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!!?

@Therealjudgejudy Waterford seems to be where I'm drawn to...it looks so lovely there! Do you know tramore? Is it a nice town?

My sons school had a cake sale in aid of the towns lgbt +/- society last week. My friend and i were laughing at how much things have changed since our day. He is at an ET but still.

If you haven’t spent significant time in Waterford/Cork/Wexford I would be v v cautious. Remember that smaller cities in England are still way bigger than big ones in Ireland, it will feel v different.

Population of Cork: 210,00. That’s the same size as Portsmouth, and smaller then: newscastle upon thyne, Kingston upon Hull, derby, Salford, Southampton, Stoke on Trent, Sunderland, etc.

So if you’re expecting a Manchester or Birmingham sort of feel to Cork, it will be a shocker. It feels like a medium sized regional city, not a major national city.

Waterford is historically beautiful but v rundown (I have family there)—city centre was dying even before Covid. You would be entirely car dependent.

Tramore is nice but v small. For most schools in the area you will be looking at primarily Irish sports and pretty regional country activities. There are a lot of English holiday homers there but they don’t stay long. Unless the kids are happy to pick up Gaelic sports as their passion, I really wouldn’t.

YABU
Weather is crap
So many things are expensive
A more “traditional” way of life. I’m still taken aback by how much grief my cousin got, off her boss for having a baby whilst not married. I would have taken him to a tribunal but anyway

Have you ever been there? I can say all this after spending a lot of time there and being half Irish. It’s relaxing but it’s not for me, then again l live in the warmest / driest part of England, where it’s easy to find work

On top of the short-comings identified by others, keep in mind that Brexit is going to be a shit-storm for us. Day to day living costs are expected to rise, and some businesses will go to the wall (on top of those currently buckling under Covid). It is inevitable that taxes will rise to somehow back for what is being spent now due to Covid.

You're definitely wearing rose-tinted glasses and lacking in any real research into the opportunities or costs that come with living here. Unless you've been to the counties you mentioned I'd consider you mad to be thinking of moving to any of them (or anywhere else) based on a simplistic view of the benefits you think you might have access to here. I'm guessing you haven't gone as far as looking at suitable/any job opportunities in those localities.

If your dh has a well-paying job most of the benefits you've mentioned won't apply to you at all. If you're from the "looking at private schools" world you definitely won't get beyond child benefit.

Don't extrapolate from a poster's experience of the public maternity system. Maternity can't operate a waiting list so everyone has to be accommodated. Anything that can have a waiting list does and that can be years for pretty basic things.

There's no passing or failing of Junior Cert but failing subjects at JC level will give a child a challenge in getting into the honours level classes for those subjects which may well be needed to get sufficient points in the LC. LC requires you to sit a range of subjects that many students find far from optimal (if you're good at mathsy subjects for example, you're still going to have to do English and depending on criteria Irish and possibly a foreign language as well).

Op what about lurgan in the uk
Nhs. Where do u live now though? That could be a bargain, or not. Derry in the uk so nhs and cheaper housing, but you could scope out sligo / mayo

Tramore is a very small holiday resort style beach town (town/village). Teeny tiny (population is a little over 10,000). You'll travel from there for any kind of work. Not sure there's any pharma of any sort in Waterford. Cork, yes but whether there are openings in pharma engineering is anybody's guess.

I think you need to check more facts, and try it for 6 months before committing to such a big move. It's been a few years since I lived in Ireland, but I was shocked at how horrendously expensive Dublin was compared to London! Rents were simply extortionate, supermarket shopping was more expensive and be really careful about checking employment Ts&Cs. I worked for a big global company and - foolishly - assumed the terms would be the same as the terms in England. Alas, they had no paid maternity leave, annual leave was significantly less etc.

So, consider what you need not just now but in the future, then see if living there would really meet those needs.

When I say holiday resort style beach town I mean slightly tacky "entertainments" on the seafront traditional Irish holiday destination. I enjoy a day there because of the nostalgia but that's the height of it. The Waterford coastline is stunning (and free).

[quote kittykat35]@Howzaboutye

All of our schools are not catholic based...the majority are yes but not all.

We have non denominational schools OP. And for the record I am Irish and my dc are not baptised and they attend a catholic school. [/quote]
Absolutely this! There are Muslim kids in my kids class and religion is optional.

Tramore is very nice OP, small though. Public transport around the city is very good...Plenty of buses, however trains not very regular. I find that driving is important anywhere in Ireland and I rely on that.

@Meowchickameowmeow

We moved to Cork about 15 years ago and I wouldn't recommend it, there isn't a magic fountain of jobs and housing. Quite the opposite, rent prices are ludicrous, 1000+ a month for a one bed apartment, the housing market is a shambles with bidding for places completely out of hand. Groceries are very expensive. Also, don't forget there is no NHS, every doctor's appointment will set you back 50-60 euros, prescriptions costs are high.

I moved to Cork 3 years ago, granted I'm in Pharma and DH Telecoms, I love Cork (yay Cork). Houses are slightly cheaper coming from Dublin, schools are way easier to get into. Public transport is crap but we knew that anyway. Life is a bit mite chilled and people are friendlier. Quality of rental properties aren't great and we bought sooner because of that. But overall I like Cork, maybe because I moved from Dublin

[quote Bedroomdilemma]@Onjnmoeiejducwoapy since when were the nice parts of Ireland restricted to Dalkey/Foxrock/Rathgar and private schools! Talk about a SCD bias.[/quote]
🤣🤣🤣🤣

In a nutshell, Ireland is better than Egland, but there's a lot to consider.
Have you spent any time in Ireland or have any current connections there? Sorry, but your posts are coming across in the same way that Londoners who want to move "up north for a cheap house" do. I really think you need to do a lot more of your own research, before asking for opinions on here. Ireland may be a small country, but there are a lot of differences in the way of life, just as in the UK.

The school system will be hard, as it is more academic and expensive. You will have to provide everything you currently take for granted. You might even have to make "voluntary contributions" for photocopying, heating and electricity! Uniform is expensive too, as a lot of schools only stock their uniform with 1 or 2 specialist suppliers. Homework is common right from the equivalent of Nursery (Junior Infants). Also, your children will probably have to learn Irish, if they're younger than 10.
When my marriage broke up and I thought about moving back to Ireland with DS who was then 9, the main reason I didn't go ahead was because I didn't think he'd adapt well to the school system, and DS is a fairly bright boy, on course now for decent A-levels (if they go ahead).

And yes, the Irish government is not great, and there are lots of cases that we know about of corruption in politics, but they're still MUCH, MUCH better than Boris and the Tories. Anyone who doesn't realise that is very foolish indeed.

@headcandygrl

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.

Tons of Pharma companies in Cork. And if you're buying there are def houses and not as bad as Dublin prices.

@Howzaboutye

Good luck being an English person in Ireland!

And are you Catholic? As all the schooling is Catholic based.

More relaxed way of life.

Everything is more expensive.

However it's still in the EU.

Maybe apply for jobs and see how you get on, go for holidays and she where you like.

Good luck being an English person in Ireland!

Loads of English people live here. Most get on fine.

And are you Catholic? As all the schooling is Catholic based.

No it's not.

Op - what industries do you/your dh work in? That has a big impact on salaries. Cost of living is much lower outside Dublin and the bigger cities.

@WhatKatyDidNxt

YABU Weather is crap So many things are expensive A more “traditional” way of life. I’m still taken aback by how much grief my cousin got, off her boss for having a baby whilst not married. I would have taken him to a tribunal but anyway

Have you ever been there? I can say all this after spending a lot of time there and being half Irish. It’s relaxing but it’s not for me, then again l live in the warmest / driest part of England, where it’s easy to find work

A more “traditional” way of life. I’m still taken aback by how much grief my cousin got, off her boss for having a baby whilst not married. I would have taken him to a tribunal but anyway

That would be a very unusual reaction to someone having a child whilst not married. Loads of people don't get married these days.

Also, your children will probably have to learn Irish, if they're younger than 10.

They will definitely have to learn Irish (barring additional needs) if they are younger than 12 or starting secondary school. The criteria changed not too long ago.

Having said that OP education wise I would pick Ireland in a heartbeat. The overall school culture seems healthier for staff and kids. But there are cons like rent costs etc of course.

@mummytonicekidz

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

Wrong! Depending on what band your school fall. Every child in my kids school of approx 500 kids get a free school meal unless they decline. They get for example a sandwich/pasta/wrap/pan with filling of their choice, a yoghurt/cheese string etc, a piece of fruit and a rice cake/crackers/breadstick/muffin. Loads of options, this is a school with parents occupation ranging from doctor, solicitors, lecturers, teachers, taxi drivers, cleaners etc. Every child gets a FSM if they want one. Now granted it is not all schools but if your school is a 'DEIS' school you will get free meals.

Whoops, they'll have to learn Irish unless starting secondary school (so if you start in 6th class, you'll learn it). I'm sure you understood what I meant anyway.

[quote kittykat35]@mummytonicekidz that's not true DEIS schools have free packed lunches for all children that attend. [/quote]
Absolutely!

As someone in Ireland who works in pharma I can tell you @3timeslucky and OP that Waterford does indeed have lots of pharma companies (in fact some of the biggest...and a top 10 global pharma too!)

@kittykat35 you and me are going to go head to head to get op into Munster 🤣🤣

School holidays are longer, the school day is shorter, you’ll have to pay for childcare to cover these

You have to buy all school supplies

The cost of healthcare isn’t US-level crazy but is a big cost compared to the UK

I really don’t think generally speaking there are loads more jobs in Ireland than in the Uk (have spent time living in Ireland and have family there). I think their downturn around the financial crisis in 2008 Was a lot worse than it was in the UK.

I love Ireland especially Cork and had no issues as an English person living there. But you need to look at it properly and at the moment you have an extremely rose tinted view of it based seemingly on getting loads of child benefit