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!!?

an Irish Dr on Instagram was asked how much the coil cost - €334 for fitting, device and post insertion check. Things like this would soon add up.

That's absolute rubbish. I have a Mirena. God knows where they got that price from. No way.

In other words don't believe everything said on Instagram.

This thread has been so useful. My DH was asked if he was interested at a tech job in Dublin that company was struggling to recruit for as it was on par with UK pay not higher pay like Facebook or Google. Considered but the rent in Dublin was very high, even compared with expensive areas of UK city we currently live in. Looks like it's even more expensive than I thought with higher priced groceries, healthcare too.

Have you thought about Scotland? Think that might be our back up plan for the future.

TinyGhost it's 3k if you are an EU citizen who doesn't qualify for free education.

You don't get a free degree if you go from Bachelors to Bachelors. So if you do a free BSc and then decide to do a BA, that BA will cost 3k. Whereas if you did an MSc instead, that could well be free. You have to go up the ladder to keep availing of free education.

The registration fee is usually only about €224 or something. (not sure of the exact figure but that's what springs to memory from my studies)

I'm bemused by the whole "religious schools" thing when the whole of MN goes absolutely nuts for the Nativity each year.

@ElspethFlashman yes and there's already a nativity thread!! My DC's school here in Ireland doesn't even do a nativity...last year they did a class dance off!! It was BRILLIANT!!

Op have you even been to Ireland?!

Prices are generally more expensive. Healthcare is a must. Transport to rural areas can be poor/limited. When we go over to see the in laws it’s the little things, toiletries etc are expensive. No council tax but you pay for every amenity separately (Bin collections etc) and Irish water now exist!

It’s a beautiful country and the people are lovely but it can feel more conservative than in England. Depending on where you moved to you may have to get used to gossip/hearing the ins and outs about other people. That’s something I struggle with even just going over as I’m used to being ‘anonymous’ but from in laws I get the ins and outs of everyone in town 😂

I read an article very recently in the Irish times that properties are getting snapped up as holiday homes. Rents can be really high.

There’s a different way about Ireland. We are so similar in some ways yet so different.

@JaneJeffer

some people were rude to me just for being English I don't believe this. Irish people are only rude behind your back never to your face.

Omg Jane so true! Op this is what I mention above. There’s a very obvious difference when you get to be around it enough, face to face niceties but the gossiping-oh my! Particularly in small towns.

I’ve just really noticed it from my in laws, I’m not slating as of course we do it here but it’s just very ‘different’ I can’t quite put my finger on it.

It’s as soon as a person leaves I get the low down on their lives, house, earnings etc.

It’s really alien to me but if you move to a small town be prepared!

@ElspethFlashman

The registration fee is thousands now.

I finished my studies about 8 years ago but didn’t actually have to pay the registration fee because I qualified for back to education allowance and a grant at the time. I remember it being around 1,500/2,000 euro. It’s now 3,000.

The Free Fees Initiative for Irish and and EU students covers tuition fees only. It doesn’t cover the student contribution/registration fee .

Yeah but last year 96, 000 people applied for grants and 73, 000 were eligible for one and so didn't have to pay that.

It's disengenous to plop that in there as a fact about Irish 3rd level education without the context that its by no means something everyone has to pay.

I did say it was means tested. I got a grant and didn’t pay it, but I do know others who have. I don’t think that’s disingenuous.

It’s good to hear that the majority of households do qualify for grants, but I still think it’s worth mentioning that not all do. Could be something OP needs to plan for.

Can you handle the rain?

@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.

@headcandygrl I used to live and work in Waterford (pharma). Lovely place, very quiet and I found the cost of living very reasonable. I was renting as part of a house share and found it a lot cheaper than renting in the UK. My bank account was the biggest pain in the arse to sort out so be prepared to go round in circles with it.

*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.

@3timeslucky* there's Eirgen and Sanofi in Waterford :)

If you have kids then yabu, children with an English accent tend to get picked on in Irish or Scottish schools.

If you have no kids then yanbu it’s a nicer country than England at the mo in many ways.

@Skysblue

If you have kids then yabu, children with an English accent tend to get picked on in Irish or Scottish schools.

If you have no kids then yanbu it’s a nicer country than England at the mo in many ways.

Not in my bit of Scotland they don’t.

@GreyishDays well my dc have a mix as they are young and my dh is Irish but speaks German...my dc speak fluent german too.

How's it going to work with Brexit? Surely a UK citizen can no longer just 'move' to an EU country without visas and all that jazz?

@ElspethFlashman

Yeah but last year 96, 000 people applied for grants and 73, 000 were eligible for one and so didn't have to pay that.

It's disengenous to plop that in there as a fact about Irish 3rd level education without the context that its by no means something everyone has to pay.

@ElspethFlashman

I'm Irish, living in Ireland, and work at a university.

Your posts are presenting inaccurate information.

In 2017, the latest year for which statistics were provided, there were 183,642 enrolments.

That's a lot of people who don't receive grants.

A lot of people do get grants. However, they don't cover university costs in total. Some people get fees only, some people get living allowances too.

Even with that, university attendance costs money, a lot understated eg books, travel cost (rental costs for students in some university areas are prohibitive so many travel) and so on.

Furthermore if students fail a year & need to repeat, they won't get a grant that year. For some students, they choose to drop out.

The Irish education system has great merits, but the 'free fees' situation is a real misnomer.

@ShinyMe my dh is actually Irish so we could get there via him anyway..but as far as I'm aware the agreement with U.K. and Ireland will remain

@ShinyMe

How's it going to work with Brexit? Surely a UK citizen can no longer just 'move' to an EU country without visas and all that jazz?

I'm shocked how many posters don't know basic Irish-UK history.

Ireland & the UK have the Common Travel Arrangement since 1922, which exists separately to any other agreement eg membership of the EU or Brexit.

You can find more here: https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/governmentinnireland/irelandanddtheuk/commonntravelareaabetweenirelanddandtheeuk.html#

And just to make it explicit:

On 8 May 2019, the Irish and UK governments signed a Memorandum of Understanding (pdf)) reaffirming the Common Travel Area and identifying the rights and privileges of Irish and UK citizens within the CTA. It also reaffirms the commitment to maintain the CTA following Brexit (pdf)).

I'm irish and regularly think about going home as id be on at least 20k more and have family around.

I havent because I think the quality of life is better in uk. There is a lot of presenteeism in ireland. Part time jobs in my sector arent as prevalent and I would be expected to stay later just to be seen. Add in Dublin traffic and I dont think I'd ever see my kids!

Morning and after school clubs are hit and miss.

I find also that people are very capitalist. Socialism is a dirty word and although Irish people are very charitable, its on their terms.

Also I dont think irish people are as friendly as English. I know all my neighbours here in England. There are street parties regularly. My irish friends don't know their neighbours beyond a quick hello.

In Ireland now for 12 years. I fully agree with the other posters about the cost of living here versus England. That would made a huge difference to your experience (not an issue for us luckily!). On a personal level, I also preferred London as a city to Dublin. Overall we
prefer living here, but will move back to England in the coming 2 or 3 years for personal/family reasons.

Health service has a very bad reputation, but my personal experience has been OK so far. Above a certain pay level, everyone I know also pays for private health insurance due to concern about the basic system.

Living here, it is also amazing to find our how little of Irish history I knew from school in England.

My number one advice is to check the financial aspects. After that everything you can work everything out.