Moving to Ireland, wondering about Waterford..

seanybiker

Heathen wrote: »

That being said... stay clear of "seanybiker" one of Waterford City's more undesirable residents

H

Haha ya geebag. Not poking you on Facebook anymore

Jamerican

Hi Sage,

I recently moved here from the states and live outside of waterford city. Depending on how much space you are looking for I would suggest looking at outside the main city. It's still easy to drive in to during rush hour (compared to Dallas traffic) if you are working in the city. It's really beautiful here, lots of scenic areas. And you get a lot more for your money when you rent out of the city. paying less than your budget for a fine house and an acre of land.

Good luck on whatever you decide, but as long as you are able to get used to small town living you will be fine. I find it really is like living in a really small town convenience-wise here. Even Dublin is like that.

I haven't found anything specifically wrong with living in Waterford that you wouldn't find in any large town or city. Like someone else said, it's clean and I haven't been shanked going from a store to my car. Feel free to PM me if you like. I am very familiar with the huge jump.

shockwave

Waterford would be a small town compared to American cities so dont expect too much, shopping isnt great as there isnt a great variety of stores and you might find the cost of living much higher here. Petrol, food etc can be expensive here.

fricatus

Sagesilver4 wrote: »

I'm planning on having a bit of a commute, but that's nothing new to me, so it's not a big deal.

Employment opportunities are a little scattered, so you might be lucky and find a job you can walk or cycle to, or you could have a bit of a commute.

Sagesilver4 wrote: »

How does transportation work there anyway?

Pretty much the same as it works in the USA! The main differences would be that we that we drive on the left, our cars are mostly manual (what you call "stick") and multi-lane highways are the exception rather than the rule. Some journeys are a pain because you pretty much go at the speed of the slowest driver if oncoming traffic or twisty roads prevent you from overtaking!

Sagesilver4 wrote: »

I was reading that public transportation & cabs are most common, and it's unusual to have your own car. Is that true?

I don't know where you read that nonsense!

Everyone has a car here, pretty much. What you describe might be the case in central Dublin, where cabs, buses and trams are plentiful, and parking is scarce and expensive. In Waterford it's overwhelmingly cars, although there are decent enough bus services on the main routes in the city.

angelfalling

As an American expat living in Waterford, I'd say think carefully before emigrating to Ireland. It's a serious grass-is-greener situation to leave the states and come here expecting something incredible. Ireland is in a terrible state. Seeing stone ruins, etc, is amazing but the rose-tinted glasses do come off in time. Don't come here unless you DEFINITELY 100% have jobs lined up. Otherwise you will not find them. Also, do not underestimate how difficult the adjustment to the weather here will be. It doesn't matter how much you may like "rain"... I'm from Florida, I had all these ideas in my head, too.

If you plan on driving, definitely look outside the city. The city is mostly dingy unless you move out the Dunmore road/ardkeen areas (plus side of recession, rent is super cheap)... even still, the surrounding towns are nicer. I will say this much: county Waterford is beautiful and underrated. I live in Portlaw and while it has its "quirks", ahem, its beautiful, close to the mountains and lovely walks, incredible history, etc. Outside of county Waterford, I'm quite fond of Cork City, West Cork, and possible Kilkenny.

But, really, #1 question is, do you have jobs lined up. If you don't, wait until you do to leave America. At least in American you can moved state to state. Coming here you are limited.

billythepig

waterford is a lovely place to live,
it has everything,,, best beaches in ireland,,, great mountains,,, a city center full of all the top shops, bars and resturants,,, brilliant schools and collages,,, waterford hurling team,,, waterford united fc,,, cheap booze in most pubs,,,,chris doran,,, val doonigan,,, gilbert o sullivan,,, oldest city in ireland,,, beautiful quays and river,,, crusty and soft blaas,,, flavans porridge,,, john tracey,,, kelly proper,,, WLRfm,,, matt keane,,, billy mccarthy,,,

best city in ireland by a million miles.
dublin,cork,limerick,galway are kips to live in.

dayshah

Sagesilver4 wrote: »

I'm not planning on getting my citizenship that way, and it turns out you don't even need a visa coming from the US.

In Waterford City you can easily get by without a car. I've been around, and Waterford is definitely above average for a city of 50,000; but it is only 50,000 which might be too small for you.

As for jobs, EU citizens get first preference. That pretty much rules out any retail or hotel/bar jobs. These sectors have been hardest hit. If they want to employ a non-EU citizen the employer has to advertise the job for over a month and prove they can't find an EU citizen to do the job. That basically means you have zero chance of getting a job in retail or in a hotel/bar.

Being self-employed might be an option. I'm not sure on the rules for non-EU citizens.

Daffodil.d

I have lived here all my life. I love this town and hate listening to negative talk regarding it. However the reality is there are no jobs. Before you make a decision have a look at our job websites such as jobs.ie or monsterjobs.ie. Other than that from what what you have said I think the coastal towns would suit you. Ignore anyone who is negative. This town is beautiful and it doesn't always rain(there is a lot of rain but not all the time).Best of luck.

seanybiker

billythepig wrote: »

waterford is a lovely place to live,
it has everything,,, best beaches in ireland,,, great mountains,,, a city center full of all the top shops, bars and resturants,,, brilliant schools and collages,,, waterford hurling team,,, waterford united fc,,, cheap booze in most pubs,,,,chris doran,,, val doonigan,,, gilbert o sullivan,,, oldest city in ireland,,, beautiful quays and river,,, crusty and soft blaas,,, flavans porridge,,, john tracey,,, kelly proper,,, WLRfm,,, matt keane,,, billy mccarthy,,,seanybiker

best city in ireland by a million miles.
dublin,cork,limerick,galway are kips to live in.

aswell thanks Billy

billythepig

seanybiker wrote: »

aswell thanks Billy

and seanybiker,,,
also tawdy morrissey,,,how dooo,,,3 dog

Ericaa

I swear I'm living in a completely different city going by the way some of ye talk about it..

hefferboi

I'd rather live in Limerick or Tipp. Waterford is rough enough from what I've experienced. Limerick has a bad rep but its actually fairly nice and I had no trouble there.

CiaranC

billythepig wrote: »

best city in ireland by a million miles.
dublin,cork,limerick,galway are kips to live in.

lol

Waterford is the most boring city in Ireland. I went out in Waterford on a Tuesday evening in the middle of "the boom" and it was like a scene from 28 days later. I can only imagine what its like now.

OP, move to Galway, Cork or Dublin. These are all vibrant, buzzing, brilliant cities.

Nypd

hefferboi wrote: »

I'd rather live in Limerick or Tipp. Waterford is rough enough from what I've experienced. Limerick has a bad rep but its actually fairly nice and I had no trouble there.

Waterford is rough lol and Limerick and Tipp are nice places LMAO !!
Limerick has a bad rep for a reason and Tipp town at the weekend is like a scene from Ross Kemp on gangs

jo06555

paul the great wrote: »

OP how far back did you trace your famiy? You'll have a very difficult time getting a visa for Ireland in the present climate. If your Irish ancestry goes back to your granparents you can claim Irish citizenship and get an Irish passport (Or any other EEA country or Switzerland).

So weird when you think any tom dick or harry can enter our shores from Africa or Europe with no checking , and decent people from the states would be refused????? Id hope not , anyway to op while Waterford is not thriving right now you will have a quiet time here if that's what you want , as was said earlier we are surrounded by beautiful beaches mountains etc and festivals every summer are a big thing here , Ireland is a lot smaller than America obviously so if you felt like a day trip some day u can go basically anywhere for the day or weekend , I'm sure if you do decide to come here this thread will have plenty of people willing to help you out on your new start , as the best thing is the people , small community's equals helpful ones good luck

nkay1985

Ericaa wrote: »

I swear I'm living in a completely different city going by the way some of ye talk about it..

Well your location says you live in Tramore so you'd obviously have a different experience to those of us in the city. But what do you find to be Waterford's negative points? I'm interested to hear what all the people who have a downer on Waterford regard as its flaws.

hefferboi wrote: »

I'd rather live in Limerick or Tipp. Waterford is rough enough from what I've experienced. Limerick has a bad rep but its actually fairly nice and I had no trouble there.

Seriously lad, that's ridiculous. I lived in Limerick for 4 years and, while it's improving now with the city centre regeneration, it's not a very nice place.

As for Tipp town, the less said about that the better really.

batm!ke

billythepig wrote: »

and seanybiker,,,
also tawdy morrissey,,,how dooo,,,3 dog

Wow Seany. you're in good company there :P

batm!ke

You will get out of Waterford what you put in. For most of my early twenties I thought the place was a kip and wanted to move away but as I got older and gained some perspective I realised what was on my doorstep.

I've lived here my whole life and never been mugged or in a real fight, drug-use has risen the last few years but no different to anywhere else. And to say Limerick is a less dangerous place to live is just ridiculous. I've been a regular traveller to the place due to my girlfriends family being from there and the place even smells dangerous. The shyte I've seen in a long weekend up there would do me for a year down here. I wouldn't see how Tipp town beats Waterford either, but I'll admit I'm not too qualified to comment on that. Galway has always seemed a nice City to me though.

Waterford's positives far outweigh the negatives in terms of things to do, quality of life, accessibility and scenery.

The negatives unfortunately contain a big one: employment
(We could do with a few more brand-name shops too but as earlier posts have said, it's not far to Cork, Kilkenny, Dublin)

billythepig

Nypd wrote: »

Limerick has a bad rep for a reason and Tipp town at the weekend is like a scene from Ross Kemp on gangs

how very true, i wouldn't let me dog live in limerick or tipp

comeraghs

Howdee! as they say in Texas (I think)

As somebody who has lived & worked in the US, Europe, Asia & Australia, I'd say JUMP!
Waterford is a great place to live as regards quality of life. If you can find a decent job you'll love it (& there are plenty of decent jobs out there for people with the right skills)

Waterford city is nice, especially the Dunmore Road area, but in my opinion, you might like some of the smaller towns (20 min commute) around the City more. Places like Dunhill, Dunmore East, Fenor, Kill & Bunmahon are great to live in ... good community spirit.

Dungarvan, which is a beautiful & lively town, is another good option. & It may be better jobs wise because it's commuting distance ... approx 1 hour to Cork, Clonmel 30mins & Waterford 30 mins

hefferboi

I never said Tipp town. There's a load of towns and villages in Tipp that are lovely. Clonmel, Cashel, Thurles, Cahir.

Dan133269

comeraghs wrote: »

If you can find a decent job you'll love it (& there are plenty of decent jobs out there for people with the right skills)

Really? care to point me in the direction of any of these decent jobs which are plentiful?

OP, do not underestimate how bad the local economy is in Waterford at the mo, and things are continuing to get worse.

Professey Chin

hefferboi wrote: »

I never said Tipp town. There's a load of towns and villages in Tipp that are lovely. Clonmel, Cashel, Thurles, Cahir.

O_O

MrJoeSoap

comeraghs wrote: »

Kill... great to live in ...

Just so as to avoid potential confusion, Kill is the Anglicized version of the Irish word Cill, which means Church. There are tonnes of Kill-this and Kill-that's here, but it has nothing to do with the homicide rate :pac:

Funfair

hefferboi wrote: »

I never said Tipp town. There's a load of towns and villages in Tipp that are lovely. Clonmel, Cashel, Thurles, Cahir.

Glad you deliberately left out that kip Nenagh..

denis behan city legend

Howdy,

I don't know if you've ever been to Ireland, from your posts I suspect you haven't. If that is the case come here for a couple of weeks and check the place out (Dublin, Cork, Galway, Waterford). You may hate it. Look before you leap!

As for Waterford, I'm a blow in. I live in the city and it has its good points and bad points.

The good points, chilled out and relaxed pace of life, great quality locally produced food (e.g. good butcher shops, fruit and veg shops, one of the main fishing ports around 15 miles from the city supplying us with yummy fish), good selection of bars and excellent restaurants for somewhere of its size, nice people, easy access to Cork and Dublin, we even have our own airport which has good connections with London and Manchester. There are plenty of clubs and things to get involved with too.

The less good points, it's small, it feels like a sleepy country town (sometimes hard to take when you've lived in big cities), the economy is in a deep hole, job opportunities are minimal to non existent, people seem depressed and cheesed off (maybe that's just me), the public transport is pretty terrible compared to bigger cities here and abroad(matter of opinion but based on my experience) and the winters are grim.

As you can guess I've a love hate relationship with the place. It's a bit more hate at the moment.

Best of luck in whatever you choose but do come and pay a visit before choosing.

mikeym

I wouldnt bother moving to Ireland, every year were being screwed out of every cent we earn/save and the inflation rate is going up despite peoples wages staying the same or decreasing.

Cant have a good standard of life anymore :mad:


Oh but the comeragh mountains look nice.

billythepig

Funfair wrote: »

Glad you deliberately left out that kip Nenagh..

and that other kip carrick..

billythepig

denis behan city legend wrote: »

the public transport is pretty terrible compared to bigger cities.

the local bus services covers all parts of the city every half hour ,

they are over 600 taxis and if you phone one it normally turns up in less then 10 mins 24/7

airport servicing london, manchester, birmingham is only 10 mins away from anywhere in the city

rapid express runs 15 busses a day to dublin, 9 times a day to cork and bus eirann run busses to anywhere in the country everyday

trains run 5 times a day between waterford and dublin..

so local transport is pretty terrible then :rolleyes:

Ericaa

nkay1985 wrote: »

Ericaa wrote: »

I swear I'm living in a completely different city going by the way some of ye talk about it..

Well your location says you live in Tramore so you'd obviously have a different experience to those of us in the city. But what do you find to be Waterford's negative points? I'm interested to hear what all the people who have a downer on Waterford regard as its flaws.

Well considering I spend 127 hours out of the 168 in a week in Waterford city, I'd say that's pretty much got nothing to do with it. I used to live in the city as well.

The negatives:
Absolutely useless for shopping other than food.
I'm scared being in Waterford alone, I've been mugged in broad daylight in the city, my boyfriend has been assaulted, we constantly get insults and threats shouted at us, I've also been egged a few times.
It's boring, if you have no money, there is nothing to do.


The positives:
Very good public transport.

I'm genuinely struggling for a second point here, wow..