To be thinking I might move to rep of Ireland?

[headcandygrl]

Aibu to think of moving to Ireland?
I am fed up of the lack of jobs here in the U.K.!
There seems to be (from the little research I have done) more benefits there (child benefit is WAY more!) , better job opportunities, less of an effect on jobs due to Covid. I have seen on here that they don't pay council tax! No water bills either. As far as I can see they pay slightly more tax! So it kind of evens out! But wages are better...
The education system there doesn't seem to pigeonhole children for a young age! They don't have to pass GCSE equivalents to do the A LEVEL equivalent...
University costs are less!! They have a grant system that is not paid back!!

Am I looking over with rose tinted glasses?? Is this the reality?? Anyone in Ireland who can clarify details for me?

Now I know they don't have an NHS like ours but from what I can see it is somewhat free for those that need it!!?

I moved to Ireland from Uk. People are easy going here. So easy going it’s really difficult to get anything done. The beaurocratic hoops you have to jump through when making the move are very stressful and frustrating. The cost of medical care and school books is very high. Getting jobs is all about who you know, unless you are highly specialized. The country is going through a housing crisis and there is a huge number of homeless families with young children. If you are self sufficient it can be a wonderful place to live, but there is another side to the coin.

I live in Ireland and think it's a fantastic place to be. My husband is a high earner though so that helps as our life is comfortable enough. So things like paying so much for the GP/prescriptions is annoying but not an issue. That said, i only go if I'm really sick and might save up a few ailments. If you earn below a certain amount you get free GP.

There are some nondenominational schools and multi-denominational schools. They can be very difficult to get into due to high demand and often work on a lottery system rather than catchment.

Catholic schools aren't like faith based schools in the UK. Yes there are school masses and the odd prayer here and there but in my 14 years of Catholic schooling here i don't think i ever saw a bible.

I think the "people are conservative" comment is out of date. I would consider Northern Ireland to be conservative but the Republic is much more modern.

University is not free anymore but it's not as costly as the UK. They call it registration fees and it can be a couple of grand a year.

Housing is where you'll hit a brick wall. It is nigh on impossible to find somewhere to rent and when you do you'll be paying €2k per month for a small 3 bed in a not great area. (Dublin. Not sure about the rest of the country). Buying is also difficult as there just isn't enough on the market to meet demand.

Groceries, eating out, clothes - all more expensive than the UK but wages here appear to be higher.

You will have no problem being an English person here if you're living in a city. In the countryside it could be noted that you're foreign and it may be harder to integrate.

Child benefit is a lovely bonus every month but i wouldn't factor it in because as pp's said - tax is higher and almost everything costs more.

Still, great place to live with great people and i think the education system is fantastic. You just need to be earning the (fairly) big bucks to have a fairly normal standard of living

My dh's parents are Irish but they live in Germany now...due to work...

My dh is in pharma (engineering)
I am in insurance. But where we are right now is going up shit creek to be honest 😭. I was thinking of somewhere coastal like Wexford, Waterford or possibly cork.

We would be buying not renting.

I'm not sure why people are so put off by the 'religious schooling'.... I'm a lapsed Catholic and would call myself an atheist now but my children go to the local Catholic school as it is the only primary school in our village.

The religion they are taught is very basic, it's not exactly training for the priesthood and I have told them that a lot of what they learn is just stories e.g. God did not invent the world. There are kids from all over the world and of different religious backgrounds in the school. Also no nuns or priests teach in the school (they do have the odd mass though )

I think Catholic schools in the UK and America would be a lot more serious about the religious education aspect than here in Ireland.

Go for it

Fab country and lovely people

When the weather is good it genuinely is one of the most beautiful counties in the world especially the west coast

Ummmm I left Ireland because of the high cost of living/ taxes and lack of job opportunities.
Also the government is an absolute joke, worse than the UK

Do some more research. Yabu

@Onjnmoeiejducwoapy Failing a subject at Junior Cert does not prohibit you from taking it at LC. And not only in private schools. If it did my two would be up shits creek without a paddle...

Ireland spends less on education than the UK. Also there is no free
School meals for children from poor families,or any child for that matter

DH got a very good job in Dublin in 2008. We tried for 3 months to rent a house, literally every property had 20+ people viewing it and after 20 properties and applications we gave up. I've heard the rents have gone even higher and there is even more competition now. Just something to bear in mi D if you'll need to rent.

You appear to be regarding Ireland primarily in terms of whether it can give you a better way of life in financial terms. Have you spent any time at all in Ireland? What do you know about it? What are you going to bring to Ireland?

@mummytonicekidz that's not true DEIS schools have free packed lunches for all children that attend.

School meals for children from poor families,or any child for that matter

FSM in Ireland are served as packed lunches and they do exist especially in DEIS schools. It is not as widespread as the UK version tho.

@HiGunny

I'm not sure why people are so put off by the 'religious schooling'.... I'm a lapsed Catholic and would call myself an atheist now but my children go to the local Catholic school as it is the only primary school in our village.

The religion they are taught is very basic, it's not exactly training for the priesthood and I have told them that a lot of what they learn is just stories e.g. God did not invent the world. There are kids from all over the world and of different religious backgrounds in the school. Also no nuns or priests teach in the school (they do have the odd mass though )

I think Catholic schools in the UK and America would be a lot more serious about the religious education aspect than here in Ireland.

I wouldn’t even consider a Church of England school in England, let alone a catholic one, so it seemed a negative that we would have to have any sort of religious school. It wasn’t the only reason, so we didn’t look into it too much. I was put off by a pervasive religious thread flowing through everything really, not just schooling.

Obviously it will industry dependent but I would say in the VAST majority of cases there is definitely NOT more job opportunities than the UK - hence why so many of our countrymen/women move to the UK. A huge amount of people I know have done a stint across the water at some stage and it's almost always for better work opportunities. Ireland is a tiny country with a minuscule population compared to the UK so obviously there are less opportunities.

I lived in the UK for quite a few years in three different places and I would say the quality of life is much better in Ireland on the whole, but again that will depend on circumstances. Like everything in life there's pros and cons to both.

I'm in Ireland OP and grocery wise when I look at threads on here I don't think it's THAT much more expensive here. I can feed my family on a budget of €70-80 per week. We have 2 dc. And that includes buying food for lunches.

Wexford, Waterford is much cheaper for rent/ buying house than Dublin.

I love ireland but i pay 300 3 times a year for rubbish n recycling. Anywhere really beautiful that youd want to live v expensive. Anywhere handy for dublin v v expensive. No bargains to be had. Id move to a cheaper part of the uk and enjoy yr money going further there. Not dissing ireland i am irish. Life can be easy or hard depending on how much money u have to cushion the blows.

@kittykat35

I'm in Ireland OP and grocery wise when I look at threads on here I don't think it's THAT much more expensive here. I can feed my family on a budget of €70-80 per week. We have 2 dc. And that includes buying food for lunches.

I spend 100e for 3 of us pw And not fluhoolock. But i work ft and dont have time for cooking from scratch

Child care is so expensive as in it can be as much as your mortgage.

Rent is horrendous I was just looking at a 3 bed this week 2,000 euro a month. Not in great condition or a great area.

Schools aren't free, medical is expensive my doctor is 60 euro a visit. You can get the drug payment scheme so pay a max of I think 114 per month.

My health insurance quote for next year is 2600 euro for two adults, one young adult and a child all on different schemes and not top of the range policies as in no every day expenses claim back.

If you want to buy there are strict lending rules with 3.5 times salary and 10% deposit minimum but house prices are so high in certain parts of the country.

Long wait lists for access to public hospitals.

Public transport really is dependent on were you life and I find it expensive.

@GreyishDays, having had my own entire education at Irish convent schools in the 70s and 80s (when religious education was far more serious and time-consuming, and I was taught by nuns a lot) and had a child at a C of E village school in England from 2015 to 2019, I can honestly say that the Biblical literalist nonsense DS was fed at his C of E school made the efforts of the nuns look benign and intellectually sophisticated.

I work full time too...but I do finish at 3.
I shop at Lidl mostly and the slow cooker is my friend 🤣

When i was struggling financially i thought about moving to belfast. Nhs. Houses cheaper.

I'm from London but have lived in Ireland for 23 years...currently in Waterford.

Beautiful country, lovely people.

Education is expensive, health care is expensive. Renting is v.expensive. Car insurance and groceries cost more. Refuse collection isn't cheap.

I've lived in England and Ireland. ROI more expensive for rent (at least in cities), eating out, gp, groceries and clothes. Definitely wouldn't say ROI is conservative at all. Not all schools are Catholic - plenty of multi denominational where I live. Don't think anyone would care that you are English?? (Strange comment from pp) I know (and work with) a fair few people from England who've all been living here a good while and seem pretty happy and settled.

@kittykat35

I work full time too...but I do finish at 3. I shop at Lidl mostly and the slow cooker is my friend 🤣

Wow, i have a slow cooker somewhere. I must try harder with it.