I'm from the US, and I'll be living with my grandparents in Ireland for a few months. What is it like there?

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Woodpigeon

You should look on this as a terrific opportunity. We Irish are a friendly lot, and most of us are fairly well used to people from the US, so don't worry too much.

Being from a different place is always a source of fascination for people. Think of it this way: when you are from a place that none of your Irish peers have ever been, they will have loads of questions for you. It will be very easy to strike up conversations with people and to get to know them. You might get a negative comment every so often, but that's their problem, not yours.

Ireland is a beautiful part of the world. We have a very varied landscape, a varied climate and a culture that is fairly people-centric. Most of us like talking and having "the crack" as we call it - having a laugh.

Most things will be familiar to you. We have a lot of US shows on TV, and as one responder to this question said, a lot of the same drinks and food etc. The music is similar, the books are similar, the movies are similar and our newspapers contain a lot of information about the US. You will find out that many people are fairly well informed about what is happening in the US, but most people are not so keen on your current president.

Some differences: well, we drive different (smaller) cars, we drive on the left side of the road, our roads are a lot narrower and we have the metric system so you won't see miles or gallons anywhere, we have different sporting interests - baseball and American football are not followed. We speak slightly differently, but you know that!

If you are the type of person who likes experiencing new things you will find that the positive things greatly outweigh the bad things. I wish you the very best.

bermur

Hi I am Irish living in Co.Kildare and yes its quiet possible other people your own age will make fun of you for a while but once u give as good as u get we generally let it rest.Yeah I have read some of the other answers u got why are they all telling u rubbish about the weather an us being great craic an playing musical instruments Ireland I am afraid like most other countries in the world has developed past the cheile(Traditional dance) an the craic yes we are easy going fun loving people an yes u will meet some of us who might give u a hard time but dont let that stop u its a great little country u can still get mcdonalds, coke even sprite we have loads of pubs but also cinemas bowling alleys museums etc etc we have moved on from the thatched cottage an no light .I can guarantee you will have a good time when you are here nothing to fear mayb u r just a bit anxious cos its 3 months an its ur first time away alone but we gets lots of americans over here an we always do offer a welcome so dont worry b happy relax an look forward to your trip also bring some warm/wet clothing its a wet country we get lots a rain but look at it this way of we didnt have the rain we wouldnt have the beautiful scenary the green fields the glorious country we live in .Enjoy your trip

golgofrinchian

It is a beautiful country. Go! do no worry about what you will do there. You may never get this chance again.

Here is a snippet of the climate:
Overall, Ireland has a mild, but changeable, climate all year. The island is not noted for its extremes. The warmest recorded air temperature was 33.3Â°C (91.94Â°F)at Kilkenny Castle, County Kilkenny on 26 June 1887. The coldest air temperature was -19.1Â°C (-2.38Â°F) at Markree Castle, County Sligo on 16 January 1881 [7]. Precipitation falls throughout the year, but is light overall, particularly in the east of the country. The west of the country, however, tends to be wetter on average and prone to the full force of Atlantic storms, more especially in the late autumn and winter months, which occasionally bring destructive winds and high rainfall totals to these areas, as well as snow and hail. The regions of North Galway and East Mayo have the highest incidents of recorded lightning annually (5 to 10 days per year[8]. Prolonged snowfall is rare, and tends to be confined to the northern half of the country. There are noticeable differences in temperature between coastal and inland areas. Inland areas are warmer in summer, but colder in winter - there is usually around 40 days of below freezing temperatures (0Â°C) at inland weather stations, but only 10 days at coastal stations. The temperature difference can be seen in very short distances, for example the average daily maximum temperature in July in Omagh is 23Â°C (73.4Â°F), while it is only 18Â°C (64.4Â°F) in Derry, just 54.1 kilometres (33.6 miles) away. The average daily minimum temperatures in January in these locations also differ, with only -3Â°C in Omagh and 0Â°C in Derry. Ireland is sometimes affected by heat waves, most recently 1995, 2003 and 2006.

Average temperatures in the island vary from -4Â°C (min) to 11Â°C (max) in January, and 9Â°C (min) to 23Â°C (max) in July.

huguenot85

It depends on where you are in Ireland. The West (county mayo, sligo, etc.) is very windy and has a very different landscape from the Ireland most people picture. County Clare, Limerick, Cork, Kerry, Tiperrary, Waterford, and the rest of the southern counties are very green with rolling hills and dramatic seascapes. Rain is frequent, but it usually is only temporary and the sun can come out at any moment. Irish people (overall) are friendly and hospitable and I don't think you will have a hard time adjusting, depending on where you are from in the U.S.

Explorer

cold and pub all over and it will take some time to understand what they say

zeebus

it's awesome! people talk funny and drink a lot. plus they're pretty damn nice, too. even the mean ones. you can't take them too seriously because of the way they talk, though. i make fun of them all the time when i visit - Irish chicks like doing it with American guys, too.

NICE!

toe poe gee gee oh

My grandmother was from Ireland ...and you can't take everything they say very seriously....Don't be scared because this will be so much fun for you...the Irish have a great sense of humour and are fun loving. My grandmother always talked about how green and beautiful it is there. My mother went there a few years ago and everyone was so nice to her...unlike Germany where everyone was unfriendly to her. Have a great time...

brit-the-brit

Its a beautiful country and the people are warm and welcoming they will love you as you are from the states, just make sure you get them to slow down when they speak..

Daniel M

They are quite used to Americans. And you can get Shamrock Shakes every day of the year!

phil_maquim

apparently they all play musical instruments & drink Guinness...

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