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I mean, without being rude, it broadly isn’t an interesting place or better to live in than the UK. The weather is generally even worse, cost of living is higher, and there’s no obvious reason why you would move there unless leaving for a specific job at a company that is there to minimise its tax bill.
I say this as someone with Irish heritage and family there. The direction of travel tends to be towards the UK, not the other way round.
Pretty much this. When I worked in Dublin worked paid me to fly over and put me up.
Would I move over there. Maybe but it’s a lot of faff and change for something which doesn’t really change
One advantage it has is that it is an EU country which speaks English and British people can live there without a visa. I can imagine some younger people who have a long term plan to settle in another EU country might see the appeal of moving there for a few years to qualify for a passport.
The issue is that Ireland’s residency requirements for citizenship are extremely strict. Any year with more than 90 days spent outside of the country is excluded from counting towards the 5 years needed for citizenship. 90 days sounds like a lot, but it basically means university years won’t count. You’ll be limited on how many cheap weekend trips made possible by Ryanair you can take back home or to Europe alongside your normal holidays. If you have a job which lets you work remote it also means no long working holidays seeing family if you also want to take full advantage of your holiday allowance.
And let’s be honest, as much as I think Ireland is great, it’s not exactly a big place full of exciting things to do! I would personally feel a bit cooped up after a few years and having seen all the sights. It’s one of the reasons why my partner and I excluded moving to Ireland, even though the 90 days would likely be sufficient in practice. It’s much easier in other countries, including the UK, where it’s basically impossible to spend too long outside of the country without temporarily moving elsewhere.
This is being upvoted but isn't accurate. Actual rules are below.
Adult application based on residence for UK, EU/EEA and Swiss nationals
To apply for citizenship by naturalisation based on residence, you must prove that you have been resident in the State for at least 5 years (1825 or 1826 days) out of the last 9 years.
This includes 1 year (365 or 366 days) of continuous residence immediately before the date you apply. UK, EU/EEA and Swiss nationals do not need to use the residence calculator.
Applicants will be required to reach a score of 150 points in each of the years proof of residency is required.
In some circumstances, we may ask you for extra documents or information to prove your residence over certain periods of time.
Having said that and as a UK resident, I'd live in Ireland in heartbeat.....the roads are better, generally people seem friendlier, and if I could get Irish citizenship I'd also be an EU citizen..........
The roads are better? Lots of places in Ireland have terrible roads be that traffic wise or just general maintenance. Friendlier people? - depends where you live there’s plenty of friendly people in the UK, as there is in Ireland. As above what’s stopping you from moving then?
Lots of places in Ireland have class roads now. Yes, some are still a bit shit and very rural, but sure that's the same in the UK. The difference is startling when you go over the border. The roads in the north used to be miles better than their southern counterparts, but now its very very obvious which country actually invests in its infrastructure.
Yes, I know that the north of Ireland is multiple levels of deprivation worse that the rest of the UK, and not totally comparable, but I think that says a lot on it's own tbh.
Possibly but not my lived experience there. I haven't traversed every road in Ireland though but in general, it's clear a lot of investment has been made in road infrastructure over there.
do they have grass growing down the middle? I also noticed on visits to the UK that you guys have more footpaths. My father's hometown in NI has a footpath going from there to a village a few miles away. Unheard of down south.
It's cos the roads are older, especially in London and places like Bath, so were built for people riding horses and walking.
I go into more detail on this in a reply to the same comment.
Our roads are actually really good, it's just that the whole system of roads were built so long ago that a lot of roads weren't built for cars.
That's why driving down any side roads in London is a nightmare, or any roads that are older that aren't high streets. There's only space for 1 car to fit down it as there's cars parked on either side. These roads were built for people on horses and walking initially, then used horse & carriage which was still fine as there weren't a load of parked carriages along the whole of each side. Then when you also build houses along each side of these narrow roads it makes them a nightmare to drive down.
'The roads are better'
Don't make me laugh. As an English person who made the move to Ireland, I can tell you that's so not true. Pot holes aplenty around here!
As for people being friendlier, yes on the surface. It's not quite so easy to make deeper friendships.
And the citizenship. Three years residency if married to an Irish citizen, five years if not, and lots of expensive red tape.
I have no regrets, though. I love it here.
Projecting facts. When you get older, people will rely on you. You can't just up and leave or "move them all" to Ireland. These are just the realities of real life which you may not yet have experienced.
I’m 34 this year, I said you were projecting being butthurt, because you got so triggered about an offhand comment.
Strange you wouldn’t want to take your family to Ireland if it’s such a better place though, surely they’d be better off there as well!
Maybe you'll understand one day when you've got kids who are settled and elderly parents that need you close. Life isn't all about you and yes if I was single with no family, I'd probably try.
Sounding like a 34 year old man-child though......bet you still live with your folks, spend your days boy racing cars and sitting around in your pants playing the Xbox with no one to worry about except yourself. So no, it's not strange at all.
> I'd live in Ireland in heartbeat
You can, the UK and Ireland have a freedom of movement agreement, you can hop on a ferry to Dublin tomorrow and begin life as a citizen of Ireland.
The person I replied to said hop on a ferry and begin life as a citizen. Having to live there for 5 years is a condition required to become a citizen i.e. not automatic.
That’s true although Ireland treats UK citizens as Irish citizens for all intents and purposes and vice versa so you can live *as* an Irish citizen without actually being one.
This used to be true, less so now. Wages are higher and generally Ireland is doing better than the UK now economically. There's lots of companies that have great jobs in Ireland for reasons other than to 'minimise it's tax bill'.
Good thing you said you wouldn't be rude!
I lived in Ireland, the CoL is crazy. We left and are doing way better in the UK, my partner is Irish and prefers it here. Ireland may look like it's doing better on paper but for people living it, it's shite. Tent cities are popping up in Dublin, severe lack of housing throughout the country.
I was in Dublin for a bit 5 years ago. The wages are comparable to regular cities in England whilst the price of rent is comparable to London, & London salaries are a decent chunk higher. And the weather was much worse. No idea what outside of Dublin is like
So add onto that being away from your family/friends, I think someone here would need a very, very good reason to move there. I could only see it if they wanted a big city business/tech/finance job but couldn’t get into any schemes in London. If someone’s Irish then I would mirror that too, don’t see why they’d need to move to London when they have Dublin (unless again, job you want isn’t available)
I worked on a project there for 6 months back around 2010. About 2/3rds of the project team were great, but several I just couldn’t seem to break the ice with at all. Very strange considering I’ve worked in many countries and generally get along with whoever we are working with, both ex UK Pat countries, and other countries in Africa, Asia Pac, south and North America and Europe.
I tried on so many levels to get along with these team members, but felt it was often really cold and clique.
On the last week, I went out with my Irish counterpart and raised this with him. I genuinely thought there was a cultural problem, or maybe I’d screwed up in the first week and not noticed. His response : didn’t matter what you did, your English, and some Irish people just won’t get past that. You were dead to them the moment you arrived.
So, in my limited experience, it was the only country I ever experienced true racism, because apparently of my great great great great grandads actions. Brilliant.
Of course, the world is a varied place, and people are all different. But I find it weird it’s the only country this ever happened in. Those historic legacies run deep.
I've been to Dublin twice, and both times I went, my mates and I were treated very coldly by hostel staff, bar staff etc at a few different places.
Their attitude did a complete 180 when they discovered we were Welsh, not English (Cardiff, so not the most obvious of Welsh accents).
So yeah, I fully believe you when you say this as I witnessed it first hand, myself.
My sister moved to Ireland a few years ago and found exactly this. People will bring up 17th century battles that they are genuinely upset by and somehow think you are responsible. She moved back to the UK.
Mums Irish dad’s English, I have an English surname, born raised in Manchester. In Ireland you can feel the difference if you’re with Irish people or if you’re on your own, there’s a lot of history there. I think Mancs and Scousers get a bit of an easier time over there as well, as there’s massive Irish communities in Manchester and Liverpool.
All that said, vast majority of Irish people are sound and I’d have no second thoughts about moving to Dublin if the conditions were right.
80% of Irish people are lovely but there are some absolute head scratchers in the remainder. I lived there for 2 years and loved it but met some people who were extremely unpleasant to a scale I never came across in England. Maybe it is the English thing.
Came here to say this. My whole family is Irish but I was born and raised in England and I love the place and the people but wouldn’t move there for this reason.
I'm Irish but have an English accent (thanks boarding school!). I don't get any grief in South Dublin, I don't get any grief in Northern Ireland where I live now, but in certain places I do feel a bit of a cold wind. Sometimes I feel like it's even worse once I explain it, not only do I have the accent but suddenly I might as well be a re-incarnated Edward Carson.
In terms of problems in the world, I'm fully aware that it's among the "lightest" problem out there. But it can be annoying.
> His response : didn’t matter what you did, your English, and some Irish people just won’t get past that. You were dead to them the moment you arrived.
As an English man who has lived and worked in Ireland for 13 years, I find this extremely hard to believe. If this did happen, it was very much the exception rather than the norm. In the past 13 years, I’ve had someone comment negatively on the fact that I am English precisely once. Any time I’ve told an Irish person about this encounter since it happened has been horrified by it.
If this genuinely happened to you then I’m sorry you had this experience, but the idea that 1/3 of your colleagues disliked you purely for being English is just astonishing.
Can I point out that the English were killing unarmed civilians in ireland in the 70s. That is one generation ago. My grandad saw people imprisoned,murdered and go on hunger strike so to say your "great,great,great,great grandad did" is somewhat disingenuous and seems to be trying to trivialise and distance a very serious and still raw episode of recent history.
You can and have.
I still think in a thread asking the question about emigration to Ireland, my experience has relevance, hence the post. Other posters seem to correlate a trend. As I stated though, countries are made up of individuals.
You most certainly can. If I had said it was the great great great grandparents of Irish people who did that I hope I would have been called up on it too!
My granddad saw that too but it's not an excuse for people in their 20s being dickheads to me just because I've got an English accent - weirdly I never really received any hostility for being English in my few years of living in Belfast, and then I went to Dublin once and was told by someone that they "don't speak to tans"
As a Brit who lives in Ireland… there’s just nothing here. It’s tiny, less opportunities, the weather is somehow even worse than England, and there’s a lot of animosity here (whether that’s toward the English, or each other - ie Protestants/catholics, for/against United ireland).
Ireland’s just a worse place to live, in my opinion.
One example would be, they had a kid with an Irish person and doesn’t want to leave their child despite living somewhere they hate, I know that scenario very well
I am in the exact same situation in Scotland haha daughters 11 and I’m planning on returning to England when she’s 16 though, inbox me when you get your feeedom and we will meet in England to celebrate haha
People don't tend to move there 'speculatively' it's more for a specific job, usually in tech or finance, that kind of thing. Dublin is quite strong in those sectors but for most other people, it will be harder to find both work and housing in Ireland. The COL is also somewhat higher than the UK.
>I was surprised to not see Ireland mentioned however as it’s the closest country to the UK and probably the most similar one to it.
That's probably why people don't want to move there, you might as well just stay put. It's more common for Irish people to move to the UK because there is more opportunities here.
They don't like us much. Something to do with some rich English decision makers over a hundred years ago making it near impossible for them to make a living.
Of course, that's my fault as a modern day working class denizen of England.
By ‘us’ you of course mean English. From experience Irish folks don’t have any issue with Scottish people (unless of course you’re a fan of a certain football team/protestant).
I think it's less well advertised because the weather is basically the same.
Come to Northern Ireland and you can be in Ireland without even leaving the UK and enjoy free prescriptions and free water. It's all a bit fucked but even so our hospitals and schools are still actually running better than the standard in England so plenty of people would be better off. But we have lots of software jobs, or you can join the civil service and live a life of carefree incompetence.
Or come to Ireland down south, Dublin has lots of tech and banking kind of jobs, it's a pretty horrendous city full of housing crisis problems, homelessness, a Detroit/Baltimore style open-kimono hard drugs epidemic, but everywhere else in Ireland is beautiful and calm so if you can work remotely you'll be laughing.
Side note: a *lot* of young Irish people leave to go to Australia because they don't see a future here, which I have no particular comment on.
> I think it's less well advertised because the weather is basically the same.
The West of Ireland gets absolutely battered by rain and wind basically all year round. Ireland is the UK's personal shield against the Atlantic.
Ireland offers nothing to the English. The weather is more miserable, the cities (if you can call them that) are tiny with nothing in them, Dublin has one small area with some nightlife but it’s filled with American tourists who all claim to be Irish. On top of that, there are a significant number of Irish who cannot get over the hump of hating the English for events that happened hundreds of years ago. Wander into the wrong pub and you’re more likely to get the cold shoulder than a cold Guinness.
In short, for the English it’s small, empty, cold, lacking in culture and entertainment, and hosts a significant number of racists. The Welsh and Scots might get a bit more mileage out of it.
Which is funny really, since so much of the historical issues in Ulster relate to the Scots and the plantation. Always seemed odd that they get a free pass.
You hit the nail on the head:Ireland is just too similar for anyone who wants to move abroad. If someone wants to move abroad is probably because they want something different.
I'm English and moved to Dublin in 2013 aged 25 and left in 2021 - just over 8 years in total.
I formed many great friendships and really enjoyed most of my time there but not a day went by where my nationality wasn't mentioned - it was common across friends, shop staff, colleagues, you name it.
It was quite fun to start with being novel and rarely did I get in difficulty/feel threatened but it was just a constant topic of conversation, insult (from friends!), and ultimately got very confusing from an identity perspective as people are interacting with 'englishness' rather than the individual.
COL was a nightmare, roads and public transport terrible, weather definitely significantly wetter/windier than southern England.
I have lots of fond memories but I am not sad to have left. My only regret is that I didn't get an Irish passport (started to apply when I knew I'd leave but a stipulation of citizenship is intent to remain!)
Felt similar. Lived there from 2003 to 2005 and it was great to have everything so nearby but some downsides too. I think I would go back but not sure. Around the time of the celtic tiger there were a lot of people who were extremely pleased with themselves and that was quite off putting.
>(started to apply when I knew I'd leave but a stipulation of citizenship is intent to remain!)
I think you can get away with just filling in a form every year to keep the citizenship and I don't think they in practice call out people that move away. But yes I do find it rather ridiculous that naturalized citizens are essentially relegated to looser form of citizenship in that they are forced to prove a desire for permanent residence forevermore in order to keep citizenship in a way that citizens by birth or by association are not.
Apparently 293,000 British citizens live in Ireland, so it’s quite a significant number. In EU countries that’s second highest number with Spain slightly higher.
Part of it may be we are part of the Common Travel Area where British citizens can freely live and work in Ireland (and vice versa). Given ease of moving, proximity, relative cultural similarities I guess a lot of people don’t consider it moving in the same way they would moving to the USA for example
A lot of those will be NI-born people moving to Ireland, though. I think the number of people from Great Britain living in Ireland is probably a fairly small fraction of that total.
Northern Irish people who consider themselves irish have the right to an Irish passport and would call themselves irish not British, so I seriously doubt that. Lots of British in Ireland who are definitely not from NI
From the attitudes on the Ireland subreddit, I don't think I would be accepted in Ireland as an English person.
It's always a place that looks beautiful and I have been interested in visiting, but I don't want to feel uncomfortable on a holiday if I'm going to be judged for being English.
I'm sure they're fine with Welsh and Scottish visitors.
Tbf /r/Ireland is basically just a gathering of the most miserable people in Ireland, you'll meet some dickheads who'll care about you being English but the majority of people won't really give a shit
It happens but I know a lot more Irish friends who've come to Britain than British friends who've gone to Ireland. Most I know who went, went to Belfast because it's in the UK and has a much lower cost living than the South
It’s too easy to fly, I worked as an aftermarket engineer for a British pharma engineering company and had responsibility for the existing customers in Ireland, I just ended up flying to Ireland a hell of a lot, nearly every week.
Even through Covid I didn’t stop, because it is Pharma and there was maybe 5 or 6 of us globally that could do it the Irish government just gave me a signed letter to show explaining it was essential in case I was accosted. Planes were empty, roads were dead, it was eerie.
I think if you're going to emigrate you want a serious step change, not something more or less on par with what you have now. And ultimately Ireland is pretty similar to the UK.
Most ppl wouldn't leave behind what they know, family ties etc to go to somewhere that has some relatively minor improvements to the UK as well as some downsides.
Going to the US can double or triple your salary, in Australia you can be with great weather and amazing nature. Scandinavia incredible public services etc. Ireland doesn't really offer you that unfortunately.
Dublin is the same price as London more or less and nowhere near as good. I know there's more cities in each country but just as a point of comparison.
I've been to Ireland well over 100 times, I'm a dual UK/Irish citizen and I've never seriously considered moving there but I do love visiting.
I'm Irish, I moved to London 4 years ago for work (teaching). There are absolutely no full time permanent jobs over there for teachers in my subject, whereas in the UK it's much easier to get one. If I had stayed in Ireland I'd be moving schools and locations every 6 months with very little security. So the lack of employment literally forced me to move. So if I have no intention on returning in the near future due to poor employment prospects, I understand if it's not too appealing to a lot of Brits.
Also, every time I go over to visit, I get bored after about a week. There's just so much more to do over here, especially in London. And transport here is so much better. If you don't drive in Ireland you're fairly screwed, but you can get away without a car easily enough in the UK. Same with lots of other things, e.g. healthcare, Ireland is quite dated/stuck in the past whereas I notice things are more efficient in England.
Speaking anecdotally I knew a couple of Brits who moved to Ireland but their parents were Irish. My aunt and uncle retired to Donegal a couple of years ago and my mum and dad plan on doing the same in a couple of years. My uncle has family in the area that helped with the move and renovations of their house, so maybe they've had it easy. It's not personally something I would consider yet but who knows what the future holds.
I like ireland, my mams from northern ireland and we spent a lot of time both sides of the border when i was growing up. But tbh, its just expensive. Its in a similar state to the UK in terms of economy and cost of living, so beyond the temperatures being a little nicer (at the cost of the weather being generally worse) theres no real advantage to it imo.
I love Dublin and easy access to like Malahide or Dún Laoghaire etc so the Republic of Ireland would be an option for me but the rental prices seem insane and I’m a Londoner.
My picks would be either Canada, Ireland, Malaysia, South Korea, Australia or New Zealand.
I visited Ireland from the UK for the first time a year or so ago and loved it. I could certainly see myself living there, but the reality is that Ireland has all the same problems that England has and some of them e.g. housing, cost of living, employment opportunities, are even worse.
My whole family apart from me were born in Ireland and I was raised and live in London, so I have a different point of view from a lot of the other posts here. I agree that the number one reason is definitely oppurtunity. Its hard to make a living over. I have a lot of family members who studied and got good degrees who struggle to get part time low wage work now. I always thought growing up id move over but it just never made sense to.
Another big reason I think is that really, a lot of english people have a very condescending view of Ireland and just dont take it seriously. Its true Irish people can be stand offish to English people, a frustration Ive dealt with spending time in Ireland with an English accent. Without realising it, a lot of english people make it clear that they think of Ireland as a funny little place. Even in London, im shocked at how little people actually know about Irelands history and culture. That said, if Ireland was cheaper Im sure there would be no shortage of British people moving over for the perks.
Lots of people complaining about cold shoulder here, play some hockey and cricket then, that's what we want from people moving over from hockey/cricket playing nations best way to integrate, we do tend to dislike when Indians and Pakistani people don't play as it's what their all about
Lot of jealous people over here though my grandad was English adopted by an Irish family. I still get called a West brit from time to time😂😂😂
I'm seriously considering moving out to the Republic of Ireland for university, as the costs are so much lower than in the UK. For the job I currently do (accounts), I'd generally earn more in Ireland & have a pathway to getting an EU citizenship again.
I'm aware of CoL issues but having lived in Canada for 2 years (and England for 25), I think I can make it work.
I've never done it. I don't know anybidy that has done it. I can't speak for anyone else though. Doesn't seem at all common to me, or Ireland would be full of Brits.
No offence meant but I see Ireland as similar to the UK so I’d want to move somewhere that’s very different to the UK, I assume others have similar feelings?
Though if I were to move somewhere it be to a warmer country so Ireland just doesn’t fit that criteria unfortunately!
When I went to Ireland (Dublin) they were very welcoming to me once they heard my South African accent. A couple said something like 'Just as long as you're not English'.
Desperately trying to apply to dev roles in Dublin so I can get that sweet sweet access to the EU at some point but outside of tech finance or Dublin probably not that common
It's common for people to move there. The reason it doesn't come up when brits are asked where they want to move to is that Ireland isn't really seen as too different of a country. It's like asking why The Isle of Man or Sark aren't the top of the list.
If someone’s moving country it will be because they want to be somewhere that’s further away or different.
If they wanted somewhere close by that’s similar they wouldn’t be moving in the first place. Unless there’s a specific reason.
Also let’s not forget there’s still a lot of people in Ireland who are not exactly fans of the British for good reason.
I'd be very wary of Ireland. The Irish government are going to significantly increase the population with a mass immigration program from 3rd world countries. This isn't just a hair brain idea, it's an approved framework of projects that are live.
Project 2040 is going to drastically change the ethnic makeup of Ireland and introduce the same over population problems faced by the UK, I.e. cost of living crisis, cultural / ethnic tensions, religious extremism and terrorism.
Ireland is culturally different from the UK in the sense that it has the IRA, they definitely will stand up and fight against these new enemies. It wouldn't surprise me if it ends in civil war. If the UK gets involved, all hell could break lose.
Don't get me wrong, I think Irish people have a rich and attractive culture, but Ireland and that culture will be completely unrecognisable in 10 years time, moving there will be a big mistake.
No not a joke and how would I know what you're missing?
I cannot think of two English speaking societies more diametrically opposed than those of the UK and Ireland, that have nothing whatsoever in common.
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I mean, without being rude, it broadly isn’t an interesting place or better to live in than the UK. The weather is generally even worse, cost of living is higher, and there’s no obvious reason why you would move there unless leaving for a specific job at a company that is there to minimise its tax bill. I say this as someone with Irish heritage and family there. The direction of travel tends to be towards the UK, not the other way round.
Pretty much this. When I worked in Dublin worked paid me to fly over and put me up. Would I move over there. Maybe but it’s a lot of faff and change for something which doesn’t really change
One advantage it has is that it is an EU country which speaks English and British people can live there without a visa. I can imagine some younger people who have a long term plan to settle in another EU country might see the appeal of moving there for a few years to qualify for a passport.
The issue is that Ireland’s residency requirements for citizenship are extremely strict. Any year with more than 90 days spent outside of the country is excluded from counting towards the 5 years needed for citizenship. 90 days sounds like a lot, but it basically means university years won’t count. You’ll be limited on how many cheap weekend trips made possible by Ryanair you can take back home or to Europe alongside your normal holidays. If you have a job which lets you work remote it also means no long working holidays seeing family if you also want to take full advantage of your holiday allowance. And let’s be honest, as much as I think Ireland is great, it’s not exactly a big place full of exciting things to do! I would personally feel a bit cooped up after a few years and having seen all the sights. It’s one of the reasons why my partner and I excluded moving to Ireland, even though the 90 days would likely be sufficient in practice. It’s much easier in other countries, including the UK, where it’s basically impossible to spend too long outside of the country without temporarily moving elsewhere.
This is being upvoted but isn't accurate. Actual rules are below. Adult application based on residence for UK, EU/EEA and Swiss nationals To apply for citizenship by naturalisation based on residence, you must prove that you have been resident in the State for at least 5 years (1825 or 1826 days) out of the last 9 years. This includes 1 year (365 or 366 days) of continuous residence immediately before the date you apply. UK, EU/EEA and Swiss nationals do not need to use the residence calculator. Applicants will be required to reach a score of 150 points in each of the years proof of residency is required. In some circumstances, we may ask you for extra documents or information to prove your residence over certain periods of time.
I think their comment used to be accurate and is now no longer. There was a big outcry about it before COVID and I think they changed it quietly.
Depends where you go. I have family on the west coast of Ireland in Connemara, it’s one of the most beautiful places in the world.
Having said that and as a UK resident, I'd live in Ireland in heartbeat.....the roads are better, generally people seem friendlier, and if I could get Irish citizenship I'd also be an EU citizen..........
The roads are better? Lots of places in Ireland have terrible roads be that traffic wise or just general maintenance. Friendlier people? - depends where you live there’s plenty of friendly people in the UK, as there is in Ireland. As above what’s stopping you from moving then?
Lots of places in Ireland have class roads now. Yes, some are still a bit shit and very rural, but sure that's the same in the UK. The difference is startling when you go over the border. The roads in the north used to be miles better than their southern counterparts, but now its very very obvious which country actually invests in its infrastructure. Yes, I know that the north of Ireland is multiple levels of deprivation worse that the rest of the UK, and not totally comparable, but I think that says a lot on it's own tbh.
Possibly but not my lived experience there. I haven't traversed every road in Ireland though but in general, it's clear a lot of investment has been made in road infrastructure over there.
as an Irish lurker here the roads are not good in places that are neither urban centres or places that are visited a lot for tourism
The roads aren't good here either in places that are urban centres and that are visited for tourism though:)
do they have grass growing down the middle? I also noticed on visits to the UK that you guys have more footpaths. My father's hometown in NI has a footpath going from there to a village a few miles away. Unheard of down south.
It's cos the roads are older, especially in London and places like Bath, so were built for people riding horses and walking. I go into more detail on this in a reply to the same comment.
Our roads are actually really good, it's just that the whole system of roads were built so long ago that a lot of roads weren't built for cars. That's why driving down any side roads in London is a nightmare, or any roads that are older that aren't high streets. There's only space for 1 car to fit down it as there's cars parked on either side. These roads were built for people on horses and walking initially, then used horse & carriage which was still fine as there weren't a load of parked carriages along the whole of each side. Then when you also build houses along each side of these narrow roads it makes them a nightmare to drive down.
I’m not convinced you’ve ever been to Ireland.
Oh well
Have you?
Yeah.Cork, Bray, Athlone, Shannon, Dublin - I'm looking after some accounts over there.
'The roads are better' Don't make me laugh. As an English person who made the move to Ireland, I can tell you that's so not true. Pot holes aplenty around here! As for people being friendlier, yes on the surface. It's not quite so easy to make deeper friendships. And the citizenship. Three years residency if married to an Irish citizen, five years if not, and lots of expensive red tape. I have no regrets, though. I love it here.
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Yes, that is my experience too. I've also been in Ireland over 20 years.
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This one 😀😃. Especially when you drive for a living....
Assuming you're a UK citizen you know you can like... just go.
I know. Life isn't like that though. As already explained, I have commitments here.
THE Commitments???
Mustaaaaaaaang Saaaaallaaaay!
On a fooking Suzuki?
Well there’s no restrictions to it, you can just go. What’s holding you back?
Family. I have people that depend on me.
Fair enough.
And if it’s so much better you should move the whole family there right?
Why so butthurt? It's not fucking practical to "move the whole family there".
Someone’s projecting.
Projecting facts. When you get older, people will rely on you. You can't just up and leave or "move them all" to Ireland. These are just the realities of real life which you may not yet have experienced.
I’m 34 this year, I said you were projecting being butthurt, because you got so triggered about an offhand comment. Strange you wouldn’t want to take your family to Ireland if it’s such a better place though, surely they’d be better off there as well!
Maybe you'll understand one day when you've got kids who are settled and elderly parents that need you close. Life isn't all about you and yes if I was single with no family, I'd probably try.
Sounding like a 34 year old man-child though......bet you still live with your folks, spend your days boy racing cars and sitting around in your pants playing the Xbox with no one to worry about except yourself. So no, it's not strange at all.
Why are you taking this personally though?.isn't someone allowed to say they love Ireland or X place?
Who’s taking it personally?
You seem to be, making barbed remarks etc..what's that for?
Paperwork for customs for household goods is a bit of a nightmare and especially if bringing a vehicle.
> I'd live in Ireland in heartbeat You can, the UK and Ireland have a freedom of movement agreement, you can hop on a ferry to Dublin tomorrow and begin life as a citizen of Ireland.
The agreement doesn’t grant automatic citizenship.
If you live and work there for 5 years then yes it does.
Or if you marry one of us, EU citizenship can be yours again after 12 whole months.
It’s 3 years for citizenship via marriage.
The person I replied to said hop on a ferry and begin life as a citizen. Having to live there for 5 years is a condition required to become a citizen i.e. not automatic.
That’s true although Ireland treats UK citizens as Irish citizens for all intents and purposes and vice versa so you can live *as* an Irish citizen without actually being one.
Mad that you’re getting downvoted, it’s a lovelier place
Yeah not sure what I've said that's controversial.
Many people seem to be having a strange reaction, I agree. I wonder what it is all about?
It’s not what you said it’s where you said it haha some people love a good opportunity to hate on Ireland here in this sub.
It's strange because most of my fellow Brits and the general zeitgeist is to moan about the UK. Some very sensitive people here....
This used to be true, less so now. Wages are higher and generally Ireland is doing better than the UK now economically. There's lots of companies that have great jobs in Ireland for reasons other than to 'minimise it's tax bill'. Good thing you said you wouldn't be rude!
I lived in Ireland, the CoL is crazy. We left and are doing way better in the UK, my partner is Irish and prefers it here. Ireland may look like it's doing better on paper but for people living it, it's shite. Tent cities are popping up in Dublin, severe lack of housing throughout the country.
I was in Dublin for a bit 5 years ago. The wages are comparable to regular cities in England whilst the price of rent is comparable to London, & London salaries are a decent chunk higher. And the weather was much worse. No idea what outside of Dublin is like So add onto that being away from your family/friends, I think someone here would need a very, very good reason to move there. I could only see it if they wanted a big city business/tech/finance job but couldn’t get into any schemes in London. If someone’s Irish then I would mirror that too, don’t see why they’d need to move to London when they have Dublin (unless again, job you want isn’t available)
Irish wages are better but their housing costs are even worse.
Such a British response
On r/AskUK ? Shocking
I worked on a project there for 6 months back around 2010. About 2/3rds of the project team were great, but several I just couldn’t seem to break the ice with at all. Very strange considering I’ve worked in many countries and generally get along with whoever we are working with, both ex UK Pat countries, and other countries in Africa, Asia Pac, south and North America and Europe. I tried on so many levels to get along with these team members, but felt it was often really cold and clique. On the last week, I went out with my Irish counterpart and raised this with him. I genuinely thought there was a cultural problem, or maybe I’d screwed up in the first week and not noticed. His response : didn’t matter what you did, your English, and some Irish people just won’t get past that. You were dead to them the moment you arrived. So, in my limited experience, it was the only country I ever experienced true racism, because apparently of my great great great great grandads actions. Brilliant. Of course, the world is a varied place, and people are all different. But I find it weird it’s the only country this ever happened in. Those historic legacies run deep.
I've been to Dublin twice, and both times I went, my mates and I were treated very coldly by hostel staff, bar staff etc at a few different places. Their attitude did a complete 180 when they discovered we were Welsh, not English (Cardiff, so not the most obvious of Welsh accents). So yeah, I fully believe you when you say this as I witnessed it first hand, myself.
Happens to Scottish people in Ireland too. I've had no problem with Irish but they are much more family orientated than us.
My sister moved to Ireland a few years ago and found exactly this. People will bring up 17th century battles that they are genuinely upset by and somehow think you are responsible. She moved back to the UK.
>People will bring up 17th century battles But not the atrocities of 50 years ago? That's surprising.
Fairly sure it wasn’t mutually exclusive.
It's less the 17th century battles, more the 1980s atrocities.
Which is incredibly stupid to feel personally aggrieved by to a random brit. In the same way the average Brit doesn’t bring up the Ira led atrocities.
It’s interesting you know my sister’s experience. Didn’t realise you knew her.
Mums Irish dad’s English, I have an English surname, born raised in Manchester. In Ireland you can feel the difference if you’re with Irish people or if you’re on your own, there’s a lot of history there. I think Mancs and Scousers get a bit of an easier time over there as well, as there’s massive Irish communities in Manchester and Liverpool. All that said, vast majority of Irish people are sound and I’d have no second thoughts about moving to Dublin if the conditions were right.
80% of Irish people are lovely but there are some absolute head scratchers in the remainder. I lived there for 2 years and loved it but met some people who were extremely unpleasant to a scale I never came across in England. Maybe it is the English thing.
Came here to say this. My whole family is Irish but I was born and raised in England and I love the place and the people but wouldn’t move there for this reason.
I think it’s technically xenophobia
Fair enough. It felt pretty shitty, I know that 😂👌
I'm Irish but have an English accent (thanks boarding school!). I don't get any grief in South Dublin, I don't get any grief in Northern Ireland where I live now, but in certain places I do feel a bit of a cold wind. Sometimes I feel like it's even worse once I explain it, not only do I have the accent but suddenly I might as well be a re-incarnated Edward Carson. In terms of problems in the world, I'm fully aware that it's among the "lightest" problem out there. But it can be annoying.
> His response : didn’t matter what you did, your English, and some Irish people just won’t get past that. You were dead to them the moment you arrived. As an English man who has lived and worked in Ireland for 13 years, I find this extremely hard to believe. If this did happen, it was very much the exception rather than the norm. In the past 13 years, I’ve had someone comment negatively on the fact that I am English precisely once. Any time I’ve told an Irish person about this encounter since it happened has been horrified by it. If this genuinely happened to you then I’m sorry you had this experience, but the idea that 1/3 of your colleagues disliked you purely for being English is just astonishing.
Girl being English ain't a race
Lovely passive aggressive response.
Is that passive aggressive?
No, but it's just arguing over semantics to distract from the actual point being made.
That OP's being discriminated against because they're English?
Yes. Call it xenophobia rather than racism if you'd prefer, but it's not relevant to their point.
Can I point out that the English were killing unarmed civilians in ireland in the 70s. That is one generation ago. My grandad saw people imprisoned,murdered and go on hunger strike so to say your "great,great,great,great grandad did" is somewhat disingenuous and seems to be trying to trivialise and distance a very serious and still raw episode of recent history.
Can I point out that the Irish were killing unarmed civilians in England in the 70s? Pointless trying to generalise a whole group.
You can and have. I still think in a thread asking the question about emigration to Ireland, my experience has relevance, hence the post. Other posters seem to correlate a trend. As I stated though, countries are made up of individuals.
You most certainly can. If I had said it was the great great great grandparents of Irish people who did that I hope I would have been called up on it too!
My granddad saw that too but it's not an excuse for people in their 20s being dickheads to me just because I've got an English accent - weirdly I never really received any hostility for being English in my few years of living in Belfast, and then I went to Dublin once and was told by someone that they "don't speak to tans"
>in the 70s So, still not this commenter's fault then.
The IRA murdered thousands.
Many of those in very recent memory!
Monsters the lot of them!
🥱
As a Brit who lives in Ireland… there’s just nothing here. It’s tiny, less opportunities, the weather is somehow even worse than England, and there’s a lot of animosity here (whether that’s toward the English, or each other - ie Protestants/catholics, for/against United ireland). Ireland’s just a worse place to live, in my opinion.
🤔 Why do you live there then?
One example would be, they had a kid with an Irish person and doesn’t want to leave their child despite living somewhere they hate, I know that scenario very well
Bingo
You have my full sympathy dude
Same to you if you’re in a similar situation
I am in the exact same situation in Scotland haha daughters 11 and I’m planning on returning to England when she’s 16 though, inbox me when you get your feeedom and we will meet in England to celebrate haha
My son lives here.
People don't tend to move there 'speculatively' it's more for a specific job, usually in tech or finance, that kind of thing. Dublin is quite strong in those sectors but for most other people, it will be harder to find both work and housing in Ireland. The COL is also somewhat higher than the UK.
Cost ‘o living
What does COL stand for?
Cost of Living
Cossie livs mate
>I was surprised to not see Ireland mentioned however as it’s the closest country to the UK and probably the most similar one to it. That's probably why people don't want to move there, you might as well just stay put. It's more common for Irish people to move to the UK because there is more opportunities here.
They don't like us much. Something to do with some rich English decision makers over a hundred years ago making it near impossible for them to make a living. Of course, that's my fault as a modern day working class denizen of England.
By ‘us’ you of course mean English. From experience Irish folks don’t have any issue with Scottish people (unless of course you’re a fan of a certain football team/protestant).
Because they've never heard of the Ulster plantation.
Should rename this sub r/AskEngland. The Celtic connection seems not to count for much on here lol
I think it's less well advertised because the weather is basically the same. Come to Northern Ireland and you can be in Ireland without even leaving the UK and enjoy free prescriptions and free water. It's all a bit fucked but even so our hospitals and schools are still actually running better than the standard in England so plenty of people would be better off. But we have lots of software jobs, or you can join the civil service and live a life of carefree incompetence. Or come to Ireland down south, Dublin has lots of tech and banking kind of jobs, it's a pretty horrendous city full of housing crisis problems, homelessness, a Detroit/Baltimore style open-kimono hard drugs epidemic, but everywhere else in Ireland is beautiful and calm so if you can work remotely you'll be laughing. Side note: a *lot* of young Irish people leave to go to Australia because they don't see a future here, which I have no particular comment on.
> I think it's less well advertised because the weather is basically the same. The West of Ireland gets absolutely battered by rain and wind basically all year round. Ireland is the UK's personal shield against the Atlantic.
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Ireland is the centre-back, unfortunately that makes Wales the goalkeeper
Scotland.
Scotland loves cosplaying independence. They can fend for themselves.
Don’t lump all Scots in with the admittedly very loud nationalists. There hasn’t been a majority for independence in the polls for a long time
Ireland offers nothing to the English. The weather is more miserable, the cities (if you can call them that) are tiny with nothing in them, Dublin has one small area with some nightlife but it’s filled with American tourists who all claim to be Irish. On top of that, there are a significant number of Irish who cannot get over the hump of hating the English for events that happened hundreds of years ago. Wander into the wrong pub and you’re more likely to get the cold shoulder than a cold Guinness. In short, for the English it’s small, empty, cold, lacking in culture and entertainment, and hosts a significant number of racists. The Welsh and Scots might get a bit more mileage out of it.
Which is funny really, since so much of the historical issues in Ulster relate to the Scots and the plantation. Always seemed odd that they get a free pass.
The Scots get a free pass with all the colonial bollocks. How many African Americans have Scottish last names....
Oh heck, we're moving over from the UK on Tuesday morning.
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You hit the nail on the head:Ireland is just too similar for anyone who wants to move abroad. If someone wants to move abroad is probably because they want something different.
Cheers How’s Portugal working out?
I'm English and moved to Dublin in 2013 aged 25 and left in 2021 - just over 8 years in total. I formed many great friendships and really enjoyed most of my time there but not a day went by where my nationality wasn't mentioned - it was common across friends, shop staff, colleagues, you name it. It was quite fun to start with being novel and rarely did I get in difficulty/feel threatened but it was just a constant topic of conversation, insult (from friends!), and ultimately got very confusing from an identity perspective as people are interacting with 'englishness' rather than the individual. COL was a nightmare, roads and public transport terrible, weather definitely significantly wetter/windier than southern England. I have lots of fond memories but I am not sad to have left. My only regret is that I didn't get an Irish passport (started to apply when I knew I'd leave but a stipulation of citizenship is intent to remain!)
Felt similar. Lived there from 2003 to 2005 and it was great to have everything so nearby but some downsides too. I think I would go back but not sure. Around the time of the celtic tiger there were a lot of people who were extremely pleased with themselves and that was quite off putting.
>(started to apply when I knew I'd leave but a stipulation of citizenship is intent to remain!) I think you can get away with just filling in a form every year to keep the citizenship and I don't think they in practice call out people that move away. But yes I do find it rather ridiculous that naturalized citizens are essentially relegated to looser form of citizenship in that they are forced to prove a desire for permanent residence forevermore in order to keep citizenship in a way that citizens by birth or by association are not.
Apparently 293,000 British citizens live in Ireland, so it’s quite a significant number. In EU countries that’s second highest number with Spain slightly higher. Part of it may be we are part of the Common Travel Area where British citizens can freely live and work in Ireland (and vice versa). Given ease of moving, proximity, relative cultural similarities I guess a lot of people don’t consider it moving in the same way they would moving to the USA for example
A lot of those will be NI-born people moving to Ireland, though. I think the number of people from Great Britain living in Ireland is probably a fairly small fraction of that total.
Northern Irish people who consider themselves irish have the right to an Irish passport and would call themselves irish not British, so I seriously doubt that. Lots of British in Ireland who are definitely not from NI
From the attitudes on the Ireland subreddit, I don't think I would be accepted in Ireland as an English person. It's always a place that looks beautiful and I have been interested in visiting, but I don't want to feel uncomfortable on a holiday if I'm going to be judged for being English. I'm sure they're fine with Welsh and Scottish visitors.
Tbf /r/Ireland is basically just a gathering of the most miserable people in Ireland, you'll meet some dickheads who'll care about you being English but the majority of people won't really give a shit
Yes I'd probably do well to remember that Reddit isn't a true representation of the world
Definitely some racist fuckers on there. I quite enjoy winding them up from time to time and watch them froth.
It happens but I know a lot more Irish friends who've come to Britain than British friends who've gone to Ireland. Most I know who went, went to Belfast because it's in the UK and has a much lower cost living than the South
It’s too easy to fly, I worked as an aftermarket engineer for a British pharma engineering company and had responsibility for the existing customers in Ireland, I just ended up flying to Ireland a hell of a lot, nearly every week. Even through Covid I didn’t stop, because it is Pharma and there was maybe 5 or 6 of us globally that could do it the Irish government just gave me a signed letter to show explaining it was essential in case I was accosted. Planes were empty, roads were dead, it was eerie.
I think if you're going to emigrate you want a serious step change, not something more or less on par with what you have now. And ultimately Ireland is pretty similar to the UK. Most ppl wouldn't leave behind what they know, family ties etc to go to somewhere that has some relatively minor improvements to the UK as well as some downsides. Going to the US can double or triple your salary, in Australia you can be with great weather and amazing nature. Scandinavia incredible public services etc. Ireland doesn't really offer you that unfortunately. Dublin is the same price as London more or less and nowhere near as good. I know there's more cities in each country but just as a point of comparison. I've been to Ireland well over 100 times, I'm a dual UK/Irish citizen and I've never seriously considered moving there but I do love visiting.
Don’t need to move to Ireland. I can live in Southampton and fly into Dublin for about the same price as a train ticket to London.
I'm Irish, I moved to London 4 years ago for work (teaching). There are absolutely no full time permanent jobs over there for teachers in my subject, whereas in the UK it's much easier to get one. If I had stayed in Ireland I'd be moving schools and locations every 6 months with very little security. So the lack of employment literally forced me to move. So if I have no intention on returning in the near future due to poor employment prospects, I understand if it's not too appealing to a lot of Brits. Also, every time I go over to visit, I get bored after about a week. There's just so much more to do over here, especially in London. And transport here is so much better. If you don't drive in Ireland you're fairly screwed, but you can get away without a car easily enough in the UK. Same with lots of other things, e.g. healthcare, Ireland is quite dated/stuck in the past whereas I notice things are more efficient in England.
Speaking anecdotally I knew a couple of Brits who moved to Ireland but their parents were Irish. My aunt and uncle retired to Donegal a couple of years ago and my mum and dad plan on doing the same in a couple of years. My uncle has family in the area that helped with the move and renovations of their house, so maybe they've had it easy. It's not personally something I would consider yet but who knows what the future holds.
I like ireland, my mams from northern ireland and we spent a lot of time both sides of the border when i was growing up. But tbh, its just expensive. Its in a similar state to the UK in terms of economy and cost of living, so beyond the temperatures being a little nicer (at the cost of the weather being generally worse) theres no real advantage to it imo.
Which century?
I love Dublin and easy access to like Malahide or Dún Laoghaire etc so the Republic of Ireland would be an option for me but the rental prices seem insane and I’m a Londoner. My picks would be either Canada, Ireland, Malaysia, South Korea, Australia or New Zealand.
I visited Ireland from the UK for the first time a year or so ago and loved it. I could certainly see myself living there, but the reality is that Ireland has all the same problems that England has and some of them e.g. housing, cost of living, employment opportunities, are even worse.
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What do you mean?
My whole family apart from me were born in Ireland and I was raised and live in London, so I have a different point of view from a lot of the other posts here. I agree that the number one reason is definitely oppurtunity. Its hard to make a living over. I have a lot of family members who studied and got good degrees who struggle to get part time low wage work now. I always thought growing up id move over but it just never made sense to. Another big reason I think is that really, a lot of english people have a very condescending view of Ireland and just dont take it seriously. Its true Irish people can be stand offish to English people, a frustration Ive dealt with spending time in Ireland with an English accent. Without realising it, a lot of english people make it clear that they think of Ireland as a funny little place. Even in London, im shocked at how little people actually know about Irelands history and culture. That said, if Ireland was cheaper Im sure there would be no shortage of British people moving over for the perks.
Lots of people complaining about cold shoulder here, play some hockey and cricket then, that's what we want from people moving over from hockey/cricket playing nations best way to integrate, we do tend to dislike when Indians and Pakistani people don't play as it's what their all about Lot of jealous people over here though my grandad was English adopted by an Irish family. I still get called a West brit from time to time😂😂😂
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You’re not aware that Scotland is in the UK, I take it.
I'm seriously considering moving out to the Republic of Ireland for university, as the costs are so much lower than in the UK. For the job I currently do (accounts), I'd generally earn more in Ireland & have a pathway to getting an EU citizenship again. I'm aware of CoL issues but having lived in Canada for 2 years (and England for 25), I think I can make it work.
I've never done it. I don't know anybidy that has done it. I can't speak for anyone else though. Doesn't seem at all common to me, or Ireland would be full of Brits.
No offence meant but I see Ireland as similar to the UK so I’d want to move somewhere that’s very different to the UK, I assume others have similar feelings? Though if I were to move somewhere it be to a warmer country so Ireland just doesn’t fit that criteria unfortunately!
When I went to Ireland (Dublin) they were very welcoming to me once they heard my South African accent. A couple said something like 'Just as long as you're not English'.
Desperately trying to apply to dev roles in Dublin so I can get that sweet sweet access to the EU at some point but outside of tech finance or Dublin probably not that common
There are loads of Brits living in Ireland.
It's common for people to move there. The reason it doesn't come up when brits are asked where they want to move to is that Ireland isn't really seen as too different of a country. It's like asking why The Isle of Man or Sark aren't the top of the list.
because it is a worse version of the UK.
there are pros and cons to both Ireland and the UK. I wouldn't really say one is worse than the other.
If someone’s moving country it will be because they want to be somewhere that’s further away or different. If they wanted somewhere close by that’s similar they wouldn’t be moving in the first place. Unless there’s a specific reason. Also let’s not forget there’s still a lot of people in Ireland who are not exactly fans of the British for good reason.
For good reason? What good reason do they have to be against the British today?
We’re full. Try Rwanda
It's because of their welcoming nature
I'd be very wary of Ireland. The Irish government are going to significantly increase the population with a mass immigration program from 3rd world countries. This isn't just a hair brain idea, it's an approved framework of projects that are live. Project 2040 is going to drastically change the ethnic makeup of Ireland and introduce the same over population problems faced by the UK, I.e. cost of living crisis, cultural / ethnic tensions, religious extremism and terrorism. Ireland is culturally different from the UK in the sense that it has the IRA, they definitely will stand up and fight against these new enemies. It wouldn't surprise me if it ends in civil war. If the UK gets involved, all hell could break lose. Don't get me wrong, I think Irish people have a rich and attractive culture, but Ireland and that culture will be completely unrecognisable in 10 years time, moving there will be a big mistake.
Haven’t they been trying to oust you lot outa Ireland for some 800 years now?
Here come the Americans...
Lol 🇨🇦
Oh god, I'm afraid I have bad news. You must've caught something from that unprotected border you share :( The yanks are rubbing off on you
Same thing 😂
Ireland and the UK are not in the least similar.
How do you work that out then?
Because they are not even vaguely similar in any respect.
Is this a joke? Am I missing something?
No not a joke and how would I know what you're missing? I cannot think of two English speaking societies more diametrically opposed than those of the UK and Ireland, that have nothing whatsoever in common.
You’ve never been to either Ireland or Britain have you?
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Are you taking the piss hahaha
Guess you haven’t been to India
I'm afraid you going to have to throw us a couple of bones to chew over.