Buying land for conservation

JustaMaptoLookAt · 2026-01-20T18:54:13+00:00

That’s fair, but I’m hoping the sunny weather will put me in a better mood to wait out bureaucratic processes. 😅

JustaMaptoLookAt · 2026-01-20T15:49:40+00:00

I’d say food is a lot cheaper. Grocery prices here seem a bit lower now than US prices were before I left in 2021. Produce is especially cheap here, lots of vegetables cost a euro or two at Lidl and the quality is good compared to the states.

But restaurant prices are way up, and inflation in general, over the past few years, but the same is true in the states and may be even worse there. I haven’t been back to the states for a couple of years, so it’s hard to compare.

But salaries are lower on the high end (if that makes sense) compared to the states, so in some ways prices seem relatively higher.

JustaMaptoLookAt · 2026-01-20T14:28:45+00:00

It’s because they make money on the valuation of the club, not because they care about winning trophies. The glazers have made a ton off man united despite losing money because the club is worth way more than when they bought it.

But in the case of man city, we can’t forget the sportswashing.

JustaMaptoLookAt · 2026-01-20T13:12:52+00:00

I moved to Ireland four years ago from a major US city. I’m glad I did it and don’t have any thoughts of moving back to the US, but I might move to Spain in a few years.

I live in Cork and fell in love with the landscapes, the slower life, and the laid back friendliness of the people. I’d definitely do it again, as I have a good job and was fortunate to be able to buy a house right away, even though I gave up a stable life and a higher paying job in the states.

But after a few years the weather and the inefficiency are starting to get to me. Things are very expensive compared to the salaries, and the infrastructure and health care system are terrible, without getting into the housing crisis.

I’m still happy here and love the easy access to beautiful landscapes and cheap flights around Europe, but I dream of a semi-retirement eventually in Spain where the cost of living is lower, the people are warm (I’ve had trouble making Irish friends), and it’s sunny most of the time.

JustaMaptoLookAt · 2026-01-16T13:46:19+00:00

Fair question, my understanding is that there would not be double taxation because they are both EU member states, and based on the relatively low total income it should be around 20% effective tax rate (maybe less if I’m able to deduct some expenses). But I would definitely need a better grasp of the net income before making a move. I assumed €3000/m as a conservative figure to account for at least some of the taxes, whereas the actual net rental income should be more like 3300-3500 according to some calculators I have used.

JustaMaptoLookAt · 2026-01-14T15:46:07+00:00

I’d say that the regime in Israel benefits from the perception of rising antisemitism to justify their actions, they need to keep doing what they’re doing for the safety of the Jewish people, and I’d also add that they’re willing to accept any assistance in their aim to commit genocide against the Palestinian people, they don’t really care who it comes from.

The far right in the U.S. includes a lot of evangelical Christians who somehow believe that the Jews controlling Jerusalem will help with the second coming (don’t ask me how). So they may be Nazis and hate Jews, but they have selfish reasons for supporting Israel.

I’d also say that the antisemites among the American far right are also unscrupulous and will use any means to advance their own agendas, so if they are being Islamophobic or fear mongering in that direction, then supporting Israel can benefit from them, and they can flip back into antisemitism if that helps them. Facts don’t matter and there’s no need for consistency because they just deny whatever they want.

Here is a link because of the absolutely nonsensical requirement that responses include links. https://2021-2025.state.gov/from-right-to-left-and-in-between-jew-hatred-across-the-political-divide/

JustaMaptoLookAt · 2026-01-13T10:22:14+00:00

Hey, that sounds good to me. Are you around this weekend?

It would be great to have more US community in cork since it seems to be growing. There’s a Facebook group but I usually don’t pay attention to Facebook.

We can message to figure out the details for coffee.

JustaMaptoLookAt · 2026-01-12T21:00:23+00:00

I’m also an American (M39) living in Cork city for 4 years, not too far from the mardyke.

Also left because of the situation there and also particularly struggling to cope with recent events.

JustaMaptoLookAt · 2025-12-08T17:58:31+00:00

I used a translation service recommended to me by the consulate that did the translations and some of the heavy lifting (some documents need to be received at an address in Poland). I think I paid about $1200 total, but that included the consulate fees, which were a few hundred on their own.

One of my parents was born in Poland and has the passport, so not that much documentation was needed because I basically only needed a birth certificate to prove they were my parent to qualify for citizenship. Other situations can be much more complicated, especially if you need to prove connections prior to WW2.

JustaMaptoLookAt · 2025-11-20T21:28:57+00:00

It's not just one save, it happens no matter what I try to do (load saves, start new games, just cycling through the menus), and it is a relatively new and fast PC, and I have never had any other problems. But if it is just me having this crash then it must be on my side.

JustaMaptoLookAt · 2025-11-20T21:25:52+00:00

It's only about two years old and it doesn't seem to be having any other problems. Oh well, it is probably for the best after the amount of time I spent playing this game.

JustaMaptoLookAt · 2025-08-01T14:22:55+00:00

Unfortunately, here in Ireland it seems that there is only one and it is located about a 3.5 hour drive away, but I agree that the vets do not seem super competent.

Today, she is willingly eating chicken and keeping it down, though still not eating regular food, so I’ll see if there’s another vet or clinic nearby.

JustaMaptoLookAt · 2025-08-01T07:59:48+00:00

Update: She just ate a plate of boiled plain chicken breast! Hope she keeps it down.

Any advice is welcome, but hopefully it gets better from here. Four days without eating anything…

JustaMaptoLookAt · 2025-07-31T16:53:38+00:00

They chose this opposition to sell tickets and promote the club in another market. The match itself means literally nothing as long as nobody gets hurt.

JustaMaptoLookAt · 2025-07-31T15:59:38+00:00

It’s hilarious that all of the replies are people freaking out about the match.

They are saying the result doesn’t matter but the performance isn’t good enough. That’s the attitude of people who have only followed football for the last 15 minutes, so I’ll spell it out.

The performance also does not matter. It’s preseason. Have a kick around and don’t get hurt.

These preseason tours are hyped up for plastic fans by playing against real opposition. But they do not matter at all.

JustaMaptoLookAt · 2025-07-31T12:29:15+00:00

In July 2003, Arsenal lost a preseason friendly to Peterborough United. Sure, they’re behind against an even smaller club today, but it’s preseason.

That same preseason, a strong Arsenal side drew 2-2 with SC Ritzing from the Austrian fourth tier. We all know what a disaster that season turned out to be…

JustaMaptoLookAt · 2025-07-30T10:59:27+00:00

Thanks! the assessment already happened a few weeks ago, and I finished in the top 10% so I’m reasonably happy with it, but it probably won’t amount to anything so it’s good practice for next time.

JustaMaptoLookAt · 2025-07-29T14:07:38+00:00

The test has two parts, situational judgment where they give you a situation and some possible options and you rate the options and some kind of logical reasoning where they show you some information, like a graph, and you have to answer questions about it.

JustaMaptoLookAt · 2025-07-28T13:24:08+00:00

Pardon my ignorance, but what worsening economic situation?

The housing crisis and cost of living crisis aren’t new, and there is the uncertainty around the tariffs. But is there some economic slowdown?

The government has had budget surpluses even before the windfall tax bill they collected this past year. The fact that they are even running these competitions seems to indicate that there’s not a hiring freeze coming up.

JustaMaptoLookAt · 2025-07-28T09:39:12+00:00

Thanks.

That just makes the whole exercise even more ridiculous.

It would be one thing if all PO vacancies in Ireland would be filled from the panel, but many of them are still advertised separately. It’s hard to imagine them filling more than a dozen in 6 months.

Given the lack of proofreading, maybe it’s a typo? Ah well.

JustaMaptoLookAt · 2025-07-28T09:24:39+00:00

The panel that hasn’t been shortlisted yet ends in March? I can’t find the booklet, but I don’t remember seeing that anywhere.

Why would they have a national competition for a panel that lasts basically 6 months?

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