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!

Like me? Lived there for 8 years.

Phibsboro
Harold's Cross
Shankill
Kimmage
Another place just inland from Dun Laoighire whose name escapes me (near a big massive shopping centre?)
Crumlin
Lansdowne Road

Sorry to derail thread OP.

I can't stand Bertie or Brian Cowan et all.
For balance I can't stand Enda Kenny or Leo and Micheál Martin was there in cabinet through the Boom and Bust.

It wasn't just any banker, it was Seán Fitzpatrick. Don't get me started on his political and business links.

As I said Sutton is nice. As is Howth,
I'd love Monkstown, Dalkey or Dunlaoire.
Greystones is further out but still on the DART line, it has a lovely village feel.
It really depends on budget @Honnomushi

Have had friends living all over Dublin.

Does your husband's company have a Cork office?😍

The nickname stood for Big Ignorant F*cker from Offaly (not Louth!)

In theory you should be allowed in as none Catholics but I’m told that this just doesn’t happen

It does happen. Quite a number of non-Catholic children in my DC Catholic school.

However the problem is:
a) many parents don't want their DC to go to Catholic schools, with that ethos, if they are not practising (and there are still too few alternatives)

b) where there are more applicants than places, this is used as a criteria (tho this is changing). It doesn't mean non-Catholics can't go, just they won't be as high on the list

But it's simply incorrect to say non-Catholic children don't get places in Catholic schools.

You're late to the party!

I stand corrected.

Sure! Yeah, the assumption that the OP would be interested in COI schools has nothing at all to do with the fact that they're English!

Everyone with a job has VHI or Bupa or whatever. 3k per year? For the whole family?

Jet I'm beginning to wonder if you ever lived here

Bupa is gone (it's now Laya Healthcare)

Many many people do not have health insurance. Some companies offer it as a BIK, so you'll pay the excess but many don't.

For a family, it could be substantially more than €3k

Yup. Mad stuff posted by some people!

And you have no clue - there are a handful of non-religious schools in Ireland - in the UK, almost every school is non-denominational.

I’d go north side on the Dart line and look at Bayside/Baldoyle where there are schools and sports clubs within walking distance, and frequent dart/buses into the city, and supermarkets nearby. You will find lots of after school activities for children which are great for integrating into the community. Email schools to check on spaces and put their names on waiting lists until you’ve settled on a location. Will you be able to drive, if your dh can’t?

I'm Irish from Dublin.
If your DP is working in the IFSC, choose somewhere on the DART train line. Either north or south. Try to choose somewhere with a "villagy" feel - such a Howth (north) or Blackrock/Monkstown/Dun Laoghaire (south). They all have weekend farmer markets etc.

It's a great place to live if you like the outdoors - beautiful mountain walks, the sea, parks etc. Ok, you'll need a good raincoat for winter.

I've never witnessed any crime, or felt unsafe. The opposite, in fact. I rarely go into the city center though - spend time in the suburbs by the sea.

On the cons, it is expensive, so hopefully you/your DP have well paid jobs. And I recommend you both learn to drive.

You wont get any anti-English sentiment, from educated people. Everyone here has family members living in the UK/ married to folk from the UK / support Liverpool or Manchester United etc.

Yeah, the assumption that the OP would be interested in COI schools has nothing at all to do with the fact that they're English!

I didn't say that?

It is likely that someone coming from the UK might be COE - practising or not.

My point was, if so, they might find it easier to get a COI school place (in over-subscribed areas)

It says nothing about whether they practise or not, or about any 'ignorant' beliefs you think we have.

And it doesn't mean we don't recognise that people of all faiths & none live in the UK, including many Catholics.

Your posts are strange.

And you have no clue - there are a handful of non-religious schools in Ireland - in the UK, almost every school is non-denominational.

Why have I no clue?

I know this about the UK?

And I also know that still most schools in Ireland are under a religious patron - though this is changing, especially in Dublin

It is not me who is ignorant here 🙄

Everyone with a job has VHI or Bupa or whatever

Not true.

As for those suggesting Howth, Malahide, Blackrock etc. - they are right. They are lovely areas but for a house within a catchment of a decent secondary school you will pay a steep premium.

Dublin has a wonderful way of using postal addresses that are not within walking area of the suburb centre.

If I was buying in Dublin, I would look at school catchment boundaries not postal addresses.

Dublin prices are high. Very high. You will pay 600K for a very ordinary three bed house in a suburb with a decent school. You will then need another 100K to do it up to a standard you can live comfortably in ie insulation, new windows and front door and more money again if you'd like to modernise and extend the kitchen to make it into a family sized room.

People upthread said that crime is the same everywhere. It isn't. There is a huge unsavoury element to the city centre. Drugs and homelessness are a cause but there are gangs of teenagers whose main pastime is to harass and assault innocent passerbys. It is a scary place to be once the main shops close. Many parts of it are scary during the day. The laws in Ireland mean these teenagers can't be touched and they know it. Groups of teenage thugs descend on the aforementioned Portmarnock every summer and make the (very nice) beach unusable and unsafe for everyone else.

There are lovely places in Ireland to live. Dublin isn't one of them unless as my PIL say - you are a very very high earner and can afford to live on the coastline.

I love the idea of choosing a lovely suburb or town on the dart. In reality you have to choose where you can afford. Property prices are currently ridiculous, especially in lovely places like Ranelagh.
Some multinationals have health insurance included with salary. I have two kids working for multinationals who don't provide health cover. One of them works for a company which organises an apartment in Dublin for six weeks for new staff from outside Ireland.
The only way they can afford to live in Dublin is in shared housing. If only one parent is working, rent plus childcare is a horrendous expense.
If dh can arrange a temporary transfer, id go along that route. And give it two years, one to settle in and one to see what finances permit.

I'm talking about a suburb of Dublin. I'm not claiming that's all the city has to offer.

Stop being such a child.

This is the most realistic and sensible post I’ve read in this thread.

keep in mind too for a family to live relatively comfortably in a relatively nice area and buy a house, you’d need a high salary ie over 120K and a second person earning a salary too.

Quote I've just requested from Laya for 2 adults and 2 children.

www.layahealthcare.ie/quote/#/discover/results?levels=HO2EX4DD1&adults=2&children=2

Between 184 per month and 264 per month.

Linked the quote. Even at the higher quote it's 3,168 per year.

If only one parent is working, rent plus childcare is a horrendous expense.

If only one parent is working, there won't be childcare costs.

sod of. It's not a backwater. Better than anywhere in the UK, thats for sure

OFF

If one parent is working, unless her OH earns in excess of 150K per annum, she can discount all the locations suggested on this thread!!!

Salaries and benefits might make a move to Dublin attractive. It's an opportunity for him to head up an office. Career progression. Bit of a culture shock perhaps. London prices but only half a million people in the city vs almost 9 million in London.

Very different cities. It depends so much on your financial situation in terms of what you could afford and where you could afford it. I would go with Ireland to rear children above England. Just personal opinion and it may be useful for your DH to speak to colleagues he knows who live/work in Dublin?