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!

OK, settle down folks.

1. could DH work two or three days here and fly back and forwards on the WFH days? Lots of people I know working in Dublin from UK do that, the airport is jammers Thursday mornings and Sunday nights. I know flights cost money, but it could make far more financial sense than moving lock stock and barrel to Dublin, where even the poor natives are squeezed out of the housing market now.
2. If 1. is not a runner, then you have to set out your criteria for when you move to Dublin. Are you keeping your house in UK, does it have a mortgage, will you let it out? Keep an eye on the tax situation, because if you are resident in Ireland for more than 183 days per year you will pay Irish tax, which can be hefty depending on salary, and will include rental and any other income in UK. There is a tax credit available if you also pay tax in UK on the same property/income.
3. Criteria... schools, accessibility, afordability, commute. I am sure you can do your own research on that. Anything available in Dublin for a price lower than 400k is either falling down, is in the badlands, or is a tiny apartment/house. Look up the Facebook groups for the areas that catch your eye. Email the local Garda station (police) and ask about crimes in the area, they are used to this, but don't always reply very quickly!
4. You cannot select a school until you select your housing and area, and vice versa too, that's a potential problem. But not insurmountable either. Contact the principal of the schools you are interested in and decide from there.
5. The North Inner City is badland central, avoid avoid avoid. South inner city is great, and is where most people socialise and has most of the interesting sights and parks, shopping etc.
6. Northside has great suburbs, but also has a lot of areas to avoid. I'm not going to say where, but the price of property will give a very good indication, and google street view too. Southside has dodgy areas also, so look them up as for Northside.
7. Dublin is vibrant, cosmopolitan and a great place to live, once you have found the area that suits your needs and you can afford it.

Enjoy your search.

Again simply not true.

GP visits range between €60-€80 per visit.
Consultant visits have an excess.
Prescriptions cost €€
Dentists cost €€

Id never be without private healthcare in the Ireland. Try having a healthcare issue and you will see your credit card being used for every visit and consultation, every investigation and every medicine you require and that is with private healthcare!!!

OP if you wanted to throw out the names of the areas of Dublin you are interested in there are certainly a few of us that would know them and advise you directly. @BreakorMake has made valid points.

My son lives in the North inner city, my daughter on the luas red line, both have jobs in the type of place this gent will work.
London commute is expensive, hotel prices are crazy just now.
Navan in Meath is much bigger than the town I live in, a lot of airline staff live there. It really needs a rail line.
My nephew and his wife work in Central London, they commute 45 minutes by train then an underground trip plus a walk. My neighbours commuted from Carlow to Central Dublin. Not everyone can live in Ranelagh and walk to work.

The kids will have gp cover though. And my nhs relatives envy our ability to see the gp on the same day for a fee!

Listen to yourself! As if the whole UK is bloody London.....some of Meath is rural, some is very much not. Anyone from a small town in the UK (most of the UK) is going to find it much the same as small town Ireland.

But anywhere along the DART and its extensions are commuterville, not rural. Plenty of big houses, very multicultural. My sister lives in Meath and their primary school has families with at least 40 different languages spoken at home.

Listening to people on MN talk about Ireland is like that episode of Eastenders where they came and there were donkeys wandering down the dirt street. It's fucking offensive the way people talk such shite. Dublin is a thriving modern city that is not stuck in brexit mired austerity. People from the UK looking down on Ireland is frankly laughable.

I actually think some posters have been to Ireland once or twice and have made decisions on that instead of leaving it to those of us who live here to give advice. I am just ignoring them posters at this point and hope the OP does the same. Honestly the shite some posters spout about a country they clearly do not know is laughable.

Eh? I can see my GP on the same day for free in the UK

same day GP appointments in the UK are not the norm.

Sure you can. Maybe if your GP is your husband....

To be clear, I'm from Dublin and now live in the UK. I visit frequently, and my relatives all live in and around Dublin.

In which case your comments about Meath make absolutely no sense.

To be clear, you still know shag all. Perhaps you never left D4 before moving to the UK.

Kids under 8 only.

Most people cannot see their GP on the same day either!

I am not from D4.

Ops kids are quite young.
My dh rang today at ten, has gp appointment at three. Not an emergency.
This is quite standard where I live, the problem is getting a gp with vacancies on their lists.

The OP has a 9 year old! The child will not get free GP visits. It is up to 6 years old only with talk of increasing it to 7 years of age.

The amount of incorrect information on this thread is astounding. It is one thing being proud of where you live but is very unfair to the OP.

Ah here now...how's about getting off that fence that you're sitting on @Needsomeadvice33 and tell us all how you really feel 😆

I'm not sure what coming from central Scotland is so funny but you might let us in on that joke?

You were free to leave at any point if you found (or still find it) the shithole you're making it out to be.

What you've said in your post could apply to basically any city anywhere, so really not at all useful to the OP who is looking for current information about Dublin, not someone's impression from 2014-16, which would be considerably out of date.

Also, and I think I'm safe in saying this, the Irish men are eternally grateful that you moved back to Scotland in 2016. They have collectively heaved a huge sigh of relief that they are no longer under the Needsomeadvice33 microscope.

I'm Irish and whilst I know some people who do not live in Ireland are commenting, I also feel that Irish people can be very sensitive to criticism of their country, however some of it is deserved since no place is absolutely perfect in every way.

People need to see the place warts and all, and that is often from the perspective of those who visit or move here.

Having said that, I love Dublin despite its faults, and would never live anywhere else, it is just the right size and has the right attitude for me and hopefully always will.

I apologise, i thought they were younger.

I fully agree with the comments on Dublin city centre. The authorities need to sort it out. I want to go to a show in town but I'm weighing up whether it's worth the hassle. I just hate the unsafe feeling I get. The drunks, the drugged, the lack of visible policing.
I've written to my local government TD and to Dublin tourism but nothing has changed.

I would certainly recommend your dh speaking with his potential work colleagues and if you have friends who have moved over.

@Honnomushi - does your DH's company have a relocation team? Have they given you any assistance with your move?

For your information, primary schools go from a pupils age of about 4yrs old right up to 12 or 13 years old (depending on when the pupil started in Junior Infants). This school year runs from the last week in August or early September to the end of June. Then they let out for their summer holidays.
Secondary school runs from 1st year to 6th year. There is a junior cycle and a senior cycle. At the end of these cycles, there are state exams (Junior Cert/Leaving Cert). 1st to 3rd year is the junior cycle. 4th year in some schools may be called Transition Year. Then 5th & 6th Year are solidly focussed on the Leaving Cert. In order to progress to 3rd Level education, you must do your Leaving Cert. The secondary school year starts again in late Aug/early Sept and runs until late May or the first week in June because the state exams take place in June.
If you're planning on moving soon, it may be easier for you to find a place in a school as the summer terms are winding down now so your kids won't have school until September.

Another thing to keep in mind when you're looking at addresses - any Dublin address with an even number in the postal area like Dublin 2, 4, 6, 10, (I missed 8 out there for a very good reason) are on the south side of the city.
Any address with an odd number in the postal area like Dublin 1, 3, 5, 7 are on the north side of the city.
The exception (and I think it has something to do with the Phoenix Park and the President's home being there) is Dublin 8 which I believe spans the Liffey.

The drama! I work in Dublin city centre and am there all the time at all times of the day and night. I feel a million times safer than I ever did in London or Birmingham or Manchester.

You being too paranoid and frightened to go the Olympia or whatever is your own affair.

There's no denying that O'Connell St can be dicey at night time in a way that other parts of the city aren't.