My Ireland

They say home is where the heart is, but for me it is also where my husband is😉 And this is how Ireland has become my second home. I spent half a year crying and wanting to go back home to Russia, and the rest of the time loving and hating it at the same time . Now that my husband and I have relocated  to another country to run away from the perpetual rain into the perpetual sun, I really miss Ireland, which has become so comfortably familiar and clear and dear even in it's rainy predictability.

The Emerald Island

Ireland is the greenest country I've ever seen! You kind of get used to it and stop noticing, until you come back from a trip abroad and realize just how marvellously green Ireland is. And it probably has to thank all that rain for it.

Donegal cows

Powerscourt waterfall

Glendalough

Glendalough

The Giant's Causeway

Marble Arch Caves

Bluebells in Lough Muckno forest in Castleblayney, Co. Monaghan

A deer in Phoenix Park, Dublin

Weather 

Always have an umbrella or a raincoat with you at all times. I mean it. Even if it looks sunny and lovely, it might change in 10 minutes. And wear layers: a T-shirt, a jumper or a cardigan, and a jacket or a coat is always a good idea as you can go from roasting to freezing as quickly as from dry to wet. But other than that it's a lovely mild climate - never too hot and never too cold😉

Food, drink and groceries

I fell in love with the Irish food from the very start. I was a meat eater when I moved to Ireland and I tried everything - from black and white pudding (don't be fooled by the names, they ain't no puddings;) to bacon and ham, and the Irish stew with fresh Irish lamb.

And since I have a sweet tooth, apple crumble and sticky toffee pudding have become my favourite desserts! And of course my in-laws' homemade Christmas cake and Christmas pudding!

Whiskey ( I can't drink it by itself but love it in "hot whiskey" - a famous Irish cure for colds;),
Guinness, Baileys, Irish coffee - you have to try them all!

Supermarkets have a good selection of all types of groceries, including international food, fruit and veg (mostly imported and not too cheap), there are plenty of Asian stores, Polish stores, etc that cater for people from different countries (Dublin is extremely multicultural these days).

Housing

There are some lovely houses to rent, but the rental market in county Dublin has gone completely mad - there is a shortage of properties, the prices are sky-high and a lot of properties are not in a very good condition - one of the biggest problems I had in Ireland in mould. But once you look outside county Dublin, the choices are much better and the prices are much lower, so you have to make a hard choice between the quality of life and the long commute.

Working hours

Stephen's Green Shopping Centre, Dublin

Shops in Ireland close pretty early - normally at 6 or 7pm, except larger supermarkets which are open till 9 or 10 pm, there also some even bigger ones that close at midnight, or work 24 hours (they are not many). Thursday is a late shopping night when all the shops are open till around 9 pm.

Banks and tax offices close early - around 4pm on weekdays and they are closed at the weekend.

People

St. Patrick's Day in Dublin

There is only one quality that I don't like in Irish people - and that is their love for alcohol. It could be their mechanism for coping with bad weather, but whatever the reason I do not enjoy the pub culture at all.

But there are plenty of great qualities the Irish possess - they are extremely polite and friendly people, with a great sense of humour and their almost childlike ability to have fun and enjoy life. I admire their optimism - everything is either "Grand" or "Sure it'll be grand!"😀