Anyone moved to the Republic of Ireland?

[bebespain]

I am trying to persaude DH to apply for his perfect job in the Rep. of Ireland, County Donegal to be exact. I think it could be a good move for us, especially for our children 3yrs and 7 months.

However as some of you may know I am desperately unhappy here in Spain and could not bare to go through another bad move, it has to be right this time. I am concerned that I could be just as isolated there as I am here...or maybe not...

Can anyone advise me???

[Oeufman]

Soooo isolated! Donegal is very remote.

However, i moved to Ireland over 10 years ago, have 4 kids and it is the best move i ever made. Life is family orientated, the schools fantastic and the wilderness suits me down to the ground.

It is expensive, bad infrastructure and on the whole people have a wonderful dis-respect for authority (I was once informed red lights are a suggestion you may want to stop the car...)

I love it here, I am in the South east of Ireland and would rear my family no where else!!

PM me if you want any more advice,

OM

[Oeufman]

Soooo isolated! Donegal is very remote.

However, i moved to Ireland over 10 years ago, have 4 kids and it is the best move i ever made. Life is family orientated, the schools fantastic and the wilderness suits me down to the ground.

It is expensive, bad infrastructure and on the whole people have a wonderful dis-respect for authority (I was once informed red lights are a suggestion you may want to stop the car...)

I love it here, I am in the South east of Ireland and would rear my family no where else!!

PM me if you want any more advice,

OM

[bebespain]

Thank you OM!

I had a feeling about Donegal being very remote just from some quick research I did on the Net...ahh...seems there are lots of advantages though esp for children...

Lol at the red lights

[wukter]

What is it you don't like about Spain?
(If it's the heat that won't be a problem in Donegal )

[wukter]

It is quite remote and rural alright. Though you will be near to the North, which brings the cost of living down quite a bit for shopping etc.

[bebespain]

Lol at wukter Well I´m not that keen on the heat that´s true although looking out of my window at all the snow it´s hard to imagine ole sunny Spain!!

Ahh there are many things I don´t like about Spain wukter...lack of organisation, long working hours, lack of customer service, school system and the fact that my just turned 3 year old is expected to do 5 full days at school, lack of activities for SAHMs and their LOs...I could go on...

[doubleinstructions]

Oeufman is right,best place for rearing kids and the healthy direspect is legendary!!
I'm in a small town,very strong and inclusive community so lots of oppurtunities for SAHMs.
Donegal is remote so you would need to research nearest town??

[Oeufman]

Ahh there are many things I don´t like about Spain wukter...lack of organisation, long working hours, lack of customer service, school system and the fact that my just turned 3 year old is expected to do 5 full days at school, lack of activities for SAHMs and their LOs...I could go on...

Okay... Ireland is not known for its organisational abilities....

Not sure about the working hours - I think it depends on where you work, I know my self-employed husband works all hours

Customer service is on the whole (with a few rare exceptions) abysmal... and most shocking is the disregard for Irish customers from UK companies i.e. TESCO (we had to battle long and hard to get a baby changing facility in Tesco)!

School system is fabulous, my 4 year old has a free part time place at a pre-school 5 days a week which we have the choice of availing of. Children are encouraged to start national school at around 5 years (not close to just 4) and do not move up to secondary school until at least 12 or 13 years of age. Downside is "the points" system - equivalent to A levels, but more rigid!

There are very limited activities for stay at home mums locally here - however, on a plus side kids are allowed to be.. kids.

[flyingcloud]

I grew up in Ireland and as someone who has lived abroad for the last ten years I would echo what Oeufman says about:
lack of organisation and poor customer service (although it's often poor in a nice way, I have made bureaucrats cry due to my hard-nosed attitude to wanting things done properly and on time, something they're not used to, shame on me)

I think Ireland is a great place in general to bring up children. The education is fantastic - I am very proud of my Irish education. It is very highly regarded throughout Europe as well, especially at secondary level).

Donegal is beautiful, but very remote!

[bebespain]

Yikes - the words frying pan and fire are starting to spring to mind

Hearing positive opinions about the education system is reassuring though...

What to do...??

[Niki66]

As an Irish person, I am biased. But Done gal is one of the nicest counties and has great beaches and mountains. There are big towns like letterkenny and Derry. You are near to Sligo. It is great for kids and you have free Education.
I grew up in Mayo and have very fond memories and still consider it home. Still friendly and more laid back and when the sun shines its better than Spain.
Good Luck,
Nicola

[bebespain]

Thanks Nicola, feeling more positive after reading your message especially as we found out today the job is actually based in Letterkenny. From the little I have read about it on the Net is seems like a good place...

[wukter]

it's all been said, bebespain.

It is a lovely place to live. Letterkenny is a lovely town, it's the very North of the county so quite remote. You will be near to Derry though.
Your kids will have lovely Donegal accents

[OfficiallyMe]

Hi I lived in Letterkeeny and loved it

Its quite a big, busy town and has all the main shops and also lots of little cafes and old fashioned pubs too

The people were very friendly and chatty

Housing is cheaper too with lovely places not far from the town if you want more space

Jobs are hard to find in Donegal so if the job your DH has been offered is fairly secure, I would say go for it

Good Luck

[boo74]

Hi i live in Donegal and love it
yes parts of it are remote but Letterkenny has everything, shop wise, its a big town and Derry is no distance.
I'm originally from London and I've been over in Ireland for the past 10 years, I'd never move back to London. I've 2 kids and the freedom they have is great, the only drawback is the weather!!
If you need any info PM me...

[GingaNinja]

Hi Bebe.

I'm a Brit but living in Co Galway for the last 6 years as married to local, DD is 7 mo proto redneck. Agree with Oeufman re: organisation and infrastructure, but definitely kid friendly. Don't forget surfing for Donegal - supposed to be some of best waves anywhere on the planet according to surfnut acquaintance who works in Letterkenny for precisely that reason. Tesco Ireland do deliver here and generally people are friendly - def different attitude I've found if you have family emergency or god forbid funeral to deal with. You're expected to go, not UK thing of why can't you sort in your lunch hour. And you are enviably close to UK shops in Norn Iron (we make v rare pilgrimages oop north for cheap shopping that can't fit in baggage on Aer Arann back from Manchester - like Ikea stuff before Dublin opened )

[Buda]

The only thing I will say is that I remember an old story about an Irishman talking to a Spaniard about the "manana" attitude in Spain and the Irishman replied "ah sure we don't have a word that conveys that amount of urgency"!! You have been warned!

[bebespain]

Lol Buda - that is brilliant!

Thanks Boo, I will take you up on your offer to PM you if I need to

Thanks to Ginga too. Ooh I like the idea of cheap shopping (I miss it) and can certainly relate to making the most of UK shopping bargains which is "the law" when I travel "home" to Manchester . Are you from that neck of the woods too?

[GingaNinja]

Hi Bebe, yep spent a large amount of misspent youth there. My sis currently resides in Sunny Stockers as do a lot of my drinking buddies (now binge drinking only with the help of babysitters a lot 'em. I believe the Crown gallon club has been joined frequently by certain laydeez of my acquaintance). Unbelievable how much Mcr itself has changed over last 6 yrs since we started being tourists; now they've put Kro bar in, where DO the winos hang out?!?