Relocating to Ireland

[DoUKnowTheMuffinMan]

Hi all,
I’m a man and this is my first post here on MN so please forgive me if this is the wrong section. Not sure if there is a specific section for this topic or not but would just like some advise off anyone with experience on relocating to Ireland please.

My wife and I are expecting our first baby in August and currently live in England (in Derbyshire). I’m a full time registered nurse and my wife also works for the nhs.
It’s something we have thought about for a while, my wife’s Dads side of the family are Irish but no longer live there but we don’t really want to talk to them about our thoughts yet. We just want a new life, we’ve both grown up in this town and feel we want a better lifestyle for us and our daughter. It’s something we are contemplating doing in around 5 years time either before our daughter starts school or there about. So we have plenty of time to plan but it’s one thing having an idea, and another actually going for it!

My question is, has anyone done it and what was your process like? What advise could you give us?
We are looking at County Cork/ anywhere south west .
Please any advise at all, experience, we would really appreciate it. Feel free to ask any questions too if I’ve missed any details.
Thanks a lot

I'm Irish, so obviously I think it's a great idea 😀 however lived abroad for 15 years before coming back so do have a point of reference

House prices were very high in Cork before the coronavirus lock down, there's predictions that they'll drop significantly now, but who knows...

School-particularly primary - are generally very good, and outside of the city they're generally not over-subscribed. However they're mostly Catholic ethos schools. They teach Catholic doctrine, and while they accept non-Catholics (they have to by law), they generally just sit out that part of teaching without any other accommodations.

There's a 2-tier health system - pretty good if you have private health insurance, not good if you don't. Exception here is kids are well looked after regardless.

Hi, here is an older thread that might answer some of your questions or just give you something to think about. There are others too.
My big concern living here is the health service - it's very expensive, you do need private medical insurance.
But I'm at a different stage in my life. I suggest doing really intensive research and removing any rose-tinted glasses.
Good luck.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/living_overseas/3344152-Moving-to-Ireland

In terms of process, there's no big saga - find job, find housing, off you go :D If you were to work for the HSE for exame (NHS equivalent) they would help you set up a PPS number (national insurance number type thing).
For housing, daft.ie is your best bet, covers rentals and sales.

Thanks so much , definitely lots to look at. We so desperately want a new life

Just read this and thought it was interesting:

www.independent.ie/life/home-garden/goodbye-commuter-homes-hello-rural-living-swapping-the-city-for-country-living-39265322.html

I'm confused as to why you just don't move to a more rural part of England? You have a highly moveable job.

Or a different part of the UK?

Seems a bit drastic to move to a whole new country that you no longer have any family in just for a change?

If you and your wife both work for the NHS, surely it would make more sense to move to NI if you really did want to leave?

Thank you, that’s true we will have a look round the uk. We like the idea of Yorkshire but it seems so expensive . We could sell our house for £180,000 or a little over , and can’t seem to find anything for that amount that would be reasonable .

I've been away so long that I don't feel I'm a great source of advice on Ireland, but...one thing I would say is don't underestimate the degree of cultural difference. In my experience some English people moving over subconciously expect it to be more similar than it actually is. In some ways I think Ireland is a bit of an outlier in the English-speaking world. We're basically as much southern European as northern European

I mean Ireland is expensive. Property is very expensive. And you'd be hard pressed to move to a whole new country with 2 jobs waiting for you. So you'd need to sustain yourself over there for some months.

Also would you be expecting a similar income? Joining the nursing register in Ireland costs several hundred if you are trained outside Ireland as they have to research that you're legit, and salaries are not the same. And are based on years worked. We don't have "Bands".

If you are serious, your first move is to contact NMBI to see even what salary you would be entitled to considering you have no working history in Ireland.

Hello!
I am Irish and my husband is from the uk. We met in the uk and moved to Dublin (where I'm from)
I'm a nurse also.
We had to move into my parents home when we moved back in order to save for a house.
You can't apply for a mortgage until you've been working for between 6m-1yr (depending on what bank you go with)
I worked for the nhs in a central London hospital for years and when I started working in a hospital in Dublin I lasted a month before I moved into the private sector - the difference in the healthcare systems is shocking. I'm sorry to be blunt but I want to be honest.
Our quality of life at the moment is a lot better now that we are more settled but it was difficult in the beginning. Even to get car insurance that recognised our previous 15 years experience in the uk.
Ireland is expensive - prepare to be taxed a lot more on your payslips.. fork out for health insurance (it's better to have it) and also you get charged by your bank to even have an account with them.
I understand where you are coming from saying you want a better life for your child etc. But it will be hard in the beginning.. and it was better me being honest and blunt than trying to sugarcoat it.
Obviously there is no place like home, but they don't make it easy for Irish nurses returning to Ireland from abroad!
Any questions just let me know.. I have no experience with areas in cork, so can't help with that part of it!

@ElspethFlashman I agree - I'm Irish but trained in the UK and I spent the guts of nearly 800 trying to get my nursing registration which took about 6 months to actually come through. It's not as simple as clicking and paying online. It was such a difficult, long, expensive process 😓

Are you specialized nurses? There are small hospitals around the county in Cork, but the main ones are in the city. It's a big county with small roads! Tralee or Waterford or Limerick might be cheaper, who knows what is going to happen in the next few years!

We did it 20 years ago and have no regrets. DH is Irish which helped a lot, especially with settling in.

Someone has already said it, but don't underestimate the cultural differences. Despite it also being English speaking it's a very different place, and it's been invaluable having DH and his family to help me navigate it.

Ireland is expensive these days, there's no getting away from that. Healthcare, property, education, groceries, cars, insurance - everything.

Your first step should be to visit to get a feel for the place, as soon as it's possible to, and do loads of research in the meantime.

Look at Northumberland instead. Low density of population, countryside, history, beautiful coastline, quiet, easy access to Scotland, Cumbria and the A1 to head south. More affordable housing and a more low key lifestyle. Look at Hexham, Morpeth and Corbridge in particular, although there are cheaper areas.

We do currently have a mortgage , we have been home owners two years @BMWL Do you still have to wait to apply ?
@eggandonion I am a registered nurse currently working in theatres (obstetrics mainly) and my wife specialised in renal before but now works in administration in the nhs

@DoUKnowTheMuffinMan the banks would usually ask to see you can adequately 'save' for minimum 6 months. I don't think they would take into account that you have a mortgage in the UK, but I may be wrong.
Have a read of this article, it might be of some help

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/abroad/mortgages-for-returning-emigrants-how-to-apply-1.3119588%3fmode=amp

I would suggest taking a long holiday type break to where you are thinking of moving to, just to be sure that it is what you want. It's a huge move to do without any family residing in Ireland. We would have been lost without the help of my family

We did it OP, I'm Irish though and dh is from U.K.
it is more expensive here however;
Wages are higher
Child benefit is higher
No water bills
No council tax bill- it comes out of your wage as such.

Rural cork is cheaper than cork city
Waterford May have options for work too as it has a private hospital and public hospital.

School wise- you get to choose your child's starting age essentially, so at any point between age 4 and 6. Most start at 5ish.
You need to pay for all of the books too.

Car wise- tax and insurance is higher.

Food wise- I can do my food shopping for the same as I did it in the U.K. so I don't see a difference there.

Mortgage wise- yes they want to see 6months if active saving (separate from your deposit. The amount they lend reduces with each dependent too.

DONT shop at tesco...it's too expensive.

I shop at lidl/aldi and I can get my weekly shopping for under 100 without a doubt! And we do eat well!!

Have you considered Northern Ireland?

Gobe provided a lot of regional flights, including cork to Cardiff, leaving my Dd stranded. So you might want to see where transport links are when everything reopens. My nephew and his wife relied on a gobe flight in and out ofBelfast.
Cork University Hospital has a big renal centre I think, also a big maternity hospital - if you want to stick to what you know.
It seemed to be very easy for nurses to get work in private hospitals until March, but nursing registration takes months. However, I have a friend whose Dd worked in a research place, doing quite interesting work, until she got registered, she trained elsewhere.

Have you spent any time in Ireland before this?

@crowuemonsieur My wife has many times, I’ve only ever been to NI. We spent hours looking and researching last night and took all of these replies into account and have started looking at Northumberland instead now as a previous poster suggested . We didn’t think we’d be able to afford anywhere like that .
Thanks all :)

You’d be crazy to move to a country you’ve not spent time in, with the idea it will arbitrarily improve your quality of life, OP. I mean, what is it you are expecting Ireland to provide that somewhere else in England won’t?