Belfast is a lovely place with lovely, friendly people and very helpful. They have a great sense of humor -- great craic.
A good tip is to check out the triangle bounded by Newtownards, Bangor, and Belfast. While driving is somwhat perilous on the narrow roads, if you hire a car and take the A2/A20/A21 and the roads via Craigantlet you get two different experiences of Northern Ireland - the urban metropolis and the country lanes where the only living being you're sharing the view with is a cow or two. People are very friendly and 75% of the city (basically anything that isn't west!) is unaffected by the troubles.
We found Belfast disarming and charming, and I look forward to returning sometime. My experience has been that the media can give visitors a very distorted impression of any area that is only curable by an onsite visit so that we may form our own opinion. And our opinion of Belfast/Ireland is very, very favorable.
I found Belfast to be an awesome city. It is completely safe to walk around alone at 3 in the morning. There are great indie rock bars to go to and the people are extremely friendly. I cannot wait to go back.
I grew up in Newcastle and it is far away from everything else. However, I had the most magnificent childhood in Newcastle, as there was always so much to explore. You could ride your horses and bikes just about anywhere -- I loved it.
It's rubbish to say that Belfast is unsafe for women - it is no more unsafe than the rest of the UK and as a student from Belfast living in London and Manchester I would say it is a lot safer. If you stick to the city centre, university area, Lisburn Road, and the Oddysey complex to go out in, it's fine. There are some great bars and clubs about and the people are friendly - it's not a huge city but you'll have a great time - especially if you travel out to the coast or into the country! As for the troubles, it is a small minority of people that have anything to do with the unrest and only certain areas of the city. Do not be put off by the emphasis and exaggerations of the media!
Newcastle is a great night out, shame it's so far away from everywhere!
I'm English and my girlfriend lives in a Catholic area of North Belfast. I've never felt unsafe there once. It has its problems like any other city but as long as you're not brash and loud about religion and politics, it's fine. I like it that much, I'm moving there.
Belfast is probably the most interesting place to visit on the Island of Ireland. It's emerging from conflict, and the people are very open and friendly. While it is true that there are drunks who may seem intimidating, as long as you leave them alone they shouldn't bother you. Belfast is very affordable and offers a lot of history. I would much prefer to have stayed here longer than in Dublin!
Not safe? Belfast's far friendlier than Dublin! In Belfast people actually smile at you. I've been all over the world and Belfast was one of the most welcoming cities I've ever been to.
Belfast has more trouble than any other place. You can't even say you're from Northern Ireland because people feel sorry for you. It's a lovely place but why can't people get along?
Belfast is a city with a lot of unrest and it is recommended that single women should not walk on the streets alone at night.
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