Seeking shelter part 2

The next big decision, and the question that is the first thing everyone I've talked to asks is, "Where are you going to be?".

This of course not independent of the type of accommodation as I discussed in part 1. But its a separate question all of its own.

Let's start with where I'm likely not going to be: Dublin. Great city, but as I've mentioned, I'm ready to be done with big city life for a bit. Also, Cork, which at 119,000 is only slightly larger than Ann Arbor, seems too large for me relative to what's available in the surrounding areas. It would be great to be close to my only real support network in the country, but I just don't feel that Cork offers the best combination of what I'm looking for at the moment. I hope none of my wonderful, occasional hosts in Cork take any offence should they happen to read this!

Now if a great job offer happens to come along that would put me in one of those cities, I may change my tune, but for now, I'm going to focus my search on the central west coast.

Galway has been my focal point for some time. Its first draw is location: centrally located along the west coast, it puts me as close to all the areas that I want to be near as is possible. Connemara, Clare, Mayo, Cork and even Dublin are all within a few hours drive. Secondly, it strikes me as being "just right" size-wise. Despite being the third-largest city in the Republic behind Dublin and Cork, its population is just 75,000. For perspective, that's a little more than double that of Port Huron and about 2/3rd the size of Ann Arbor. It'd take 37 Galways to match the population of Chicago.

Galway is also a college town, which in my experience seem to be among the most vibrant, lively and pleasant places to live. Towns like Ann Arbor, Madison, and Boulder are constantly rated among the best places to live in the US for their combination of small-town feel and security, convenience of amenities, accessibility to culture and entertainment, and overall pleasant ambiance. From what I've inferred, and heard second-hand, I can expect to find many of these same qualities in Galway.

If I have any regrets from my last trip, it was driving through Galway without even so much as stopping to walk around. But, we had things to see and places to be and more time spent there would've only meant missing out on something else.


On the other hand, part of my strong desire to make this trip is to find some time for quiet reflection--not to mention spending large amounts of time practicing music without self-consciously fretting that roommates and/or neighbors might be plotting to kill me in my sleep for it--and the truly small towns and rural settings that can be found all up and down the coast would provide that in spades.

I'd be particularly interested in the outlying areas of County Galway, particular to the northwest of Galway City in Connemara, with its ruggedly stunning terrain of mountains and wetlands; or the two counties that border Galway to the south and north, respectively: Clare, offering rolling hills, daunting coastlines and arguably the very best of traditional music; and Mayo, which offers a little bit of all of the above in the town of Westport, which struck me as particularly warm and hospitable on my previous trip.

Of course, if I really want isolation and a feeling of being in a remote, beautiful setting, the towns of Dingle in western County Kerry, or Donegal in the north would each fit the bill. Either one could be the Irish equivalent to Houghton, Michigan, with signs as you approach town proclaiming the End of The Earth to be 2 miles closer than your chosen destination.


The trick is going to be finding the perfect trade-off point that offers enough of all that I'm looking for. Living in the heart of Galway may prove to be more hustle-and-bustle than I signed up for, not to mention that it would likely drain my funds very quickly. However, a place in the countryside might ultimately prove to be a disaster as loneliness and boredom overtake my desire for solitude.

Also, I need to keep in mind that I'm not going to have a car, which will put some heavy convenience restrictions when it comes to gathering food, not to mention social interaction and auxiliary travel, regardless of where I am. Although it would reason that this would be much less of a problem in or close to Galway.


So, to re-cap, here are my needs/desires in a geographical location, in no particular order:

- convenience: Must be somewhere that I can meet normal minimal transportation needs without the use of an automobile. I'm planning on buying a bike, but how difficult it'll be to haul groceries--or god forbid, a load of laundry--with it could be a problem.

- setting: Must be in or near an area of substantial physical beauty. Pretty much anywhere on the west coast would fit this to varying degrees, but since I've lived all my life in the US midwest, and will likely be returning there after I'm through here, being able to walk out my front door and see mountains for once would be fantastic.

- proximity to local music scene: Ideally, I'll have a session that is friendly to outsiders and intermediate-level players that is within walking or biking distance *at least* once a week, and preferably several times a week.

- proximity for additional travels: Being close to Shannon or Dublin for flights out of Ireland would be nice, though hardly necessary.

- serenity: A place where things move a bit slower and there is a lack of the constant background hiss of white noise that is ever present in big cities.

- social interaction: Being in a position to meet and get to know new people. I might be a pretty heavy introvert lean, but 3 months with little other social interaction other than in passing would certainly wear me down.



Update since I first wrote most of this post: I've begun looking on craigslist, and while places aren't exactly plentiful, there are quite a few intriguing options, and the rental costs are actually looking quite reasonable. There's a 4-bedroom cottage in the Mourne Mountains just across the border into Northern Ireland that could be mine for about the same as I'm paying for my shared place in Chicago. For far less, there's a 1 bedroom apartment in Derry. Either of those would fit the serenity and setting bill, but may be short on convenience and social interaction. (also, they'd both technically be in the UK, which would mean re-investigating a lot of potential immigration issues).

But there is also a very reasonably priced room in a four-room house in Galway that I've been in touch with the owner of. It is close to the University and city centre, and sounds like a good arrangement, but I'm still trying to get some more details.