The millionth 'advice about moving back to Ireland' thread

[SnackyOnassis]

I know there have been countless threads on this already - thanks for indulging another!
I'm hoping to get some thoughts from people who've made the move back to Ireland, or have done the research and ruled it out for whatever reason.

I've been in the UK for 12 years now, married a lovely bloke from NE England and have one child and another on the way, so pretty settled here. It's no news to anyone that England's future is not looking bright right now, and I'm having doubts about whether or not this is the right place to raise our family, and have been considering a move to Ireland before the kids hit school age - my eldest is just 2 now so we've got some time.

I'm from Dublin and my parents are still alive and well in Dublin. However, when I think about moving over, I don't want it to be 'moving back' - everyone and everything has changed so much and I think trying to fit in my old life (I left when I was 23!) wouldn't fit!

Given that I've only ever lived and worked in Dublin (and briefly in Louth which I am ruling out with a big red marker, no offence but not for me!) I wonder if there are any recommendations for places we might like to move to that aren't the capital?

Things on our list would be:

• Decent schools/childcare/nursery
• Close to an airport (we still have my husband's family in NE England to visit)
• Friendly to Dubs/English blokes/returners
• We both work in IT/Digital so that usually means we can work remotely, but if there are hubs we should be looking at that'd be great to know about
• Within about 90mins drive of Dublin (negotiable)
• A safe and friendly community for the children to grow up in and for us to make friends in

Places we've thought about were Wicklow, Galway, Cork, and potentially around Newry - moving to NI would mean we could both keep our existing jobs so that's something to consider, but also would mean we're likely losing the benefit of moving out of the UK!

This is an absolute saga but I'd love to get thoughts from anyone who's been through similar, and would be even more grateful if you could let me know how you found transitioning back to being Irish in Ireland rather than Irish abroad!

Thanks so much!

Kilkenny or Waterford.

Never places that are on people's lists to move to but:
motorway to Dublin means that you get to the Red Cow roundabout in roughly 75-90minutes.
Airport (dependent on timings ) is 20-45minutes beyond that.
Big towns with mobile populations so not a small town to try to break into....although you will get small-town people in both, who have no interest in ever leaving, nor have any experience of living elsewhere.

Multi-nationals either in both or adjacent to (e.g. Clonmel, Dungarvan, Carlow)
Decent schools everywhere (Kilkenny College, Newtown, Yeats,
Access to countryside, culture, beaches, woods ...if that's your thing.
Not Dublin 🤐

Transitioning back is always tricky.... the Ireland you left is not the Ireland you will find now...doesnt matter how long you are gone.
Tales of "it was so much better when we lived in ...Melbourne, Austin, London, Bonn, Brussels....etc" go down like a bowl of sick and lots of eyerolls behind your back.

Upsides: your kids will have Irish accents (is that good or bad? ) but have knowledge and experience of elsewhere (if you go to see in-laws regularly).
Our education system has a lot going for it...Secondary points system is the most bonkers and broken bit.
Tolerant society for the most part.

@HilarysMantelpiece thank you so much for your incredibly considered response, I really appreciate it!

Kilkenny has always been in the back of my mind as it's always struck me as a beautiful city but for some subconscious reason I've been focusing on coastal areas, possibly because we're in the Midlands over here and hours from the sea in any direction. Time to start researching!

Thanks for the heads up about the 'back where we were living' chat - it's something I want to be very conscious of as it used to wind me up no end when friends moved back from the US or Aus, and I'd hate to be a hypocrite!!

The school system is honestly one of the biggest draws for me - having been through it, I understand it and there are things about the UK education system I just don't get or don't like. The teachers here seem so beaten down and exhausted and entirely justified in needing to strike. In Ireland (and again, this could be 20 year old rose-tinted glasses) it seems to be a more respected role, and education a more respected function. Also it seems like children are essentially treated as adults from 16 here with the changeover to college and I think running straight through to 18 and the leaving cert as a default just leaves less to chance and gives them a couple more supervised years to grow up a bit and work out who they are before going on to work or third level etc.
Possibly just defaulting to what I know better, but I have a hope that in Ireland that kids get to be kids for a little while longer!

Kilkenny to beach- depends which beach and what part of Kilkenny. But, Tramore, Dunmore East, Stradbally...all achievable for a day out. Maybe 90mins to the beach?
Fabulous wood and hill walks around the county.
Lovely city; small enough to get around but quite a cosmopolitan vibe for the size. You'll need a car for definite.

Schools: primary...we have a good system, that has some weak points. Depends on the Principal but largely inclusive and good quality. Some people complain about the majority of primary school still having a "Catholic ethos". All my DC have gone to "Catholic' schools, and have friends who are CoI, Muslim, Orthodox, and some of the more minor churches that are skew toward an immigrant congregation. Again, religious tolerance is more the norm.
We're not perfect and my kids friends report that they've experienced racism if they are black or brown. Something to think about if it applies to you. I've heard English incomers or people whose kids have English accents, can get a bit of a rough time. But equally, I've an English work colleague who has lived here for years, and says she's never had any bother.

Secondary... the bloody points race 🙄..but, there are a lot more routes to 3rd level than previously. Kids now think of university in the Netherlands, Poland, France, London. Those places are all on their lists, due to the points for popular courses. The LCert does cause stress though.
Anyway best of luck with the planning.

I'm a big fan of Kilkenny , it's so beautiful and the local authority obviously know it. No inappropriate developments in the town centre , or tacky signage.
As for Newry , could you not live just across the border if you want to be in EU?
If you want the coast and closer to Dubs you have to think of eg Gorey , Wicklow Town.
We came back with a 10 Yr old girl and twins of 6. You can repeat a year of course and transition year means they are 19 going to uni .
I'm in a small rural Cork village and there's quite a few English. Tbh nobody notices anymore as the place is so multicultural anyway. We have our Polski Sklep and Afghan pizza joint!

Good luck with it all . As you say you still have time.

Would you think of the Clare/limerick side.

What about WestMeath. Good access between Dublin and Galway. Lots of new businesses cropping up around Mullingar and a large new film studio being built. Also the price of property is not quite as scary as Wicklow etc

I wouldn’t recommend newry - not a great town and nearest hospital is always in crisis.

What about Cork? I'm Irish but living in England. My DH is English and works in IT. He spends a lot of time working with people in Cork at Apple and Dell. The only problem is that he struggles with the accent.

Carlingford might be a nice option too?

I'm English living in Ireland, moved over around 18 months ago so have done a full year of seasons! I know I'm not what you asked for but we moved to my DHs town he grew up in, he was 10years in London and he found it very hard and still struggles more than I do.
Mainly it's his work and contacts and the way people are though, also old habits fie hard like all his old mates and the pub!
We live in Galway and I absolutely love it and would recommend it to anyone and everyone! We live in a town outside the city, great schools and amenities, the people are lovely, it's safe and the kids are happier than ever at school and home. I wouldn't say we're settle yet but I would say it was a good move overall.

Also mildly interested. Can anyone advise on equivalent salaries. I.e. if you were earning £50k what would you want to earn in Ireland for an equivalent standard of life? (Appreciate there are many variables in this question!)

I vote Cork! Up the rebels! We moved from the UK two years ago and haven't looked back. We have family in Ireland so kids were familiar etc but it's was still quite new to us and we've been welcomed with open arms. School has been amazing and kids have settled well. Husband found a job quite quickly and we have a much better work life balance. Please ask if you have any specific Qs, happy to help 😊

I wouldn’t completely rule out Louth, there are some lovely villages outside of the main towns of Drogheda and Dundalk. Blackrock and Carlinford are both lovely coastal villages. Easy commute to either Dublin and Belfast.

Just a couple of random observations:

Check which airports have flights to wherever your DH's family is. Some of the route options are pretty limited.

While you theoretically can work remotely MANY companies will require you to attend the office some number of days. Don't assume you will be able to work fully remotely.

You didn't mention where you are in the UK (and there's no need) but it is maybe worth thinking about how big it is and how that compares with Irish towns and cities and what that means to you. That could be everything from having a hospital, a bus and/or train service, a theatre or museum.

Last thought, moving to Dublin would not mean moving "back" to your old life. Moving in with your parents might ;-) Dublin has changed, there are lots of very different parts of it and while I'm not saying you should move to Dublin, I don't think you should discount it just because you lived here before (if that is what you're doing).

Good luck!

It would depend on the industry Paq - a lot of roles in Ireland pay more in tech etc

Thank you all so much for sharing your experience and recommendations! We've got a lot of thinking and planning to do. Generally speaking, how's the mood and outlook in ROI compared to UK right now? If the main reason we're planning the move is because things are looking a bit bleak here, we don't want to jump out of the frying pan and into the tine!

Given we're in Ireland it is very hard to judge the mood and outlook in the UK so I can only say that based on UK media coverage I'd be running for the hills. It isn't all sunshine and giggles here but the overall outlook appears to be much more upbeat. There are serious issues with housing here, like really serious. The war in Ukraine is obviously hitting as it is everywhere so utilities, food bills, interest rates are all on an upward trajectory. There's lots of petty and less petty issues which you could follow in the Irish media to get a sense of what's on the radar, but there's an expectation of a hopeful future iykwim.

Meath ticks your boxes. Lots of good places to live and near Dublin Airport.

I know it’s well outside Dublin but have you considered Kerry? Farranfore Airport is just outside Killarney. It would tick the boxes for most of your other requirements and it’s a beautiful place to boot!

Things here don’t seem as dire as in the UK I feel. While we have had a rise in the cost of living it doesn’t seem as extreme and there’s not problem getting a doctors appointment and the maternity hospitals don’t seem to be under as much pressure which is always the thing that stands out to me on here.

I would suggest either Kerry (we’re very rural and definitely ticks the ‘let kids be kids’ boxes you’re aiming for. My partner is from near Manchester and we fly regularly direct from Kerry Airport to visit his family, flights are about to be 3/4 days a week.

or Limerick/Clare as suggested above. Flights from Shannon to Birmingham,Manchester and Newcastle. Limerick is a fabulous city to live in or near without having that big city feel. Lots of the Limerick suburbs would be around the county Clare for a more country feel.

Proximity to Shannon & Knock might work for you if flights suit in that regard. I'm east county Galway, work in the city but drive to dublin is just about 2 hrs from home. I'm roughly an hour from Shannon and Knock.
It's very rural where we are, but lucky we've got a really good primary and a choice of very good secondary schools. Of course, living rurally will mean fuck all transport links and you'll be reliant on a car or cars. We are so rural that supermarkets & takeaways won't deliver this far so you get used to driving - or if you can't, you'll need to sort that out.

beautiful westport ! near to knock on the train line to dublin.
Small but perfectly formed IMO

Westport is utterly gorgeous but the house prices are eye watering. Rent as well will be pretty high.
But if you wanted proximity to Westport and the coast, but a bit more affordable maybe Castlebar or Claremorris might be options. From both of those it's under an hour to Galway.

If you have family in Dublin, would you not just move back there? I know it’s not very fashionable, people slag it off, but there’s nowhere better than some of the nice coastal suburbs…except for housing costs - it’s that what’s putting you off?

Watching keenly as we’re thinking of moving back to Dublin to be near my family. I was 18 when I left so I definitely feel the same worry about moving “back”. Scarier than moving somewhere really new - much lonelier not to have friends in Dublin than in Toronto!