Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Living overseas

Whether you're considering emigrating or an expat abroad, you'll find likeminds on this forum.

Original poster

Can someone please tell me about the Republic of Ireland

146 replies

amillionyears · 14/09/2012 11:00

Dont want to say too many personal details.
If someone was offered a 3 year job there,is it wise to take it bearing in mind the financial climate. Also,I am confused about which healthcare is free and which is not.
And is there anything else to consider.The person offering the job said to think carefully before accepting.
I tried looking in search as I thought this topic may have been discussed fairly recently,but I cant see where.Thanks.

OP posts:
SophySinclair · 17/09/2012 20:15

To be honest education is a big big reason why I am tempted to go home.

FreddieMercurysBolero · 17/09/2012 20:27

Chickens - DH is a Tallaght boy too:) He turned out grand, although we both agreed that we'd never raise children in Tallaght if we had the choice. Parts of Crumlin are ok too, dH's parents and most of his family live there now and I find it to be really friendly, close to town, nice amenities. The houses are titchy though.

ChickensHaveNoEyebrows · 17/09/2012 20:33

Freddie, all of DH's maternal family are in Tallaght. We visit often. Tbh, it seems no better or worse than any other place. But someone should steamroller The Square. It makes no fecking sense and hurts my poor head.

andypandypuddle · 17/09/2012 20:48

def stay right where you are OP - I echo that. This country is a nightmare and i'm desperate to get out of here............

ChickensHaveNoEyebrows · 17/09/2012 20:53

We'd love to move to Ireland. Unfortunately, we just couldn't afford it. Especially as DH's job doesn't exist there. I reckon we'll end up retiring back to Dublin.

mathanxiety · 17/09/2012 20:55

The Square is bad alright. And there are parts of Tallaght that were called Fallujah for good reason..

Some parts.

oohnewshoes · 17/09/2012 20:57

op, it didn't take much to change your mind.(confused)

we are not far from the UK. if your seriously considering Ireland why not come over for a few days. you can't get a feel for anywhere from a few comments on a thread.

sorry can't for typos. phone playing up

ChickensHaveNoEyebrows · 17/09/2012 20:58

I'm sticking up for Tallafornia here. I like the chips. And spice burgers. But one side of the Square always, and I mean always, smells of vomit.

rhetorician · 17/09/2012 21:06

mathanxiety - you knew I would say this, didn't you? I live in Cabra (admittedly a nicer bit) and it's a great place to live! But you did put a disclaimer in there. There are lots of things here that you can't take for granted; health being the big one, transport being another. Taxes/costs are high and due to the fact that you have a small population, 1/3 of which is young, and 1/3 of which is old, as a working person you shoulder a lot of the tax-take. I find it frustrating that there is no correlation between the taxes I pay and the services I can access.

I've no children in school (yet) but worry about class sizes etc; but there are good schools and bad schools and it will depend where you live how much choice you get. I like the fact that there is no testing as such in primary schools, although as a university teacher I am more than aware of the limitations of the secondary system.

I have lived here since 1994 and I'd have to say that the thing I find hardest is how difficult it is to break into social networks - people are very attached to their home place, and carry friends from school, college, home with them through their lives. I often feel that my roots here are very shallow (despite DP, DP's family, my children) - no-one knows anything about my life before 1994 unless I tell them, and mostly they aren't very interested.

wannabedomesticgoddess · 17/09/2012 21:11

Its me thats never been across the border.

Not that weird. The only place outside of N.I I have been id Edinburgh for a day when I was 14. I dont own a passport. I have never been on a plane. I havent had a holiday since I was 16. Why would I need to go over the border?

shit happens.

rhetorician · 17/09/2012 21:12

should add that I agree with most of the positive posts on here; I find that the old-fashioned attitudes get disproportionate air-time and are not in any way reflected by the people I know and live with and talk to (as above I live in a working class area of Dublin, my dd goes to nursery nearby etc) - DP and I are a lesbian couple with 2 daughters and the worst we've encountered is (benign) ignorance. My youngest daughter had hip dysplasia - service was speedy and excellent and free. Both children were delivered in the public system and while it was busy, the standard of care was excellent (I think Ireland has one of the lowest infant mortality rates in the world iirc)

Children are allowed to be children for the most part and I like that.

SummerRain · 17/09/2012 21:13

Ishall... Where in the west are you? I'm on the roscommon mayo border. It's grand if you can afford petrol but we're an hour from civilisation in any direction and it's killing us!

PanofOlympus · 17/09/2012 21:19

SummerRain - are you aware of a teeny place on the Roscommon/Mayo border called Rathnagerson - the spelling will be right out!

FreddieMercurysBolero · 17/09/2012 21:19

Some parts of Tallaght are grand. The Square should be burned:) The part where DP grew up is not nice at all, we've been back for christenings etc of his schoolfriends and it is horrible. Other estates in Tallaght some of his friends live in are nice. We would love to stay where we are now in the West or move to Dublin but it looks more and more likely that we'll have to go abroad for work. DH went to college for five years to qualify in his profession and he can't get a job.

SummerRain · 17/09/2012 21:20

I do agree about kids being allowed to be kids though. There's great tolerance of children and people are always kind and tolerant towards them. They're not pushed to grow up too fast.

The secondary system is great in some ways but it's very all or nothing, it didn't suit me tbh!

SummerRain · 17/09/2012 21:26

Can't say I am Pan.... I'm near ballaghaderreen, is it round here?

I'm a blow in, only been here 5 years (which is about a week in local time Wink. My mother's family is from mayo, doctors tbe... Id know that region better

SummerRain · 17/09/2012 21:30

Doctors? Foxford! Smartphone my arse...

PanofOlympus · 17/09/2012 21:31

Oooh it is near you! It's my mum's birth place - though it's one shop, four houses, and all farming there. It won't be on a map. I never know/meet anyone from anywhere near there, ( mum died a very long time ago) and my eyes lit up at your placing.

but thanks very much for replying.

IShallPracticeMyCurtsey · 17/09/2012 21:34

SummerRain - I'm in Galway. It's brilliant. Love it here. It's cool, there are so many amazing places to eat (compared to 10 years ago), it's safer than any city I've ever lived in (I've lived in quite a few) and the arts and culture stuff is great and varied. The university and the fact that the city is becoming an IT hub means that the crowds are young and multicultural which I like.
And the scenery is free Smile

However the weather is almost too awful to talk about, so that alone would put many people off.

Yes, petrol is a shocking cost these days, you have my sympathy. If you're an hour away from civilisation, that's tough for sure.

rhetorician I had a nosey peek at your profile - your DDs are gorgeous!

rhetorician · 17/09/2012 21:36

thanks - well they have very deep Irish roots on DP's side, culchie and jackeen. I love Galway, have good friends there, and in Connemara.

rhetorician · 17/09/2012 21:37

should update them - the baby is 9 months old now! she was only a few days in those pics!!

IShallPracticeMyCurtsey · 17/09/2012 21:40

Hasn't she a great head of hair, as we say admiringly over here. I've an almost-8mo.

rhetorician · 17/09/2012 21:48

you should have seen the eldest's hair as a newborn. Incredible. She'll not thank us in years to come...I actually love the things that Irish people say about babies: 'oh she's very alert' - one of the things I love about living here is the way that there are about 20 layers to any utterance. Can be maddening if you just want a bloke to fix your toilet and to pay him the going rate though...

AlfalfaMum · 17/09/2012 21:55

I love that this thread has gone from lots of wrong initial replies saying we're a third-word shithole and we're basically illiterate and have to give birth in slurry pits, to talking about town lands in Mayo and Rhetorician's lovely baby :o

SummerRain · 17/09/2012 21:56

ishall... My two eldest were born in Galway. We were in knocknacarra. It was gorgeous but the rent was mental and the school situation in knocknacarra was a bit worrying (ie, they hadn't built one yet!) so we took the opportunity to move nearer family.

Pan... We live in a similar tiny village, although we lost our shop.. There's still a tiny pub though!