Moving to Dublin in the summer 2018

[Bubblesgun]

Hi everyone
We are a family of 4, my husband is Irish from Tipp and children are half Irish. We will be moving to Dublin this summer and the children will start at Alexandra College in Sept.
We are very excited but I m started to get a bit anxious so I m hoping you lot can help.

We want to rent the first year and be walking distance to school - any suggestions as to where we should concentrate our efforts?

Is Dublin very welcoming or clicquey? I ve been reading that word a lot recently but how true is that?

What mistakes shall i avoid to make when trying to settle in? I m quite outgoing and like having lots of people round a my house but would i look like i m trying too hard if that possible?
I obviously need to help the children make new friends but i dont want to raise eyebrows too.

Academically - how hard do the Irish make their children work? Is it the same pressure as here in London where you need to be excelling at both sports and academics.

Thank you for your help. I m sure I ll have more questions

Hi! To be within walking distance of Alex you'd be looking at living in Milltown, Clonskeagh, Dartry, parts of Ranelagh and Rathgar. Expect to pay a lot, the rental market here is very expensive and those are prime areas.

Alex is a very high achieving school so I'd expect it to be fairly pressurised for secondary, but less so for primary.

I think we are usually pretty friendly and welcoming so I'm sure you won't have a problem making friends 😊 it's much easier with primary aged dc as you are more involved in school, play dates etc. Join the PTA and you'll have an instant circle of friends!

I'd also recommend looking at Riverview, the David Lloyd gym in Clonskeagh. It has a big expat membership and lots of after school and weekend activities for children, it's a very social place!

We moved to Dublin a year ago and I have girls at Alex (junior and senior).

The school is great but totally different to London schools, far more relaxed and whilst there is a fair bit of homework a lot of it is is just transcribing from text book into copy book. I think most girls coming from a London day school are likely to find the academics straight forward.

I found it quite difficult to settle but that's because I work FT and it hasn't been so easy to get to know people and families tend to be well established in a way that they're just not in London.

Renting near the school will cost you about €4K minimum and it's really hard to find somewhere suitable. We used a relocation agent and even then we struggled.

Good luck and happy to answer and Qs!

I live in the north so have no practical advice, I just wanted you say “you lucky duck”. I adore Dublin & the people I’ve no doubt you’ll be grand. All the best.

Rental and house prices in that area attract a high premium. The curriculum is broader than the UK system. Usually children take 7 subjects for their final exam and competition is high for Uni places. The school and area are likely to have well established families but if you are outgoing and plan on hosting evenings then you should be popular enough. Cost of living is high. I love about 10 minutes drive from there in a more affordable area where rents are circa 2000e.

There is a LUAS line stop near Alex though, www.luas.ie. So depending on your kids ages you could look further afield. In fact living along the LUAS would make sense anyway, traffic in Dublin is dire.

I think you should look further afield along the Luas line too, but don't go too far.

Check out Dundrum, Leopardstown, Carrickmines, Stillorgan, Kilmacud www.dublinmapped.com/luas-map/green-line/ or any stop along the Luas Green Line.
Maybe look at Terenure or Portobello too (you would be driving).

I think getting involved in school groups and events is key to finding your feet. A school like Alex will provide opportunities for that.

Should read "don't go too far from the nearest Luas stop if you don't have a car"