I think, upon review, that i've written about Belfast in some dark and dreary terms. To be fair, although "The Troubles" were (and in a way still are) very real, today's Belfast is also a fun, exciting place to visit especially in the area where i'm staying. All around Belfast University, and along Botanic Avenue filled with tree-lined streets, are fun pubs and restaurants and shops. As a University town, it's filled with young students and young energy. I hung out at The Empire Music Hall, which has a concert hall (featuring Rufus Wainwright and Lonnie Liston Smith upstairs, the 2 nights i was here) and downstairs there is music on for free most nights. You can get some good, cheap eats around here too, like currys at the Moghul Restaurant, good (STRONG!) coffee at Esquire's, and a decent veggie meal at Maggie Mays. It's not unlike any other college town, in anytown USA, apart from the accents. Order a Harps beer and hang out. Belfast is an easy city to walk around in, and within a day, I was very oriented to it. The Ark hostel is a good place to stay for a day, a week or a month, and can help you find long term accomodation or work too, and the managers Simon and Chris were very nice there.