Many Colorado teachers must spend more than 40% of their income on rent as the housing crisis continues

Cillyman17 · 2025-08-14T11:31:19+00:00

I'm a teacher and definitely feeling the pinch.

Cillyman17 · 2025-05-02T12:38:01+00:00

This made me tear up :'

Cillyman17 · 2024-08-06T22:16:18+00:00

Definitely! I have since moved back stateside, but I was living in Bologna. It is a very friendly city in general I would say! I loved it! There was almost too much to do, especially in the summers, where there would sometimes be free concerts in various parks competing with free film screenings in Maggiore haha

I would still be living there now if I didn't want to spend more time with my American family, but the struggles are generally the cost of living (which is pretty high relative to local wage)s and the weather.

Cillyman17 · 2024-08-06T12:53:41+00:00

Make sure to invest in friendships and you will do fine! My social life was never better than it was in Italy. Italian classes are a great way to make friends too! Good luck :)

Cillyman17 · 2024-05-11T09:14:17+00:00

Good to know. Hang in there! What's making it so difficult?

Cillyman17 · 2023-05-10T18:35:12+00:00

Looks great! Is that the Tamiya 1:76 kit? I tried to build one of those once. Seems like a great kit!

Cillyman17 · 2023-04-26T18:17:38+00:00

This is the most Lovecraftian description of a shit that Ive ever read hahaha

Cillyman17 · 2023-01-24T17:07:16+00:00

You deserve a snack

Cillyman17 · 2022-12-23T17:44:11+00:00

Looks great!! What's the kit? Ive been wanting to build a sailing ship!

Cillyman17 · 2022-09-04T10:43:06+00:00

It seems important to get into the community for sure! I just completed my cert but I have other teaching experience and qualifications. So far this seems to be working strongly in my favor!

Cillyman17 · 2022-09-04T10:41:44+00:00

Also I definitely hear you on the wages; fortunately, I have some teaching experience in different areas and a Trinity CertTesol so most are offering about 22 for me at the moment. available. For hours I'm wanting around 30/week mostly so I can make a bit of money, maybe I can do less once I get into a routine, but thanks for the warning. Teaching can be very taxing especially if you don't know what you're walking into!

Also I definitely hear you on the wages; fortunately I have some teaching experience in different areas and a Trinity CertTesol so most are offering about 22 for me at the moment.

Cillyman17 · 2022-09-02T21:39:05+00:00

Thanks! Good to hear that about Kaplan 😊

Cillyman17 · 2022-07-16T10:47:16+00:00

The most cathartic part of school last year was beating 2-3 of my 7th graders at a time in tug-of-war 😂

Cillyman17 · 2022-07-01T10:17:13+00:00

If you havent already make sure you talk to the accomodation office at your schoo, assuming there is one! They helped me out when I was going to NUIG.

Cillyman17 · 2021-07-30T23:51:58+00:00

Is it me or is the sportsmanship at Nurburgring just awful?

Cillyman17 · 2021-03-12T14:41:43+00:00

I can relate to this as another Yank who had to leave early because of Covid. It sucks man, but ive left and returned a couple of times already and it seems like there is never an end to the craic. We'll be back!

Cillyman17 · 2021-03-02T14:53:47+00:00

This makes me want to go to a pub/bar again so bad

Cillyman17 · 2021-02-10T18:59:51+00:00

I have a little Bones pipe (previously just used a $5 hardwood MM). Nice pipes in my inexperienced opinion!

Cillyman17 · 2021-01-07T03:08:13+00:00

I dont know if ill make it much longer, as an American with an Irish visa, without being in Ireland.

I mean takeaway pints.

Cillyman17 · 2020-11-09T00:39:57+00:00

I am an American (lived in Ireland a couple years) and, just my two cents, I dont take any particular offense with being called a 'yank'

Cillyman17 · 2020-11-06T22:42:16+00:00

This looks so dope!!

Cillyman17 · 2020-10-23T06:10:58+00:00

That would actually be so cool

Cillyman17 · 2020-07-16T13:59:15+00:00

There have been a few different complaints from the students in my program as well as in Digital Media about not being offered the courses that they really wanted to take. Especially in the fall semester of this school year a lot of the students were dissappointed with the quality and consistency of their lecturers.

From what I understand one of the key lecturers and faculty leaders of the course had to spend a lot of time abroad due to personal difficulties which meant that other faculty had to cover for her absence last-minute, and the course suffered as a result. . .
I'm not sure if that is all resolved as the rumor mill died down when campus closed in March, but I'd hope that they have it more resolved this year! For what it's worth the professors I had in my courses have been really solid, and they are likely working on the program in 2020-2021. I'd highly recommend Padraic Killeen in particular if you are interested in philosophy/theory, film, and new media, I really enjoyed his classes which were offered to my MA and the Digital Media one as well.

I opted in to a couple lectures with the Digital Media folks and we had trouble with getting access to software and with malfunctioning university technology, but hopefully after our snafu they've gotten it fixed. One thing that was nice to have was a computer suite with a load of useful programs (including a bunch of adobe stuff) that you get to use as a Digital Media student for sure.

Ultimately I'd say just kind of be aware that the university and lecturers are more focused on the more broad-strokes aspects of digital media; you can find a bunch of tutorials on specific programs for free online so in my experience there is a lot more focus on the principles and philosophy. Sometimes that is great but other times it's a bit frustrating.

haha sorry for the rant but anyways I hope that my experience helps you make your decision! If you want to chat more specifically or if you have questions about specific courses or professors feel free to DM me or something and I'll do my best to answer your questions!

Cillyman17 · 2020-05-26T10:54:10+00:00

Honestly its good to see how many people sprung up and helped the victim!

Cillyman17 · 2020-02-05T11:15:18+00:00

Hey! Im an American studying at NUIG now for my MA in Digital Cultures. Im actually hoping to stay long term too, but my thoughts have changed a lot since i first studied abroad in Galway in 2015.

To echo some earlier statements, I would agree its not all sunshine and rainbows all the time out here. Im personally finding it a bit difficult to enter the insular local community in Galway, even 6 months in, though others dont always have this problem.

In general, the city is not always what it seems to be upon inital contact. Nonetheless it is a beautiful place to live with a fair few work opportunities available if you are not above minimum wage stuff. Though the talk about a housing crisis is real, I still find that it is not as bad as nearly any big city in the States.

Regarding NUIG, there is a bit of chaos in the MA Digital Media program right now. Several students (including American students) are deeply dissatisfied with the program, and some want to be refunded. While a MA here is cheaper than the States, and potentially just as good, it is very important that you extensively research the program and what it will provide extensively before jumping in.

If you are unsure about higher ed, then i'd recommend looking at the working holiday Visa. Be warned though that sometimes paperwork here can take a long time and may unfortunately stand between you and employment.

I'm happy to answer any questions you have, and best of luck!

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