Moving to Dublin from the US.

rito

Hello all. I'll be moving to Dublin temporarily (about 18 months) for work related reasons. Despite having an Irish born parent I don't know very much at all aside that Ireland is in island in the Atlantic. Being an IT professional the city of Dublin is now more and more on my companies radar.
Anyway I was looking for advice on where I should be looking for apartments. I'm not sure where exactly I'll be working except Dublin somewhere. I don't really mind a commute, I commute into the SF bay area frequently. I don't have any children or large pets. I'd like to spend less than 2,300 a month in rent. I also dont mind living about 45 mins to an hour drive outside the city.

How is the public transportation in Dublin? Though I'll probably end up owning a car either way. I'll take a bus or train to work since gas and diesel is sold by the liter there.
Is there much to do in the city? Art shows and the what not. Mostly my girlfriend is into that stuff
Where do I buy my groceries, housewares, hardware etc? Chains aren't even consistent between US states. I don't want to move there then starve cause I cant find a grocery store. Which I have done before.
Any other things I should expect when moving from the US?

January

For 2,300 a month you could rent pretty much in Dublin city centre and have everything you need on your doorstep. Actually could be done for a lot less depending on what type of accommodation you would be looking for. Check out www.daft.ie (Dublin 1 and 2 are the City Centre areas but there are some places you'd want to stay away from like Sheriff St and Dorset St). Most of the big companies such as Google, Facebook etc are south of the river and Paypal, Ebay etc are in the suburbs.

There are a few grocery stores, Dunnes Stores, Tesco, Aldi, Lidl, Supervalu are the biggest ones. For homewares, most accommodation comes furnished here but for crockery, cutlery, soft furnishings etc there are Argos, Arnotts, Clery's, Home store and More lots of little places.

There are a few theatre's in Dublin City.

Commuting wise... the bus and train services aren't stellar here but depending on where you live you may not even need them that much.

Cianos

I'd advise to post back when you know where you'll be working, then the people here can advise you on where to live. It makes a massive difference to not have to commute, and judging by your post you should have a lot of options to make your stay really enjoyable and convenient.

tricky D

Rents are fairly high in Dublin, but nowhere near the levels in the Bay Area so you'll have plenty of choice. Your commute will be a large factor so as already stated, you'll get better advice once you know where you'll be working.

JohnDx

It really depends were you will be working from and if you want to travel
If you want to remain close to city centre, you could try IFSC apartments, their based along river Liffey, about 5/10 minute walk from main thoroughfare., so you wouldn't need a car then.
If you want scenery, you could try Dun Laoghaire (sea port) 'harbour view apartments', with nearby dart rail (transport) linking to city centre in 15 minutes.
Dundrum or Sandyford would also be good, have nearby shopping center (supposedly 'biggest in Europe'), have links to city by Luas (light rail) in 10 minutes. For a decent place to rent you would be looking at around €1000/mth for 1 bed apartment.
For apt's/houses to rent check out; www.daft.ie
www.rent.ie

Things to do; There's plenty of pubs or bar's (as you say over there) to go and sample their drinks menu.

hfallada

You have you choose between whether you want to live in the city centre or the suburbs. Irish suburbs are nothing like American suburbs. Within 3 miles of the city in somewhere like glasnevin you can plenty of parks, wide roads and a pretty quiet place to live.

Although most tech firms are in Dublin 2. Although some like Microsoft are in sandyford which is a good bit outside the city. Intel is a thek outside the city.

You are probably better off in a house share until you finalise where you are working. Where you will do your grocery shop will depend on where you live.

Like America you are advised to have private health insurance. There is a public health system in Ireland. But if you are sick and need an MRI asap. You could end up waiting weeks, even months in the public system. With private health insurance you could have a MRI same day.

MadYaker

People here can't really give you much advice until they know where you're working. But if you're prepared to spend that much on rent you should be able to live pretty much anywhere.

ProudDUB

OP, with that budget, you'll be able to live anywhere you want. Daft.ie, and MyHome.ie are the most popular sites to search for rental properties. If I were you, I'd arrange a short term letting (Daft has a section especially for it) in an apartment and live there it for a month or two. Use it as a base to explore the city and the accommodation options open to you. That is what I did 3 years ago, when I moved back here from the States. It worked out really well.

Short term lets will be like a hotel. They will be fully furnished, have clean linens on the beds, china and glassware in the kitchens & will have utilities included in the rental amount. So you can step off the plane without having to sort all that stuff out for yourself. They are generally fitted out to a quite high standard, as their main market are corporate business travelers. They don't come cheap, but given your budget, you should be ok. They are usually in the city centre or close to it, given that that is where most corporate travelers need to be.

As for where you live long term, with your budget, you'll be able to afford a really nice two bed apt in a good area of the city centre, or in one of the posher suburbs. You would also be able to get a nice house a bit further out, in really good areas, if you want a garden and more space and be closer to beaches, parks, the countryside etc etc. Dublin does have good public transport compared to the US. There are some lovely towns along the coast (Malahide, Blackrock, Dalkey, Killiney, Howth etc etc) that are serviced by the Dart train, that could get you into the city centre in 20/30 minutes if you chose not to drive.

When you are looking online, most places will be sorted by post codes, not zip codes. Even postcodes are south of the river Liffey and uneven are north of the river. Dublin 1 and 2 are the city centre itself. Generally, the lower the postal code, the closer to the city centre it is. If you see somewhere listed as Co/County Dublin, you have moved past the official city limits. However, the county of Dublin is quite small. Unless you move to the far northern or southern end of it, you will generally still be within a commutable distance to the city centre, if that is where you will be working. If you'll be elsewhere, somewhere close to the M50 or M1 motorways, would be the best bet.

The Irish rental market is very, very different to the US one. There is no commercial residential market here, or large apartment complexes owned by property companies, where a certain standard applies, both in how they treat tenants and the standard of accommodation involved. Here, you will generally be renting from private individuals. The standard of what they offer and how they treat their tenants will vary wildly. Some times you will be dealing with your landlord directly. Sometimes he will hire a property management company to hire out his apt or house and find tenants for it, collect the rent and deal with any issues that arise during the tenancy. The standard of those companies can vary wildly too.

Irish rental properties are usually rented furnished. The standard there will vary hugely too. Although, as you will be renting at the highter end of the market, I'd imagine the standard of how house and apts will be furnished, will be higher.

Given all the uncertanties and variables, there is no way I would even try to rent a place sight unseen. Come over here, live in a short term let for a while and, then decide for yourself what and where will suit you best.

rito

Thanks everyone for all the advice. Looks like we'll be setting up in the Eastpoint Business Park on Alfie Byrne Rd. According to Google maps that's Dublin 3. I've been looking at listings for apartments, I defiantly get more for my money there than in San Francisco. The apartments look nice but a bit small, so I might be more inclined to a detached or semi-detached in a suburb outside the city.
There is a meeting with the clients in Dublin tentatively scheduled later this month so I'll use the time to look a a few rentals in the area.

I notice a lot, almost all, of the properties I see have either electric wall heaters or what look like radiators. Is there a reason for not having a central heating system?
I also wonder is there is a great phobia of shower curtains there as every bath/shower combo I've seen uses some glass/plexiglass door set up over the front half of the bath.

SterlingArcher

rito wrote: »

Thanks everyone for all the advice. Looks like we'll be setting up in the Eastpoint Business Park on Alfie Byrne Rd. According to Google maps that's Dublin 3. I've been looking at listings for apartments, I defiantly get more for my money there than in San Francisco. The apartments look nice but a bit small, so I might be more inclined to a detached or semi-detached in a suburb outside the city.
There is a meeting with the clients in Dublin tentatively scheduled later this month so I'll use the time to look a a few rentals in the area.

I notice a lot, almost all, of the properties I see have either electric wall heaters or what look like radiators. Is there a reason for not having a central heating system?
I also wonder is there is a great phobia of shower curtains there as every bath/shower combo I've seen uses some glass/plexiglass door set up over the front half of the bath.

Haha wait till you get an eye full of the horse and cart public transport, bring plenty of hay.

marcus2000

rito wrote: »

I also wonder is there is a great phobia of shower curtains there as every bath/shower combo I've seen uses some glass/plexiglass door set up over the front half of the bath.

Who likes shower curtains?? They cling to u in the shower. Give me a glass shower door any time :p

ProudDUB

Ok, Eastpoint is very, very close to the city centre. If you live in the IFSC (stands for Irish Financial Services Centre) you could almost walk to work in 30-40 minutes, or cycle. You could also take the bus or Dart to Clontarf Rd and take the shuttle bus to East Point. The IFSC has lots of banks and IT companies in it, and you are in the heart of the city centre, so you have all the amenities that that brings as well as the transport links if you decide not to get a car. Grand Canal Dock is on the other side of the river and the apts there are newer and more modern. The area also has good amenities.

East Point is beside the lovely coastal suburb of Clontarf. It is pricey, as it is so close to town (what we call downtown) and its on the coast, but it is definitely within your budget. There are loads of restaurants, pubs, supermarkets etc near by. There isn't much in the way of shopping (for clothes, household items etc) there. But you are only a 10/15 drive from the heart of town and, you would be able to get everything you would need there.

A bit further up the coast, are Sutton and Howth, both lovely parts of Dublin, with gorgeous beaches. If you go a bit inland, you'd be in Kilester & Raheny, again very nice suburbs, but the prices would go down as you head away from the coast.

Yes, for some reason, the Irish hate shower curtains. I have no idea why. I always whack my elbows off those stupid glass doors whenever I shower in them. :mad:

Houses will generally have central heating systems that run off gas or oil. Apartments will generally have no central system, but they will have individual radiators or heaters in rooms that you turn on and off as needed. Air conditioning is unheard off here. It rarely gets hot enough to need it, but we did have a very warm summer last year and I would have loved to have had it.

carlmango11

EastPoint. You poor soul. I work there. It's a collection of drab, identical buildings.

However there are plenty of lunch options. There is:

1 overpriced newsagents/sh*tty deli
1 overpriced sandwich shop

Oh wait, no. There are not plenty of lunch options.

It's on the DART line so if you rent along that line you should have a short commute. Clontarf might be a nice option. The website for EastPoint says the red line goes there but it's a fairly long walk or shuttle bus which apparently isn't as frequent as the DART station one.

If you want to live somewhere central maybe have a look at the IFSC or Grand Canal Dock. Both on the DART and nice enough areas that are very close to the heart of Dublin.

alastair

rito wrote: »

I notice a lot, almost all, of the properties I see have either electric wall heaters or what look like radiators. Is there a reason for not having a central heating system?
I also wonder is there is a great phobia of shower curtains there as every bath/shower combo I've seen uses some glass/plexiglass door set up over the front half of the bath.

Wait till you encounter Immersion heaters and Irish shower water pressure.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52bna-tn_dY

rito

alastair wrote: »

Wait till you encounter Immersion heaters and Irish shower water pressure.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52bna-tn_dY

I've been on business trips to the UK and had the same experience with water pressure.

wahesh32

rito wrote: »

How is the public transportation in Dublin? Though I'll probably end up owning a car either way. I'll take a bus or train to work since gas and diesel is sold by the liter there.
Is there much to do in the city? Art shows and the what not. Mostly my girlfriend is into that stuff
Where do I buy my groceries, housewares, hardware etc? Chains aren't even consistent between US states. I don't want to move there then starve cause I cant find a grocery store. Which I have done before.
Any other things I should expect when moving from the US?

Hi OP,

I’m an American living in Dublin, also working in IT (but in a different part of the city).

Public transportation can be either good or bad depending on where you are and where you want to go. It’s a lateral move from the US, since public transportation is practically non-existent in the US (except for a few cities). If you need to go directly to the centre, or anywhere along the DART, Green Luas, or Red Luas then the public transport system is great. If you need to go anywhere else (especially from one suburb to another) then it’s very hit or miss.

If you don’t mind taking the DART in either direction for up to 20 minutes, you can get a place in a nice village area that has most of the amenities you’ll need (areas like Clontarf, Sandymount, Blackrock, Dun Laoghaire, Dalkey) but those areas will be pricey and the apartments will be somewhat small. From those areas, the dart is every 15 minutes.
Similarly you could live along the Red Luas line (which has a bit of a bad reputation of having anti-social behaviour. I’ve never experienced it but I haven’t taken the Red Luas very much either). Expect to pay 1500eur or more for a small 2bedroom/2bath in a nice area.

The city centre is a good size, and there’s quite a lot to do. If you like theatre, there are a lot of plays. Irish people also love live music, so it’s practically everywhere. The museums are rather small but they’re nice (and mostly free). Food in restaurants tends to be quite a bit pricier than you’re used to paying in the US. And the price of alcohol in pubs is very expensive (at least 5eur a pint for beer, and cocktails are usually more than 10eur for a single drink).
Dublin also has a good amount of outdoors type activities. There is a long coastline, and mountains to the south and west (although they’re pretty small mountains). There are a lot of nice walks/hikes you can take that are generally very close to the city. (Such as the Howth Eye, Killiney Hill, Gray to Braystones walk, and several hikes along the Wicklow mountains).

Grocery stores are all over the place, and it’d be hard to live in an area near the centre where there is no grocery store within a 10 minute walk. There are essentially no US chains for groceries, housewares, hardware, etc. Tesco and SuperValu are reminiscient of Super Target (although a bit smaller). Aldi/Lidl is like the grocery area of a Walmart (although much smaller). Mark & Spencers is sort of like a Central Market/Whole Foods (but once again quite a bit smaller).

Housewares (and clothes) can be bought very cheaply at a Penneys (although the quality reflects the price). More expensive (and better quality) can be found at Dunne’s Stores.

For Hardware stuff, you can try Woody’s. They’re a bit like Home Depot/Lowes but smaller.

Electronics tend to be about 150% of the price that they are in the US. You can get clothes for similar prices if you shop smart, but electronics are always WAY more expensive here. Buy any laptops/phones/tablets in the US.
Bills are significantly cheaper here than in the US. Cable/Internet, cell phone, electricity are all at least half the price that I’m used to paying (my cell phone bill is 1/5 what I was paying in the US). There’s also (currently) no water bill, but that may change in the near future. One weird thing is that we have to use a private company to pick-up our trash. We pay when they pick it up (once a week), then pay depending on much our trash weighs (it’s a set price per kilogram). Property tax is also nominal here (a few hundred euro a year) compared to what I was paying in the US. In Texas I was paying 1.6% of my house’s value every year.

My last bit of advice is to take advantage of the fact you’re in Europe. Flights to the UK, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, etc. can be bought very cheaply and most places are within a 2 hour flight.

Good luck, and enjoy. Irish people tend to be a big gloomy/pessimistic about their own country, but are some of the nicest and funniest people I have ever met. If you’re act honestly and genuinely to people in Ireland, they will take very good care of you.

conorhal

There are plenty of apartments along the Luas red line that would be suitable, like Hueston South Quater or somewhere on Parkgate St. are very central. There are some dodgy areas further up the line though. The Luas will drop you down to the Point where a free shuttle bus goes to the business park ever 10 mins or so.

rito

Was in touch with the consulate here in San Francisco today. I am and have always been an Irish citizen. So I have been told. How strange.

alastair

rito wrote: »

Was in touch with the consulate here in San Francisco today. I am and have always been an Irish citizen. So I have been told. How strange.

You and many, many others. All you need is a single Irish grandparent, and they managed to get about a bit.

despot

wahesh32 wrote: »

Hi OP,

I’m an American living in Dublin

If you don’t mind taking the DART in either direction for up to 20 minutes, you can get a place in a nice village area that has most of the amenities you’ll need (areas like Clontarf, Sandymount, Blackrock, Dun Laoghaire, Dalkey) but those areas will be pricey and the apartments will be somewhat small. From those areas, the dart is every 15 minutes.

Similarly you could live along the Red Luas line (which has a bit of a bad reputation of having anti-social behaviour. I’ve never experienced it but I haven’t taken the Red Luas very much either). Expect to pay 1500eur or more for a small 2bedroom/2bath in a nice area.

The city centre is a good size, and there’s quite a lot to do. If you like theatre, there are a lot of plays. Irish people also love live music, so it’s practically everywhere. The museums are rather small but they’re nice (and mostly free). Food in restaurants tends to be quite a bit pricier than you’re used to paying in the US. And the price of alcohol in pubs is very expensive (at least 5eur a pint for beer, and cocktails are usually more than 10eur for a single drink).

Dublin also has a good amount of outdoors type activities. There is a long coastline, and mountains to the south and west (although they’re pretty small mountains). There are a lot of nice walks/hikes you can take that are generally very close to the city. (Such as the Howth Eye, Killiney Hill, Gray to Braystones walk, and several hikes along the Wicklow mountains).

Grocery stores are all over the place, and it’d be hard to live in an area near the centre where there is no grocery store within a 10 minute walk. There are essentially no US chains for groceries, housewares, hardware, etc. Tesco and SuperValu are reminiscient of Super Target (although a bit smaller). Aldi/Lidl is like the grocery area of a Walmart (although much smaller). Mark & Spencers is sort of like a Central Market/Whole Foods (but once again quite a bit smaller).

For Hardware stuff, you can try Woody’s. They’re a bit like Home Depot/Lowes but smaller.

In Texas I was paying 1.6% of my house’s value every year.

MadYaker

You sound like you're going to have a fair amount of disposable income so you should definitely take some time to travel around Europe. Keep an eye on http://ryanair.com/ie/ and you'll get cheap flights to pretty much anywhere. They are kinda like the Southwest Airlines of europe.

Also if you want to explore more parts of Ireland you'll need a car. Public transport outside of Dublin is either terrible or non-existent.

Just saw the post about you being an Irish citizen. That should make things a lot easier. It also means you can live and work anywhere in the EU without a visa or work permit if you get bored of Ireland

Dord

If you're working in Eastpoint then I'd suggest looking at places to live north and south of there along the coast. It's a bitch to get there without driving if you live west of there.

miss no stars

wahesh32 wrote: »

Housewares (and clothes) can be bought very cheaply at a Penneys (although the quality reflects the price). More expensive (and better quality) can be found at Dunne’s Stores.

Pennys and Dunnes are both bottom of the market price-wise. Quality in Dunnes for homewares tends to be a bit better, but it's certainly no higher than Ikea standards. Places like Meadows & Byrne and Arnotts would be better bets for quality homewares.

OP, if you'll be working in Eastpoint I'd be looking at Clontarf, Sutton and Howth if you're thinking of living outside of the city centre. They're nice areas that are an easy commute to East Point (Clontarf particularly easy). Your budget would easily allow you to live in somewhere really nice in one of those areas.

example: http://www.daft.ie/lettings/old-quay-sutton-strand-sutton-dublin/1395485/

miss no stars

Oh, just so you know for house hunting, we don't use the american system of labeling floors. Your first floor is our ground floor. Your second floor is our first floor (i.e. the first floor above the ground). Also, if you head over to the accommodation and property forum (link), there's plenty of information on common abbreviations you might see in adverts, as well as general information on renting here.

Eoin247

Hi OP, I live in grand canal dock myself and from reading this thread i think that an apartment near there might be what you're looking for. The entire area is very new and modern. Pretty much every building there was built in the last 15 years. There's a ton of stuff nearby restaurants, grand canal theater, Aviva stadium, gyms, shops etc. You can also walk into the very center of the city in 15-20 minutes. The area is served by a dart station.

Only downside to the place is that it's pricey to rent. It's worth it imo though.

As for transport to Eastpoint. Depending on your preference you can walk/cycle (There is a growing public bike scheme in dublin that i find very useful and cheap)/even take the dart. I noticed you said you might end up getting a car in which case you won't have to worry about the previous modes of transport i mentioned.

Toby Take a Bow

If you're really thinking of spending up to 2000 in rent (per month? is that euro?) you could easily get a nice, small house to rent in Marino/Fairview/Drumcondra. Only a short enough walk to work, and plenty of green areas (and the bay) for all the extra time you will be getting not having a long commute.

uvox

I live and work in both Dublin and San Francisco. You know the deal on the latter. Re: EastPoint Business Park - why not consider renting somewhere cool like in Portobello and cycling across to EP using the cycle paths? According to the Strava Ride Glassware on my Google Glass it's about 4.5 miles, less than 30 mins. Cycle paths almost ALL of the way.

K.Flyer

Anywhere in Clontarf would really be your best bet for East Point (Northside of the city) it would be a short walk or a quick cycle.
If you prefer an apartment with on-site management you could consider these
http://lansdownepartnership.ie/Property/Rental/1411953 they are right beside Google HQ on the Southside of the city but only a quick train ride or a 20 minute cycle to East Point.

Hrududu

uvox wrote: »

I live and work in both Dublin and San Francisco. You know the deal on the latter. Re: EastPoint Business Park - why not consider renting somewhere cool like in Portobello and cycling across to EP using the cycle paths? According to the Strava Ride Glassware on my Google Glass it's about 4.5 miles, less than 30 mins. Cycle paths almost ALL of the way.

I live around there and work in Eastpoint and the cycle is great. Less than 25 minutes and most of it is on segregated cycle lanes.

gavmcg92

wahesh32 wrote: »

Good luck, and enjoy. Irish people tend to be a big gloomy/pessimistic about their own country, but are some of the nicest and funniest people I have ever met. If you’re act honestly and genuinely to people in Ireland, they will take very good care of you.

You're a keeper! Turn in your passport and we'll grant you with an honorary Irish one!