Less than four months have passed since the application for the Competitive Start Fund from Enterprise Ireland (the next one will be held from August 24 to September 7, 2016) until the investment was received. As soon as I was approved by the Startup Entrepreneur Program, I immediately started looking for plane tickets.

In December, the choice was small: I could fly on December 16 for 28 thousand rubles or on any other day for at least 40 thousand. Perhaps Ireland is not the most popular country for a New Year's holiday, but the first part of the flight, Moscow - Amsterdam, was in great demand. Thus, the price calendar on the website of the ticket search engine decided my fate, and I began to search the forums for what compatriots who left for Ireland advise to take with them.

I learned that the “scarce” top products include: dried apricots (in Ireland they sell sweet dried apricots, and the Slavic soul asks for native, with sourness), gauze (an essential household item not known by the Irish), tights for boys (no comment).

I did not listen to the wise advice of experienced emigrants, and this is what came of it.

How to pack a suitcase

When you move to another country with knowledge of the language, this move, in principle, becomes no more difficult than moving to the opposite end of Moscow. I found out which buses run and how they go, which stores to go shopping, where is the nearest cinema - and you're done.

I moved around Moscow only four times: the experience is small, but sufficient. For the first Moscow move, I only needed a couple of bags from Auchan and a taxi. Therefore, I cannot say that “cramming life into a suitcase” was a problem for me. I just put winter clothes, sportswear and a camping hair dryer in it.

About finding accommodation

I came to look for housing at the most "successful" moment, 8 days before the Catholic Christmas. Two of them were on weekends, two more were on trips to Dublin on business. The agencies assured me that even if I found an apartment, we would not have time to sign the documents, and I would not be able to move in until January 4th.

In desperation, I responded to an advertisement for a “luxury kopeck piece” in a new residential building without photos, which, of course, I would not do in Moscow. It turned out that the tenants had recently moved out, and the hostess was in pre-Christmas troubles and did not have time to take photos. The two-bedroom apartment turned out to be really luxurious, the owners had nothing against cats. In addition, they gave me a discount as a "beginner entrepreneur." I signed a contract for 9 months and New Year met in a new house.

Culture shock

"English-speaking" culture occupies an important place in modern world. If you have ever studied English or just watched a movie about the English and the Irish, you know that they apologize the second before you step on their foot, drink beer in pints, talk a lot about the weather, and West Side the island does not understand the eastern accent. Therefore, there could be no talk of any culture shock.

The Irish, like us, love simple food - vegetables and meat, and, yes, salads with mayonnaise. And everyone who has ever tasted our kvass loves it. They are very musical and also like to sing songs when they drink. This happens in my family, "sleeping" area less often than in my native suburbs, but I must admit, my heart ached when, in the night, after the celebration of St. Patrick's Day, the guys on the street dragged on something from The Beatles.

About mutual understanding

Of course, English is not only vocabulary. This is a special kind of communication when it is understood that you cannot always give a straightforward assessment of the situation. A letter that an English-speaking person considers “angry” will seem to a Russian as a mild hint of a possible mistake.

I have more or less learned this style over the years of teaching English, but I think for a beginner it can be a problem. Sometimes it really tires (I'm sure they do too), I want to hear clearly what a person wants, in simple words. Specifically yes or no.

About the attitude towards immigrants

Probably, we have not yet had time to annoy the residents of the Emerald Isle, because they are very interested in what visitors do here - work or study, how they like it here, are they used to the weather, do they have enough entertainment, do they miss home cooking and what kind of beer is their favorite. All these questions were asked to me by the most different people- from taxi drivers to investors.

The Irish love their home very much and want the expats to love it too. It is important for them to know that the emigrant is happy here and he does not get bored.

Dublin, the capital of Ireland, is located four and a half hours from Moscow. But a rare Russian gets to the land of green clover, leprechauns and beer: not to say that this is the most popular tourist destination among compatriots. The flow of emigrants is also small: from 2000 to 2014, approximately 7.6 thousand citizens of the Russian Federation moved to the republic. One of the newly minted Irish women, 26-year-old Alena Khrabrostina, shared her impressions of the country in which she has been living for the fifth year with Lenta.ru.

I was born in Kharkov, Ukrainian SSR, in 1989. I always considered myself a nomad - I used to move from place to place. Parents are from Russia: mother is from the Urals, father is from Komsomolsk-on-Amur. From infancy, I listened to fascinating stories about their travels, sometimes completely unbelievable: father and mother traveled in a car a path with a total length of six diameters of the globe. After the collapse Soviet Union we decided to move to Russia. No one knew what would happen next in the new state. In 2001, I finally moved to the Russian Federation, to Belgorod, entered the gymnasium, and now, when they ask me where I'm from, I say that I'm from Belgorod. This is my home, all my friends are there and I love this city to the point of madness.

States, an unfulfilled dream

My real travels began in my student years. In the first year of Belgorod state university I got acquainted with the guys who visited the USA. They talked a lot about how wonderful they spent the summer overseas. We became friends. And as soon as it came to trips and travels, they always said that I should go to the States, try myself and see how they live there.

In 2009, I and a couple of my classmates went to conquer America. It was a wonderful summer, we traveled all over the East coast and settled in the city of Daytona Beach, Florida. We lived and worked near the ocean and met many interesting people. Upon returning home, I realized that I miss the ocean and madly want to go back. In 2010 I gathered some friends and we went back to Daytona for another summer.

I was overwhelmed by a great desire to stay there and arrange my life in America. I talked to different universities about admission. But my parents dissuaded me - I still had to finish my studies at a Russian university.

Fateful meeting

Remember, friends, everything always starts with an Irish pub! After returning to Belgorod from the States, we had a grand party at the local Irish pub. There were guys from Dublin. After a few pints of beer, I plucked up my courage and went to establish bilateral relations with Ireland. All night long, the red-haired drummer and I discussed everything that was possible. We exchanged contacts on Facebook and said goodbye to each other. But we actively communicated online, and in the spring of 2011 my friend returned to Russia.

After graduating from university, I decided to postpone my move to the States, because I knew that if I left, I would not have the opportunity to see Europe for a long time. And applied to the school in English in Dublin.

Dublin, so dear

The plan was this: I study the language for nine months, and then I return home and reapply for a visa to America. But nothing of the sort ever happened.

In total, I studied at the English language school, probably, for about two years. I remember my first impressions. Often I thought: “What the hell did I come here for? The weather is disgusting, it's constantly raining, I don't understand what these Irish people say at all, they don't really open their mouths. Well, it's not English at all. But in the end, I got accustomed, and the accent no longer seems so complicated to me, but rather, native and homely. By pronunciation, I now even distinguish who is from which part of the country.

The company that owned the school where I studied was looking for a part-time Russian-speaking employee in the Dublin office. The school recommended me. So I had the opportunity to live and work in Ireland. Gradually, the part-time job turned into a full-time job. My position is partnership manager.

My life here is going well, I integrated very quickly. I am actively involved in sports, I have my own tag rugby team, this year we won the championship.

I keep learning. This year she graduated from Dublin Business School with a degree in marketing and enrolled in a master's program at the Dublin Institute of Technology with a degree in Digital Marketing and Analytics.

New friends

I don't know if we have a Russian community in Dublin, as there are not many visitors from Russia here. I try to keep in touch with the Russians, I go to vote at the embassy and at various official events and celebrations.

The Irish mentality is unique, people here live for their own pleasure, sometimes it seems to me that they are from another universe. Everyone is always very positive and enjoy every day.

A favorite thing to do in Ireland is to grumble about the weather, but everyone understands perfectly well that we live on an island, and it will rain 250 days a year.

I don't have the feeling that when I arrive, I don't feel that someone treats me differently just because I'm from Russia. Of course, everyone jokes about vodka, bear and balalaika, but what can you do about it. And every time I say I'm cold, everyone wonders why. Funny - they think that Russians do not freeze.

The most common joke that I hear in my address, if not every week, then definitely every month:

- Are you rushing? (Are you in a hurry?)

I answer no.

- Ha ha but you are Russian! (But you are Russian).

Wordplay.

Expenses and income

Basically, until the age of 30, all working youth rent apartments, it is not customary to live with their parents or run headlong for a mortgage as soon as they graduated from the university. They live in houses and apartments, it all depends on how close to the center. Renting a room in an apartment / house in a not very prestigious area costs 350-400 euros (of course, it all depends on how many people will live with you). If you want a better area, then it will cost 650-700 euros per room. Behind Last year The economy in Ireland has grown by seven percent, and the first thing that goes up in price is apartment rent. One-room apartment (bedroom plus living room) - 1200-2200 euros depending on the area.

Of course, it is much more expensive to live in Dublin than in Moscow, but the level of wages is different. What else from expenses? Here public transport very expensive, at least two euros for a ride in the city. Gasoline - 1.52 euros per liter.

There is no central heating, and no one uses the batteries around the clock. The invoice is usually issued every two months. I remember in my first year we got a bill for 500 euros because we used the heating five or six hours a day. After that, I decided to dress warmer in the apartment.

Products are more expensive than Russian ones, but the quality is higher. Restaurants cost close to Moscow.

Medicine is very expensive if you don't have insurance.

There is beer!

I have many friends, colleagues and just acquaintances with whom you can go to the pub. This is worth talking about in more detail.

Ireland is famous for its pubs. One of the main attractions of Dublin is Temple Bar. This is the area of ​​bars and pubs, the area that never sleeps. James Joyce in his book "Dubliners" perfectly described the atmosphere of the city.

Pubs are great. It is not customary to sit on the street on a bench or gather in the park with friends in the evenings. Any event is celebrated in bars and pubs. Friday, the end of the working week - pub. Salary - pub. Meeting with friends - in the pub. Rugby, football, gaylik - everyone goes to watch in the pub. There are not even really clubs here, but there are bars where you can drink and dance.

Sometimes it seems to me that there is nowhere else to go, as soon as the pub. I myself really like to leave the office after a hard week of work, cross the street and drink a mug of the famous Guinness. By the way, he has a special taste here. A pint costs between four and six euros. When I tried it in Russia, it always reminded me of diluted soap. Only in Ireland you can truly fall in love with this drink.

When you go to a pub in Ireland with friends, everyone follows the tradition of buying alcohol for everyone. Suppose you have a company of four or five people. Everyone must buy one round of drinks. You end up barely leaving the bar because you're downing five pints or more.

Question about nuances life in ireland periodically rises in social networks. Here are the views exchanged between the members of the Russian-speaking Ireland group during discussion this question.

Konstantins Sablukovs spoke in the most detailed way in the discussion. He was able to sort everything out. This is what his version looks like:

Pros of Irish life for an expat:

1. Developed country, not burdened by rigidity of laws
2. Beautiful nature, many attractions
3. good roads and simple rules and signs
4. friendly open people with a bad sense of humor
5. The mentality and understanding of simple truths is an order of magnitude higher than most countries. (They live not according to “concepts” and according to “authorities”, but normally)
6. A tolerant country, and almost everyone and everything
7. Many opportunities, both in work and in study and business
8. Stability
9. Good Russian-speaking community: schools, camps, church, meetings and so on
10. Cheap food, clothes and so on. I'm not talking about brands, but about essentials.
11. Freedom to use your own language. Even newspapers are in Russian
12. Pubs, concerts and all that!

What are the cons:

1. Weather (damp, rainy, very windy and eternal +10)
2. Expensive – rent, transport, etc.
3. Underdeveloped public transport
4. Visiting scumbags from our countries 🙂
5. Tolerance 🙂
6. Island - hit the road somewhere only by plane or ferry
7. Lots of nuances and oddities like Internet connection contracts, TV licenses, no licenses for sea fishing, but presence for river fishing, not connected tram lines, and so on.
8. Slang and dialect - sometimes you don't understand people
9. Lack of knowledge by the Irish of our culture, films, shows and so on. You can only talk with them about what they are watching, the rest does not interest them (not all, but most)
10. Weak (almost nightmarish) and expensive health care
11. Weak (sooooo weak) education from school to university. (I'm not saying that you can't find good things and study normally, but in general the system is built like a pipeline that doesn't bother you in general and doesn't load you - passed the test, wrote the paper, diploma)
12. Not very good kindergartens, but very expensive relative to the minimum wages of course.
13. Pubs close early, so do discos
14. The choice in stores, as probably with the advice (I didn’t live with the advice, so I speak figuratively 🙂) compared to other European countries

Education in Ireland

It can be added to the comments above that Julia Trahlmann disagreed about schools, who believes that education in Ireland is at a high level:

Both children had small classes (max 18 people) and great teachers. Yet close to home.

High school - I sent them to an Irish school - they are taught in Irish. Again small classes, programming lessons, art and much more.
Both speak 5 languages ​​- and Irish, English, French and Spanish are studied at school. And this is the usual Public School. And 3 km from the house where from to take the school bus to the door and back.

In April, my shy daughter performed at the 3 Arena in front of 10,000 people. I am very grateful to their school. I have studied at two higher institutions And now I'm doing it again for the third time. This is in addition to a diploma from Estonia ..

I believe that education is very accessible, and for any interest. The main thing is to decide what is interesting. There are still a lot of different circles and not only sports, and not only for children ..

After reading my stories about Ireland, you might have the opinion that this is just heaven on Earth.

No matter how! Yes, I liked it there, but there are things that make this country very unattractive for a tourist.

And here are some reasons to stay away from this country.

1. Ugly women

Perhaps the biggest disappointment befell me here. The Irish women seemed to be slender red-haired beauties, but they turned out to be completely different. I will not talk about everyone, but this photo is quite an average image of a young lady. Blood with milk, of course, but very much an amateur.

2. Cold!

“This is such a shitty summer” - this joke was remembered to me every day. I imagined that it would not be hot there, but still I did not take sweaters with me. But in vain. If it weren't for the whiskey, I would definitely get sick. The temperature rose no higher than 15 degrees, and this is in June.

3. Expensive!

Ireland is significantly more expensive than Great Britain, and that, in turn, is more expensive than France and Germany. If you understand what I'm talking about. In the era of the "big euro" it will not be the most cost-effective country for Russians to travel.

4. Village country

The same item was in the "pros" in a post about the reasons for. At the same time, for some, this is a big minus. There are practically no big cities, with all the consequences. Many will simply be bored. So do the Irish, which is why it has one of the highest suicide rates in Europe.

5. Separate visa for Russians

Ireland is a member of the European Union, but is not a member of the Schengen Agreement. This means that to travel to the country you need to apply for a separate visa, the usual one is not suitable. There is a life hack to come here on a British visa, but not everyone has one either. For some, this will be a serious reason to avoid this country.

And I just didn’t think of two more reasons ... can you help? What's wrong with Ireland? Why shouldn't you go there?

The photos in this report were taken with an Olympus E-M1 mirrorless camera. A test review of the camera will appear in the blog soon!

These are 6 counties with the capital in Belfast, which the UK chose to retain. As you understand, this was very unpleasant for the Irish, as a result of which a tough conflict formed on this territory between the indigenous Irish Catholic population and the "alien" English-Protestant (I put the word in brackets, because it is not very clear how one can consider "alien "the part that "came" 700 years ago). This conflict still exists, literally "district" to "district": burning cars, throwing stones at neighbors, graffiti on walls, underground terrorists (IRA), etc. A number of people prefer to live in a state of conflict with the authorities, and, while they seem to be territorially in England, they receive Irish passports, refuse to obey English laws, because. "we are in our own country" (in Ireland, which is the whole island of Ireland) is just one of the manifestations. In prosperous areas, all this is less pronounced, but the flags are over every house, over every street: English or Irish, representatives of both layers try not to communicate with each other without special need, phrases like "bring a Protestant into the house ..." are said to the offspring ... etc. They tried to resolve the conflict by destroying the physical border between the countries (checkpoints, etc.), but this did not give much result. As a result, now - Northern Ireland is an autonomous region within the UK, to enter which (we) need an English visa, but at the same time there is no border, the money there, although pounds, is "Irish" (English pounds sterling, which differ in appearance from the usual ones and are in circulation only in Northern Ireland; in the Republic itself, the euro has long been), the laws seem to be English, but each is reprinted and personally marked Northern Ireland, etc. (Information courtesy of Marina from Ireland)

Elena (Northern Ireland):
I am in Northern Ireland on a visitor visa for six months
About the property rights of a wife in the UK, the rights of children from previous marriages, about debts
...... Irina_Moscow: Answer for Elena (Northern Ireland): I am in Northern Ireland on a visitor visa for six months
...... Marina (Ireland): Divorce in Northern Ireland. Response to a letter from Elena (Northern Ireland): "I am in Northern Ireland on a visitor visa for six months"
2. REPUBLIC OF IRELAND (Ireland) - these are 26 counties south of the border, with Dublin as the capital. The main cities (in descending order) are Cork, Limerick, Galway.The Republic of Ireland, as a rule, is what they mean when talking about "Ireland", which requires an English visa to enter, but at the same time there is no border, the money there, although pounds, is "Irish" (English pounds sterling, which differ in appearance from the usual ones and are in circulation only in Northern Ireland; in the Republic of Ireland itself - the euro has long been), the laws seem to be English, but each is reprinted and personally marked Northern Ireland etc. (Information courtesy of Marina from Ireland)

Marina (Ireland):
Some personal impressions of Ireland
What I Least Expected in Ireland
Divorce in Northern Ireland. Response to a letter from Elena (Northern Ireland): "I am in Northern Ireland on a visitor visa for six months"
There is no such thing as a "fiance visa" in Ireland.
Some additional information for Irish brides regarding fees and crossing the Irish border
FAQ for Irish Brides-3. Divorce in Irish
Comment on Appeal (Ireland)
...... Helena, Northern Ireland (autonomous region within Great Britain): On the property rights of a wife in the UK, the rights of children from previous marriages, on debts
...... Irina_Moscow: Response to the letter "Marina, Ireland: In Ireland there is no such thing as a "fiance visa"
...... Marina (Ireland): Comment on the appeal (Ireland)
...... Olga_L (Norway, Gran Commune, Hadeland): About loans and more. Reply to Marina's letter from Ireland "What I least expected in Ireland"

Lisa: I met a guy on the Internet from Ireland, from the island of Cork
...... Marina, Ireland: Response to letter "Lisa" I met a guy from Ireland on the Internet, from the island of Cork"
...... Marina Shay, Norway, Stavanger: Response to the letter "Lisa" I met a guy from Ireland, from the island of Cork, on the Internet

Elena (Ireland):

Lika (Ireland):
Response to a letter from Alexei from the USA "The idea is clear and simple...
Reply to letter from Greta (England) LINKS RELATED TO IRELAND:

How is life Russian in Ireland

Divorce procedure in Ireland

Studies in Ireland

Tips for Irish marriage

Ireland in Russian: questions of work and study

Life in Northern Ireland from within

Links sent by Marina from Ireland:
Photo galleries:
(different Ireland) http://www.votpusk.ru/gallery/gallery.asp?CN=IE
(Shannon River, Limerick area, Atlantic Ocean) http://geotravel.ru/country/Ireland/album1006/
(Dublin, Dublin Bay, Irish Sea) http://geotravel.ru/country/Ireland/album4100/
http://www.ireland-information.com/picturesofireland/picturesofireland.htm
(major Irish attractions) http://www.visitireland.com/aboutireland/gallery.asp
(major Irish attractions)
(photos of everyday Ireland) http://www.newble.co.uk/ire/scenes.html
(photos of the entire Atlantic coast of Ireland and Irish castles) http://www.gradfinder.com/cgi-bin/public/grad/gallery.cgi?action=view&aid=33134

Here are a few more links that might be of interest:

For the Republic of Ireland:
Impressions of Ireland on the server "Abroad"