Job possible in Dublin - do we move to Ireland?

[Batbear]

Hi,

Looking for some tips and places to look. DH works in Healthcare and after visiting a hospital he has been strongly encouraged to apply for a job.

We live in Kent in a 2 bed house with 2DCs. Our income doesn't really give us the chance to move where we'd prefer (a bigger home), and so the idea of Ireland with space and opportunity appeals.

Our DCs are primary age, and my work is admin or charity based work.

Does anyone have tips? What would i need to know about schools? What about house buying? What expenses won't i have thought of?

[heateallthebuns]

Where in Ireland? Housing in Dublin is very expensive. Schools are very good here, most are faith schools mostly catholic but if you're Church of England you could get kids into a church of Ireland school which are often small and good.

[heateallthebuns]

Oh sorry I see you say Dublin!!! Which hospital?

[ITGurl]

Income taxes bit higher but no council tax. If you own a house there is an annual property tax of 300 to 400 but its far less than council tax.
No water charges either (very controversial).
Dublin house prices would still be less than home counties.
School OKs but jam packed in Dublin.
School are quite different. No hot meals and you buy all the books etc.

[wobblywonderwoman]

Yes, no council tax and grocery shopping isn't so bad with plenty of lidl and aldi stores.

GP visits are 45-50 euro a visit but free for under six. Maternity care free.

Schools - you pay for all books, stationary and send a packed lunch.

Child benefit is not means tested and 140 euro a month per child.

[Gooseygoosey12345]

Maybe I'm biased but I'd be on the first plane. Cars and car tax are more expensive along with other things already mentioned but the way of life makes it so worth it. Education is better IME, there's nowhere quite like Ireland

[Batbear]

This is just the kind of information I wanted. The hospital is Talla hospital, so thinking living in Kildare would be possible.

DH is catholic so the DCs are at catholic school already.

What are school hours like? Is there likely to be room for me to work with no family support?

[fueledbybacon]

If it's Tallaght hospital look at Maynooth, Leixlip or Celbridge. I used to live in Celbridge And it would be my preference. Small town feel but close to Dublin and Tallaght. It's got a large Tesco, Lidl and plenty of amenities. Schools are great in Celbridge.

[heateallthebuns]

School hours are short. Mine finish at 1.05 they're in junior infants, and it will be 2 when they're in first class. They start at 8.25. It varies a bit school to school.

You should be ok getting them into a school if they're catholic.

Most mums work. There's lots of after school clubs. I have an au pair which many people here do.

Kildare is an easy commute to tallaght hospital and so are parts of Wicklow like blessington. Which areas were you thinking of in Kildare?

[wobblywonderwoman]

Kildare would be cheaper to live and better house for your money. Also childcare is considerably cheaper - mostly cash in hand.

Great quality of life.

Primary is 9.20 until 3 or thereabouts.

[heateallthebuns]

I'm English too with no family support btw!

I like naas and newbridge too.

[wobblywonderwoman]

Daft.ie is the best place to look for rental/house purchase.

Also another point to note is car importing. Make sure you bring in the best car you can afford and prove you have owned it for six months as you can save paying duty on one foreign import.

[Batbear]

Thank you fueledbybacon (awesome username BTW)

DH has an old school mate who lives in Cellbridge so it's the only place we knew of in the right area.

It feels like it is a big jump, we are late 30s/early 40s, but getting a better quality of life seems so appealing.

[heateallthebuns]

I moved from London at 28 to Dublin for a better quality of life. The community is very friendly and I found it easy to settle in. I'm 41 now and it's home!

[heateallthebuns]

Some houses for sale might not be on daft. All rentals are likely to be. For buying I'd look at MyHome.ie as well.

[Batbear]

Heateallthebuns does your au pair live out?

How easy was it to find work?

[heateallthebuns]

No she lives in. We have room so it works out really well. She's been with us for 18 months and is like a part of the family! It's not for everyone but it works for us!!!

Should be easy to find work. Lots of admin jobs.

[heateallthebuns]

I found a job before I moved over, but that was 13 years ago!!! You should find a job easy enough at the moment though id've thought. What sort of charity work?

[OutandIn]

Do you have any Irish blood- can you get Irish passport. Brexit would worry me a bit.

[DublinBlowin]

I moved to Dublin over the summer - we love it.

Was impossible to find decent school places in the state sector and rent was a LOT more than we'd anticipated but in balance it's been a good move.

[heateallthebuns]

I don't have an Irish passport just my uk one. At this stage I could get one as my dh is Irish and I've been here so long. But I don't feel the need, I'm not worried about brexit. If it becomes inconvenient e.g. Having to go in different queues at airport I'd get one. They're not going to deport brits! But it's over €1,000 to become a citizen so I'm not bothered enough!!!

[TizzyDongue]

I was about to say its not a better quality of life, but in reality I don't know as I've been hear my adult life!!

Health care can be expensive if something goes wrong, go around 50-60 euro per visit, A&E is 100 and public hosptial stay 75 (capped at 750). Private healthcare may be necessary for you.

Schooling requires you to buy all school books, workbooks, exercies books and to give a 'voluntary contribution'. Depends on school to the exact costs. School days shorter than the UK and summer holidays much longer!! Primary would be around 9 weeks and secondary 12 weeks.

If your income is decent you'll do OK. Obviously your mortgage/rent effects it depending on what percentage it takes of your income.

[TizzyDongue]

My local primary is 8.50 to 2.15

[snuffykins]

I actually live in leixlip and it, celbridge or Maynooth would be good choices. Especially if you wanted to work in Dublin city centre, they're good locations for public transport, although leixlip and Maynooth would be the better for that.

Further down kildare in places such as kilcullen, Naas etc could also be good options for commuting to tallaght.

[Batbear]

DHs parents are Irish so he has a passport. The DCs and I are UK passport holders.

Dublinblowin where did you move to?

I'm factoring in private healthcare because it seems sensible enough, and if we can both work then that'd be great.

If our income didn't change much but we had more open space and didn't live on top of the M25 I'd be happy.

[DublinBlowin]

Getting the paperwork done was a nightmare.

I couldn't get a bank account without a letter from my employer confirming my job was permenant, how much I earned and where I lived.

DH who doesn't work couldn't be added to a joint account until he could prove residency. A tendency contract wasn't accepted and so we had to wait until there was a utility bill in his name. Took about 3 mths.

Renting was bizarre - There was a lot of competition. We rented at the top end of the market and were working through a relocation agent, even so we had to put our "case" together to prove that a) we could pay and b) we were suitable desireable.

Getting social security numbers took about 9 weeks - until I had those I was on emergency tax, so something to be aware of and the schools were keen to have them before the DC started school but were content to wait.

Dental is expensive - we have pretty good insurance through my work but very little is covered. DD needs a surgical filling and the cost will be about €2k