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Relocating to Dublin
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28-09-2012 4:26am#1Hello all
We just got word that we are being relocated to Dublin from the US, although my husband is European so it's closer to his family which works out just fine. I've been trolling and have learned so much on here. I think I've got an idea of the area we need to be in, at least initially. He'll be working in the Ballycoolin estate area so we are looking at Blanchardstown and there abouts. In researching on daft.ie I've really come to like the pics I've seen of Clontarf. It reminds me of where we are now. Once we secure our own transportation, how far is Clontarf from Ballycoolin? More importantly, will it be a communter nightmare? I can't really get a grasp for traffic on these forums or I just haven't come across the right thread yet.
Also, what is the cost of gas now? How expensive are Hybrid cars there? We looked into importing ours but at 15,000E :eek: we're better off buying one there and selling ours here. Is car insurance very expensive?
With regards to references for letting, we own our home so who would we get references from? The mortgage company?? I don't think they do that sort of thing except to report it on a credit report. It's been quite some time since I've rented and how credible would a foreign reference be? Could it be my husbands employer, perhaps a letter from them guaranteeing employment?
I'm sorry for all the questions. I have more but I don't want to bombard you all as is customary in my culture
;)
thank you in advance for any help 0
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Thank you so much Orlaane. Actually Castleknock is one of the places I've considered as it looks nice. Can you suggest any specific areas of Castleknock? Or buildings? We'd prefer to let a house but it will depend on the cost & area. How easy is it to get to the center of town from Castleknock?
I have no idea at this point what I'll be doing for work. I work in health care but my job is more specifically set up for the administrative side of private health care, dealing with insurances, billing and such. I read that there was a freeze on highering employees at hospitals. I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.
The park by Castleknock, Phoenix is it? Seems nice to run in. Is there a gym nearby? What do gym memberships cost?
Wow! The cost of petrol in Ireland is borderline ridic! That more or less equals $8.80 a gallon. In our city the average is about $3.89 a gallon or 3.02€ for 4 liters of petrol. I think buying a hybrid is eminent. I'll have to investigate if the Irish government gives credit for buying a hybrid like they do here.
Car insurance seems about the same as here in a big city save New York because there it's more than double everywhere else.
Thanks for the tip on the references. I'll have to start hunting down former landlords.
Do you know of any websites set up for health care workers to find employment?
Thanks again for the information! You've been most helpful
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The gov rebate on hybrid cars is built into the price when new.
When lookin at cars in Ireland annual motor tax can be a big factor in running cost .
A Prius older than 08 is €384 to tax per year and a post 08 prius is €160
A range rover is €2258 to tax per year
Prius would be good choice in Ireland, cycling in Ireland has become a lot safer as means of commuting too, instead of a second car.
http://cars.donedeal.ie/find/cars/for-sale/Ireland/?filter%28make%29=Toyota&filter%28model%29=Prius
Tax rates motor below
http://www.environ.ie/en/LocalGovernment/MotorTax/MotorTaxRates/MotorTaxRatesbasedonCO2Emissions/
http://www.environ.ie/en/LocalGovernment/MotorTax/MotorTaxRates/MotorTaxRatesBasedonEngineSize/
Thank you so much for the links Bigus we definitely won't be driving a Range Rover! We live in a tax free state so I hadn't even considered taxes. That's a valuable piece of information and all the more reason to buy a hybrid.
Diddler1977 thank you as well. We actually live in the most bike friendly city in the US and very much enjoy cycling so this is definitely something we plan on doing but it also doesn't rain as much here so we'll just come prepared with better gear for the rain.
Brussels Sprout yes, you are correct. Still learning the lingo. I hadn't been active on any boards before this 0 -
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Bigus, I am originally from Southern California however, I cant stand the heat, smog and dry brown landscapes down there which is just one reason I left. I move to New York for college, which can be hot, humid and very cold with lots of snow (was there for 9/11 too. I had only been there for about a month when it happened). After that I lived in North Dakota which can sometimes be colder than the North Pole. I've been in the very green Pacific Northwest for the last 5 years and from what you've described, it sounds a lot like Ireland. It's gray and rainy (mostly) from October to June and sometimes even July. However the summers here are like no other. Absolutely beautiful and it rarely gets over 100F. We don't have air conditioning as the "unbearable" heat days can be counted with one hand. We do need heaters however. The temps in the evenings drop significantly. If you ever have the chance to visit this part of the US, and you are a nature lover, I highly recommend it. Portland/Seattle and even Vancouver, BC, Canada. We have forests right smack in the city center. I'm going to miss the abundance of trees however, I've read that the air quality in Ireland is top notch so I'm very happy about that! I've had my share of extremes in terms of weather. I really thought it rained more in Ireland though. Misconception cleared!
My husband was told it would be next summer, more or less. We'll know more in December. I sincerely do hope they give us a settling in period although if he has to start straight away, I'll have to do it on my own, which I'm no stranger to considering how much I've done it in my life! I may need to stay behind in the US for sometime though depending on how soon we are able to get things done. We have a home and two cars to sell. I am not sure what we will do with out furniture. Sell it or ship it? (Hubby's company is paying for it if we do ship) It seems everything in Dublin comes furnished and as I'm sure you know, everything in the US is bigger. Our refrigerator is monstrous compared to those I've seen in pictures so I will probably have to sell our appliances at the very least. I'm more worried about selling our home. Although the housing market has picked up some here, it's still not the beast it used to be and I'd like to get out of it at the very least what I put in. We'll see when it lists in a few weeks
You know, we are both actually completely fine with public transport. Hubby's used it most of his life. I grew up using it as my Mom didn't drive so we had to use it when Dad wasn't home and living in NYC it was most convenient. Our respective employers actually provide us with yearly passes. Unfortunately, the area of the city we live in has limited buses and only one train 2 miles away so it would take us almost 2 hours to go 11 miles what with all the connections. Our solution is to carpool since we have to go the same direction, rather than use two cars. I'm hoping they'll do him the same courtesy there and provide a pass for public transport. We would eventually like to have a car because we like to go exploring on weekends.
What is the holiday allowance in Ireland? Also, what are the bank holidays and such? His company is fairly generous (for an American corp) with holidays. He has 3 weeks, plus the week of Christmas when the company shuts down, and 2 floating days. When I started working at the hospital I was only allowed 2 weeks of holiday time and that included national holidays. Now I'm up to three and they've taken one day due to budget cuts and impending Obamacare, which I am in favor of but I'm not happy about losing a day.
Driving manual is also fine with us. It's all my husband drove until he immigrated to the US last year to marry me I learned to drive manual when I was 12 in Mexico with my cousins VW bug. My parents are immigrants to the US from Mexico so I spent almost every summer there whilst growing up and they're a little more lax on age laws, in the smaller towns anyhow. An automatic transmission would make things easier for us in Ireland however, considering we have to learn to drive on the right side of the car on the opposite side of the road
Thanks again Bigus for all your help and kindness. 0 -
Gary The Gamer wrote: »Make sure to put his salary into this calculator to see how little he will actually be earning every month. I'd take another 5% off the net amount to give you an idea for 2013.
http://taxcalc.eu/
Don't bring your car over. Don't bother getting a hybrid, get a diesel.
If you have any say in the matter I would think twice about coming over here. The medium term outlook for Ireland is very poor and you will see the destruction of the middle class over the next decade.
Hello Gary, we are definitely not bringing our cars over or we'll be forced to live in them simply for the cost of importing them.
My husband had actually considered diesel because his uncle is a mechanic and the cost of flying him over on Ryanair would probably be less than hiring a mechanic to do any repairs and the petrol consumption is less than a standard engine. We'll see, but I know nothing about diesel cars since they are not very common in the US. I'd prefer a hybrid and as the saying goes, "happy wife, happy life"
With regards to the destruction of the middle class, it's happening here in the US as well. It is the most taxed whilst the millionaires pay less than half the tax rate or none at all. No thanks to Wall Street greed I'm positive this a global epidemic. My husband is from a country in Europe that taxes at almost 50% so Irish and American tax rates are a breath of fresh air for him. We are going to consult a tax attorney because it's important for us to know how we will be taxed being expats. But you do have a point and we've prepared a budget for ourselves and won't accept anything below it. Wish us luck!
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Ballycoolin is commutable to from anywhere off the M50. From Clontarf it could be quite easily done off the back roads in no more than 20-25 minutes, if you're driving.
From Castleknock/Blanchardstown a lot less. I think I'd recommend from your tone and likes/not likes somewhere around Castleknock Village which has lots of nice restaurants and resources and also very close into town (but not too close). You're also near shopping centre/gym/whatever. I live on the road upto Ballycoolin and that would be my recommendation. Feel free to PM me if you need a property agent!
The other thing about round here is that the local hospital (Connolly) is meant to be the new Children's Hospital and there are many practices - my cousin is a nurse and is constantly being bombarded with work offers locally.
Hello amtc, from your description, Castleknock village sounds perfect. We'd like to live in a walkable neighborhood. I figure that at least for the first year we'd be better off living nearby his work as well as in a place with easy access to public transport and services. As soon as we have a solid offer I will PM you straight away for the property agent. That would be a huge help
You've peeked my interest about the local hospital! Currently I work in Pediatric specialties, more specifically surgery and Neurology. Although as I stated in a previous post, I am on the administrative side. One of my biggest regrets is not having gone to Nursing school. It would have made my transition easier as I'm sure I would just have to take board/licensing exams. Nurses, at least here in the states, make quite a bit of money, however it's also the reason healthcare is so expensive here. Over-inflated salaries. I'm going to keep this on my short list and PM you about this as well when the time comes, if that's ok with you?
Thank you so much amtc!0 -
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Procrastastudy wrote: »Just a quick note on driving - Our US relatives had to resit their driving tests - may have been because she had only ever driven an automatic but worth checking out. I realise you aren't importing your car due to cost but if you did think of doing it for some reason, bear in mind we drive on the left.
Hybrids - please don't buy one of these they are an ecological nightmare. Buy a modern nippy efficient small car.
Hello Procrastastudy (love that name, I can relate! ) I will definitely look into that. I think I'll get an International DL as well because driving on the left is going to take some getting used to so I'd like to have practice before sitting for a test, if that's even necessary. I'll admit, it should be required of people that have never driven on the opposite side of the road.
I've never heard of hybrid being an ecological nightmare. People here in my state are very environmentally conscience and hybrids are very common here. Do you have any links you could post about that? I'd love to read more about it.
Thanks for your input! 0 -
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Just on another note you do know how ridiculous the tax on wages is in Ireland is?
Hello Areyawell It can't be more ridiculous than the US or my husbands country, almost 50%! Can it? I read a little bit about and it seems to be around 20% up until 32,000€ then 40% thereafter. Is that correct? As expats we would be subject to US taxes or rather we would get a credit for any overages paid. Here we are up around 30% so I think it averages out. I'm not an accountant though. Consulting a tax attorney is definitely on the to do list. We really want to make an informed decision, which is why I'm on here getting as much info from you nice helpful folks Thank you! 0 -
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Girl About Town FoodieEdition wrote: »Hello Procrastastudy (love that name, I can relate! ) I will definitely look into that. I think I'll get an International DL as well because driving on the left is going to take some getting used to so I'd like to have practice before sitting for a test, if that's even necessary. I'll admit, it should be required of people that have never driven on the opposite side of the road.
I've never heard of hybrid being an ecological nightmare. People here in my state are very environmentally conscience and hybrids are very common here. Do you have any links you could post about that? I'd love to read more about it.
Thanks for your input!
One of the American relatives is an environmental scientist and hates them - I'll get some more info on both the hybrids and the driving test for you! Its the manufacturing process and chemicals in the batteries as far as I know.
Edit: As you seem to be aware OP but just to say it - tax in Ireland is very low compared to the rest of Europe. You're gonna love the statutory holiday entitlements though. 20 days minimum.0 -
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HI there,
What a big change for you coming here.
Can you rent your house? or is it a definitive move - do you not see yourself coming back?
Electrical stuff you are better off loading, as for the rest, depends on how much you like it - be ruthless and keep what you want - maybe decide to put it in storage for a while as you just don tknow how things will go once you come here.
Unfortunately - there has been no decision made on where to build a new national paediatric hospital, it has been going on for years and is still undecided.
There is an embargo on recruiting from the HSE, there are 3 public paediatric hospitals in Dublin and are overrun with admin staff.
New standards were brought out and the company managing this is www.hiqa.ie have a look at what they are currently doing, there is no particular quality system in place but we are working on it. JCI standards are in some private hospitals - the public hospitals cannot afford to apply for them but then they are american and dont particularly fit an ailing public health system here. BUT that said we are working towards a licensing system within the next 2 years.
This is another area that is overrun with healthcare staff as a lot of nurses want to get out of ward work and into a desk job. A lot of people left their jobs due to a good deal on early retirement and most of the nurses who took this offer are actually filling the jobs that admin staff would normally fill. This is an area where you will certainly not find a job unless you get a job with an agency and work as a temp in a hospital. with the embargo there are some posts being filled via agency.
If you buy a petrol car you could always service it yourself - I have only learned to do my own and its easier to manage. The tax on cars here is mad. But really a car would be beneficial to see some of the country when your husband is not working.
as for holidays - it depends as some of the USA companies take US holidays as opposed to our national holidays - it would be in the contract that the company would be offering him.
It all depends on where you both hope to be in 5 years time - do you see the move as being closer to his family? do you see it as a long holiday? and you will be heading back to the states? you need to think about it and depending on your age etc I would take it as time out.
Good luck working through all the various options - at least you are open to all the change, 0 -
Girl About Town FoodieEdition wrote: »Hello Areyawell It can't be more ridiculous than the US or my husbands country, almost 50%! Can it? I read a little bit about and it seems to be around 20% up until 32,000€ then 40% thereafter. Is that correct? As expats we would be subject to US taxes or rather we would get a credit for any overages paid. Here we are up around 30% so I think it averages out. I'm not an accountant though. Consulting a tax attorney is definitely on the to do list. We really want to make an informed decision, which is why I'm on here getting as much info from you nice helpful folks Thank you!
Watch out on the taxes! I pay 52% (including income tax and all the other levies) on all income over (I think) 43,000.
As a US citizen living in Ireland, you pay local Irish taxes and must file US taxes as well. Most people in relatively well paying jobs would have paid more tax under the Irish system than the US system, so you'll end up not owing the US anything. But it doesn't mean you'll get a refund to bring you back to the American rate of tax. The best place to get comprehensive information on living in Ireland is http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/
As for places to live, I'm a big fan of the coastal communities such as Dalkey, Malahide, Greystones, and Skerries. Might not be ideal for the commute though.
I moved here 4 years ago from northern NY state, but I'm Canadian. If you want some more advice on how things work here send me a PM.0 -
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Procrastastudy wrote: »One of the American relatives is an environmental scientist and hates them - I'll get some more info on both the hybrids and the driving test for you! Its the manufacturing process and chemicals in the batteries as far as I know.
Edit: As you seem to be aware OP but just to say it - tax in Ireland is very low compared to the rest of Europe. You're gonna love the statutory holiday entitlements though. 20 days minimum.+ 9 days public holidays
Thanks Procrastastudy and realgirl! That's music to my ears a lot of places in the US, you start with one week and have to work a few years to get two weeks and at least 5 years in some places for 3 weeks. It makes it hard to see relatives when you live far away. 0 -
lazeedaisy wrote: »HI there,
What a big change for you coming here.
Can you rent your house? or is it a definitive move - do you not see yourself coming back?
Electrical stuff you are better off loading, as for the rest, depends on how much you like it - be ruthless and keep what you want - maybe decide to put it in storage for a while as you just don tknow how things will go once you come here.
Unfortunately - there has been no decision made on where to build a new national paediatric hospital, it has been going on for years and is still undecided.
There is an embargo on recruiting from the HSE, there are 3 public paediatric hospitals in Dublin and are overrun with admin staff.
New standards were brought out and the company managing this is www.hiqa.ie have a look at what they are currently doing, there is no particular quality system in place but we are working on it. JCI standards are in some private hospitals - the public hospitals cannot afford to apply for them but then they are american and dont particularly fit an ailing public health system here. BUT that said we are working towards a licensing system within the next 2 years.
This is another area that is overrun with healthcare staff as a lot of nurses want to get out of ward work and into a desk job. A lot of people left their jobs due to a good deal on early retirement and most of the nurses who took this offer are actually filling the jobs that admin staff would normally fill. This is an area where you will certainly not find a job unless you get a job with an agency and work as a temp in a hospital. with the embargo there are some posts being filled via agency.
If you buy a petrol car you could always service it yourself - I have only learned to do my own and its easier to manage. The tax on cars here is mad. But really a car would be beneficial to see some of the country when your husband is not working.
as for holidays - it depends as some of the USA companies take US holidays as opposed to our national holidays - it would be in the contract that the company would be offering him.
It all depends on where you both hope to be in 5 years time - do you see the move as being closer to his family? do you see it as a long holiday? and you will be heading back to the states? you need to think about it and depending on your age etc I would take it as time out.
Good luck working through all the various options - at least you are open to all the change,
Hello Lazeedaisy yes, it's a huge change but my husband and I are pretty adventurous and love experiencing other cultures. Not having to learn another language makes it that much easier but I am looking forward to learning things Irish people say that Americans don't
As far as selling our house, we had actually planned on selling it regardless of whether we go to Ireland or not because we wanted to be on the west side of town which is in a different county. It's closer to work and the property taxes and utilities are less. Plus we have a neighbor that thinks he's Eminem and starts his rapping promptly at 7am which is fine during the week as we leave for work more or less at that hour but not so much on the weekend when we like to sleep in occasionally.
We haven't discussed whether this will be a long term move yet because we have yet to see the final offer. We would definitely be closer to my husbands family and in terms of having children that would be a good thing. His mother is more able than mine to help us through the early stages. In terms of traveling to visit our families, being in Ireland is more economical for us, believe it or not. For us to fly to California to visit my family, it's about $500 RT, and to fly to see his family in Italy, it's about $2,400 RT. In Ireland it would be between 150E to 300E on Ryanair to see his family, depending on the season and 1,100E to 1,600E on Delta to see my family. Huge difference!
I think, at least initially, we will put our things in storage but I will sell our appliances because it's not good to have those just sitting in storage and if we did move back we wouldn't be able to use them straight away anyhow because we would probably have to let a place and most come with appliances. Plus we can use the proceeds from the sale to buy whatever we need in Ireland. I wanted to ask about small electrics like my KitchenAid, food processor and blender/juicer. Are they very expensive in Ireland? Would it be worth it to bring mine there and maybe get some sort of adapter or should I sell them and buy them new there?
I'm afraid I may have to change careers if the nurses are taking admin jobs (I really should have gone to nursing school!). I would be fine with temp assignments via an agency or part time just to get my foot in the door. Otherwise, I'm not completely opposed to going back to university and doing something else. I might have to reinvent myself and that's not necessarily a bad thing
Thank you for all the information on the healthcare situation there. I really appreciate how helpful everyone has been. It makes me feel like there is a true sense of community there. I like that 0 -
hoser expat wrote: »Watch out on the taxes! I pay 52% (including income tax and all the other levies) on all income over (I think) 43,000.
As a US citizen living in Ireland, you pay local Irish taxes and must file US taxes as well. Most people in relatively well paying jobs would have paid more tax under the Irish system than the US system, so you'll end up not owing the US anything. But it doesn't mean you'll get a refund to bring you back to the American rate of tax. The best place to get comprehensive information on living in Ireland is http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/
As for places to live, I'm a big fan of the coastal communities such as Dalkey, Malahide, Greystones, and Skerries. Might not be ideal for the commute though.
I moved here 4 years ago from northern NY state, but I'm Canadian. If you want some more advice on how things work here send me a PM.
Hello Hoser expat, thanks for the link! I had a quick look and it's chalk full of good info. This is the kind of thing I am looking for so we can make an informed decision on whether we should make the move or not. In terms of healthcare, my husband is an EU citizen so he can use the social healthcare system there. By the time we get there I will have under a year to wait to become an EU citizen so I can use it as well thereafter. We're both pretty healthy people so I'm not too worried about that. Being here in the US, as I'm sure you know, even with insurance healthcare can be $$$. It's the income taxes, as you mention that will be the deciding factor.
The communities you mention would be my ideal place to settle there but as you said, the commute might not be the best. That's why I figured Clontarf would be a happy medium.
As we find out more, I will definitely PM you because I have a ton of questions and I'm sure I'll have more as things move forward. Thank you so much for your help! 0 -
Clonsilla is abit closer to ballycoolin, has a shopping centre roselawn .Like the usa ,theres tax credits,relief on rent,mortgages,medical expenses, etc
http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/it/leaflets/it1.html
Try not to rent a house thats close to a main road,or pub .
i think clonsilla,s abit cheaper re renting cost than castleknock and closer to ballycoolin, .
see daft.ie rent or www.rent.ie
clonsillas bout 15 minutes or less, drive from ballycoolin in rush hour.
from people i know in usa,
theres state taxes ,and home, property taxes which are much
higher than ireland,
so in general taxes would be lower in eire if you , are on say 40k , and own your own home.
MALAHIDE etc too far, maybe 50 mins drive in rush hour ,morning ,evening ,not a good idea unless you love being stuck in a traffic jam every day.
if i work in manhattan, i would ,nt rent a house in new jersey.
a smaller petrol or diesel car is better than a large hybrid ,
and much cheaper to buy.
last 4 years we are in a recession,
very few irish people can afford to buy a hybrid car.
Thanks for the links Riclad and the info on where not to rent a house.
You are correct about the taxes in the US. We have property tax, state and federal taxes. Fortunately, there is no sales tax in my state but they more than make up for it in state taxes. It's one of the highest in the nation. I'm sure it all evens out at some point. 0 -
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