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Relocating to Dingle from US
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05-07-2014 1:35am#1
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Dingle is beautiful, it will be a great place for your children albeit they may find it boring at times but you'll always know where they are! I would contact auctioneers in the town they will be very helpful with your questions primarily because you will be their neighbors
for classes through Irish, contact colaiste ide, a wonderful Irish speaking school that runs courses, best of luck 0 -
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thanks for the info. Gaelic because we'd like to learn it, really, and visit other areas. Dingle's beautiful, no kid issues and being away from towns is a plus to us, we like the wild-ness and the quiet.
Well in that case, best of luck with it. If you like a friendly game of cards there is a poker night every Tuesday in the An Droichead Beag pub. Starts at 9 I think. Welcome to Ireland 0 -
I'd second the suggestion about contacting local auctioneers and then when you are settled your immediate neighbours will be a fount of useful and useless information.
Things like utilities will be part of the house purchase/rental and you can decide whether to continue with them or switch to a different supplier - e.g. for electricity etc. You may have your own well for water - if not get ready to complain with the rest of us about water bills from irish water/uisce eireann
Post men will track you down sooner or later but check with the post office in Dingle/Ventry/Ballyferriter if you think you're not on their lists.
Refuse/rubbish etc - its up to you to decide which provider to use - or like many you can recycle and dump your own stuff at the West Kerry recycling centre about 3km east of Dingle, just off the main Tralee/Killarney road. It's €3.50 per bag of rubbish and about €1.20 per bag of recyclables - a lot cheaper than the normal suppliers but you have to do the travelling yourself.
Dingle/west Kerry in general is great but it does get quiet in the winter time - which is a real plus because its hectic in the 3 main summer months!
Dingle has plenty of shops, doctors etc for the normal run of things and the bus service isnt too bad and links to the trains in Tralee.
One downside is ironically the number of non-locals living in the area. Sometimes locals can feel a bit overwhelmed by the numbers of "stráinséirí" living around. That Irish word literally means "strangers" and is applied to all non locals. (You become a local after about 100 years so don't sweat it too much )
People are great though - make an effort to be involved in some local group/association etc and you'll be welcomed warmly. Understating things/self deprecation is a local art and be wary - that local guy digging in his garden who looks like the local tramp could well have a few university degrees up his sleeve/be a poet/author in several languages/be a skilled musician etc - so you've been warned.
Weather is bad in winter - we dont really get ice or snow but we get more wind and rain than most places. If gardening is your thing plant your wind breaks first of all.
And if you're ever asked which "team" you support the only acceptable answer is "Kerry" - the county Gaelic football team. Football is a religion here - but there's golf too - and a little rugby - but just a little.
Best of luck. - and feel free to ask any particular questions. 0 -
One downside is ironically the number of non-locals living in the area. Sometimes locals can feel a bit overwhelmed by the numbers of "stráinséirí" living around. That Irish word literally means "strangers" and is applied to all non locals. (You become a local after about 100 years so don't sweat it too much )
Dingle is so nice just because of all the non local influences, Take the "non" locals out and it will be a boring sheithole.
Who else will clean up the beaches every time ?? for sure its not the traditionally locals, at least i didn't see them during clean ups.0 -
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While you leave me with my own views just think what would be left if you take all the non local activities and business out of dingle
If you think Dingle is quiet now in the winter just wait what will be left if all the "non locals" packed up
What makes Dingle great is the mix between local/non local and foreigners all adding their own little piece /QUOTE]
Agree 100%. I never said otherwise.
Just that "some" locals feel a bit "overwhelmed" - "sometimes". Thats their issue - not mine - but I felt it would be right to mention it to people considering moving here.
The same could be said of dozens of other places up and down the west coast. The "best" comment I heard on the matter was just a few weeks ago from a British man who said it was a shame there were so many foreigners around here! He might need lessons in irony :rolleyes:
The mix of peoples/cultures/ideas etc has been great for Dingle - but it has had a negative effect on e.g. the Irish language in some schools. On the other hand, without the "new" children some of those schools would have closed years ago. So, its a mix. It's also likely that the parents of many of the "local" children are working in businesses set up by people who originally came from outside of the area. Everyone will have a different view.
The best part of Dingle is the variety of things it can offer to people - and that variety had its genesis in the movement of new people to the place.
Thanks for the nice comments too - but I really didnt like the use of the "s-hole" expression. I don't think its warrented. But thats just me for now - ask me again in February after 6 weeks of wind and rain and dark and mist and drizzle ..............0 -
Agree 100%. I never said otherwise.
Just that "some" locals feel a bit "overwhelmed" - "sometimes". Thats their issue - not mine - but I felt it would be right to mention it to people considering moving here.
I did not meet anyone local who was overwhelmed by non locals/foreigners around Dingle ... (cork city was a different experience :rolleyes:), what they do around my back I don't know but I always felt a warm and welcoming atmosphere around the placeThe "best" comment I heard on the matter was just a few weeks ago from a British man who said it was a shame there were so many foreigners around here! He might need lessons in irony :rolleyes:
I admit ( as a foreigner) going into a small rage sometimes dealing with all the rental cars, bicycles, buses, Camper-vans, etc ....... fantasying its already SeptemberI don't think its warrented. But thats just me for now - ask me again in February after 6 weeks of wind and rain and dark and mist and drizzle ..............
will PM you then for a pint (to keep our sanity) ... giving out over the sheit weather etc
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I bit like my French and Italian? There's no 'point' in my having those. Anybody I know who speaks either language also speaks English. And better than I speak those languages...Not much point learning the language, you wont use it.
You'll use it if you have it, are in the company of people who have it, and choose to use it.
Unless you meant to post "you won't need it", of course. :rolleyes: We all know things we don't 'need'.0 -
Of course there's a point in having those, apart from the putting your CV ahead of other competitors for jobs/promotions when you're living over here France and Italy are just a cheap Ryanair hop away, also French and Italian open up whole other worlds of literature and culture if thats your thing. What does Irish get you? Being able to ask wheres the toilet out on the Aran Islands or in forgotten corners of Donegal or Galway? Better off teaching the kids a language that would stand to them in future, chances are the kids in Dingle will have better French or German anyway!I bit like my French and Italian? There's no 'point' in my having those. Anybody I know who speaks either language also speaks English. And better than I speak those languages...
Im just picturing the OP doing their research and being taken in by bullsh1t statistics about Irish literacy or speech rates in places like Dingle that are only used for the sake of claiming grants. Dont waste your time, nobody uses it.0 -
Of course there's a point in having those, apart from the putting your CV ahead of other competitors for jobs/promotions when you're living over here France and Italy are just a cheap Ryanair hop away, also French and Italian open up whole other worlds of literature and culture if thats your thing. What does Irish get you? Being able to ask wheres the toilet out on the Aran Islands or in forgotten corners of Donegal or Galway? Better off teaching the kids a language that would stand to them in future, chances are the kids in Dingle will have better French or German anyway!
Im just picturing the OP doing their research and being taken in by bullsh1t statistics about Irish literacy or speech rates in places like Dingle that are only used for the sake of claiming grants. Dont waste your time, nobody uses it.
An bhfuil sliseanna ar do ghualainn agat?
The kids would certainly have a better facility for language, being brought up in a genuinely bilingual environment.
I'm just picturing the op asking for advice on here and meeting the 'Peig ruined irish for me' shower.
Plenty of people use it. I use it, depending in which group of friends I'm with. I certainly use in in Dingle. It's no big thing, unless you make it a thing.
However, I fear we may be dragging the thread off topic....0 -
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In terms of locals/outsiders - you're very unlikely to have any bother at all, but just be aware that for some people whose families have been in the area for 150/200 years, you're never ever going to be a local even if you spend 50 years living there.
Also be aware that when moving to a rural isolated area making new friends can take a long time. People tend to be settled into life-long routines so don't expect them to be throwing their arms open
Also do check with the state of the internet connection in the area is before you move in if that's important to you. Some areas in country are a disaster, while others can be grand. Check with the locals as to the best options/deals.
Be careful when driving in terms of the narrowness of the roads - it constantly catches tourists with rental cars out - wing mirrors are constantly being repaired.
Also I'd have Irish very low down on the To Do List - you definitely won't need it and as an American (which you will be for ever) people will be expecting you to speak English. Don't be too surprised if some folk are taken aback/confused/close to insulted if you launch into Irish.
Also it might be an interest to start boning up on football as an interest in this will make the locals a lot more welcoming. 0 -
FWIW, we're from the Seattle, WA area - so, no sun for 6 months, rain, ... we chose the area because it's more like 'home' :P Have already been a few times, the 23% thing and the petrol charges, well, it's part of the charm I guess.
I've done the move the other way around (i've been in Seattle 10+ years), here's some thoughts on the weather:
The weather in western Ireland is very different to Seattle. June, July, august and september in Seattle are generally dry and sunny. June is variable (this year it was dry). But you can pretty much depend on JUly and August in Seattle being in the high-70's or above.
You dont get that kind of "reliable" summer weather in Ireland. It can be completely random with some years having very little summery weather at all.
In Seattle when it rains it tends to be for the whole day. It remains gloomy. In (western) Ireland you get those fast moving clouds where you can almost see the rain coming, it'll rain for ten minutes then stop and be sunny again , and then rain again. Its the reason there's so many rainbows, a constant cycle of rain and sun. Unlike Seattle which just gets gloomy for days at a time.
Ireland (and the british isles) are really humid. Low temperatures but humid, which means you put on a layer, start to sweat, take it off and start to get chills, then repeat the process. It can be 60degs and 90% humidity which makes you clammy but chilly. Its very noticeable coming home from Seattle where the humidity is much much lower and the air can seem a lot fresher.
Humidity isnt something they mention in weather reports though and most people there would have no idea what percentage the humidity level is at. They'll just be sweaty...
Just some random thoughts. Remember Ireland is a lot further north than Seattle too so temperatures are cooler as well.
I hope you have an amazing time! best of Luck!0 -
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hello again. Awesome information, thanks especially for the comparison to Seattle (we're currently not there, on a job gig on the *ack* *pthui* east coast of the US till next year.)
Learning Irish is simply something we want to do, for want of doing it, even if its not useful, so what. We did vacation once on Mwenish island, heard plenty of people there speaking it, but we're not depending on skill speaking Irish for anything. Just nice to have - frankly, I'd rather be fluent in French or Italian first, too 0 -
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Been following this thread as am jealous about you moving there but that's a topic for another thread.
Only thing I can add is to try not to use Americanisms when speaking.
Awesome - drop it and fast
Pharmacy - use chemist instead, even if they have pharmacy written outside them.
Mall - use shop / shopping centre / supervalu / Garvey's
Gas - use petrol / diesel. Gas to us is something we heat our houses with. (Or "that's gas" - means that's amusing/funny)
Football - careful on this one. Depending where you are in Ireland and who you are talking to this can mean gaelic football or soccer. ForDingle though it should only ever be used for gaelic football. Soccer is that sport where hands are banned unless you are Maradonna.
Poitin - still illegal, can be used to cure a variety of ailments (rubbing it on), but if you drink it watch out for when you wake up and take some water to rehydrate... Enough said.
Try to get out and explore the region when you get there, even in the rain. Just head out and walk or cycle. As above be careful of the narrow roads - especially Connor's pass and there are others. That whole area is one of the nicest (I'm biased in case that wasn't clear) in Ireland, great mix of flora and fauna as well as people. In terms of those telling you that you'll never be a local to some folk, same can be said of someone from a few towns over moving in. There are some great little hidden beaches around the place, just pay attention to any signs of rips-tides (only one I can think of where swimming is forbidden - shame as it looks lovely).
Not going to reveal names but there is a gent in Ventry now who when I met last (after quite a few years) is now fluent in Irish, and until I spotted who he was I was convinced he was a local. Everyone even now calls him by his Irish name and not his English (although to be fair they are close enough - mainly just the pronunciation). He's also one of the most genuine nicest people you'll meet.0 -
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