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Ireland

richardg said:
I can't afford the food here. Third takeaway sandwich already, all of them have been between 6.50 and 8 euros. And I thought where I lived was expensive!
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I visited the UK last year and pricing over there is often higher. Quality is more suspect. Nowhere is perfect. We have come a long way from the seventies and eighties but still have lots of issues but you know we are getting there slowly. UK I feel by comparison have stagnated.

Get out to Connemara and if its not raining you will think you are in Heaven ;)
 
tonerei said:
People ignore the fact that a lot of the current younger generation want everything now. A lot go off and see the world. This was never available in my time. If I had taken that option I would have been frozen out of the housing market also. No gain without pain or sacrifice.
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Wow, where does one start? Good luck and well done in any case.
 
tonerei said:
:D Is it that clear from the Swiss Alps? There are so many reasons for the current predicament. Some down to various governments and a lot down to the huge surge in population. We are virtually at full employment. The current coalition have been incredibly generous with social supports throughout society, run a large budget surplus but the other side can cry foul and urge them to give even more and suggest they have failed. I think we are in for a recession at some point in the next 3-4 years. SF will I feel definitely get in and I am very curious to see how they are going to magic up more houses for all at an affordable price. A lot of their supporters want houses for nothing and want the person behind the tree to pay. It will all end in tears.

People ignore the fact that a lot of the current younger generation want everything now. A lot go off and see the world. This was never available in my time. If I had taken that option I would have been frozen out of the housing market also. No gain without pain or sacrifice.
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Re: wanting everything, this seems misguided. So many under 30, indeed an older cohort too, are forced to live at home or go elsewhere. For those with some means, the competition for affordable homes is fierce. Everything is selling way over list price. Investment funds, wealthy buyers from elsewhere, etc.

Nobody bats an eye paying €1500- €2000 for a very ordinary 1 bed apartment around Dublin. If you can secure one. Viewings often have lines down the road. Many people pay these sums to share accommodation...
 
barryb said:
Re: wanting everything, this seems misguided. So many under 30, indeed an older cohort too, are forced to live at home or go elsewhere. For those with some means, the competition for affordable homes is fierce. Everything is selling way over list price. Investment funds, wealthy buyers from elsewhere, etc.

Nobody bats an eye paying €1500- €2000 for a very ordinary 1 bed apartment around Dublin. If you can secure one. Viewings often have lines down the road. Many people pay these sums to share accommodation...
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I agree a lot of what you are saying is happening. TBH I am sorry I posted at all as any comment can be singled out and seized upon. I realize how tough the housing market is now but as I pointed out above their are myriad reasons for it.

I don't think its unreasonable to point out that expectations from this generation are a lot higher. Nothing wrong with that but it creates competition and pressures. Simplistic examples. Spend on weddings can be off the scale, some of the costs are eye watering. They generally drive more expensive cars. I don't think it is wrong to point out that this generation enjoy their luxuries more and want them now.
That obviously is not true across the board but I remember the late seventies and eighties, and how crap it was. I wouldn't wish it on my children. And yes I wish they could afford to buy a house in an area close to where we live but unfortunately because of our 'economic' success that will not happen easily.
 
A major difference in the 1970s and 1980s is that you didn't have to buy a house. Council housing was in good supply and it didn't have the stigma that it has now.

I grew up in such an estate, and my earliest memories are of a neighbourhood where most people had a job: sort of lower middle class if you want. Then the government had the bright idea that, rather than continuing to build social housing, it would incentivise its better-off tenants to give up their rented houses and buy privately (the property developers were a great source of bribery in those days): basically, you got a lump sum and a tax break to help you "buy a house of your own".

The offer was exceptionally generous - a real no-brainer... if you had a job at all. So no prizes for guessing what happened: within two years, anyone with a good income moved out, and my neighbourhood became a byword for criminality in the city.

Then the councils then basically stopped building houses for thirty years, and that's a big part of why we are where we are now.
 
KrisW said:
A major difference in the 1970s and 1980s is that you didn't have to buy a house. Council housing was in good supply and it didn't have the stigma that it has now.

I grew up in such an estate, and my earliest memories are of a neighbourhood where most people had a job: sort of lower middle class if you want. Then the government had the bright idea that, rather than continuing to build social housing, it would incentivise its better-off tenants to give up their rented houses and buy privately (the property developers were a great source of bribery in those days): basically, you got a lump sum and a tax break to help you "buy a house of your own".

The offer was exceptionally generous - a real no-brainer... if you had a job at all. So no prizes for guessing what happened: within two years, anyone with a good income moved out, and my neighbourhood became a byword for criminality in the city.

Then the councils then basically stopped building houses for thirty years, and that's a big part of why we are where we are now.
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That's interesting.

One of the things that was very noticeable about living in Camden was how stretches of terrace destroyed in the Blitz had been replaced by council houses and flats. Our ex-council flat was in a block that occupied one side of the street. The original housing was on the other side - and you could see similar in many of the nearby streets.

Camden has plenty of crime but having social housing interspersed with what is now every expensive Georgian terraces seemed to avoid that kind of ghettoisation.
 
paulfromcamden said:
That's interesting.

One of the things that was very noticeable about living in Camden was how stretches of terrace destroyed in the Blitz had been replaced by council houses and flats. Our ex-council flat was in a block that occupied one side of the street. The original housing was on the other side - and you could see similar in many of the nearby streets.

Camden has plenty of crime but having social housing interspersed with what is now every expensive Georgian terraces seemed to avoid that kind of ghettoisation.
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What KrisW is saying is 100% correct but to add a twist some of these original council areas/estates are now being gentrified. They are sucked up by the younger generation to get on the property ladder and remain close to the city.

You also have to factor into the mix people who I have worked with who never bought a house. They earned exactly the same amount of salary as I did but remained paying really low rent to the council. It means no repairs everything is the problem of the council to fix and they are holding properties that should be churned again for social housing.

Factor in the crash from 2008-2015ish. Ghost estates, houses and apartments that could not be rented. Privately owned apartment blocks now often full of social tenants. Previously these would have been the preserve of the younger generation when they needed to rent.

Thousands of renters on really low rents that cannot be increased (2% max) who will not move. It means the few properties that become available are advertised at extortionate levels. A lot of the original landlords are exiting the market as they often struggle to make a return. Seems hard to believe but this is happening also.

Banks have become much more cautious with lending because of their past actions and what transpired. This has opened up an opportunity for international investors to come into the market. They account for somewhere between 15-20% of new purchases.

You also have the onerous building standards which making building properties a lot more expensive. You can't throw up estates of houses poorly built with terrible BER ratings.

Regardless of all that we have a younger generation who are often in high paying skilled employment that previous generations could only dream about.

Oh, don't forget the rampant drug problem that now permeates throughout all levels of society! I exhausted and taking a break for lunch:)
 
stevec67 said:
...if it's not raining just wait 5 minutes and it will.
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Day 3, still no rain shock!

Alas, I do t think I'll be back. I just can't enjoy myself with the prices. The croissants and coffee are double the price they are in Strasbourg, itself an expensive city.
 
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Galway has notions about itself. You pay almost Dublin prices in what is a tiny city.

Kerry is cheaper, but honestly anywhere in France will be cheaper than here. Do as my Italian friends did recently, and make your own sandwiches: breakfast and lunch are the worst value meals of the day... an evening meal in a restaurant is a lot more expensive, but you get much more for the money.
 
richardg said:
Day 3, still no rain shock!

Alas, I do t think I'll be back. I just can't enjoy myself with the prices. The croissants and coffee are double the price they are in Strasbourg, itself an expensive city.
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You are blessed the weather is good this week. There you go you have the luck of the Irish :)
Don't forget to visit Oughterard, Roundstone, Clifden, Sky road, Cleggan, Innisboffin, Letterfrack to Kylemore Abbey, Diamond hill. Leenane (Make sure you do the Killary fjord trip. Detours to Lough Inagh etc etc.
 
KrisW said:
Galway has notions about itself. You pay almost Dublin prices in what is a tiny city.

Kerry is cheaper, but honestly anywhere in France will be cheaper than here. Do as my Italian friends did recently, and make your own sandwiches: breakfast and lunch are the worst value meals of the day... an evening meal in a restaurant is a lot more expensive, but you get much more for the money.
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He could try the food trucks if he likes seafood. Often great fresh fish and whilst not cheap it tends to be very good food.
 
tonerei said:
He could try the food trucks if he likes seafood. Often great fresh fish and whilst not cheap it tends to be very good food.
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Very tempting! When I lived in Oslo I used to go down to the harbour where you could always get a pint of freshly cooked prawns with mayonnaise, straight off the boats.
 
paulfromcamden said:
While you're in Galway you could check out Dough Bros for beer and pizza. Was pretty good - but gets busy.

www.thedoughbros.ie

The Dough Bros – Pizza For The People

The Dough Bros
www.thedoughbros.ie www.thedoughbros.ie
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Tried three nights in a row to get in. I don't queue unless I have no other choice, though. So i walked straight past each time. I'll call and see if they take reservations but it looks like the kind of place where they might not.

Edit, from their website:

"First come, first served
No reservations, walk ins only – we don't do bookings. This is pizza for the people. So rock on up and we'll get ya sorted."

Hmm, rocking on up to not get sorted and having to queue in the street for what seems like twenty minutes is not for me so I'll try the pub O Connells, where they also have a kitchen. If that's also too busy, never mind!
 
gintonic said:
look online - they don't take reservations

www.thedoughbros.ie

Middle Street

The Dough Bros
www.thedoughbros.ie www.thedoughbros.ie
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No. So so it's not going to happen. Last night there were 20 people queueing in the street to get a table.

I don't really understand why queuing instead of allowing reservations means it is pizza for the people. Pizza for people with plenty of spare time to waste in the street, they mean.
 
richardg said:
No. So so it's not going to happen. Last night there were 20 people queueing in the street to get a table.

I don't really understand why queuing instead of allowing reservations means it is pizza for the people. Pizza for people with plenty of spare time to waste in the street, they mean.
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I absolutely detest this behaviour. I understand why restaurants don't want reservations, but wasting your customers' time like this is exactly the opposite of "hospitality", and it's not like these guys are charging low prices either.

The proper way to do this is short reservations: there's a queue, you ask when they could seat you, and if that's okay you go away, have a drink and come back at the agreed time, wait at most 2-3 minutes and you're in and seated - the better places take a number to send you a reminder. But if you're more than 10 minutes late, you lose your spot (I have friends in this trade: no-show reservations are poison). Restaurant gets its throughput, customer doesn't have their evening wasted standing on the street.
 
if the restaurant is full most of the time they wont care - the queue will not only keep it full, but it is an overt sign that it is good, popular and busy.

i have many friends in this trade, and reservation no-shows are terrible. The ones with queues outside do not need to mess about with reservations and/or the time to phone people back. I am more likely to commit and queue than bother with a short reservation
 
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