Cost of living in UCC Vs. UCD

pharmacrunch

Hey all,

Just looking to get a few opinions here on the cost of living in Cork v. Dublin as both of these colleges are a possibility for me (results depending). Hopefully there's some current GEMS out there who will oblige!

Mainly interested in the cost of rent and day to day living/budgets in the respective areas of the city (i.e. college road Vs south side dublin).

Thanks,

P

MathsMedMixed

pharmacrunch wrote: »

Hey all,

Just looking to get a few opinions here on the cost of living in Cork v. Dublin as both of these colleges are a possibility for me (results depending). Hopefully there's some current GEMS out there who will oblige!

Mainly interested in the cost of rent and day to day living/budgets in the respective areas of the city (i.e. college road Vs south side dublin).

Thanks,

P

I am not a GEM student (yet), but day to day outgoings will depend on individuals. Not sure, but I think it'd be more or less same. As for rent, you could look this up on daft.ie.

scallywaggles

It will be cheaper to live in Cork, mainly due to rent and transport. In Cork there is surplus of student accommodation owned by UCC and other private student residences so most people live within 15 mins walk of campus, and a lot of people even nearer. Everything else will be much the same, just rent and transport costs are the main difference. But then again it depends on where you live and how often you will go to/from Cork or Dublin, those expenses can add up too. Agree with the other OP though, get an idea of the rents off Daft, or go onto both of the universities and have a look at their residence fees.

pharmacrunch

Thanks for the advise scallywaggles! I have lived in Cork before so know what its like - its great the fact that you can essentially walk anywhere.

Have been checking on daft to get an idea of prices etc but they all seem to be advising summer accommodation.

Can any GEMS advise on what they are paying rent rise during the year for their accom in UCD and where exactly it is in relation to UCD?

Would be greatly appreciated just to get an idea!

scallywaggles

Dublin rents around ucd are usually 500 to 650 plus bills on top, most are 1 year lease so you will be paying over the summer. The further away except city centre the cheaper it gets but then start adding transport costs or get a bike. Campus accommodation is slightly more expensive but competitive to get and can be noisey as you'd be sharing with early year undergrads. Loads of house or flat shares around ucd just start looking early before regular cao results are out. You'll want a room with space for a study desk, it'll become your reluctant best friend

pharmacrunch

Right - that could be a defining factor being honest ! Will have to find somewhere with cheap rent! Potentially somewhere like stillorglin/goats town/sandyford areas!! Dont think I could afford 500+ rent a month being honest

nomoreexams

I've rented in Dublin for 10 years now and I've never paid more than €500 to rent a room in an apartment or house either with friends or through finding roommates on daft. I've lived in the city, centre, north side and south side. It's definitely possibly to get reasonable rent but once all the students start to get cao results the reasonable places start to get rented very quickly- supply and demand results in the remaining places charging higher rents. I don't know of anyone in my class that got stung for rent this year so if you start looking as soon as you get results and don't drag your heels you'll be fine.

As regards transport, if you want to save money you can't beat the good old bike. Buses can get expensive depending on where you're living but you can get a student leap card to use on the bus which will reduce costs a good bit.

Another consideration may be part time work, could you get a part time job easier in cork than in Dublin?! This may be important down the line.

I've never lived in Cork so I can't really comment on it in comparison. But I'd imagine the day to day expenses will be the same, food and bills so rent really will be the main consideration in terms of expense. Most importantly make your decision based on which college you prefer; the difference in living expenses over 4 years is negligible in comparison to choosing the right college for you.