Belfast versus Dublin

Voltron

Hello. Forgive the length of my post.

I'm an American and have lived in London for the past two years. I've hated every second of it and have recently saved up enough money to actually get out of this ****hole.

Before I came to London, I was in Dublin for about a month. I really liked it but I couldnt find a job right away, so got pissed off and moved to London. Massive mistake.

So now Im thinking of going to Belfast. I would go to Dublin but Im concerned because:

1. I think the housing is almost as expensive as in London

2. I wouldnt be able to get any JSA

I work, but its often difficult to find jobs. Especially when one first moves to a place. So I dont want to go back to Dublin and encounter the same problem. At least with Belfast, I'd have this JSA option if worse comes to worse.

My main problem with London, and my main concern with Belfast is housing costs. Im currently sharing a run down house with 5 total strangers and I'm paying £300/month to live in a tiny room.

I do not want to continue to live like this. I saw some places in Dublin when I was there and they also looked quite bad and crowded (though nowhere near as much as London). So Im really concerned about this. Are such horrendous living conditions common in Belfast? Can a single person with a moderate income (office jobs) afford to live by themselves in a decent flat? I dont mind living in working class Catholic areas. Indeed, I think I'd prefer it.

I have other questions, but this housing thing is really the most important one by far. So Ill leave it here. Its unbelievable the way people in London live. If Belfast is similar, I fear Ill have to go back to the US.

Riverfarset

The standard of rental accomodation in belfast is generally quite good. The obvious exception to this of course is the 'Holylands' area but i doubt you would be looking to live with a crowd of students anyway.
Also most working class areas in belfast would be perfectly fine to live in, indeed many east europeans etc. would rent in such areas with little bother. If renting in belfast though i would aim for south belfast.You will find many graduates/young single people renting in this part of the city.
Feel free to post any more questions.



Check out this site for renting in belfast.

http://belfast.gumtree.com/belfast/2004_1.html

DecentBee

Having lived in both I would definitely recommend Dublin over Belfast. Dublin does have a much higher cost of living, and rent is ridiculous but if you're willing to look around you can easily find a decent place.

One thing I'll say is that Belfast is a far more intimidating place to live. Even the roughest inner-city parts of Dublin are relatively safe to walk around at night, I never had any trouble in 18 years living there. On the other hand, I lived in Belfast for less than a year and almost got in numerous fights while walking through relatively nice parts of the city, such as stranmilis and the queens quarter. I have no concerns walking almost an hour through the northside of Dublin, but I would never have walked the 30 minutes to my house in Belfast alone. On top of this, Belfast city is completely dead after 1am, whereas Dublin is a lot more vibrant. I suppose if your main concerns are rent prices of living costs Belfast may have the advantage, but otherwise Dublin wins hands down.

ibh

DecentBee wrote: »

Having lived in both I would definitely recommend Dublin over Belfast. Dublin does have a much higher cost of living, and rent is ridiculous but if you're willing to look around you can easily find a decent place.

One thing I'll say is that Belfast is a far more intimidating place to live. Even the roughest inner-city parts of Dublin are relatively safe to walk around at night, I never had any trouble in 18 years living there. On the other hand, I lived in Belfast for less than a year and almost got in numerous fights while walking through relatively nice parts of the city, such as stranmilis and the queens quarter. I have no concerns walking almost an hour through the northside of Dublin, but I would never have walked the 30 minutes to my house in Belfast alone. On top of this, Belfast city is completely dead after 1am, whereas Dublin is a lot more vibrant. I suppose if your main concerns are rent prices of living costs Belfast may have the advantage, but otherwise Dublin wins hands down.

I would disagree with most of that. I think Belfast is one of the safest cities for walking around in at night. We often walked to our house from nights out in the city to Malone Rd and had no problems. Obviously if you go walking round a dodgy estate late at night you may face difficulties, but that's the same in any city.
I have never considered Dublin to be a nice safe place to walk round at night.
Belfast used to be a bit dead after 1am but i think that has changed in recent years and there are more places that stay open later.

No right or wrong answer anyway, different people have a different take on places.

To the OP, there are lots of decent places to rent in Belfast. As someone else suggested, you could probably get a flat / house share with graduates / young professionals close to the city centre, or round Ormeau or Stranmillis etc.
Jobs in Belfast can often be relatively low payed compared with other cities in England or Ireland, but the cost of living is very reasonable and there are lots of things to keep you busy on a relatively tight budget.

stovelid

ibh wrote: »

I think Belfast is one of the safest cities for walking around in at night. We often walked to our house from nights out in the city to Malone Rd and had no problems. Obviously if you go walking round a dodgy estate late at night you may face difficulties, but that's the same in any city.
I have never considered Dublin to be a nice safe place to walk round at night.
Belfast used to be a bit dead after 1am but i think that has changed in recent years and there are more places that stay open later.
.

Yeah, I lived in Belfast for a few years and compared to Dublin, there seemed to be far less aggro - or even lairy vibes - in the City Centre at night. And that was a few years before everything started closing at 1.30.