Moving to Ireland

[HardieHa]

I live just outside of the M25 in the south east and will inherit some money soon. It is not enough to buy here so I will have to move either north or to Ireland. I am leaning towards Ireland as I feel they will recover faster and it would be nice to get my EU passport back! BUT, what do I need to consider?

I have been a single sahm of 2 autistic children for almost 20 years so will be looking at minimum wage entry level jobs no matter where I go. I have 2 teens, 18 and 19. Only one wants to move with me no matter where I go but I am hoping to persuade them both to come. Ideally I'd like to buy a 3 bedroom house so both can live with me but I cannot afford a 3 bedroom in a city/large town.

Should I risk buying in a semi-rural area? I have been told that I may not be accepted in rural areas due to being obviously English so I may not be able to find work. Or should I buy a 2 bedroom flat in a city? Where it won't be such an issue to be accepted and find a job but my other child can't come and join us?

I'm Irish born and bred - live in the south of Dublin about 20 mins drive to the airport. I also lived in London for near enough 10 years. I came back to Dublin last year. I am glad to be home. Regards being english that would not be an issue here, people are very welcoming and you would find it easy enough to settle and make friends. Regards cost of food etc. I find not a lot of difference in the prices and some things here are a lot cheaper. We also have the usual supermarkets Aidl, Lidl, Tesco but a lot shop in Dunnes Stores which sell clothes, homeware and food. I doubt you would have issues with getting a job in your local area and yes we do pay for our gp's but I'd rather pay and be seen straight away than have to wait weeks for a 5 min appointment. We also have really good dentists and hospitals. We may be entitled to a medical card if you are on a lower wage which will cover opticians, dentist, gp, prescriptions etc. Personally I would avoid Cork but Sligo Donegal, Mayo etc are beautiful, great bus and train network. Would you consider doing an air b n b for a week to get the feel of a place? and feel free to ask me any questions happy to answer. Please do not give up on your dream and if you feel it is the right thing for you and your family then keep on going. Best of luck to you.

I was going to suggest Drogheda but actually I agree with NI.
It seems to be cheaper. Derry town, Portrush, Lurgan.. prices are more reasonable than where I believe

You must have got a huge inheritance to buy in dublin. I have 3 adult dc all with good jobs and none of them can buy even a tiny flat in dublin. Your English accent wouldn't be an issue in about 90% of ireland, but it probably would be in the really rough estates in dublin. Can you say what areas you are looking at? What will happen if your dc don't come with you, where will they live, and if they come will the change be difficult for them to adust to? As pp said its a completely different culture. Surely looking at cheaper places in the UK makes more sense than moving to a country you don't seem to know much about?

Co Cork is a stunning place to live - Cork itself is a very small city (more like a town really) and still has some of the social problems Dublin has but nowhere near the scale. It feels safe which cannot be said for Dublin City and some of its surrounds.

It is expensive to own a home in the coastal areas but is doable if you are happy to live 5Km or more inland which is worth it. . A town outside a city would be the best of both worlds for you. But public transport is a problem. While it exists, it is a poor service and expensive.
I am pretty familiar with some areas of Cork and would choose there before Mayo, Sligo etc because they are just too remote But a disclaimer is I have only holidayed regularly in all these areas.

While you’d get more for your money in Louth but the only people I know who moved there have family nearby and wanted to get on the property ladder, start a family and have family support.

Have you visited any of these places OP? Where do you like?

OP this plans seems more of a daydream than a converter plan.

have you been to Ireland? Have you considered how you want to live? What will your adult do and what lifestyle do they want?

As other posters have said Dublin is a cripplingly expensive city. It has social issues like many other large cities and housing is a particular sore point with locals who don’t earn mega bucks.

you haven’t said what your housing budget is.

let’s say you have £200k to spend on a house. As others have said you might find Northern Ireland an easier transition. Someone mentioned Bangor - seaside town close to Belfast. Has Tesco, marks and Spencer, restaurants, shops, trying to Belfast is about half an hour. Two universities for your children should they chose to go. Alternatively there is a further education college in Bangor itself.

examples of houses for £200k.

https://www.propertypal.com/56-helens-wood-way-bangor/899656/photo-13

https://www.propertypal.com/property-for-sale/bangor/price-190000-200000

lots of cafe sets to find employment. Lots of old people’s homes etc supermarkets, call centres.

https://www.nijobfinder.co.uk/job/1059703/domestic-assistant/?phrase=Bangor&locations=Co.+Down&minSalary=N%2FA&maxSalary=N%2FA&order=Relevance&refine_dateAdded=All+Time&offset=6

You can get the train to Dublin in less than three hours. Belfast city airport is twenty minutes up the road.

might be an easier transition?

OP when it comes to tax also bear in mine you will also have to pay USC. Lots of jobs get advertised but often go to people that know someone already there (or certainly where I live). Groceries are expensive here. Transport can be poor. House prices on daft are just the starting point and often go a lot higher. Take a look at the Property Price Register for an good idea of what property is actually sold for. There is a huge shortage of GPs in Ireland and the town that I live in it is impossible to register with a Practice. If you do not have Private Health Insurance waiting lists are very long for many hospital treatments.

Being English shouldn't be a issue. Certainly in West Cork where I am from there are many many people from the UK living here quite happily.

No a English person can not obtain Irish citizenship by living in their (foreign) home country.

Its live in the UK or ROI

@Marblessolveeverything I'm British and went to school in the uk until half way through secondary when we moved to Ireland, but my husband and children are Irish and my children go to school here. We live in a big town on the east coast and whilst the kids love school and it's not terrible, it's nothing compared to what I grew up with in the uk. I will say my opinion is marred slightly by the all girls catholic school in the west of Ireland I went to, half way through secondary school, but from the point of view of my children's primary school, they cater for one type of learning only. It's not so bad that it alone is a reason to deter someone from moving here but it is a point to think about. Except of course that I didnt realise the ops children are above primary age so this wont effect them, that was my mistake!!!

@AnSolas Ah maybe I'm getting confused with people born in NI but living in England

That went with the Good Friday Agreement back in 1998

OP buying a property in a part of the world you don’t seem to know is a huge risk.

think about your lifestyle - you have told us very little just that you want to buy a house, work a minimum wage job and have an EU passport.

why the EU passport? Do you plan on travelling? Living elsewhere in Europe?

try to be more specific. What do you want close by - parks within walking distance, a library, a swimming pool, a beach? Are you looking for a low crime area? Would you rather have a house or an apartment? What is your budget? Do you own a car?

Ireland is beautiful- but often not what people imagine.

in your shoes I would make a shortlist of three or four affordable areas then book air bnbs and in similar housing and spend some time there.

do some job hunting aswell.

and do a budget - how big is this inheritance - can you afford the new house and the moving costs and the settling in costs.

OP what areas of Dublin can you afford a 3 bed house? I moved from Dublin to Uk 3 years ago. Ireland is very expensive. Dublin is more expensive than London in some areas. Health care is a major consideration though if you have plenty of money and can afford good health insurance you may find it a lot easier to access than the NHS given what's going on at the moment. My parents have health insurance and the care they have gotten is 2nd to none thought they won't believe me about the NHS as they lived in a England as children and moved over in the 70's probably when the NHS was at its peak. Lots to think about. Moving country is hard: there is a lot of paperwork and I do miss my friends and just the familiarity of the place. Knowing where everything is and how to find out things.

@Maybebaby12345 thank you for sharing. I find the different experiences of education very interesting and hoping one day education gets it right universally.

I have many friends who attended schools in the middle east, UK, USA and Japan and it is very interesting to hear of their expectations of education in Dublin.

OP, I can’t see that you said how much time you have spent in Ireland? I’m going to guess none.

Would you move to another nearby country (let’s imagine Brexit didn’t happen and you could legally live and work in France or Germany, for instance) in such a cavalier fashion?

I did wonder about them all being city folk, will try to remember jackeens. I'll definitely be going over a couple of times and checking it out. Thanks for all the info!

Hell yeah! The UK is sinking and I have always regretting not being able to get out pre-Brexit.

But seriously, plans have to start somewhere, why shouldn't I research many areas before committing to move there? Moving is expensive and I may not have the money to do it again so I am getting as much information as I can before spending lots of money on visiting and scoping out individual towns and cities in person.

Thank you. Yes, my plan is to airbnb around a few places at various times over the next year, see if I can find somewhere I like that is in my meagre budget and has work! It could happen!

I don't think you'll get an Irish passport just by moving there?

I'm in Scotland - there are cheap houses round here but there is often a reason for this - poor transport, few jobs.
I think I would look for a job first then the house. Perhaps once you are renting there.

That’s not what I was asking, though. You’re talking about researching individual areas by visiting after deciding you are moving to a country you’ve apparently never even visited. You say your reasons for the move are primarily economic, plus a desire for an EU passport and a sense that the UK is sinking, but none of these are going to mean Ireland is necessarily going to be somewhere you and/or your children will be integrated and happy. Don’t assume it’s England with different accents and more Catholicism — this is a different culture.

I would support the suggestion to move to Northern Ireland for sure, OP.

Positives:

• keep your NI number/pension contributions/current benefits
• plenty of affordable housing if moving from where you currently are
• connectivity to GB
• no issues with customs sending things or receiving
• same currency (matters when transferring huge amount of funds to pay for house)
• keep your phone number
• it's safe by all accounts despite what you might hear
• cars are cheaper, you can keep yours with little admin change
• culturally very similar and practically speaking the way the country works is v similar to England. Ireland is v different - their version of national insurance, payslips, their versions of council tax etc, private medical etc.

I have lived in both for significant periods of time, I'm from NI and I moved from London to Dublin after many years in London. Given I'm from here and had a head start more than you would have (internal transfer at work and plenty of people I knew to help) it was tricky.

In general, quality of life is nice but only if you are earning a decent salary ( I would say 3k after tax)

PropertyPal.com or Propertynews.com for houses

Ni direct is our version of gov.uk

Ireland is expensive, and you may well be able to walk into a min wage job, but you won't get benefits you may have been used to in the UK

This is a handy website for learning more about life in Ireland
https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/moving-country/moving-to-ireland/

Ireland is great, but go into it with your eyes open. I agreed with others than NI maybe an easier landing and is probably less expensive.

A lot of earlier posts put things like having to pay for a GP visit front and centre, it regularly comes up on these kinds of posts and always baffles me. Unless you have some chronic condition - for which you may then be eligible for a visit card/medical card - how often do people go to the doctor? I could go years without doing so, my children the same. Things most people do far far more frequently including going to hairdressers, the swimming pool, cinema, etc are rarely mentioned. And yes I know these are somewhat discretionary but the cost of visiting a GP is still hardly some kind of deal breaker surely.

It’s not a deal-breaker for me, in fact I’d take my Irish gp set up over all my 25 years of NHS care for ease of getting a same-day or next-day appointment, but yes, based on longtime observation of both systems, I think people with free GP visits do go more often/for trivial things.