American who moved to Ireland lists all the things he loves about the Irish

Many Irish Americans dream of living in Ireland, the land of their ancestors, but few get the chance to do it.

Conner Habbib is one of the lucky ones. When the opportunity arose to move to Dublin as a student he jumped at the chance, and it seems that he’s glad he did.

He loves the place and is delighted that it met all his expectations. In fact he’s so thrilled with the place that he’s take to social media to list all the things he loves the most.

Here they are. See how many you agree with.

1
One year ago today, I moved to Ireland.
I’ve always wanted to live here. So! To celebrate:
Here’s a thread about some things about Ireland & Irish people that I really love.*

(*Dear Irish friends, go easy on me for loving it here! I know compliments are…tricky for you!) pic.twitter.com/e119s9X04S

— Conner Habib (@ConnerHabib) January 24, 2020

2. The way the sky is always wavering between blue and grey. Like it wants to be the Irish Sea.

3. The way people talk to each other:
I’m in a cafe and a guy pokes his head in& says to the barista,”can I water your plant outside with the rest of this?”+holds up his 1/4-full water bottle
“Sure!”she says.
“No sense wasting it!”he says,and smiles
As an American I was like: WHAT

5
Beefy men everywhere in work pants and sporty lads everywhere in sweatpants.
Like, everywhere.
Everywhere.
Ev??
er??
y??
where??

— Conner Habib (@ConnerHabib) January 24, 2020

Well the next one should be no surprise, given that Ireland seems to have more great writers per head of population than just about anywhere in the world. In fact, some people come on holiday to Ireland just to do a literary tour, taking in the locations associated with great authors like James Joyce, featuring the sights and sounds of Dublin, or W B Yeats and the rugged beauty of Co Sligo along the Wild Atlantic Way.

7
The way the old brick looks when it snows. pic.twitter.com/oFStMZlhoX

— Conner Habib (@ConnerHabib) January 24, 2020

9
Perhaps this will be the most shocking to my American friends:
The lack of a Hell Of Rules.
I parked my rental car and the meter guy was walking by. I didn’t have any change & told him I was going to get some.
“You’re fine!” he said, happy. “I won’t be back for an hour anyway!”

— Conner Habib (@ConnerHabib) January 24, 2020

Well, now let’s see. We wouldn’t want anyone to get the wrong idea here and get themselves into trouble on the first day of their Ireland tour. While it may be true that the Irish are more relaxed than other countries like the USA, that doesn’t mean that rules don’t apply and you’d be lucky to meet a traffic warden as relaxed as Conner’s, so perhaps it might be better to play it safe.

11
The fact that my health insurance costs €200…

PER YEAR.

I had to call them and ask. I couldn’t wrap my head around it. They told me. Then told me again.
It was the most expensive plan they offered.

— Conner Habib (@ConnerHabib) January 24, 2020

This one needs a word of caution, while private health insurance may be a lot cheaper in Ireland than the United States. It’s not likely to be as cheap as the deal Conner got. He got a special price because he’s an international student paying for a course in Ireland.

Ah yes, the next one comes as no surprise. You’ll find buskers (street performers) all over Ireland, particularly in the major tourist areas like Dublin, Galway, Kerry…well, ok, just about everywhere really.

13
That sometimes Ireland is exactly as calming and perfect as you picture it. pic.twitter.com/XUcJJNs5yC

— Conner Habib (@ConnerHabib) January 24, 2020

15
And the way that gray blue gray sky makes every tree that reaches towards it look utterly enchanted. pic.twitter.com/O0XWgyjeqm

— Conner Habib (@ConnerHabib) January 24, 2020

17
How the “Irish eyes are smiling” thing is real. (My friend Brian’s eyes, in this case.) pic.twitter.com/YFKnWHrGkj

— Conner Habib (@ConnerHabib) January 25, 2020

19
Oh, on tweet 16 – a good example of the work to get along.
Saw a cyclist get hit by a car, flew up onto the windshield and shattered it but was unhurt.
Driver got out.
The two men then…
SHOOK HANDS AND TALKED.
What? It blew my mind. They just sorted it all out.

— Conner Habib (@ConnerHabib) January 25, 2020

21
That everyone here has been so welcoming and loving to me.@UnaMullally @PantiBliss @TweetsbySimone @griffski @sineadgleeson @simplesimon_ie @RobertBohan @Lisadonegal @strongthomas @caithne @tinydavyq @LadyGrew @jamie_saris etc. Thank you. I feel honored to be here with you. pic.twitter.com/hamE4Nj6bJ

— Conner Habib (@ConnerHabib) January 25, 2020

Thanks for the rundown Conner. We hope you enjoy your time in Ireland…just don’t go pushing your luck with those traffic wardens. They aren’t all so relaxed.

Conner runs his own podcast. If you’d like to hear more from him, check here

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