To wonder about moving to Ireland one day?

[ethelfleda]

DH is Irish and all his family live there still. Brothers, sisters and nieces and nephews. I love them all dearly and we go at least 4 times a year to visit.
DS is nearly two. We aren’t having any more - in the UK we only have my DM and no younger relatives.
We often toy with the idea of moving over - but I’m worried it’s a case of thinking the grass might be greener? I love the idea of being around DHs family... but what if I didn’t love it so much if it was ALL the time?

The main thing though is - would it be better for DS? His cousins are 4, 5, 7, 11, 18 and 27 (all to different siblings of course!) would he get a better education?

Job wise - I’m fairly confident that I could put in for a transfer at work. But DH would have to find a job. Houses appeal to me as you seem to get more for your money in the area his family lives in - nice sized houses on big plots and plenty of country side - but close to main towns and about an hour from Dublin.

I realise this is a decision only we can make - but has anyone got any opinions??

We are thinking about it. My in laws are moving there in a couple of years. My mum, originally from Dublin, has bought a place in Kildare to retire to. DHs family are in Cork.

We would just need to work our logistics because most of my extended family are in Kilkenny (which is my favourite place in Ireland by a merry mile) but DH works in banking so we may have to think about a place a bit out in co. Kilkenny and then him renting a room mon-weds in Dublin. Or going back to contracting where he moves around.

The main thing that puts me off Ireland is my personal experience with the healthcare. Mum’s plan is to come back to see the doctor whenever she can. I don’t know if we’ve been jaded by anomalous experiences we saw when my nanny was on her way out. Love the place otherwise.

Can you keep a place here? Our plan is - if we do go, which won’t be until we do a year or two in Belfast for DH’s work - to keep our house in SE England so if there’s a boom here and it doesn’t work out for us there we don’t find it impossible to come back.

Everything about Ireland is not awful speaking as someone born&raised here, it's a beautiful country, I live quite rural so it's a slower pace to life, but Its lovely to be raising my son here. The education system is great, there are job opportunities out there if willing to look for them, houses are a great size, comfortable and some reasonable priced (like anywhere I'd imagine), health services have been a bit crap lately but that's down to the government not the people in the system doctors/nurses etc, public transport could do with some work but living in a bigger area that's bound to be better than where I am, us Irish have always been a friendly, welcoming bunch, of course you get the usual who are not but that's par for the course anywhere, I couldn't imagine being anywhere else honestly. I I did live in the UK some years ago and have family there too so I've experienced life there too and honestly Ireland won for me

If I were in your position I would totally do it.

We did it and came back. We bought a lovely home but found transport, health and education to be much worse than the UK and the cost of living surprisingly high. Eventually we just came to realise that we'd made a mistake. Maybe it depends where you are in the UK, in terms of comparison.

You do have the advantage of knowing all the pitfalls and negatives in advance due to your dh's family though, and of course they are a huge positive in favour of a move too.

I did it and was absolutely the right decision. Education ( I'm a teacher) is far better. Life style is more relaxed. Health is more expensive though.

To expand on my comment. My children have an irish passport, i dont. We live in dublin now.

Schools - amazing
Community - we have met amazing people and have a good network now (move just over a year ago)
Cousins - we see them a lot
Culture - less than London but good enough and we go back to london regularly
Beaches and Wicklow Mountains - we walk every week end and when I can i go during the week with my walking group
Food scene - many new restaurants opening all the time
Music - music is such an important part of being Irish. We love it.
Sky - you see the sky everywhere you look. No high rise. It has changed our mental health. I feel i can breathe.

Cons
It rains but less than I thought it would
It is damp but you have chimneys
Sometimes you can feel some insecurities in the way some women always have to have a full make up on, orange fake tan and spend too much time on shopping and fake nails
The drinking culture is still very much part of secondary school life ie. discos etc and adults laugh about it.
Sports and the outdoor

But

Best decision ever. And Kildare is beautiful. Especially if your kids love riding. You ll be in the right place.

Go for it.

I live in the North, so part of Britian .
Just a thought, Ireland has much going for it, but be aware that there is no nhs, and benefits. That can make a difference. If you are all healthy and can afford medical care well and good.
Wishing you well on your decision.

Sports and the outdoor should have been put in pros not cons sorry

We moved from London to Cork when my son was a baby. I’m originally from NI and my husband from Cork. It was fine until the economy collapsed. As others have said the healthcare is pretty appalling and I didn’t think the education was all it was cracked up be. They spent a LOT of time on religion and Irish, which was a bit of a waste of time as we aren’t religious and ended up moving to Oz. We also found it surprisingly hard to make friends, as most people seemed to make friends in school and not need any new ones. Oh and it rains all the bloody time! On the plus side, some parts are stunning ! West Cork, Donegal, Beara Peninsula, just glorious! And I do miss the pubs! But if I were you I’d do a lot of research and take off any rose tinted spectacles, it’s a lovely country, but has a lot of issues too.

There is public health care, HSE but I definitely think you need private health insurance. We did in the UK too anyway.

Free GP visits for children under 6.

Child Benefit is €140 per month.

No orange fake tan here!

I'm a Londoner living in Dublin. I'd say the big positives are cheaper housing and schooling and a much slower pace of life.

Salaries are not dissimilar to London, it's much safer and easier to achieve a work/life balance.

That said I miss London and do go back regularly.

I'm Irish in London and have lived here for almost a decade. I love where I was brought up (half an hour from Dublin) but unfortunately I really dislike Dublin as a city. If I liked Dublin as much as I love London then I would move back to my hometown.

I would consider things like the cost of healthcare and how you feel living in a more rural place. I find there are less options in terms of schools etc in Ireland although education is good. I find Ireland a bit boring but it just depends on your interests and hobbies really! An Irish colleague of mine recently moved back to her rural hometown from London. She does like it but the pace of life and the lack of diversity where she is has made settling back in a bit difficult for her!

Education is a high standard.

If it's Dublin (where I live) then much of a muchness really. It's a city after all - part very hugely. Public transport could be awful depending where you are. Traffic will probably be bad!! It's definitely less claustrophobic than many cities in UK though. Plus you'll find the movement from urban to rural is very clear cut!!

Outside of Dublin then yes, improvement. School-wise, strong chance it'll be catholic school - this only matters depending on your feelings. Higher chance you'll be car reliant, the more rural you go the more certain that it.

Also know you'll pay for many things you don't now (school, medical care and medication) are the biggies here. You also probably pay more for day-to-day things also.

I'm Irish born and raised in the west , here the public transport is not great , other areas have far more transport links you really need to research the area you plan to move to very well. The school system is excellent but I agree the health system and dental is not ideal and can be very costly . I'd worry about leaving your mother . Have you asked her how she would feel if you went ahead. It's not always raining , and there are plenty of English people living here and nobody has a problem with it

One other thing to bear in mind. Yes it's generally assumed irish people are welcoming but creating a brand new group of friends as an adult is tough. No matter where you go, moving as an adult with children can be isolating - people have their friends from years ago and quite settled into this. Settling in a place that has a community would be important.

Education is good and there are more Educate Together schools now - although they're often oversubcribed. You'll need to buy books, uniforms, packed lunches, and often a "voluntary" contribution to the school. Summer holidays are longer: two months for primary school and three months for secondary school. Children start at 4 or 5 (more often 5 now with the two free preschool years) and finish around 17/18/19 if they do Transition Year.

Healthcare is expensive. Child benefit for two children offsets the cost of ours.Food is more expensive. Insurance is more expensive. It's an expensive little country to live in!

Depending on the area you work in, there are plenty of jobs. The big tech companies are pushing up both salaries and housing costs in Dublin. I've a couple of friends who commute from Kildare to the city - takes between 1hr - 1.5hr but they've lovely, big houses that would be unaffordable in Dublin.

At the weekend, there's lots of outdoor activities and usual some sort of Festival or public event on. It seems to be a more relaxed way of life and outlook than the UK - although I'm basing that on what I read on here!

When we were there, almost ten years ago admittedly, you had to pay €400 pa to have your bins emptied. I don't know if that's the same now. I don't think we paid water rates though, but then our water was virtually undrinkable. I'm sure it can't be like that in the cities!

Maybe wait until all this Brexit palaver is over with if you have British passports.
I would do it in a heartbeat!

Those of you who have said the healthcare is not great - do you mean the free healthcare? In what way do you think it is not great? Or do you mean funding/training of staff/up to date with research, etc.

Am curious, that’s all.

@Fluffyhairforever sweeping generalisations like that are lazy

For anyone saying there are no jobs in Ireland at the moment employment is high very easy to get a job in tech or banking/finance. I’m in Dublin and yes house prices are astronomical but public transport in the city and surrounding areas is grand. Just make sure you live near a train line it good bus service.
Health care is rubbish unless you pay health insurance and then it’s brilliant. I have access to private hospitals and consultants and my gp visits are subsidised through my insurance.

There are much better selections of schools now. A lot more non denominational schools. As others have said you do need to pay for books uniforms etc so it can be costly and childcare is some of the most expensive in Europe but salaries are much better here . A primary school teacher starts in around 36k, for mid level banking expect 50-60k and legal professionals 100k plus if you have experience. Tech jobs are extremely well paid. My employer encourages people who live outside Dublin to work from home several days a week or base them selves in hubs not in Dublin.

There are a lot of opportunities to be part of a community especially through sports. Gaa (Gaelic football) and rugby are huge so lots of big clubs which are a real family affair.

@Raindrops2019 it’s the lack of access to services if you want to go through the public system. Waiting lists can be years long for non urgent procedures. Only low income families get free gp and medications. My gp is 70e for a visit but saying that it’s a same day service so no long waits. Even Public patients should see a gp in 24 hours.

I live in the rural west of Ireland. My children are in very good, public schools. It's a Déis area so we do not pay a lot for books and get free or subsidised school lunches. I'm not sure the secondary education is better than the UK which I think is broader.

We have private health insurance, even when we were broke (self employed so no social welfare help at that time) and so our care is good but you pay every time you see a GP (€50) and a consultant (€150) even with insurance so we never go to the doctor (unless there's a good possibility we're dying).

It's expensive here and a small island and expensive to get off it. I did struggle to make friends when we moved here but through work and kids I did eventually (I am Irish but not living in my home town). There are lots of English people living where I do and I don't think they are seen as much different to other Europeans or non local Irish here (we are all blow-in's for at least three generations )

I would say it's a great place to raise kids and be old in but I'm not sure it would be my first choice given a second run at my life (I've been here 20 years).

@itsmecathycomehome bin collections are a private utility so you pay for them. We don’t pay for water and we don’t have council tax. We get free recycling and reduced rates on compost waste bins so you are encouraged to do your bit.

@Sticky thanks. Essentially, then every working person needs private insurance? And even then you still pay (but claim it back?)

I think it (private insurance) is a big cognitive leap for UK people as the NHS is so integral to our life, from birth.