Living in Northern Ireland

Living in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland offers a first class environment for living as well as for doing business. There’s an excellent education system, a world class healthcare service and all manner of very affordable property. You can cross Northern Ireland by car in about two hours – north to south, or east to west – but in between there is a rich variety of scenery, activities, and a host of cultural attractions and leisure opportunities. Drag yourself away from the office to the great outdoors and you will find dramatic coastlines, castles, mountains, lakes, some of the best golf courses in the world, superb fishing, water sports, walking trails, scenic drives and historical landmarks. Northern Ireland also has many fine restaurants, cinemas, leisure centres and renowned theatres, galleries, arts and entertainment centres.Living in another culture can be strange.  Even if you are from a western culture you will notice that Northern Ireland's culture is different to your own.  You will find that people say 'please' and 'thank-you' very often.  These are forms of politeness which are expected.  You will notice in shops, banks and bus stops etc that people queue.  It is considered rude if you do not queue.

Men and women have equal rights in the UK and it is illegal to discriminate against someone because of their race, gender, age, class or disability.

Education

Northern Ireland has a very high standard of education with over 60% of young people leaving secondary education in NI going on to university or college. All children receive an education between the ages of 4 and 16, the compulsory age for attendance, but the system also meets the needs of those who choose to stay on until the age of 18. Two world class universities - University of Ulster and Queens University Belfast - and an extensive network of Further Education Colleges, provide vocational and academic training for young people.

The health system