Buzz of the city, calm of the countryside

OK, so we have established that the people of Cork are great; there can be no arguing with that now.

But what else does the place have to offer? People are very important, but there are other things to take into consideration when moving to a new country.

One thing that has struck me about Cork is how quickly you can get out of the city. Cork city centre is built on an island bordered to both the north and the south by channels of the River Lee. These river channels form a very real and physical border to the city centre proper. Sure, the city has broken the banks of the Lee a long time ago as it spread north to Blackpool, south to Glasheen, east to Blackrock, and west past the University College Cork campus that follows the road to Ballincollig. But the city centre is hemmed in by the Lee's north and south channels, which keeps it from sprawling.

The benefit of this is that it is only a 5 - 10 minute drive (depending on traffic) and you are completely out of the city and in the rolling green hills of County Cork. This means that you can live in an extremely rural location with everything that affords, and still only have a short commute to the city, work and shops.

Cork seems to have pratically everything you need from a city packed, as it is, onto the small island that makes up the city centre. This means that you never have to walk far to get to the places where you want to go. To walk completely around the city centre island takes about an hour, but in that hour you can find virtually everything you could want from a city, such as:

University College Cork
St. FinBarre's Cathedral
Cork Court House
Cork Opera House
Merchant's Quay shopping centre
The English Market
Cork Library
The Grand Parade
Holy Trinity Church
and loads of shops, coffee houses, cafes, pubs, and everything else you could want.

Cork feels busy and vibrant, but not crowded. The small streets off the main St. Patrick's Street are full of surprises and interesting little shops, and the narrow alleys have some great coffee shops and restaurants.

But when you've had enough of the city, drive out of Cork city centre for 10 minutes and you can enjoy the rolling hills around Cork, the River Lee,and the absolutely fantastic views over the Lee valley. The lovely village of Blarney, with its castle and famous stone, is only 20 minutes outside Cork (10 if you drive like the Irish), Cobh harbour (pronounced "cove") is a short drive to the south, and the beautiful countryside and rugged coastline of West Cork further to the west.

We live 15 minutes outside the city centre, but we are completely in the countryside. When I look out of the kitchen window, I can see rolling hills, cows, a farm, and the horse, who we have named Helena, looking over the back wall waiting for my daughter to feed her apples.