Favour describes and outlines some of the things she wished she knew before arriving in Limerick which differed from her life at home in Nigeria. These tips are perfect for someone who is moving to Ireland for the first time.

It is always exciting to travel to a new country, for me, it would be the most amazing thing in my life. I was leaving Nigeria for the first time and coming to Ireland on a Scholarship. I browsed everything I could think of from items of clothing, weather, food, shopping centres, architecture, and so on. I haven’t been to any other country, but Limerick is the most beautiful city I have lived in. The simplicity and the friendly nature of Irish people is the most attractive qualities I admire.

It is not uncommon to see people smile at you while passing by you, the contractors who came to my apartments were always nice, and the public bus drivers were always friendly. Despite the beautiful experiences, I wished I still knew some things about Limerick before coming.

Google Maps

Google maps are quite useful in Limerick city; However, Irish people are friendly people. It is always hard to get your way around without a map; it is not uncommon for people to send you an Eircode for your place of appointment. It gets extremely hard to locate places by just the name, so the ability to read a map and use a map is necessary. I didn’t know how to use maps because of where I was coming from, and I had to learn to use a map here in Limerick. It isn’t hard to learn, but you should understand how it works.

Weather

Limerick weather is beautiful, but it can mess up your day if you don’t prepare well for it. You can experience rain, sun, wind, and cold on the same day. Wear your clothing to fit the weather when going out, bring an umbrella, waterproof jackets and shoes which are necessities.

Hurling

On my first day in Limerick, the University of Limerick provided transportation from Dublin to Limerick for first-year students; while the bus was dropping students in their various apartments, I noticed that most apartments had a flag. I come from a country where people were crazy about football, but I have never seen this show of solidarity and love for a sport like the people of Limerick displayed. Hurling is one game that the people of Limerick love, and it was nice to see how much they showed support for this sport.

Final Thought

Limerick is an amazing city, there are so many places to visit, and its people are friendly and accommodating and there’s a lot of stories to learn from its history. I am happy to be here.

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