http://travel.independent.co.uk/news_and_a...icle3067237.ece


I thought it would be the Netherlands...with its friendly natives and never ending sense of fun and excellent humour...... :roll:

Yeh.. The economist said it was the best place in the world to live in too:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4020523.stm

I would say that Ireland is pretty friendly though, although i would disagree with the quality of life aspect of it.

Everyone seems to think we have really low taxes, which is partially right, we do have really low income tax deducted at source.

Its when you take into account:
Vehicle Registration Tax
Government Levys on things such as sky high car insurance
Capital Gains Tax
Benefit in Kind
Government Duty (Cigarettes, alcohol, petrol, diesel etc)
Road Tax - I'm paying 528 a year on a 1.9 Diesel


Its a double taxation system, we get taxed at source and taxed on all sorts of other crap too !

On top of that we have merchants and services ripping everyone off because theres no sort of regulation on anything.

45% of the population have access to broadband internet

Saying that some things are getting better, but mainly our infrastructure is severely crippled and can't support the growth.

P.S. I'm moving to Den Haag next week

528 on a 1.9 diesel???

good lord. we get a much better deal up north. you won't save a penny moving to NL though.

You will get a wake up call! Ireland has the lowest tax in the EU even taking those thing into account. Try living in Denmark! A car costs about twice what it does in Ireland due to tax. 25% VAT on absolutely everything. Almost no tax free allowance - about 6K, and tax rates up to 65%. You get your TFA and then go straight onto that rate. Everything there is crucifying. Holland is definitely higher than ireland, but if you're on 30% ruling, it's reduced a little.

No,

Ireland is the MOST expensive place to buy a car in the EU ! So much so that the Specification of cars sold in Ireland is different to cars sold in the UK, they are of a lower spec.

Even with paying VRT its slightly cheaper if not the same price to get a UK model car (even with the sterling exchange rate)

Only difference ? Larger engine, all electrics, air conditioning, cruise control, sunroof, fog lights, leather seats and the car is in MUCH better condition.

I completely disagree, the cost of Living in Ireland is absolutely crippling, its not uncommon to find 20 - 30 Polish immigrants sharing a 2 bedroom apartment.

The cost of buying a place to live in Ireland is a joke (although coming down slightly in the last year).

We do have a lowest corporation tax in the EU, its much cheaper for companies to do business there, but for individuals, the taxation system looks great on paper but its not.

Double taxation is the problem, income tax is fine, but when you go to spend your money your very heavily taxed also.

For example.
Motorcycle Helmets, Leathers, Safety Equipment, Condoms, Pharmaceuticals, Glasses (Optical) are all taxed as LUXURY Items.

Minimum cost of a House in Cork (Down south) 375,000 euro. Minimum in Dublin 450 - 500k. Most people live in Kildare which is a good hour and a half away, prices there would be around the 400k mark.

I've worked in Ireland all my life and every single person that came from Finland, Norway, Denmark and Especially Germany were shocked as to how far their money went.

condoms, luxury items? has the Vatican finally allowed condoms down there?

the priests won't be happy, fewer potential victims.

Ireland friendly? Perhaps. I think they are friendly but the friendliness isn't always sincere.

Unfortunately there is still a nasty section of crazed religious fundamentalism in Ireland - particularly in the North.

I laughed loudly when I read yesterday about how the DUP and the Free Presbyterians made a complaint to the Parades commission in the North this week about a 'Jesus was a Fag' placard at the Belfast Gay Pride parade in 2007. They found it offensive.

But how did these extremist freaks know about the 'offensive' placard?

Oh yeah. Because they were protesting at the parade - handing out leaflets telling the gay people they were sodomites destined for hell (well if heaven is full of Free Presbyterian extremists then I'll choose hell every single time.

That's the trouble with religious freaks. They feel they can insult whoever they like but then get oh so sensitive when they face the same treatment.

I think the above is unfair. Of course there are the Free P's who are a bunch of loons but the vast vast majority of people in Nothern Ireland are very friendly.

While the Irish people in general (Northern Ireland & Republic of Ireland) are all a friendly crowd at the moment I'd say the North shades it slightly.

We're not used to the tourists so much up here so they're still somewhat of a novelty to the locals. If you wanted to just drop into a village pub in Ireland and be the center of attention because of your foreign accent then I'd say Northern Ireland is the best place to do that in Ireland.

im from n ireland and yes people are friendly but also nutters = some just are way too freaky with their beliefs
hubby and i just wanted out of the place to give our kids a better way of life
so much as theres a ceasefire theres still trouble
i watched a panarama prog on the likes of l/derry and where im from ballymena
all i can say is im glad im not living there and worrying are my kids ok when they leave the house
in general n irish folk are friendly though defin not used to alot of tourists = but they are willingly learning
i think the influx of immigrants is good and bad in some ways
before it was isolated nobody wanted to visit for fear of getting blown up and the tourist rate defin wasnt as high as nowadays
i also know theres a good and bad response to the immigrant expansion
but life has to change and we all have to learn to adapt though some back home are stuck in a time warp and somethings will never change
emerald

Yes they are friendly people, good laugh too. There are many exceptions though, mainly groups of people from Dublin: taxi drivers, recruitment agents, landlords, shop assistants, temple bar drunks in the weekends, estate agents and little white trash knacker kids (quite a miracle there are so many of them). All the normal people are indeed good craic.

lol i know can't beileve it!


anyway yeah i can believe it about ireland. its a really nice place!

That's true. I found them really friendly. actually too friendly for a new yorker like me. I asked for directions and they gave me such excruciating detail that I couldn't remember most of it when they finished telling me because by the time they finished the directions it was like 10 minutes later. A newyorker gives directions much more succinctly so it just blew my mind. They were so sweet in giving it that you just smile and wait until its over. Bless them.

im laughing at your post mvn
yes some irish are like that = you ask them a question or for directions and 10 years later they have finished telling you their life story and how to get there
like if you go to the bottom of this street and stop at this shop = you know you cant miss it = oh the stories i know about the goings on and who frequents that shop
your ears would curl
hahaha
ive heard it all mvn
all you can do is let them rant on smile as you said and then when they are finished you thank them \ you are still puzzled where the hell you are going and you briefly but in a nice way go threw the directions again just to be sure you got the left or right bit right from all the rest they were telling you
they can be kind sweet and funny people and are harmless
but at least they will stop and befriend you
emerald