Moving to Ireland

[SapphireStrange]

My DP and I are currently in London but looking at moving to the ROI – in part, I'll be honest, with Brexit in mind; we want to keep our rights as EU citizens.

We would want to live in a city or vibrant town, ideally by the sea, and are thinking of maybe Cork, Galway City, Castletownbere, Tralee...

Does anyone live in any of these places or similar, vibrant cities or towns? Are they nice to live in? We both like nice places to hang out and have good coffee and food; art galleries and interesting art/cultural things going on.

Would we be OK on an income of about 45K? We'd either sell our place in London (probably for about £600k) or rent it out (probably for about £2000 a month). We both work for ourselves at home/flexibly and anticipate much of our work continuing to come from London.

[SapphireStrange]

Didn't realise this was still going! Thanks very much to the helpful and generous posters and a raspberry to those giving it . I hadn't thought about Lithuania until now...

[Aggieisback1]

Agree with everything ExPresidents said. Re: meeting people like anywhere you tend to get out what you put in. Where I am there is a big culture of local community events including Tidy Towns. I've volunteered for everything in sight that my work will allow me to do as well. Plus have had a fair few visits from London in fact probably see more of many people now than I did when I lived there and was crazily running around driving myself into the ground. Best of luck.

[ExPresidents]

Agree with Aggie that you can get some crazily cheap properties in the right places. Cork (county) is lovely, Kinsale is good as others have mentioned, Dungarvan may also be worth looking at, or Cobh, and Youghal as Aggie says is a lovely friendly town.

[edengarden123]

Cork and Galway are lovely but there is a shortage of rental properties in some areas. Other things to think of is health insurance if you choose to get private insurance is expensive as is car insurance, tax (as mentioned).

And broadband can be shit in places.

[unfortunateevents]

I started the thread thinking that it you might be ok but the more I read that you have never visited Ireland, know nothing about it (as is becoming evident from the thread) and also don't seem to know what is involved in becoming a citizen, the more I think that you are completely deluded. For the love of God, if you must move, at least rent your house in London and don't sell it. Oh, and I am Irish.

[Aggieisback1]

I'd agree it us not cheap (with the exception of property) but remember the health insurance costs are more or less balanced out by there being no council tax. It is a bit of a sport among Irish people complaining about how expensive it is, but for me, when you factor in the above and cheap property County Cork is overall significantly cheaper than London and a much higher quality of life.

[ElspethFlashman]

I find it bizarre that someone who knows nothing about a country is thinking of moving there.

It's like me suddenly thinking about moving to Lithuania or something.

[Gooseygoosey12345]

Oh and in terms of living costs, it's very expensive I won't lie. And you have to pay for your healthcare, even to see the GP. Education is excellent if you have kids but also expensive as nothing is provided except the school and the teacher. Road tax is extortionate, as are cars compared to prices here. But honestly there's no where like it, I'd move back tomorrow if I could.
Realistically though, you need to spend at least a month there and really get a feel for it.
(Oh and property prices are low at the minute for buying, renting is bloody expensive though, so if you can buy, do. You can always let it out if need be)

[Gooseygoosey12345]

Clonakilty, Co. Cork is beautiful, but I'd be aware that generally the closer you get to the sea the more rural it'll be and there'll be less going on. If you want hustle and bustle stay near the city. Or for something in between try Bandon, Co. Cork. Close enough for the sea and still near enough for the city too. If you're used to London life it'll be a bit of a culture shock to move to the countryside in Ireland. You couldn't really get two more opposite places except it rains all the time in both.

[Aggieisback1]

I did the same as you a year ago. Like you I need to keep some details private to keep from outing myself. Ok, firstly let me say that while not perfect (weather being chief culprit) Ireland is an utterly wonderful country and the sheer fact of telling friends I am moving to Ireland and waking up here each day has given me a massive boost. I Do suffer from depression and probably SAD. I am self employed and when the winter got a but hard going I went to the south of France for a week. Being near an international airport is for me essential. I actually bought a place in Youghal which is a technically deprived (no local unemployment options) but actually in many ways lovely coastal town an hour or so from Cork. Property is so incredibly cheap here it only cost me £60 a month in mortgage interest on a seafront flat which I've now let out while I look for a bigger place. Financially I'd do this rather than rent. It is more flexible than you think and easy to let somewhere out or sell on with low transactionals (stamp duty 1% up to €1m). I am belatedly selling up in London now and will probably buy a proper home in Waterford or East Cork. Kinsale is dreamily wonderful but doesn't suit my budget. All depends really. Above all, I have never regretted moving for one minute. It is summer now and there are festivals galore. The local people have been warm and welcoming and there is all re sense of community I thought I would never find again. PM me if you want to know more.

[Glastokitty]

I moved from London to Cork, but I'm from NI and my husband was originally from Cork. We stayed nine years, until the economy went tits up. I liked it well enough, the people are nice but extremely cliquey, I found it hard to make close friends as people tend to stick with people they went to school with. You won't have much of a life on 45k, rentals were high when I left and I believe even higher now. It's a lovely part of the world, especially West Cork, but Castletownbere is a very small place indeed, you would be quite the blow in there, although as others have pointed out West Cork is heaving with foreign folk.

I would certainly recommend spending time there before moving, it is absolutely different to the UK. Major drawbacks in my opinion were the rotten weather, it is much wetter and colder than London, the aforementioned cliqueishness, and the religion (I had to put my child in a Catholic school where they wasted vast swathes of time trying to teach him religion and Irish). Also the lack of abortion rights, and the cute hoorism of Irish politics. Lots of good points, the countryside and beaches are beautiful, and the craic is great. But we never really felt completely at home there, despite my husband being from there, and when we left we found ourselves fitting in much better to our new home (Oz). So please do your research, its not for everyone.

[Rubymay]

I would recommend the east coast, I am near bettystown, on the beach & easy access to Dublin. I used to live in Essex & found it a great place to settle.

[mathanxiety]

Wrt paying for school books - this is quite often a one off investment because the books are good for the entire Junior Cycle or Leaving Cert cycle. Plus, there is a thriving market in used books - the syllabus doesn't change a whole lot.

[mathanxiety]

www.citizensinformation.ie/en/moving_country/irish_citizenship/becoming_an_irish_citizen_through_naturalisation.html

Hoops to jump through.

It boils down to verifiable residence, self supporting and documentation thereof, of good character, bona fide future residence in Ireland expected, plus ability to cough up 950Euro per application.

The five years of meeting all the conditions will be expensive as you will need private health insurance, unless you will be able to nip back to the UK for healthcare, assuming the NHS isn't sold to the highest bidder a week after the General Election.

[SapphireStrange]

Thanks for all the further ideas.

As for the sceptical comments and faces about putting down roots/citizenship, well, I did say that these were not plans but possibles. I'm just exploring ideas.

[CreamCheez]

Moving from London to Ireland, city or rural, would be a huge culture shock. I say that as an Irish person who lived in London & moved home, to a city. But if you lived in the Scottish countryside, fair enough...
Not having been to Ireland or having Irish relatives though, you'll find that Irish folk are totally different to English. Like, the French are a different breed. We might speak the same language, but...
Again, I say that as person who lived in the UK & got on great with my English colleagues & friends. There is just a massive cultural difference that you should consider.

[user1493022461]

But do they have any concept of how one does that, is my point?

[mathanxiety]

They intend to apply for Irish citizenship, User.

[user1493022461]

My DP and I are currently in London but looking at moving to the ROI – in part, I'll be honest, with Brexit in mind; we want to keep our rights as EU citizens

How did you imagine you could do that simply by moving to Ireland?

[Embolio]

You could try posting on craicnet topic if you want to find more Irish mumsnetters?

[Embolio]

Do not underestimate how much it rains! (Am English and live in Northern Ireland with Irish husband & kids). You really really need to visit - not just Dublin- before thinking any more about it. The republic is VERY expensive in terms of cost of living- no nhs, you pay for all the kids school books etc. It's also culturally more different than you'd expect.

Having said that, I've lived here 10 years and i can't see us ever moving back to England. My husband and kids have Irish citizenship and I'll be applying for mine when I get round to it (and save up the required yoyo's - it costs over a grand).

I've also never had any disparaging comments about being English, it's a friendly place by and large. It can be insular and hard to break into friendship groups (a LOT of people seem to have had the same friends since childhood), but if you put the time and effort in (as with anything) it's grand.

[Nellyphants]

A genuine question, why do you want to put down roots in a country you've never been in?

[mathanxiety]

Not sure you should discount the south east - counties Carlow, Wexford, Kilkenny, Wicklow - all are nice to live in.

Maybe a small town like Carlow, Ferns, New Ross, Enniscorthy, Wexford Town, Gorey, Wicklow Town or Arklow would suit? Bunclody is small but nice too.

I wouldn't touch Cork with a bargepole (pockets of deprivation), and Galway rentals are shit thanks to the thousands of students. Plus it rains and rains and rains and rains in the west.

I would do a lot of hands on research before making up my mind if I were you. You would have to be certain of your income for starters. Can you do a realistic business projection? Can you qualify for citizenship? Then trawl the net to see what you can find on discussion boards, etc. Look at the fact that Ireland has a different health system. What will you lose by way of pension rights if you emigrate? Familiarise yourselves with the general lie of the land - look at maps and get used to travelling distances. Then, above all, go to Ireland and spend time there. Talk with people and see how you feel you are coming across.

You are not necessarily going to be the outsiders - I had a very English uncle, former Army medic, who moved to Ireland well into middle age and was immediately welcome in his local, found a source for poitin, made friends much to his delight, and found himself very much at home.

Would you do as well in the Netherlands?

[Shutupanddance1]

Think you should probably visit Ireland quite a few times before you decide you want to move, especially in rural Ireland.
The whole citizen thing makes me a little