Culture
What's the craic?
There's so much going on and so much for you to do in Northern Ireland that it's difficult to know where to start. There's plenty of good value accommodation, all the shops and facilities you'll ever need, and a really friendly environment, where everyone wants know what the 'craic' is - what's going on, what's the news, gossip, fun conversation.
Music, dance and drama play a big part in our lives, as do film and visual arts, literature, architecture and fashion. There are famous theatres like the Lyric, but there's community theatre, too. We have big venues like the Odyssey Arena, but also lots of live music in pubs and bars, and on university and college campuses. We're big sports fans - football, cricket, rugby, ice hockey, golf, hiking, angling, cycling, surfing, not to mention traditional Gaelic sports. You name it, we watch it or do it. And we all enjoy the landscape, with its hills and mountains, lakes and big, clean uncrowded beaches.
Experience the people
The people of Northern Ireland (there are just 1.7 million of us) are famous, too, for our friendliness and good humour. They say that wherever you go here, you'll never be short of someone to talk to.
Famous sons and daughters of this 'land of saints and scholars' include the Nobel Prize winning poet Seamus Heaney, 'The Chronicles of Narnia' author C.S. Lewis, the actors Kenneth Branagh, Sam Neill and Liam Neeson, musicians like Van Morrison, James Galway, Ash and Snow Patrol, the great soccer player George Best, the racing driver Eddie Irvine and a cast of other actors, writers, artists, musicians, sports people, scientists and inventors too numerous to mention.
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Experience living, learning and working
Northern Ireland is a safe, easy place to live and get around in. We can offer you a great mix of high educational standards, a brilliant cultural experience, and very high levels of support. By European standards, we also have a very affordable cost of living.
On a student visa, you'll find that you can work for up to 20 hours a week while you're studying, and after graduation, you can work in the UK for two full years, with a wide range of employment opportunities in Northern Ireland's buoyant economy. For international graduate work opportunities, visit: workingintheuk.gov.uk