP.

Just wondering what sample size you are basing your opinions on. Does anyone else here think some of the above is rather harsh particularly the slating of the education standards and the sterotyping about how a lot of youth spend their evenings as in drinking themselves into oblivion.

Oracle

angelfalling wrote: »

As an American expat living in Waterford, I'd say think carefully before emigrating to Ireland. It's a serious grass-is-greener situation to leave the states and come here expecting something incredible. Ireland is in a terrible state. Seeing stone ruins, etc, is amazing but the rose-tinted glasses do come off in time. Don't come here unless you DEFINITELY 100% have jobs lined up. Otherwise you will not find them. Also, do not underestimate how difficult the adjustment to the weather here will be. It doesn't matter how much you may like "rain"... I'm from Florida, I had all these ideas in my head, too.

If you plan on driving, definitely look outside the city. The city is mostly dingy unless you move out the Dunmore road/ardkeen areas (plus side of recession, rent is super cheap)... even still, the surrounding towns are nicer. I will say this much: county Waterford is beautiful and underrated. I live in Portlaw and while it has its "quirks", ahem, its beautiful, close to the mountains and lovely walks, incredible history, etc. Outside of county Waterford, I'm quite fond of Cork City, West Cork, and possible Kilkenny.

But, really, #1 question is, do you have jobs lined up. If you don't, wait until you do to leave America. At least in American you can moved state to state. Coming here you are limited.

Great post that really sums up all the advice I think a prospective emigrant might need. Then there's the whole social side of Ireland which would take a 6 inch thick "rule book" to explain, none of it logical or rational of course.

Media999

Road-Hog wrote: »

Just wondering what sample size you are basing your opinions on. Does anyone else here think some of the above is rather harsh particularly the slating of the education standards and the sterotyping about how a lot of youth spend their evenings as in drinking themselves into oblivion.

Dont think its harsh at all. About time people woke up to reality of how much of a dump this place really is.

Hows your kids future looking? Not good if they grow up in Waterford unfortunately.

Ericaa

Road-Hog wrote: »

Just wondering what sample size you are basing your opinions on. Does anyone else here think some of the above is rather harsh particularly the slating of the education standards and the sterotyping about how a lot of youth spend their evenings as in drinking themselves into oblivion.

Ha! Not at all.

Tom_Cruise

The night life has gone down hill the past few years drastically,id go as far to say that its pretty dull and dreary and the selection of places you can go is very limited,you would have as much choice in any town in Ireland.

Also its very small,i mean TINY for a city,in reality it is just a town.This makes getting around fairly easy if you have a car.I cannot comment on public transport as i have never used it for prolonged periods.

Shopping in Waterford,you have the usual selection of shops - Penney's,various sports shops,River island etc.It isn't so bad,a few more independent shops would be nice,but the recession hasn't been kind to Waterford.

One thing that has always stood out to me is the selection of restaurants.I think Waterford offers a good selection,there are some really nice places in town,and there are plenty of places to choose from.

Its close to Tranmore, Dunmore East, Copper coast etc. There are some real beautiful coastal routes within a few miles drive,its a lovely part of the country.

CuriousG

Road-Hog wrote: »

Just wondering what sample size you are basing your opinions on. Does anyone else here think some of the above is rather harsh particularly the slating of the education standards and the sterotyping about how a lot of youth spend their evenings as in drinking themselves into oblivion.

Be realistic, the education system in Ireland compared to others in the world is actually very, very poor. As media999 said, it is better people realise the reality, then the problems can be fixed. Being oblivious won't make things improve.

It is also true the young people have a huge drinking problem, in Waterford, and in all of Ireland. I lived in two other counties, and the problem was the exact same in those places. It isn't harsh to say that, it is true.

bullpost

I think this is a bit harsh.
I've spoken to English and French people who say the education their children received here was very good and on a par or better than their own countries.
I'm talking about Ireland in general not Waterford. And though its far from a perfect system some of the opinions here are way off the mark.

CuriousG wrote: »

Be realistic, the education system in Ireland compared to others in the world is actually very, very poor. As media999 said, it is better people realise the reality, then the problems can be fixed. Being oblivious won't make things improve.

CuriousG

bullpost wrote: »

I think this is a bit harsh.
I've spoken to English and French people who say the education their children received here was very good and on a par or better than their own countries.
I'm talking about Ireland in general not Waterford. And though its far from a perfect system some of the opinions here are way off the mark.

That's not the personal experiences I have had, or heard about, but I suppose it depends what school you go to and what teachers you have. As a whole, our education system really is very flawed.

bullpost

Not meaning to hijack the thread but lets move beyond the anecdotal then:

We are ranked 17th on the OECD World education rankings

We are ranked 7th in the UN's HDI (which includes education)

So not top of the class but certainly no slouches.

CuriousG wrote: »

That's not the personal experiences I have had, or heard about, but I suppose it depends what school you go to and what teachers you have. As a whole, our education system really is very flawed.

Road-Hog

CuriousG wrote: »

Road-Hog wrote: »

Just wondering what sample size you are basing your opinions on. Does anyone else here think some of the above is rather harsh particularly the slating of the education standards and the sterotyping about how a lot of youth spend their evenings as in drinking themselves into oblivion.

Be realistic, the education system in Ireland compared to others in the world is actually very, very poor. As media999 said, it is better people realise the reality, then the problems can be fixed. Being oblivious won't make things improve.

It is also true the young people have a huge drinking problem, in Waterford, and in all of Ireland. I lived in two other counties, and the problem was the exact same in those places. It isn't harsh to say that, it is true.

I am not saying for a minute that the education system is perfect far from it but to say it is third world standard is just being stupid. Also the view that our society in general only breeds valueless disrespectful youths is quite an insult! A lot of tar being applied to a sizeable brush I think.

CuriousG

Road-Hog wrote: »

I am not saying for a minute that the education system is perfect far from it but to say it is third world standard is just being stupid. Also the view that our society in general only breeds valueless disrespectful youths is quite an insult! A lot of tar being applied to a sizeable brush I think.

Third world is an exaggeration maybe, but in my personal opinion, it doesn't seem on par with a lot of countries.

I never said that we only breed disrespectful youths -there are some great young people around. It just happens that the ones on the streets drinking etc are the ones that are seen more, because the good kids generally tend not to get themselves noticed for being a nuisance.

Ericaa

Road-Hog wrote: »

I am not saying for a minute that the education system is perfect far from it but to say it is third world standard is just being stupid. Also the view that our society in general only breeds valueless disrespectful youths is quite an insult! A lot of tar being applied to a sizeable brush I think.

It's not really all that stupid to say that. I've been to school in Africa, wasn't a huge difference compared to the secondary school I was in I have to say.

number66

I'd only suggest you look at this website

www.fas.ie

Hundrick

hi

Am new to the city, just been here for 2 months and am looking for some martial arts dojos to continue my training.
Kendo and Aikido would be very nice.

thank you in advance