I have now spent three years of my life living in Dublin, but becoming a semi-local sometimes took considerable effort. There are certain things that, as an international student, I still can not get over. You will hate them, you will learn to live with them, and in the end, you will develop Stockholm Syndrome and learn to love them.
Public Transport (or The Lack of Thereof)
After the housing crisis, this is the worst part about living in Dublin. There are two Luas lines (“Luas”: literally “speed”; actually just your average tram). It isn’t that bad when you ignore three factors.
If you live in Halls and have a 9am, plan to skip at least three Luases, because they will be so full you won’t be able to get on. They also randomly stop working sometimes, like last year when, for a whole week, it only went as far as Stephen’s Green and you had to walk the rest of the distance to campus. Also, the last Luas stops around 12.30am (11pm on Sundays), so it will not help you if you’re going out.
“But there are buses!” you might say — yes, but these do not follow any schedule — not the one online, not the one printed on the bus stops, and definitely not the one shown on the electronic display. After a few months, and a few nights wasted waiting for the 80, you will learn that sometimes they just don’t show up, and sometimes they show up so full, they don’t take anyone on board. However, a good thing to know is that you CAN get to the airport using the 16 or the 19, for just €1 off your Leap Card, and you DO NOT have to pay for the Aircoach or the Dublin Express, no matter what Google Maps tells you. And remember to thank the bus drivers when getting off – they’re actually trying to do their best (usually).
Prohibition
My first night out in Dublin, I suggested that we go get drinks in Tesco before we head into Lost Lane. I was then told that you can not buy alcohol in stores past 10pm. Coming from Poland (this was in 2023), that was harsh, especially because the shots I ended up having to buy were VERY expensive. Also, you can not buy alcohol in stores before 10.30am (12.30 am on Sundays), which is annoying if, like me, you like to do your groceries in the morning. So always plan ahead, and remember that public drinking is illegal in Dublin.
“How are you?”
You will be asked this every day, multiple times a day, by every Irish person you meet. Even the guy selling you coffee, or the girl taking your Sprout order. Do NOT reply truthfully. Do not hesitate to try to find a neutral answer. Just say you’re good and ask them how they are. Sometimes you will find that they don’t even expect an answer and are already twenty feet down the road. For me, this has never stopped being awkward, and my mind goes into a state of panic whenever I hear the question, but I guess one has to adapt and overcome.
Seagulls
Do not make the mistake of offering one of the campus seagulls a bit of your pastry. It will call its friends. They will surround you to the point where you might even feel unsafe. When walking with food, shelter it with your hands, and if needed, duck. They steal everything (the rumour has it they will start going for the rollies smoked by Arts Block students next); they stare at you and make you feel uncomfortable and guilty and, close-up, they are really big and scary. The problem has reached such a level that Trinity’s Campus now has a Falcon, hired specifically to scare off the birds. But, as some might say, don’t hate the seagull, hate the game — maybe we should all have a little more empathy for the poor birds.
Coffee Shops Study Dates (Or Not)
You might have a vision of yourself studying late into the evening in your new favourite dark academia coffee shop. You will end up in the Ussher (or the Hamilton, if you’re less lucky). That is because Dublin coffee shops close ridiculously early. Some at 4 pm, some at 5 pm. The chain ones might be open till 7 pm, maybe. If you don’t want to spend money on food, or don’t fancy a crowded pub or a pint, there really is no “third space” to spend time indoors, in the evenings.
The Weather (But No, It Doesn’t Actually Rain That Much)
You probably definitely heard about how much it rains in Dublin. You probably already bought an umbrella, or will sometime in the next few weeks. It will not help you. The rain is not the problem; you should be scared of the wind. It’s freezing cold, and it makes the rain fall almost horizontally, conveniently getting past any form of umbrella-like defence. Besides, your umbrella will be turned inside out (because of the wind, you guessed it) before you reach the end of your street. So you will give up. It took me four months, and I realised I might be more used to Dublin than I thought when I stopped using an umbrella at home as well — “It’s not even raining that much!” Speaking of, in Dublin, it actually doesn’t rain that much, except for the one time last winter when we actually had forty days of downpour and Biblical flooding.
If you’re lucky (?), throughout your four years at Trinity you might experience snow. Once. For like two hours. But if you come from a country where snow is a regular occurrence (shoutout to Eastern Europe), you will be amused to see the panic that erupts within the city. The public transport doesn’t work, even more than usual. There is no hot water in Halls. You are scared for your flight, which is scheduled to depart that night. Everyone goes crazy. The snow in question obviously melted six hours ago. There was only like a quarter of an inch of it anyway. But it is sweet to see your friends (aged 19, or 20, or more), who come from warmer places, get excited like little kids because they’ve never seen snow. How sad to imagine the first snow you see in your life is in Dublin…
