Dubin in 3 days

Ireland has a lot in common with other European countries. I am fan of Europe because they have quality of life with enjoying life at the same time. Lot’s of vacation time, no 50 hour work weeks, etc. They also protect their old and their retired and they do not depend so much on cars, having really good public transportation systems (that is why the high gas prices does not affect them as such).

People are slim. People walk, cities are made for walking. People do not take the car to go to the local bank, they walk. Therefore, I only saw 5 overweight people amongst hundreds. I even counted

Men dress nicer, jackets and more fitted pants. None of that baggy crotch down the knees pants look.

A more homogenous society. There are immigrants but since many are from Poland and Eastern Europe, they blend right in with the Irish.

Very clean country. There were men with washing machines cleaning the sidewalks. No trash anywhere. Little police presence (the cops there are unarmed) and even though we drove around a lot we did not see one traffic cop pullling anyone over).

Still a family oriented society. Kids live at home while they are single, way into their 20’s (and sometimes 30’s and 40’s if they are unmarried, ha ha!). At least in the smaller and rural areas.

Women are better dressed than in the U.S., not so casual/frumpy.

Weather is cloudy, grey and rainy most of the time. Blue skies are rare. We had one sunny warm day (Saturday). They never get too much snow though, since they are between the Atlantic ocean and the Irish sea.

Food is highly greasy and mostly fried, but somehow people are slim! I had the best fish and chips there ever, in the town of Trim (north of Dublin), in a small take away shop called “Castle”.

A lot of people smoke, but surprisingly,you cannot smoke inside pubs and restaurants (like Maryland and DC). No smoking in their famous pubs? Wow. Good thing.Ireland seems to take care of their old and retired. My husband’s aunt is 88 and lives in a cute small house where twice a week people come and clean it for her. She told us her pension is good. My husband’s uncle, who is retired from construction work, seems to have a good standard of living with 4 kids, one still living at home.

There is public health for all and private health system for those who want a better and faster treatment.

We did not see any poverty nor did we see incredibly rich people or big mansions.

Ireland has a lot of new modern constructions. Old and new together. If the weather were better, it would be a nice place to live. But if the weather was warmer, it would become a rat race too….