Moving to Dublin

[Honnomushi]

My husband has been offered a office transfer to the Dublin branch of his office and we are trying to decide whether to accept it. We know the cost of living and housing is going to be higher but maybe the quality of life may be better?

We have 2 children 9 and 6 so our biggest concern is finding school places and which areas surrounding Dublin will be best to narrow our search. OH will be working in central Dublin so needs to be commutable. Which areas are we likely to get school places? Are there areas to avoid? We currently live in a urban suburb which is quite cosmopolitan so looking for something similar. We are a little worried the children may be subject to anti English sentiment, is that something that we need to take into account?

Thanks for any advice!

Where is the office located, north or south of the river? Just to let you know rental property or indeed all property in Dublin is extremely scarce at the moment.
We moved to the south side area and love it. Near enough to the mountains for walking and yet just a drive to the sea.

It's on the north side, but pretty much on the river itself. Scarcity of property and lack of school places are my biggest concerns about the move. Trying to narrow down an area seems to be the biggest challenge.

I always get shot down here for this but Dublin is an awful place to live. Traffic, pollution, crime, homelessness and poor transport. I did live there but left. Schools are impossible to get into and housing very difficult to find. London prices for no connectivity. Its a no from me. I still go there for work but just get it done and leave.

All of Dublin is not like that. Traffic is a problem in every county these days, the same for pollution and homelessness. It is absolutely possible to live a happy content life in Dublin. Transport is improving vastly to enable people to live outside the city center and commute to work. Yes, property is expensive, rentals are hard to find but all is not lost. I wouldn't let the negatives outlined in this post be a deal breaker in your decision to move here.. the best of luck with it, if you do decide to move here I'm sure you and your family will be very happy

Dublin is expensive and busy, but really lovely in the right parts. The commuter train runs north/south by the sea, so look outside Dublin for more choice. Daft.ie currently has 480 odd properties to rent in the while country though, so it won't be easy.

For school you can go anywhere that has space and there isn't a catchment for the vast majority. 99% of primaries are excellent, technically Catholic but easy to avoid the religious bits. Again places aren't easy to come by though.

If you are going to dive in, it is worth it. But not always easy.

Meath isn't too bad for commute by bus, but school places can be hard to find, and gp cover. Would dh be in the office every day?

I like the area around Donabate, Portmarnock in North Dublin. I love Malahide but property v expensive there. Avoid Balbriggan. Just my opinion.
Those areas are on the train line direct into Dublin. On the south side areas around the Luas (tram service) Green line into Dublin are nice but expensive.
As before the majority of schools are Catholic, Educate Together schools are multi denominational.

Rentals are very scarce at the moment. Look at daft.ie to get a sense. Would his company give you any help in this regard? If you’re considering buying then that’s different. Primary schools may be oversubscribed in some areas but you will get in somewhere.
It sounds like he’s in the IFSC so anywhere on the DART line would make sense and areas near a dart station tends to be nice areas as a rule of thumb. There are obviously other nice areas too! The north side will generally be a bit better value and is closer to the airport.
Portobello and D8 are probably the most “cosmopolitan” areas. Ranelagh, Monkstown, Blackrock , Clontarf, Raheny, Malahide, Sandymount are all lovely suburbs with a nice “village” with good shops and testy and easily commutable.

Oh and I wouldn’t worry about the kids being subject to anti-English sentiment!

Thanks all the feed back. I think the company will be quite flexible about WFH so does give us more options. He doesn't drive so wherever we go needs to have good public transport links. I think we will be looking to buy. Is it easier to buy at the moment?

You are unlikely to get a mortgage until you're here over a year. But worth talking to a Broker. Housing moves fast, but is available.

And I'd get your DH to learn to drive fast. Public transport is v v poor, car is an essential

Don't move to Dublin. A "reasonable commute" to an Irish person might be something like an hour to 90 mins. Traffic is appalling. Dublin is far less urban and cosmopolitan than even small cities in the UK. Extremely expensive to rent or buy, and you'll need to pay for other expenses such as private healthcare (public healthcare in Ireland is awful). Just don't do it. Still a backwater.

There are no - I repeat no - good transport links. Dublin, and Ireland in general, is famous for that, and not at all like other European cities in that regard.

It is very difficult to secure a mortgage in Ireland, FYI, you should look into it with a broker. They lend a lot less than in the UK, and you'll need to be in employment for a year before they'll consider you.

I've lived in London and Sydney, and love Dublin. Its much less sprawling than both, and you're near stunning beaches and mountains/hills. If we didn't have school space in south dublin we would have settled in the North side suburbs on the dart out the Howth that @tibradden mentions. Much better value than the south.
I might still be in my honeymoon phase with Dublin (two years) but I've had a warm welcome and feel like the State is in a positive place compared to the UK.
If can get a rental through your Husband's work, it would make life a lot easier.

I always get shot down here for this but Dublin is an awful place to live.

Dublin is an excellent place to live, to grow up and grow old in, as long as you have a rock solid job and a very good income. I live in London now because I couldn't achieve either of those things in Dublin tbh.

So it really comes down to the salary and what budget you have for housing. To make it really attractive the company would also want to be offering help finding a property, if renting. And I would certainly advise to rent until you see how you feel about the place.

Meath isn't too bad for commute by bus

No disrespect to Meath but if a job in Dublin came with a bus commute from Meath, I just wouldn't consider the job.

OP I'm not in Dublin but I can tell you
100% your biggest struggle will be to find decent accommodation. It's absolutely shocking at the moment all over the country. DH works for a multinational so he has colleagues who've been affected by the housing crisis .

Oh dear OP I hope you're not feeling discouraged! Can you plan a trip over to suss it out together, even a long weekend?
If work is on the Northside then personally I'd try and be somewhere on the Dart line and ideally near the sea - so Clontarf, Malahide, Howth. These are the nicest areas of that side. Or if it's inner city maybe Stoneybatter to Phibsborough, all hipster flying.
I think in some ways if you don't know the city at all it might be a bit of a culture shock - I don't think the kids would encounter anti English sentiment but there can be a lot of nationalism. I love it but it's my native city so ... come and visit and see!

I'm actually glad to see a range of views! We've visited Dublin once and loved it but living there will be very different. We are planning on several trips over to help us decide.

I'm from England and live in Dublin. Have also lived around Europe.

Dublin is a wonderful city to raise a family! Primary schools are more relaxed compared to UK, they say you give your children an extra few years of childhood here. The mountains are stunning for weekend walks, the parks are very special (and there are so many of them!), great access to sports. Not so much class division in general. Stunning beaches. Mild weather year round so you can be outdoors every month (boxing day hike a tradition).

we don't go into the city, pretty much spend our free time on rural roads in the mountains roaming but there's an easy bus direct to the centre.

it's very relaxed, DH works for a UK company here and boy can you tell! Pressure!

you'll be very warmly welcomed!

Not so much class division in general.

Haaahahaha - there is at least as much! But yes, I do think you get the extra year of childhood, which is good in my view.

I don't live in Dublin, but I know two people who are long term commuters from Meath by bus. They seem happy with quality of life there, neither drive.
Driving in Dublin is horrendous, in my opinion! My relations who live in Dublin commute by Luas, but bought houses years ago.
The salaries look high, but housing is currently expensive... possibly unsustainable prices, so a year renting might be a good option!

Dublin is wonderful. If I was to move back now, I would be looking towards Rathmines, maybe Ranelagh. Maybe Portobello?

My DH would make a spirited case for Monkstown etc.

My God it’s expensive though. 😬

I'm from Dublin and lived in London for many years.
Upon returning to Dublin, despite having savings, I was not eligible to apply for a mortgage for a year until I had steady evidence I was receiving a salary, regardless of the savings and evidence I had from salary in the uk.
Dublin is very expensive, so you'd need to really have a good paid job, private healthcare is expensive also but depending on the job they can sometimes pay a portion of this.

Any areas along the green luas line would be ideal for commuting into town. I wouldn't recommend any areas along the red luas line to live (no offence to anyone here who lives there - but wouldn't be ideal for someone who doesn't know the areas - these areas need a serious overhaul and can be quite dangerous)

I grew up in Dublin, and now am raising my baby in Dublin. There's no place like home (even though I complain about it a lot, I wouldn't wish to grow old anywhere else)