Things you notice about Ireland when you return from abroad?

Paddycrumlinman

I remember flying home from Florida several years back to Dublin. Flight was arriving to Dublin from New York. My seat was right at the back of the plane, the steward, a real New Yorker, buckled herself into her fold out chair.

She is gazing out the window admiring the green green grass and said several times that Ireland and its green grass was beautiful over and over. At her 6 time of mentioning how beautiful Ireland is, some guy a couple of seats up, a Dub, says to her " Will ya shut up for fcuks sakes, you don't have to bleeding live here love" Laughter ensued all over the back of the Plane.

Back on topic, the one thing for me is the weather, 10 years of Florida living for me, I could never go back to living in that climate. It would depress the life out of me.

I Love going home, been 3 years since my last visit. I love the Mammy's cooking, Irish Breakfast, Guinness, hitting the Chipper after a belly full of the black stuff. After 10 days, I'm ready to get out of there because its just to cold.

One more thing I miss, is the crack of some of the Irish Folks. I've been around the world and one thing is for sure, Irish folks have a peculiar way of viewing the world and the best sense of humor I have ever found anywhere in the world.

Just the fcuking rain , clouds and wind that's a killer.

neil_hosey

the availability of milk, i mean good quality milk, not like that ****e UHT milk you get on the continent.

Jaysus i love milk

Daveysil15

asherbassad wrote: »

Irish girls are approachable and good fun. Try chatting up an American bird in a bar and she'll look at you like you're scum or she'll start psycho-analysing you then banging on about where she "is in her life" right now or some such drivel.

Ahh it depends on what part you are in. People are much more approachable and laid back in the south.

syklops

Daveysil15 wrote: »

How people are more defensive here and are not as open to been approached by strangers.

Jaysus you would want to take a trip in this direction if you want to see real "not as open to being approached by strangers".

I was going to post how friendly and open to being approached by strangers most people are.

I really miss the "yes love / howerya love / what can i do for you love" in shops. Here its more like "What?!? Quickly! You're interrupting my staring into space time".

Daveysil15

syklops wrote: »

Jaysus you would want to take a trip in this direction if you want to see real "not as open to being approached by strangers".

I was going to post how friendly and open to being approached by strangers most people are.

I really miss the "yes love / howerya love / what can i do for you love" in shops. Here its more like "What?!? Quickly! You're interrupting my staring into space time".

And where is that?

podgemonster

The crisp taste of a pint of a Guinness, the community spirit, the silence in the pub during a song, the stopping of cars on a country road for a chat, Sharon Ni Bheolán, the courtousy we show to our fellow man, our ability to see through bullshít, a lock in, our extremely dark humour, Tayto, the long stretch in the evening, the 24 hr availablilty of a cup of tea in any household, the Ocean crashing against the western shore, the unforgetten cruel history & the craic.

The roads arent that bad just take it handy on them.

Chauncey

nbar12 wrote: »

What's wrong with being a woman?

I don't know whether Squ is a man or a woman, hence the brackets.

Micky Dolenz

The Ocean, the beautiful powerful Ocean, how I miss you.

I notice the banter and love it. The weather is wet and damp.

When I read threads like these I often think I used to live in a different Ireland then a lot of people. I prefer my version.

3ndahalfof6

The leprechauns seem to be getting taller, it must be the roids in the burgers.

syklops

Daveysil15 wrote: »

And where is that?

See my location.

unclejunior

syklops wrote: »

Jaysus you would want to take a trip in this direction if you want to see real "not as open to being approached by strangers".

I was going to post how friendly and open to being approached by strangers most people are.

I really miss the "yes love / howerya love / what can i do for you love" in shops. Here its more like "What?!? Quickly! You're interrupting my staring into space time".

Irish people being friendly is a myth. The majority of them are pig ignorant b.astards without the slightest bit of common sense.

syklops

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

When I read threads like these I often think I used to live in a different Ireland then a lot of people. I prefer my version.

Same here.

Quorum

Has anyone mentioned how pig ugly we all are yet?

syklops

unclejunior wrote: »

Irish people being friendly is a myth. The majority of them are pig ignorant b.astards without the slightest bit of common sense.

So I just dreamt it all then did I?

castletownman

Milk,cheddar cheese and butter, chocolate and the general contents of an Irish breakfast. Far superior than the continental ****e.

Daveysil15

syklops wrote: »

See my location.

Ahh Czech Republic is it? Yes I know what you mean about the staring thing. Although I have met some very friendy people there too as well as a few rude ones.

yer man!

The main thing that I noticed, which was already mentioned, was the slight negativity Irish people have about our country, it's a heavy atmosphere. I was in the netherlands and I found it a lovely place to be, so laid back, really nice weather (nothing we can do about that) and an altogether positive feeling (no not high off weed now). I like Ireland but it really has it's moments when you're like "jesus I wish I wasn't here". One thing I do notice above all is the sudden positivity of every Irish person when the sun briefly comes out, over summer I (the 3 hot days of summer that we had) everyone I met on on the sunny days were really positive and didn't care about high unemployment, national debt etc everyone just wanted to be outside and have the craic, that's when Ireland comes into it's own.

Nodin

castletownman wrote: »

Milk,cheedar cheese and butter, chocolate and the general contents of an Irish breakfast. Far superior than the continental ****e.

You're saying cadburys is superior to the belgian/german stuff?

Jonah42

1. Food is much better in Ireland.

2. Weather is consistently poorer.

3. People in general are much fatter in Ireland. Possibly linked to no. 1.

Quorum

Colmustard wrote: »

The rich green grass from the air when coming from the west. It really is 40 shades of green, not grey.

bijapos wrote: »

Weather wise it's very overcast most of the time. BUT, when the sun does peep out on a summers day out in the country, the way the whole place lights up is amazing, especially out in the country where you can really see the effect on the patchwork of fields.

I've lived abroad for 15 years, visited more than 60 countries but I've never seen anything like it.

Hey! Stop being positive, you two! You're not allowed, you have to moan about the country, not praise it.

Quorum

pickarooney wrote: »

How badly dressed everyone is. But that's fine, because I feel like I fit in.

Probably depends on where you are in the country, but I really disagree on this one, I see so many well-dressed people every day.

4zn76tysfajdxp

gsxr1 wrote: »

Same as that. I returned here after a few years in NY. Worst mistake I ever made coming back to this kip.

Boom my feckin arse.

Now im stuck with a house and cant sell it.
Thank you Bertie for your great advise. Wanker.

Ha ha.

gsxr1

My name is URL wrote: »

So you came back in the hope that the 'boom' would last longer than it did or indeed never end, and because it did the place is a kip? You should have looked up the definition of a boom before committing yourself.

You made your own bed

Very true. I did make my own bed But im sure of one thing.

This place is a kip. Nearly as big of a kip as Greece.

bijapos wrote: »

Sorry, but if you trusted Bertie you've only yourself to blame. :rolleyes:

Again very true. But he was our leader. And most people around me agreed with him .

I am not to badly off compared to most, but if I was back in NY I know I would be in a stable position judging by friends whom are still there.
Big mistake coming here. Massive mistake .
Im really kicking myself now.

RossyG

Quorum wrote: »

Has anyone mentioned how pig ugly we all are yet?

You should see the head on me. Christ...

Even Wayne Rooney and Dara O'Brian would take the piss.

Quorum

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

The Ocean, the beautiful powerful Ocean, how I miss you.

I notice the banter and love it. The weather is wet and damp.

When I read threads like these I often think I used to live in a different Ireland then a lot of people. I prefer my version.

Where do you live at present?

Micky Dolenz

Nodin wrote: »

You're saying cadburys is superior to the belgian/german stuff?

Belgian chocolate ain't all that. Their waffles are pants too.

You can't bate milk from the Golden Vale.

BraziliaNZ

I'm being serious here, but definitely the amount of people in tracksuits, that's the first thing I notice about Dublin. Also everyone looks the same, it's very monocultural.

cloptrop

I noticed how Liverpool supporters in Dublin care more for a tragedy that happened in Hillsborough than what happened in Dublin . In 1981 i think 46 people died in stardust fire . Nobody punished although they should be . And yet everyone is walking around wanting justice for the 96in hillsborough .
Although I agree everyone should get justice think how odd itd be for someone from liverpool to care more about the stardust than hillsborough or heysel .
In 1981 liverpool would have had a huge following and id say near half of the victims of the stardust were liverpool supporters and it was in DUBLIN .
Why do Irish Liverpool fans not really care about it but spend so much time obsessing over liverpool families getting justice when the stardust familiea never got it.
Its a weird occurance Iv only evver seen in this country .

Micky Dolenz

Quorum wrote: »

Where do you live at present?

Belgium.

castletownman

Nodin wrote: »

You're saying cadburys is superior to the belgian/german stuff?

Speaking more-so from travelling around America. Although I have found some Belgian stuff a bit too strong tasting, but haven't had enough of it to accurately make a comparison

unclejunior

I have to get the f.uck out of here, I was thinking of mainland Europe, perhaps France.

podgemonster

unclejunior wrote: »

I have to get the f.uck out of here, I was thinking of mainland Europe, perhaps France.

Don't forget to close the door on your way out.

MHalberstram

nbar12 wrote: »

CJC999 wrote: »

What a complete ****hole the place is. Even when I was in other **** holes like turkey I came home and thought Ireland was a bigger one. It ranks No.1 in the table of **** holes I have been in.

why don't you just piss off out of here for good then? We don't need negative pricks like you putting the country down!

And we don't need your attitude either.

Stinicker

Things I always notice when I come back here,

Negatives
The Rain,

Overpriced, simple things, €2.00 for a 500ml coke, ffs!

Dublin airport, makes me depressed, I think I'll fly into Cork in future, less scum bags in the city there.

It is depressing to think Fianna Fail still exist, Germany purged the Nazis after WW2, yet we still allow these tramps to breathe.

3rd world infrastructure, treacle slow public services

Positives
GAA, no year would be complete with a trip to Croke Park, win lose or draw it is the heartbeat of the nation, you can sit next to your rival teams fan and have the craic, in England you'd have the crack off their skull

Rural people, who give you the time of day and are even that bit nosy

Irish women, we Irish men always moan about them and there are few bad apples that's for sure but they are a playful lot and you can have the craic with them without anything overtly sexual also. A good irish woman is untouchable and I've been to many countries.

Passport, I have access to dozens of countries so as soon as I get fed up of the rain I can fly away again, if I was in Iran I'd need a visa to go anywhere

Food, Irish food isn't that great but is there anything to be said for a big fryup made by your mother on a dreary sunday morning.

unclejunior

syklops wrote: »

So I just dreamt it all then did I?

Maybe you were drunk?

4zn76tysfajdxp

Irish people are lovely, by and large.

The "craic". The place is full of really sound people up for a laugh. The amount of tea we drink. How there is never anywhere comfier than you're own bed. Redheads, yum

sebastianlieken

If i'm away from Ireland for an extended period of time, the one thing I always notice upon my return is the amount of scumbags and knackers around. It's shocking! - It's the primary reason I dont like the country.


Also, after having lived in Germany for a few months I got quite acustomed to punctuality and the many advantages that go with it!

German person: "what time is it now, 13:35, okay i'll be there at 13:45" - and they are.

Irish person: "i'll be there in 10 mins no bother!" - they call 45 minutes later saying they're just getting into the taxi. They then call again 15 minutes later as the taxi has just arrived and they cannot remember the address.

NeonCookies

neil_hosey wrote: »

the availability of milk, i mean good quality milk, not like that ****e UHT milk you get on the continent.

Jaysus i love milk

THIS! I'm in Japan, and the milk here is barely good enough to put in tea, let alone drink by itself (I tried, and gave up after a mouthful) It always tastes just on the verge of going off or something.

I haven't actually returned to Ireland yet (will next year) but I'm definitely going to notice the Irish humour and chicken fillet rolls. Actually, any roll/ sandwich freshly made for you at lunchtime - they just don't do it here!

Chauncey

gsxr1 wrote: »

Very true. I did make my own bed But im sure of one thing.

This place is a kip. Nearly as big of a kip as Greece.
Again very true. But he was our leader. And most people around me agreed with him .

I am not to badly off compared to most, but if I was back in NY I know I would be in a stable position judging by friends whom are still there.
Big mistake coming here. Massive mistake .
Im really kicking myself now.

It's a shame you made stupid decisions but that's all down to you, not Ireland.
Had you stayed in New York you probably would have made a balls of yourself there too based on your history of poorly thought out choices.

Anyway, I hope your life improves one way or another.

Magill

When the weathers good, the country/mountains are amazing.
Not overcrowded.
How friendly most people are.
How **** the nightlife is.


Anyone that says the country is a kip is clearly quite clueless or hasn't been outside of the capital (Not that Dublin is a kip or anything).

Red About Town

asherbassad wrote: »

Irish girls are approachable and good fun. Try chatting up an American bird in a bar and she'll look at you like you're scum or she'll start psycho-analysing you then banging on about where she "is in her life" right now or some such drivel.

Disagree.

Far easier to chat to an American woman than an Irish one.

American women are some of the friendliest in the world. And they love our accents

zcorpian88

The difference in temperature.

The price of pretty much everything.

The begrudgery when I say "I'm just back from holidays" and the response is usually a snotty "Well for some" comment.

Irish food is 10 times better than a lot of stuff you get abroad, when I'm away for 2 weeks by the end of the 2 weeks I'd nearly kill for a cup of Lyons tea with Avanmore milk or other stuff like Galtee rashers, pudding & sausages, Irish rooster spuds, a homemade Irish stew with brown sauce, Taytos, Brennans or Pat the Baker bread, Brown bread etc. Rashers are just crap abroad, milk doesn't taste the same and goes off really quickly when I buy it out foreign and tea is just awful all I can find in most places is that Lipton tea which is horrible stuff. If I had to emigrate I'd crack up without the good food the Irish produce.

The roads are mental here towards most places I've been, no wonder car accidents happen so often.

The attitude to alcohol, nowhere else in the world has this need to get locked every weekend.

The way most cities and towns aren't all "hustle and bustle" when it comes to traffic, makes it easier to get from A to B.

Our humour is fantastic, I love a good story which us Irish are perfect at telling.

Nobody else in the world outside Ireland does the "culchie one finger wave" that you see driving on a back road. We invented that.

Temptamperu

Ive noticed everything costs about 2 euro more than anywhere else in europe.

Jellicoe

podgemonster wrote: »

The crisp taste of a pint of a Guinness, the community spirit, the silence in the pub during a song, the stopping of cars on a country road for a chat, Sharon Ni Bheolán, the courtousy we show to our fellow man, our ability to see through bullshít, a lock in, our extremely dark humour, Tayto, the long stretch in the evening, the 24 hr availablilty of a cup of tea in any household, the Ocean crashing against the western shore, the unforgetten cruel history & the craic.

The roads arent that bad just take it handy on them.

what country is this, sounds like the way Ireland was in 90's before the greed set in, i'd like to visit it

Cheeky_gal

Irish people are not half as friendly as we all claim to be. Very hostile I think.

However you cannot beat Irish food I'll agree on that.

zcorpian88

Cheeky_gal wrote: »

Irish people are not half as friendly as we all claim to be. Very hostile I think.

However you cannot beat Irish food I'll agree on that.

We can be friendly when we want to be, but like anywhere else ya'll find a few gobshytes. If anything we can be very obnoxious, especially blokes when it comes to football. Never seen the big deal with football, saying this a bloke!

And yeah ya can't beat Irish grub!

Quorum

zcorpian88 wrote: »

milk doesn't taste the same and goes off really quickly when I buy it out foreign a

Probably because it's likely hotter. I always find milk goes off quicker when the weather is hot.

Butterface

I miss the sausages.. not just the Denny and Galtee, but any Irish sausages, be they from your local butchers or Dunnes Stores Finest. I don't know what the British do to their pork but they do cannot make good sausages. Also the rashers.. sigh. I've considered ordering sausages and rashers online through an Irish shop just so I can have a proper fry when I'm over there. It's expensive but will be worth it I think.

I miss the people. I miss the ****e talk, and the phrases and the way we have with words. I laugh a lot more in the company of Irish people.

zcorpian88

Quorum wrote: »

Probably because it's likely hotter. I always find milk goes off quicker when the weather is hot.

But its kept refrigerated, never paid attention to the expiry dates. Was hardly buying milk every day or every second day that was due to go off 1 or 2 days afterwards. Spent every morning of the holiday mumbling curses and saying to myself "this would never happen with Avanmore milk which takes yonks to go off at home" while half asleep walking to the shop to get milk after pouring lumpy milk into my tea!