Belfast beginnings

We have been living in Belfast for a little over 4 weeks.
Surely that can't be right?
That's what the calendar says, but it very hard to believe. Life has been a whirlwind of screwing together flat-pack furniture, orientation in a new city, waterproofing our clothing, dodging rainshowers and meeting people.
Lots of people.
Specifically, lots of people that are named Heather or Colin.

We have been introduced to the notion that this is a country where the national pastime is eating not-so-small cakes, slices, scones, sandwiches etc.
These are called 'traybakes'.

We now understand why houses don't have hosepipes or much in the way of lawn, preferring tarmac or paving. There's no need for a hose when the moisture content of the ground and air is 100% any day.
Belfast is a very wet place.

We are no longer offended when someone offers us a 'poke'.
It's an ice-cream.

We are becoming used to driving the 12 (or so) minutes from our home on the edge of Belfast into the city where our church is. Of course, there's nothing unusual about that if you're a Sydneysider/Aussie, but it does make a change for us who have become used to the 30 second commute in village England.
We are also becoming more familiar with the visibly apparent and more overtly "religious" nature of Northern Irish Society-in this 12 minute commute, we pass more than 10 churches and many more signs with a Christian message.
However it's a society that is rapidly becoming secularised-possibly faster than any other English-speaking nation in the West.


Despite a reputation as unsafe, Northern Ireland has one of the lowest crime rates among industrialized countries. According to statistics from the U.N. International Crime Victimization Survey (ICVS 2004), Northern Ireland has one of the lowest crime rates in Europe and lower than the rest of the United Kingdom. In fact, the results of the latest ICVS show that Japan is the only industrialized place safer than Northern Ireland.
It's not the battlefield that the media seems to suggest it is. Parts of Northern Ireland have a very sad history and certainly suffered violently in The Troubles, but it is not the same today as it was prior to the Belfast Agreement 10 years ago. It's still not perfect-but then what place on earth is?


Prior to moving here, everyone we have spoken to has had very strong opinions on what they think Belfast must be like?
Do you have a vision of it as being large? small? highly urbanised? industrial? modern? rich?poor? diverse? mono-cultural? full of soldiers and police? full of leprechauns?
What do you think it is like? Please comment!