taragreen

I've always thought the couple who rebuilt our cottage made a big mistake not putting in underfloor heating or as you say, GSHP. But by all accounts, they ran out of money just as the crash hit over here.

The south east is 'less' damp - I'm remembering the lengthy lecture our irish solicitor gave us on Irish Weather when we were doing contracts for the house here... Some weeks we can't see the end of our field for mist. Plus, we are 300ft up, which means we're in a microclimate of our own. And often, I think it's mist, then we drive down the hill for milk, and we realise it's just a cloud, the bottom part of the hill is clear. But I like mist, part of the reason we moved here was to live somewhere more rural, with the elements as our entertainment....

I think relying on the norm for weather in europe as regards the past is something everyone has to be wary of - climate change is affecting our weather in such random ways. According to our neigbours, the winter of 2010, it didnt get above -13 for best part of a month. The water pumps froze, so no well, no running water, couldn't run the range as linked to water heating, the old owners basically moved into the living room with the open fire for a month. The road was treacherous and didnt get gritted, so neighbours pitched in by shopping for each other if you couldn't get your car out.

Though it hasn't been easy, and living more rurally is definately something you need to be ready for, ie it can be SO quiet you can hear your own brain whir, on the whole, every day I get up and look out at the view across the hills and think about how lucky we are. We've no mortgage, so get by on savings and I have a part time job in the local Tesco which buys what we can't grow. The expense of food here is something to be aware of, particularly ready meals and - strangely and randomly for example - spring rolls in the supermarket lol, 4 of these in UK 1.79 here euro 4.44, garlic, chillies, salami and pate also hugely inflated - something to do with importation apparently...

We grow potatoes, carrots, onions, lettuce, and are specialising in chillies. Ireland's food industry is doing well, with the tourists driving this trade, as well as the last ten year's cultural influx starting up businesses in food. We are growing some special super hot varieties of chilles for a carribean restaurant in Galway and a Georgia BBQ restaurant in Birr, offaly. We are also trialling a few crops to see how they go - blueberries, heritage tomatoes, veg such as fennel, kale (cavolo nero), celeriac - Ireland's gastronomy is expanding ever thus, and there's competition to get hold of some of the more unusual ingredients. I was asked if we could grow 'Coriander cress' a while back, basically, coriander seedlings ....

were not totally organic, yet - to get the kitemark as a truly organic supplier is in fact, complicated and beaurocratic - like a lot of things here ;-) I'm looking at going to agri college in the autumn to help us work towards this, but so far weve not used any chemicals, though we did resort to a bit of roundup on some japanese knotweed down the lane... Look out for this on land here, UK is raising awareness with the scare stories of refused mortgages because of it's presence, but not so much here - I see it a lot on land here, where it's loving the mild climate and endless moisture!

I too, could talk all day - nothing much to do apart from tidying the yoghurt's in local tesco from 6pm to 10pm tonight and running to the window every now and then to watch the tractor drive past lol.

You are welcome to pm me - i'm not an expert, just someone who sounds like you a year ago! I had a bit of head start having extended family here - but other than that, we've tackled each situation as it happens... chimney fires, sudden appearance of various forms of wildlife when cooking with windows open, chickens trumping dogs, cockerel trumping my dear OH, dumped horses on our land, flytipping at the end of our lane among the most memorable...

Good luck!!!!

Butterycups

Sounds completely heavenly Tara...can't wait to see wild creatures watch me cook (not talking about my husband!) lol Absolutely love wildlife and nature - my life long dream has been to live in the countryside with all it's highs and lows.

I'm quite surprised I have to admit that the temperatures plummeted so low in 2010. From the bits and pieces I've read so far I thought that Ireland was pretty temperate without the massive dips and peaks in weather? Will definitely have to look at that again too. Maybe it's a little warmer at a lower altitude? Will do some more research I think.

We too would be mortgage free and living off savings - hoping for a part time job but if not will maybe sell our excess veggies, eggs and fruits on a local farmers market. We don't need a lot of money to get by really and are both veggies anyway so tend to avoid a lot of processed type meals. Don't think we'd want to do it on a proper commercial footing though and we don't have the money to buy a big enough plot of land too. VERY excited about having my own chickens - another long held wish. My OH says I'd be letting them sleep on the bed while we sleep on the sofa if I had my way...but honestly I'm not THAT bad..lolol. Well...maybe a little bit bad. Our dogs do seem to get the comfiest spot more often than we do if I'm being honest. lol

Anyways...I'd best be getting this lawn mowed but thank you SO much - you have been SO helpful. I will defo PM you if you're sure that's ok Tara.
Speak soon.
Debbie

sickntired

It was indeed minus 15 below for around 4 weeks in 2010, yes all pipes frozen, boreens impassable. It was also very cold in 2011, lots of snow. Nothing as bad since.

You might want to get yourself a shotgun certificate, because as Taragreen rightly points out you are on your own, Gardai 15-20 mins away. No good calling a Guard if some scumbag from Dublin is trying to break into your house in the middle of the night. Now these Dublin scumbags make a living from us culchies.

Dose of reality for you, not rose tinted spectacles.

Butterycups

My rose tinted spectacles were knocked off many years ago sickntired.
I am a realist who's determined to remove myself from the rat race.
I can deal with any scumbag who comes along - I'm certainly not a soft touch. Can be the sweetest person in the world but the scariest if you get on the wrong side of me. So just let em try.

I would never shoot anyone unless my life or one of my loved ones was mortally threatened. I'm also pretty sure most scumbags also don't want to lose their lives for the price of a second hand iPod.

Thanks for the warning but we won't be put off - there's scumbags wherever you live.

taragreen

I agree Sickntired - almost every neighbour's third question when we met was 'Did ye get a gun yet?' Apparently it's fairly easy, our Fuel Man (The Man Who Can Get Anything, so it is) offered us a chance to join his local gun club, you have to be introduced i think, and then you can get a licence and a gun. Added bonus is that they give you a euro per grey crow/magpie/fox/mink leg collected. This is the wild country, and predator control is to be taken quite seriously, especially if you're growing crops/raising chickens. My head girl got taken by a fox a few months back (useless bloody great cockerel) it took weeks for them to settle, re-sort their pecking order and start laying again.

as an aside, as everyone has an Outdoor Dog (or two, or three....) here, if you're out walking country roads (code for Seriously Checking Out the Surroundings for neigbouring scumbags) while househunting, take a golf umbrella or a big stick with you. It will at least make you feel confident when confronted by a few collies, rotties or Jack Russell Terriorists. A walk around our roads throws up some interesting surprises - the place with two really strange pottery heads on the gateposts (actually a Lecturer in Ceramics at Limerick Art College) and the static caravan place where several guys in vests sit on the porch, cleaning their guns, every time walk past my OH hums the theme tune from deliverance lol....

A dose of reality is right - when you're here, try and let the Holiday Feeling take a back seat to the Realism Fairy. Keep an eye on local press - Limerick Leader, RTE website - will gen you up on local sca.

I'm still thinking about getting an air rifle - I was here for a week on my own last month and honestly, some nights there were noises that had me reaching for the ornamental shilaley in the hall. I think if at least with an air gun, you could fire an auld warning crack off above their heads - the gowls wouldn't be able tell the difference I don't think... Also you'll need an Outdoor Dog, we adopted a German Shepherd from animal welfare, and she barks as soon as she hears a car/tractor turn into our boreen. And on full moons, she barks all night long lol.

Butterycups

Sooo....it's a nightly occurrence this scumbag siege? We'd have to sleep with one eye open or sleep in shifts to ensure we didn't wake with a removal van sailing up the road with all our earthly possessions? lol

Well we haven't got anything worth while for them to steal so let em try. Ha ha...our dogs won't take kindly to stinky scum invading their territory that's for sure. They've been known to nip a scrotum or two!! lol

Well there ya go... A heavenly picture of the delights of Ireland.

Good job we're tough as old boots or we might be put off...lol.

Londonuck

Oh THE winter from hell. Just moved to Mayo. -17 for 4 days and lost the water 23rd December for 5 days. Washing the turkey in boiled snow from the garden at 8am while joining in with Gene Kelly in Singing in the Rain on Channel 4. Never forget it.

sickntired

You should consider taking up the offer of joining the local gun club. To get a firearm of any description you need "a good reason". Join a gun club and hunt vermin, get permission from two farmers to shoot their land or join a clay pigeon club, that's the only three. Self defence won't cut it. The problem with getting an air rifle is you need a licence in Ireland and it's the very same as a rim fire, centre fire or shotgun licence. It costs the same for the licence€80 for 3 years. So you may as well get a shotgun.

Every night the shotgun comes out of the cabinet and sits by my bed, paranoia, perhaps a touch, but you never know. There are always reports in the newspaper of scumbags breaking into houses and torturing the occupants looking for cash. Of course I have the four Jack R's living in the barn out back plus the PIR security lights. Plus the neighbours are all as nosey as hell and any strange car gets full scrutiny. Plus there is as much traffic down these boreens at 3 am as there is at 3pm, the locals don't go drinking until 11pm and start coming home at 3am.

taragreen

[QUOTE=sickntired;10822788]You should consider taking up the offer of joining the local gun club. To get a firearm of any description you need "a good reason". Join a gun club and hunt vermin, get permission from two farmers to shoot their land or join a clay pigeon club, that's the only three. Self defence won't cut it. The problem with getting an air rifle is you need a licence in Ireland and it's the very same as a rim fire, centre fire or shotgun licence. It costs the same for the licence€80 for 3 years. So you may as well get a shotgun.

And with the flock of crows I have at the moment, it's something I'm now seriously considering, as well as the security aspect - Butterycups, we're not trying to put you off, just to tell you How It Is when you live out in Bandit Country - I've lived on my own in Hackney, Southgate, The Bronx and in Bangkok. All those places were scary, but you have the benefit of neighbours/cops/bangkok's finest english cop brigade within screaming distance. Here, as sicntired says, you'll be lucky if the guards can get to you within 15 minutes. I read a story somewhere about a farmer who called the guards at 2am, saying there's a bunch of lads stealing from my shed. They said they were understaffed, and would be half an hour. He rang them back 10 minutes later (fibbing) said 'No bother lads, I've shot the feckers' apparently they turned up in 7 minutes or so after that... Maybe an urban myth, but could be reality. I have to say the feeling of lawlessness IS palpable here - it's just rotten luck if you get hit on, but best to be aware. Like a friend of mine who went on holiday to Greece, and got assaulted by a group of greek lads. Just because she was on holiday, she dropped her guard and did all the things you never do at home. There is a lot of scumbag vs scumbag crime also, just unlucky if you get caught up in that somehow. You know the saying 'Can't choose your family' well, I have a few old scumbag cousins and the stories would make your eyes water. About this time last year, my cousin was shot and killed at his brother's wedding reception due to some ongoing feud - they also burned his mother's house down that night. Because they can, and they get away with it. The guards know who shot him - guess what this scumbag is still walking around free. If the system lets scumbags they know about like that walk free, there's a good few others out there they dont know about making free with easy pickings out the country.

Just for a bit of balance though, a nice story - Met the farmer who owns the land below us last week. We talked about cows, dogs and turf - I said I loved a bit of turf for the fire, but theres a lack of it for sale right now. Came home from work tonight and found 4 bags of lovely black stuff propped up against my door. Know I know where he lives, I'll be leaving a few plants on my way down to work tomorrow, and I've just remembered the Portugese couple dropped in some PiriPiri homemade sauce last week, and I still owe them for giving me my first three chickens for free. That's the nice part about living out here, is the eternal game of neighbour swapsies!!!

Butterycups

No worries Tara,
There's very little that could put us off now to be honest.
Another year working in my husband's job would probably see him in a coffin and I'm not prepared to let that happen so we are going for a complete lifestyle turnaround. The only place we can afford to do that is Ireland. Everywhere has it's share of knobfaces and so, if we have to deal with them, then I can't think of anywhere better to do that than the beautiful Emerald Isle.

A few generations ago my Dad's family emigrated to Scotland from Ireland - so it's kinda like bringing the family back home really.

Part of the reason for joining this forum was try and educate ourselves as to which rural areas suffer the least crime and where was definitely best to avoid buying a property. Despite spending a lot of time researching it's not been easy to arm ourselves with this kind of info.

Anyways..thanks everyone for your comments and advice, it's very much appreciated.

sickntired

http://www.irishexaminer.com/crime/crimedata/

Roscommon is one of the lowest counties for crimes, Longford, Leitrim, and Mayo low as well.

Butterycups

Thank you sickntired, that makes interesting reading.
A lot of the properties we've seen have been in the Roscommon area so that's quite heartening that it fares well on the less lawless scale. :-)
Great to have some concrete info to work with too.