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Arrived to Cork for work, but don't like the place. Having a cultural shock.
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There are a few of things to bear in mind about Cork.
Firstly, it's a *lot* smaller than London in terms of population, so quite obviously it's not going to have all the stuff London has and it can be quite a change to go from a huge city to a small one.
Secondly, it's mostly a Victorian City which tends to mean that the nicer accommodation is very hidden. If you walk through Montenotte, Blackrock, Sundays Well, there are absolutely huge houses but they are all hidden away behind walls and look completely invisible when you walk down the streets. However, if you walk along the riverfront at the Marnia or the Mardyke you'll see huge victorian villas perched on the hills.
Thirdly, I'd suggest getting out of a hostel a.s.a.p. Anywhere I've ever stayed in one they're absolutely miserable. It's fine if you're there as a back packer with loads of your mates and are willing to rough it, but if you're a grown-up with a job, they're not great places at all and you're unlikely to have the same kind of interests as the other guests.
Also bear in mind that in a small city (much like any small city in England) accommodation tends to focus around houses rather than apartments. So, if you've a decent income and you're planning on staying a while, I would start looking in areas like Blackrock, Douglas, Rochestown, maybe Wilton, Bishopstown if that's near where you work or if you're on the northside maybe Montenotte and Sundays Well.
It has loads of really nice accommodation it's just a matter of looking and avoiding the lowest rungs of the ladder in the city centre.
A lot of Cork people actually live in towns around the city so, keep that option open too.
Bear in mind too that there's a bit of a North/South divide in Cork, albeit not quite as clear cut as that. The area to the Northwest where Apple's located is a large collection of council estates. If you go to the Northeast it becomes a lot more affluent and leafy but kind of out of most people's price range.
On the south side, there's more of a suburban vibe. Areas like Douglas in particular have a nice suburban setting with loads of restaurants and bars and shops etc.
I had a very similar experience in London. Moved over and was working in quite an interesting job but my accommodation was horrendous. It was so bad I hardly ever went home before 9pm to avoid it and spent a lot of time miserable until I found a new house share.
It can be quite tough moving to a new city but I really think you'll grasp Cork quite quickly. It's just a matter of cracking the accent
In general, it's not very different to a small UK city in most respects and tends to have quite a bit more going on than most.
Check out the Rough Guides and Trip Adviser for a lot of tips.
Also, I'd say wander into a few artsy events or join something.
www.triskelartscentre.ie might be a good starting point for example.
Cork's not quite as buzzing as it was in 2005-7 but it's still got a decent amount of stuff going on for quite a small city.
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Also you've just arrived in the middle of a major downturn in the weather. It had been stunning for the last few weeks. I'm sure the heavy showers aren't helping.
The other thing to bear in mind is that in a small city like this, public transport is not how most people operate.
Ireland's one of the most car dependent countries on earth and you will not be able to access a lot of stuff without a car.
So, I would strongly suggest that you get one a.s.a.p. If you don't have a driving license, apply for a provisional and learn to drive.
A full UK or any EU license is valid here for driving and the rules of the road are very similar to the UK. The only differences are the shapes of the road signs and the speeds and distances are in KM rather than miles.
It's a really big issue, you're moving to what is essentially a city that is the hub of a big hinterland of interesting towns and villages with huge scenery around it and to access that you need a car.
London's the other extreme where a car's a major pain in the rear and public transport's the only way of accessing most things.
In the short term, I'd say base yourself in good quality apartment accommodation or a house that's in reach of the city centre. Check the bus routes carefully before committing to a lease if you're in the suburbs.
If you're home sick, get yourself a Tesco Mobile SIM. The calls to international destinations, including UK landlines are extremely cheap.
You can pick them up at the Kiosk in the Tesco on Paul Street.0 -
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Hm, I think I meant Blackpool, but mistyped:). I only passed it and the shopping centre seemed all right, though who knows?
As for Blackrock, how do I get to Hollyhill from there? I know 202 doesn't pass Blackrock. Am I right? do i need to change a couple of buses?
While this will be heavily disputed, many of the nicer areas tend to be south of the river in Cork. That's not to say that the north side doesn't have nice areas because it does, but it has less of them than the south. The problem with that is that naturally, the south side is a lot further from Apple.
If you're staying around Wellington Road, it's far from the nicest part of Cork. It's quite rough around those parts these days, and the streets around it like McCurtain Street aren't great either (although kind of up-and-coming). Like any city in the world, the inner city is never that great and always tends to be rougher than further out.
The 202 does go to Blackrock, but you need to stay on it through the city centre. It goes from Mahon to the city centre to Hollyhill and back. From the city centre, it goes from alongside the bus station on Parnell Place out to Blackrock.
I've had a look on daft, and there's quite a bit available in nice-looking house shares in decent areas for good prices. Here's some:
Old Blackrock Road, which would be a 5 minute walk to the nearest 202 bus stop, bringing you straight to Apple: http://www.daft.ie/searchsharing.daft?id=726769
Blarney Street, which isn't the best area but the house looks lovely, and it's relatively close to Apple: http://www.daft.ie/searchsharing.daft?id=724382
Parnell Place, right by the bus to Apple and to Blackrock (although might be noisy at night): http://www.daft.ie/searchsharing.daft?id=729736
Near Anglesey Street, so city centre and close to the bus. Friendly sounding housemates: http://www.daft.ie/searchsharing.daft?id=727681
River Towers is a gorgeous location in Sunday's Well: http://www.daft.ie/searchsharing.daft?id=729137
Old Blackrock Road again: http://www.daft.ie/searchsharing.daft?id=707464
Victoria Avenue - no photos available, but again, right on the 202 line and near to the city: http://www.daft.ie/searchsharing.daft?id=694604
Another lovely looking place on Old Blackrock Road: http://www.daft.ie/searchsharing.daft?id=729414
That's 8 places you could arrange immediate viewings of. Frankly, the sooner you're out of the hostel, the happier you'll be. They're only in the city centre too, there's tons more places out there in specific neighbourhoods (like Sunday's Well: http://www.daft.ie/searchsharing.daft?id=722419 and http://www.daft.ie/searchsharing.daft?id=728563).0 -
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I'm assuming you're working in Apple?
There's a good sense of community up there too. I'd suggest that maybe you have a word with the HR team and see if they've any advice on accommodation too or if they could put you in touch with someone in the office who might be able to act as a bit of a tour guide?
Or, even in an informal way just ask some of your colleagues if they could show you around.
From what I gather, they're a friendly bunch and there are loads of people from all over Europe working up there too.
So maybe rather than asking a Cork person, ask someone from say the Netherlands or something and you might get an interesting tour of the place.
If you're on pretty decent money, you should be able to get something very nice in Cork without too much difficulty. There are quite a lot of nice apartments in the city centre.
The other thing to bear in mind is that there's often some room for negotiation on rents. So, feel quite free to bargain them down a bit. There's a property slump at the moment, although still some pressure on rentals in the city due to a lot of people that would ordinarily buy being in the rental market at the moment.
Sometimes you can get better value in terms of rental houses in the suburbs than on apartments in the city centre too as demand is driven by younger people working in some of the IT companies, particularly continental Europeans who always seem to be a little loathed to be anywhere not right in the city centre.
Personally, I'd say if you're hear for a year+, maybe embrace the more sedate suburban life style and dip in and out of the city centre as needed. There's a lot to be said for having a house with a garden and all that stuff.
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The other thing to remember is that it's only the size of say Norwich or Aberdeen. It's about half the size of Edinburgh or Brighton!
Irish people and Cork people will tend to over-blow its size quite a bit.
There's about 198,000 in the immediate city built up area and about 300,000 in the city + hinterland and close on half a million in the county, which is a huge area physically.
Where as Dublin is the 5th most built up area in the Ireland and Britain around 1.1 - 1.2 million people in the immediate urban area.0 -
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There are a few of things to bear in mind about Cork.
Firstly, it's a *lot* smaller than London in terms of population, so quite obviously it's not going to have all the stuff London has and it can be quite a change to go from a huge city to a small one.
Secondly, it's mostly a Victorian City which tends to mean that the nicer accommodation is very hidden. If you walk through Montenotte, Blackrock, Sundays Well, there are absolutely huge houses but they are all hidden away behind walls and look completely invisible when you walk down the streets. However, if you walk along the riverfront at the Marnia or the Mardyke you'll see huge victorian villas perched on the hills.
Thirdly, I'd suggest getting out of a hostel a.s.a.p. Anywhere I've ever stayed in one they're absolutely miserable. It's fine if you're there as a back packer with loads of your mates and are willing to rough it, but if you're a grown-up with a job, they're not great places at all and you're unlikely to have the same kind of interests as the other guests.
Also bear in mind that in a small city (much like any small city in England) accommodation tends to focus around houses rather than apartments. So, if you've a decent income and you're planning on staying a while, I would start looking in areas like Blackrock, Douglas, Rochestown, maybe Wilton, Bishopstown if that's near where you work or if you're on the northside maybe Montenotte and Sundays Well.
It has loads of really nice accommodation it's just a matter of looking and avoiding the lowest rungs of the ladder in the city centre.
A lot of Cork people actually live in towns around the city so, keep that option open too.
Bear in mind too that there's a bit of a North/South divide in Cork, albeit not quite as clear cut as that. The area to the Northwest where Apple's located is a large collection of council estates. If you go to the Northeast it becomes a lot more affluent and leafy but kind of out of most people's price range.
On the south side, there's more of a suburban vibe. Areas like Douglas in particular have a nice suburban setting with loads of restaurants and bars and shops etc.
I had a very similar experience in London. Moved over and was working in quite an interesting job but my accommodation was horrendous. It was so bad I hardly ever went home before 9pm to avoid it and spent a lot of time miserable until I found a new house share.
It can be quite tough moving to a new city but I really think you'll grasp Cork quite quickly. It's just a matter of cracking the accent
In general, it's not very different to a small UK city in most respects and tends to have quite a bit more going on than most.
Check out the Rough Guides and Trip Adviser for a lot of tips.
Also, I'd say wander into a few artsy events or join something.
www.triskelartscentre.ie might be a good starting point for example.
Cork's not quite as buzzing as it was in 2005-7 but it's still got a decent amount of stuff going on for quite a small city.
...
Also you've just arrived in the middle of a major downturn in the weather. It had been stunning for the last few weeks. I'm sure the heavy showers aren't helping.
The other thing to bear in mind is that in a small city like this, public transport is not how most people operate.
Ireland's one of the most car dependent countries on earth and you will not be able to access a lot of stuff without a car.
So, I would strongly suggest that you get one a.s.a.p. If you don't have a driving license, apply for a provisional and learn to drive.
A full UK or any EU license is valid here for driving and the rules of the road are very similar to the UK. The only differences are the shapes of the road signs and the speeds and distances are in KM rather than miles.
It's a really big issue, you're moving to what is essentially a city that is the hub of a big hinterland of interesting towns and villages with huge scenery around it and to access that you need a car.
London's the other extreme where a car's a major pain in the rear and public transport's the only way of accessing most things.
In the short term, I'd say base yourself in good quality apartment accommodation or a house that's in reach of the city centre. Check the bus routes carefully before committing to a lease if you're in the suburbs.
If you're home sick, get yourself a Tesco Mobile SIM. The calls to international destinations, including UK landlines are extremely cheap.
You can pick them up at the Kiosk in the Tesco on Paul Street.
Thanks so much for taking your time in giving such a detailed reply! Really appreciate it. I don't have a car nor driving licence, but will, probably, need to get one in the future. I know it is quite essential in a place like this.
As for the Irish accent-lost case scenario. Being extremely good with accents and all sorts of dialect,I simply cannot crack this one. One lady was trying to speak with me on the bus stop today. All I could do is stand there like a freshy who doesn't speak English. Haha. Too much used to the queen accent. The job I had before was in the city, London, and you only have BBC English speakers, so, yes, it is quite a change:). But hopefully I will get used to it at some point.0 -
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ABajaninCork wrote: »Look. I live here and still struggle with the accent sometimes! I joke that I'm not married as I couldn't understand my husband's responses!
Hahahaha
I know exactly what you mean! My husband is Scottish and, oh dear, do I struggle to understand him on the phone! Hehe. And that's after 4 years of spending every day together! I sometimes tell him my ears are blocked, so I can't hear properly. His relatives' accent is even worse, as they are from a village in East Lothian. Oh dear! My brother in law was telling me a fascinating story once and commented I am the only one who never asks to repeat anything! Yeah, that was because I didn't understand a word, so didn't know what to ask!0 -
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Nonoperational wrote: »London to Cork is a huge huge change. Give it a few weeks and get settled in your job and reassess the situation. You'll get used to it...
Thanks. Trying to do my best.i am usually very optimistic and trying to find sometng positive in each situation, so I think it starts working for me and I can already see the beauty of Ireland. You are right, it is a huge difference, which I expected, but didn't know it would be THAT huge. Thank you for encouragement 0 -
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