Survey Reveals Friendship Comes As Standard In Ireland

According to the latest ‘friendliness’ survey, the Irish are friendly, sociable, love a laugh and welcome incomers.

One of the most important aspects of relocating is making new friends in the locality as well as in the workplace. Now that the UK’s friendliness rankings in surveys is decidedly on the wane, Ireland’s is definitely on the up. The latest expat study shows Ireland is now in 30th place whilst the UK is relegated to 56th out of 65, the total number of countries surveyed. Some 76 per cent of respondents agreed that making local friends in Ireland is easy as against just 50 per cent in the UK, with 49 per cent of expats wishing to stay permanently against 28 per cent in Britain.

Brexit reared its head in expat comments, with one Portuguese national saying he felt that since the referendum, foreigners were far less welcome in the UK. On the other hand, the Irish welcome was perceived to be as warm as it always was. As regards expats’ social circles, a majority of 37 per cent said their friends were mainly local residents, with only 22 per cent of expats stating their social group was mainly composed of other expats. However, a third of respondents living in the UK preferred to socialise within their expat community with only 20 per cent saying they’d made local friends.

Perhaps the famous Irish pub culture has something to do with Ireland’s friendly acceptance of newcomers. Unlike most UK pubs, they’re considered the heart of the community and have their own unique cultural aspects including traditional Irish music, Irish sports and a casual atmosphere backed up by Guinness, the world-famous Irish brew. They’re also a major part of Irish history, with Sean’s Bar, the oldest pub in the land, established in the 10th century and Dublin City’s Brazen Head pub first opened in 1198. Along with the local church, Irish pubs are pillars of the community where strangers are as welcome as regulars.