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Hey guys, this is my last year as a student (I'm a grad student) and I've been having the hardest time choosing between Dublin, Ireland and St. Gallen, Switzerland.
I'll be at one of these locations for a semester (plus the break) and I was hoping if any European TL'ers could give me some advice so I can choose between the two locations better.
Although Switzerland is more expensive country than Ireland in general, the capital city of Ireland versus a small-medium city of Switzerland, and you get a fairly almost equal price between the two cities.
I love traveling and sightseeing, I love being able to integrate into new cultures and make foreign friends. I heard Swiss people are kind of introverted, while Irish people are generally very friendly. Granted, I'm Asian American, and I heard Irish people can be pretty racist too (depends on the person of course).
So my biggest concern is whether I'll be able to hang out with the locals and spend time with cool people. I'm not too worried that it's eastern Switzerland b/c Swiss people I think tend to speak decent English although the language is predominately German.
Now, another big factor would be nightlife. I would imagine, Dublin, a major city with almost a million people would have a vastly superior nightlife than St. Gallen. But St. Gallen is close to other European countries, so I could probably do weekend trips to Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, etc.
A big plus for me is that St. Gallen has almost no Asians, and I like places where I can stand out. But I am worried the city is too small (70,000 population) b/c a small city might mean a very boring environment in general. My interests ARE German, and meeting non-English speaking Europeans, so going to an English speaking country (Ireland) is kind of not very adventurous for me. So there's plus and minus to both areas.
Can anyone give me any insight into these two places? I'm not too concerned about the weather, food, and things like that. I'm more interested in the social aspect of these places. I want to be able to make European friends and break into their social circles.
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I went to Dublin last year and wasn't really a fan of the city or how expensive things were (though I'm aware Switzerland is expensive too). I was there for 4 days and most of the locals there didn't seem very friendly as well as there wasn't much to do except go drinking in the city. I spoke to other people who went there and some said they had a different experience though, so definitely don't take my words as sacred.
I would be picking Switzerland, partially for the fact that you can easily explore a variety of neighbouring countries to further broaden your options.
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I haven't been to either, but I'd always pick that less touristy city.
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28089 Posts
Haven't been to either but I hear so many good things about Switzerland compared to very little of Ireland. Not that it isn't nice there, I'm sure it is.
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Definitely Switzerland. The Irish are awesome, but you won't experience much of that when you're only living there for a year.
Think of them as the opposite of Australians, who are open and friendly from the word go, whereas the Irish need some time to warm up to you.
The Swiss are like Germans 2.0. Friendlier, funnier, smarter, they perfected all our good traits and got rid of the bad ones. My four months in Switzerland felt like I was living amongst a different species.
I know these all sound like stereotypes, but there's truth to them.
Also, while Ireland is beautiful, being in Switzerland lets you explored most of Europe pretty cheaply. Southern Germany, Vienna, France, Spain and the wonderful Netherlands just a stone-throw away. Southern Germany is beautiful, Romania is out of this world (don't go to Bukarest, though, it's like the toilet of Europe), Holland is just a compilation of serenity, Poland will blow your mind, Vienna is what Berlin should be, and I haven't even been to Portugal yet. Yes, Ireland is nice, but there's a lot more to mainland Europe to explore.
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28089 Posts
That second paragraph made me lol so hard SixStrings.
The harsh honesty is real 
Good thing you're German or else people might be mad.
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SWITZERLAND. IRELAND IS A SHITHOLE IVE BEEN THERE.
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Woah the one-sidedness here is real. So to preface this I've just finished my degree in CS in Dublin and have lived here all my life.
Just from your descriptions I think maybe you'd prefer switzerland. It seems just from your descriptions it might be what you are looking for more. The ability to visit a large collection of european countries is great. I know nothing about St Gallen so I can't comment on it as a location but I've been to quite a few cities in central europe and if you really want to exerience western europe it seems like a good place to be locationwise.
I'd refute Ireland being racist . Racism is something I have pretty much never come across here. That may just be amongst my social circles but I'd like to believe its pretty universal. Besides that, Ireland has quite a lot of history to learn about although I'm sure you will get that from that area of Europe too. I would agree with an earlier comment that Irish people as tradition, I suppose, socialise over drinks. If thats really not your thing then it can be tough.
You said you want to meet and hang out with cool people. In my experience they exist everywhere and its pretty much up to you to find them.
If I were to make the choice I'd go Switzerland, probably purely on novelty though so I guess my thoughts aren't that helpful. But PM me if you want any specific info on Dublin!
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depends. if you're into nightlife and socialising as you say then it's Ireland hands down no question. people in Ireland are much funnier and wittier from my experience, and they love foreigners. never been to St. Gallen specifically but Dublin is a really fun city, though Switzerland is a more touristy/pretty place.
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Hong Kong9154 Posts
paging sirjolt to defend ireland
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On April 26 2015 07:29 SixStrings wrote:
Definitely Switzerland. The Irish are awesome, but you won't experience much of that when you're only living there for a year.
Think of them as the opposite of Australians, who are open and friendly from the word go, whereas the Irish need some time to warm up to you.
The Swiss are like Germans 2.0. Friendlier, funnier, smarter, they perfected all our good traits and got rid of the bad ones. My four months in Switzerland felt like I was living amongst a different species.
I know these all sound like stereotypes, but there's truth to them.
Also, while Ireland is beautiful, being in Switzerland lets you explored most of Europe pretty cheaply. Southern Germany, Vienna, France, Spain and the wonderful Netherlands just a stone-throw away. Southern Germany is beautiful, Romania is out of this world (don't go to Bukarest, though, it's like the toilet of Europe), Holland is just a compilation of serenity, Poland will blow your mind, Vienna is what Berlin should be, and I haven't even been to Portugal yet. Yes, Ireland is nice, but there's a lot more to mainland Europe to explore.
lol I'll keep that stuff in mind.
So I realized that it still takes a good several hours to go to another country, 3~4 hours to Munich, Germany, 7~8 hours to Wien, Austria, 5+ hours to Milan, Italy by train. I don't think it's really that "close" as I thought it was previously.
And St. Gallen has very little nightlife, which worries me!
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Switzerland if you want to travel and see mountains or more of Europe. Ireland for relaxing.
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On April 26 2015 10:07 parkufarku wrote:Show nested quote +On April 26 2015 07:29 SixStrings wrote:
Definitely Switzerland. The Irish are awesome, but you won't experience much of that when you're only living there for a year.
Think of them as the opposite of Australians, who are open and friendly from the word go, whereas the Irish need some time to warm up to you.
The Swiss are like Germans 2.0. Friendlier, funnier, smarter, they perfected all our good traits and got rid of the bad ones. My four months in Switzerland felt like I was living amongst a different species.
I know these all sound like stereotypes, but there's truth to them.
Also, while Ireland is beautiful, being in Switzerland lets you explored most of Europe pretty cheaply. Southern Germany, Vienna, France, Spain and the wonderful Netherlands just a stone-throw away. Southern Germany is beautiful, Romania is out of this world (don't go to Bukarest, though, it's like the toilet of Europe), Holland is just a compilation of serenity, Poland will blow your mind, Vienna is what Berlin should be, and I haven't even been to Portugal yet. Yes, Ireland is nice, but there's a lot more to mainland Europe to explore. lol I'll keep that stuff in mind. So I realized that it still takes a good several hours to go to another country, 3~4 hours to Munich, Germany, 7~8 hours to Wien, Austria, 5+ hours to Milan, Italy by train. I don't think it's really that "close" as I thought it was previously. And St. Gallen has very little nightlife, which worries me!
... Where are you from? That's like how long it takes me to get to a neighbouring city (by car, there's no trains here) within my province in Canada. 
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If you are actually planning to work in Europe in the future, pick Switzerland.
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Germany / USA16648 Posts
On April 26 2015 16:02 Grobyc wrote:Show nested quote +On April 26 2015 10:07 parkufarku wrote:On April 26 2015 07:29 SixStrings wrote:
Definitely Switzerland. The Irish are awesome, but you won't experience much of that when you're only living there for a year.
Think of them as the opposite of Australians, who are open and friendly from the word go, whereas the Irish need some time to warm up to you.
The Swiss are like Germans 2.0. Friendlier, funnier, smarter, they perfected all our good traits and got rid of the bad ones. My four months in Switzerland felt like I was living amongst a different species.
I know these all sound like stereotypes, but there's truth to them.
Also, while Ireland is beautiful, being in Switzerland lets you explored most of Europe pretty cheaply. Southern Germany, Vienna, France, Spain and the wonderful Netherlands just a stone-throw away. Southern Germany is beautiful, Romania is out of this world (don't go to Bukarest, though, it's like the toilet of Europe), Holland is just a compilation of serenity, Poland will blow your mind, Vienna is what Berlin should be, and I haven't even been to Portugal yet. Yes, Ireland is nice, but there's a lot more to mainland Europe to explore. lol I'll keep that stuff in mind. So I realized that it still takes a good several hours to go to another country, 3~4 hours to Munich, Germany, 7~8 hours to Wien, Austria, 5+ hours to Milan, Italy by train. I don't think it's really that "close" as I thought it was previously. And St. Gallen has very little nightlife, which worries me! ... Where are you from? That's like how long it takes me to get to a neighbouring city (by car, there's no trains here) within my province in Canada.
Wellllll, that's hardly a fair comparison. Canada is more than twice the size of all of the EU lol. Hell, the whole of European continent (which includes a decent chunk of western Russia) is only like 10% bigger than Canada, while having more than 20 times the population density.
I know it varies a lot within Canada (as it does in Europe), but it still gives you an idea of what you're comparing
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I think Dublin is fantastic to spend a week-end in. Now, every time I did, I ended up doing mostly the same things cause that was the point of the week-end (in my case, play poker and drink), and of course that's not enough to spend a whole year there.
So in the end I'd also pick St. Gallen.
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Switzerland is great, but it's not in the EU which makes moving there a pain in the ass - also financially. Have fun paying Quellensteuer. 
If you wanna see Europe, Switzerland is of course a much better place to be.
I have no clue about Dublin.
On April 26 2015 07:29 SixStrings wrote:Vienna is what Berlin should be
Berlin beats Vienna. Apart from the Austrian beer and wine, but you get by with polish and czech beer in Berlin.
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Ireland. Except if Gerry Adams becomes Taosieach. Then everyone should get out.
On a more serious note, Ireland. If you speak English, it is great. A lot of people are friendly, and there are tons of things to do on a cultural side of things, especially in Temple Bar.
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On April 26 2015 19:02 Carnac wrote:Show nested quote +On April 26 2015 16:02 Grobyc wrote:On April 26 2015 10:07 parkufarku wrote:On April 26 2015 07:29 SixStrings wrote:
Definitely Switzerland. The Irish are awesome, but you won't experience much of that when you're only living there for a year.
Think of them as the opposite of Australians, who are open and friendly from the word go, whereas the Irish need some time to warm up to you.
The Swiss are like Germans 2.0. Friendlier, funnier, smarter, they perfected all our good traits and got rid of the bad ones. My four months in Switzerland felt like I was living amongst a different species.
I know these all sound like stereotypes, but there's truth to them.
Also, while Ireland is beautiful, being in Switzerland lets you explored most of Europe pretty cheaply. Southern Germany, Vienna, France, Spain and the wonderful Netherlands just a stone-throw away. Southern Germany is beautiful, Romania is out of this world (don't go to Bukarest, though, it's like the toilet of Europe), Holland is just a compilation of serenity, Poland will blow your mind, Vienna is what Berlin should be, and I haven't even been to Portugal yet. Yes, Ireland is nice, but there's a lot more to mainland Europe to explore. lol I'll keep that stuff in mind. So I realized that it still takes a good several hours to go to another country, 3~4 hours to Munich, Germany, 7~8 hours to Wien, Austria, 5+ hours to Milan, Italy by train. I don't think it's really that "close" as I thought it was previously. And St. Gallen has very little nightlife, which worries me! ... Where are you from? That's like how long it takes me to get to a neighbouring city (by car, there's no trains here) within my province in Canada. Wellllll, that's hardly a fair comparison. Canada is more than twice the size of all of the EU lol. Hell, the whole of European continent (which includes a decent chunk of western Russia) is only like 10% bigger than Canada, while having more than 20 times the population density. I know it varies a lot within Canada (as it does in Europe), but it still gives you an idea of what you're comparing
I think it's an understandable comparison. I'm just saying that what may seem like a long time for him isn't objectively a long time for everyone else. I didn't look forward to 10 hour overnight trains when I was in Europe last summer, but I couldn't be bothered to complain with the fact that they exist for our benefit.
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On April 26 2015 16:02 Grobyc wrote:Show nested quote +On April 26 2015 10:07 parkufarku wrote:On April 26 2015 07:29 SixStrings wrote:
Definitely Switzerland. The Irish are awesome, but you won't experience much of that when you're only living there for a year.
Think of them as the opposite of Australians, who are open and friendly from the word go, whereas the Irish need some time to warm up to you.
The Swiss are like Germans 2.0. Friendlier, funnier, smarter, they perfected all our good traits and got rid of the bad ones. My four months in Switzerland felt like I was living amongst a different species.
I know these all sound like stereotypes, but there's truth to them.
Also, while Ireland is beautiful, being in Switzerland lets you explored most of Europe pretty cheaply. Southern Germany, Vienna, France, Spain and the wonderful Netherlands just a stone-throw away. Southern Germany is beautiful, Romania is out of this world (don't go to Bukarest, though, it's like the toilet of Europe), Holland is just a compilation of serenity, Poland will blow your mind, Vienna is what Berlin should be, and I haven't even been to Portugal yet. Yes, Ireland is nice, but there's a lot more to mainland Europe to explore. lol I'll keep that stuff in mind. So I realized that it still takes a good several hours to go to another country, 3~4 hours to Munich, Germany, 7~8 hours to Wien, Austria, 5+ hours to Milan, Italy by train. I don't think it's really that "close" as I thought it was previously. And St. Gallen has very little nightlife, which worries me! ... Where are you from? That's like how long it takes me to get to a neighbouring city (by car, there's no trains here) within my province in Canada.
Atlanta, U.S. Not the most rural area but also not the biggest city here either. We use cars for everything here too
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On April 26 2015 13:45 kingcastles wrote:
find a pretty irish girl near the bonnie bonnie banks of loch lomond
I appreciated this
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I wouldn’t worry much about getting to know other people, there will be loads of other students anyway.
St. Gallen is a bit sleepy, but there is a university and it is kinda a „hub“ of eastern Switzerland - so its bound to have „some“ night live (but its also in one of the more „rural“ parts of Switzerland)… If you want to go „big“, you can allways go to Zurich which is much more lively and probably twice as expensive  (takes 1 hour by Train and you have 4-5 Trains/Hour).
+Public Transport in Switzerland is in general really, really good. You can get around easily whiteout any planning.
As for Ireland:
I was a week in Dublin. I drank too much.
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