International Vet Student / Wife / Dog....Anyone Have Housing?

Robdude

My wife and I are both from the US and came over for Vet School. We're at a hotel trying to find a place to live for the year, but we're having a lot of trouble getting in touch with people to show us properties...it seems like nobody answers the phone and when they do they say they'll call back and don't. I don't know if people just don't like Americans (we're nice, I swear).

Anyway, I thought I'd ask here if anyone has a place available near campus in the 600-800 euro range. We're supposed to see another place tomorrow at 17:00 but with our luck they won't show up

Conor108

This might not be exactly what you're looking for but HERE'S the "Have/Want a place thread". It's mostly house shares so I don't know if that's really what you want.

You probably know already but Daft.ie is probably your best bet Hope you get it sorted!

TimeToShine

600-800 per week? you'll get a place no problem, just look on daft.ie and rent.ie

Robdude

TimeToShine wrote: »

600-800 per week? you'll get a place no problem, just look on daft.ie and rent.ie

We were hoping per month Is that unrealistically low?

TimeToShine

800 per month in the south of dublin around UCD is quite difficult, a one bedroom apartment might be possible but at this stage they might be gone.

PeaSoup

Hi there,

Welcome to UCD.

It's not completely unrealistic don't worry but you may be paying closer to 800-900, depending on what comforts you want.

You can live somewhere very nice a little further away like along the n11 road (Stillorgan, Brewery Road, Lepardstown areas) which is well serviced by bus routes (46a,145) that are fast and reliable. The vet building is to the right of the college grounds so it's also a good side of college to be on.

I've had similar trouble with landlords, there's just such a demand so a few don't seem to find the need to practise even basic manners sometimes.

If you have no luck the vet building is full of poster boards with people looking for rooms, sharing,etc. I'm in 4th year myself and we tend to look after each other!

All the best!

Robdude

TimeToShine wrote: »

800 per month in the south of dublin around UCD is quite difficult, a one bedroom apartment might be possible but at this stage they might be gone.

I know I'm still very new here but - wow - Dublin seems so expensive. Do the jobs out here pay significantly more than jobs in the US?

We found a small 1-bedroom apartment...for closer to 900 - but it's more expensive than my old 3 bedroom 2 bath /w 2 car garage house back in the states!

investment

This country is ****ed my friend, people are robbing houses, make sure you keep your wife safe my friend

The_Minister

investment wrote: »

This country is ****ed my friend, people are robbing houses, make sure you keep your wife safe my friend

While robbery rates have increased slightly, there has been nothing to justify that bizarre piece of hysteria.
Ireland is actually a very safe country.

Please be a little more constructive in future.

investment

The_Minister wrote: »

While robbery rates have increased slightly, there has been nothing to justify that bizarre piece of hysteria.
Ireland is actually a very safe country.

Please be a little more constructive in future.

Sorry its just robbers really make me lose it, and this country has seen too much of it:mad:

WoollyRedHat

investment wrote: »

This country is ****ed my friend, people are robbing houses, make sure you keep your wife safe my friend

I hope you don't work in a tourist office!

Wisco

Depends what job you're in, salaries are often a bit higher than the US, but since stuff like health insurance isn't so expensive here, they don't include the extra benefits you usually get in the US. Sadly for your wife, vet salaries are lower here (in general) if you plan to stay after her graduation. You can expect to pay more for the usual expenses like food, petrol, etc, as well. Welcome to rip off Ireland.
I'm starting vet this year too so maybe I'll meet you at some stage
I'm afraid I can't give you advice on housing as I'll be commuting instead, but feel free to PM me if you want any info- I was once a newbie from the US on this side of the pond too

xper

Hi Robdude,

Welcome to Ireland.

As said, 600-800 per month for your own place, i.e., no sharing, and close to UCD is challenging. One bedroom apartments in the area are generally advertised around the 850-1000 mark at the moment, depending on quality and the landlord's perception of the market. 900 would seem to be the most common price point right now. Rents have dropped over tha last couple of years and some landlords will have had trouble getting a tenant because they have been advertising rates they would have had the last time the advertised. So landlords are more prepared to haggle these days, so do consider offering about 100 below the asking price if you think the place is being priced high.

You might end up having to get somewhere further out to meet your budget and commute. If on public transport, look at the 39A, 46A and 145 bus route maps on dublinbus.ie as they are relatively fast, frequent routes and pass the main UCD entrance. If you have a car, you can look further afield to the southwest of the campus - you'll get cheaper rents in the newer developments in the foothills of the mountains near the M50. Even Bray or Greystones on the coast south of Dublin are very commutable by car to UCD (less so by bus/DART but many do it) - and you might even get a garden out there.

You have an additional difficulty regarding your dog. Many landlords won't allow a pet. Its so common here that it may not even be mentioned in the ad so when you do make contact with a prospective landlord, its probably best to ask if a dog is okay. Maybe not the first thing you'd want to mention - get them interested in having you as a tenant first - but there's no point in wasting your time if it would be a deal-breaker either. Being a vet though might swing it for you.

Another thing to emphasise when contacting landlords is that you are a married couple. Don't lie but don't use the words 'student' or 'college' if at all possible on first contact. Some landlords won't want to know - it immediately conjures up the image in their mind of wild, late night parties, unpaid rent and damaged property.

Also, be aware that rental properties in Ireland nearly always include furniture which I think is different than in the USA. So if you were factoring furniture rental/purchase into your budget, you can scale that back. You'll have to get some stuff like bed linen, kitchen stuff, maybe a TV, etc.

If you have not done so already, do you searching on daft.ie using Firefox as your browser and download and install the Property-Bee plugin for it. This plugin tracks and inserts additonal information about the ads on daft showing how long the ad has been online, price changes, etc. It will give you an idea of whther the landlord might be getting a bit desperate to find a tenant and increase your haggling chances.

Actually, I've also just noticed that this thread is in the UCD subforum. You might also have a read of threads in the Accommodation subforum. Get familar with your rights and responsibilities under Irish tennacy laws if you have not done so already. Useful websites:
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/housing/renting_a_home/
http://www.threshold.ie
http://www.prtb.ie
Most landlords are fine but there are bad apples out there.