Finding accommodation as a new arrival in Dublin

CDNCMA

Hi All,

I'm looking for recommendations, personal anecdotes, and opinions even on what might be the most appropriate means of getting ourselves housed as new arrivals in Dublin.

Relevant background:

We are currently planning to move to Dublin with a cash cushion, but potentially without a job secured. My spouse is EU (non-Irish), but I would be making use of the 2-year Working Holiday Visa programme (as a Canadian) so that my initial employment is not depending on his employment.

I am a recently qualified Chartered Professional Accountant (and Certified management Accountant) in Canada, and my spouse is a less recently qualified PMP designated IT project manager. We are both in our early to mid-30's and have at least 10 years progressive experience in our fields, including at manager levels.

We would be looking for a minimum of a 1-bedroom, 1-bath apartment (500 sq.ft.) for less than 1,300 euros per month that allows cats (we have 2) for the first year until we have both established long term positions in the local employment market.

My primary questions are as follows:

1. Previous landlord references. We have just rented out our house in Canada in preparation for the move in Feb-Apr 2016 so we would only have at most 6-8 months of being a tenant even in Canada. I suspect international landlord references wouldn't be accepted anyway. We have owned and occupied our house in Canada for 9 years before renting it out. We are still in the habit of fixing small things on our own.

2. Credit history. We have top tier credit in Canada, but this obviously means nothing in Ireland. I'd be willing to bring credit reports/references (i.e. from Banks, etc.), but I'm not sure what would be useful or even considered by a landlord. Would a cushion of funds make up for this (we're thinking of bringing over 30,000 EUR)? I absolutely understand how risky we would appear to a landlord, so I'd definitely appreciate any feedback from landlords on this board.

3. My spouse is 6'5". Ideally, we would want to furnish the bedroom ourselves as we would need both a bed frame without a foot board and a super king bed/mattress. How difficult is it to find accommodations that would fit a super king bed?

4. What does "double" mean on Daft.ie? In Canada "double" is a specific bed size and very few accommodations are rented furnished (fixtures & appliances only), but it appears on Daft that "double" simply means someone thinks a room could sleep 2 people and has a '2-person' bed. Are these two children, or a reasonable assessment of the requirements of two adults in others' experiences?

5. Any suggestions on areas that would fall within our budget and both have reliable transit and access to useful bicycle commuting routes?

I consider transit accessible if there is up to a 30 minute walk to a well serviced option (i.e. to a train line). This is the limit of what I will walk here in our Canadian winters (I have done this at -30 consistently). I would only be looking for part-time work, so bicycle commuting would be more important than transit initially. I have part-time remote work here in Canada that I will be continuing in Ireland.

My spouse may be able to drive in Ireland (we're still trying to determine license transfer options), but I'm not even legally licensed to drive here in Canada. So we need to be realistic and plan for not having a vehicle for commuting purposes. We currently have a car in Canada, but do not use it for our regular commute, so it won't be a significant adjustment for us in the short term.

6. As a last alternative, does anyone have any recommendations of agencies or agents that they have dealt with as a new arrival that they could recommend to me (I assume by PM)?

We have allocated a week in December out of a larger vacation to visit family to spend in Dublin as a pre-planning visit. Our current timeline is for a potential move in the February - April range, depending on housing. We expect we many need to be in Ireland before we have much success with our job hunts, but will certainly adjust our timelines if that changes.

Thanks for making it this far!

athtrasna

You have a whole load of obstacles there I'm afraid. Accommodation in Dublin is at a premium and difficult to secure. Added to that you'll have:

• No Irish employer references
• No Irish landlord references
• Pets - please note that the vast majority of apartment developments prohibit pets
• Most apartments come furnished, a double bed is traditionally 4.5 feet wide though smaller apartments often have a 4 foot double to make the room look bigger
• Properties are renting within hours/days, a landlord is unlikely to wait from December to Spring for you to arrive

Are you all set on Dublin? Any particular reason?

CDNCMA

athtrasna wrote: »

You have a whole load of obstacles there I'm afraid. Accommodation in Dublin is at a premium and difficult to secure. Added to that you'll have:

• No Irish employer references
• No Irish landlord references
• Pets - please note that the vast majority of apartment developments prohibit pets
• Most apartments come furnished, a double bed is traditionally 4.5 feet wide though smaller apartments often have a 4 foot double to make the room look bigger
• Properties are renting within hours/days, a landlord is unlikely to wait from December to Spring for you to arrive

Are you all set on Dublin? Any particular reason?

Thank you for your reply.
Yes, we are currently set on Dublin.
We do not expect the same level of employment opportunities in the smaller cities.

That sounds very similar to our local market before the oil price crash.

We would not expect a landlord to hold the apartment for us until our arrival. We would ideally be looking for places available February 1st or March 1st and take on the lease from that date (i.e. pay the first month's rent before we've arrived in Ireland, but having seen the property and negotiated it in person before hand).

In addition, we would also be prepared to provide larger deposits (e.g. 2-3 months) and pay first and last month's rent up front and to sign a shorter 6 month lease (as I understand significant tenant rights come into play after 6 months). Essentially, we understand we are on the surface less desirable tenants and would be willing to make some concessions in light of that. If need be we would be willing to take on a lease from January 1st.

We also are planning on potentially doing a staged move where one of us is in Ireland a month or so before the other, if necessary to accommodate requirements around taking possession. I've already given notice to my current full-time position either way for mid-February, it's unrelated to our move planning, but certainly beneficial to it. My partner will not provide notice until the month before we move as if our plans fall through it would be preferred to keep their current position.

Regarding pets, does this also mean that it is difficult to purchase an apartment that allows pets? We had considered purchasing an apartment in the 90-100K euro range using the equity in our house as an alternative, though as I understand property transactions can be very slow moving in Ireland compared to here even for local purchasers. I'm also not interested in having to move that much money when the CAD-EUR rate is so harsh. I do not recall seeing anything in the 50-100 postings I've looked through over the past 6 months indicating that a complex did not allow pets.

We would also be willing to consider commuter towns with a reasonable train station access, but do they also tend to apartments built prohibiting pets?

We are looking for employment prior to our move, and would hope to have something secured for at least one of us, but this is our 'plan B' option.

This brings up another question for me.

What level of salary would a landlord expect for the apartment budget (1,300) we are considering? I've come to this number by assuming we would take a 50% penalty to our current salaries as a result of having no local experience, and then targeted 30% of that (gross = 52,000 between the two of us) for our rent limit. We've generally lived well below the "standard" expected for our incomes (about 10-15% housing costs, 20% housing & transportation) so I'm not looking to find anything more than basic (with cats).

athtrasna

Landlords should not be given salary details, there is no reason for them to need them.

It's in the head leases of the apartments that pets are not permitted. This is rarely if ever mentioned in sales listings but when the contracts come through and documents from the management company, the ban on pets is there.

To clarify, when someone "buys" an apartment here they more accurately take out a long lease (usually 999 years) from the management company (the legal entity comprised of all owners that owns the buildings and common areas). The contract they sign is the head lease from the management company and that stipulates the rights and responsibilities of all owners, one being to comply with the development rules.

CDNCMA

athtrasna wrote: »

Landlords should not be given salary details, there is no reason for them to need them.

It's in the head leases of the apartments that pets are not permitted. This is rarely if ever mentioned in sales listings but when the contracts come through and documents from the management company, the ban on pets is there.

To clarify, when someone "buys" an apartment here they more accurately take out a long lease (usually 999 years) from the management company (the legal entity comprised of all owners that owns the buildings and common areas). The contract they sign is the head lease from the management company and that stipulates the rights and responsibilities of all owners, one being to comply with the development rules.

Thank you very much for that clarification.

We run into a similar issue with Condo boards over here, but it's at about a 50-60% level of the apartment style condos out there and mostly around dogs, not cats. More often, it's actually a clause requiring pet pre-approval, rather than an outright prohibition. Obviously, condos are a different set up than the management company set-up you've described, but I'm still surprised that it would be so prevalent. However, condo boards have also been known to put in restrictions on the number of rental units, or even on renting out units as well and I'm not sure if Management companies do that.

It sounds like this is at a 90%+ level of the overall apartment pool in Dublin.
Is there a general prejudice in Ireland against pets, or very low pet ownership levels that would lead to so much multi-family housing being constructed with blanket pet prohibitions?

Canadel

CDNCMA wrote: »

Is there a general prejudice in Ireland against pets

No, but there is against tenants.

CDNCMA

Canadel wrote: »

No, but there is against tenants.

That does not really seem to apply to the question of why apartments complexes would be set up with pet prohibitions across the market.

They're not exactly fond of tenants over here either and it was a landlord's market here for many years before the crash, and likely will be again when oil picks up. I would suspect it's not as restricted to Ireland as you may wish.

Gumbo

I think your big problem will be finding a unit that is available for viewing in December but not available for occupation until March!

Most people don't know if they are leaving a unit 3/4 months before hand.

You could look at empty units but a landlord will not hold it for 3/4 months, you would have to take it and start paying for it from December.

Arbiter of Good Taste

Canadel wrote: »

No, but there is against tenants.

Can we not make this a landlord v tenant thread please.

athtrasna

It's not a prejudice against pets it's an understanding that pets and high density living (apartment developments) are not compatible. Certainly not the vast majority of developments thrown up in the last 15 years. Noise being a key factor.

I know cats are much quieter but there are risks such as toxoplasmosis being transmitted in cat urine, causing a risk to pregnant women.

Landlords also have their pick of tenants and are less likely to choose someone with cats due to the increased risk of damage to fixtures and fittings.

Diane Selwyn

I don't think you will have trouble getting work with your qualifications - why not look at a short term rental so that you can decide what area you want to move to?

Re bed sizes it goes single, double, king, superking. There is also a small double or three quarter size that is really a bit too small for two people. Also rooms are often advertised as doubles when they are really only big enough for one person - unless you fancy a bunk bed arrangement!

Unless you already know Dublin really well you would want to live here for a while and become familiar with different areas before committing to purchase a property in my opinion.

Victor

CDNCMA wrote: »

We are currently planning to move to Dublin with a cash cushion, but potentially without a job secured.

While things are improving, indeed growing strongly, realise that the economy is still fragile. There is a list of prospective employers here: http://www.inou.ie/jobsboard/ and here http://www.cpaireland.ie/careers/jobsearch

Also, take a look here: http://www.payscale.com/research/IE/Certification=Project_Management_Professional_(PMP)/Salary and here: http://www.payscale.com/research/IE/Job=Certified_Public_Accountant_(CPA)/Salary and here: http://www.payscale.com/research/IE/Job=Chartered_Accountant/Salary but realise this may not be directly relevant for you - many accountants can get much better salaries. You will have to take a cut, because you won't be familiar with Irish systems unless you can find a Canadian-spcific niche.

I am a recently qualified Chartered Professional Accountant (and Certified management Accountant) in Canada, and my spouse is a less recently qualified PMP designated IT project manager. We are both in our early to mid-30's and have at least 10 years progressive experience in our fields, including at manager levels.

These sound like jobs that could get good salaries here. Talk to some employers and recruitment agencies. Do realise that certain things will be different here, especially for an accountant. Realise that employment packages, taxes and other expenses will be different there. Tax calculator: http://services.deloitte.ie/tc/ - but note that you can write off most health and pension expenses against income tax. You will need to consider tax on worldwide income, but not Ireland has a very extensive set of double-taxation treaties.

We would be looking for a minimum of a 1-bedroom, 1-bath apartment (500 sq.ft.) for less than 1,300 euros per month that allows cats (we have 2) for the first year until we have both established long term positions in the local employment market.

Have you looked at quarantine regulations for cats?

1. Previous landlord references. We have just rented out our house in Canada in preparation for the move in Feb-Apr 2016 so we would only have at most 6-8 months of being a tenant even in Canada. I suspect international landlord references wouldn't be accepted anyway. We have owned and occupied our house in Canada for 9 years before renting it out. We are still in the habit of fixing small things on our own.

Landlords need to be convinced. Get a job before you move here and get a reference from them, bring your landlord reference, be willing to pay a higher deposit.

2. Credit history. We have top tier credit in Canada, but this obviously means nothing in Ireland. I'd be willing to bring credit reports/references (i.e. from Banks, etc.), but I'm not sure what would be useful or even considered by a landlord. Would a cushion of funds make up for this (we're thinking of bringing over 30,000 EUR)? I absolutely understand how risky we would appear to a landlord, so I'd definitely appreciate any feedback from landlords on this board.

Realise that many landlords will see €30,000 as a reason to increase the rent.

3. My spouse is 6'5". Ideally, we would want to furnish the bedroom ourselves as we would need both a bed frame without a foot board and a super king bed/mattress. How difficult is it to find accommodations that would fit a super king bed?

I don't think it's a particular problem. However, realise that most Irish properties are semi-furnished or furnished.

4. What does "double" mean on Daft.ie? In Canada "double" is a specific bed size and very few accommodations are rented furnished (fixtures & appliances only), but it appears on Daft that "double" simply means someone thinks a room could sleep 2 people and has a '2-person' bed. Are these two children, or a reasonable assessment of the requirements of two adults in others' experiences?

Double means the room has a double bed (a 'marriage bed' as one person put it). Children's rooms would be single or twin.

5. Any suggestions on areas that would fall within our budget and both have reliable transit and access to useful bicycle commuting routes?

€1,300 works for Dublin for a one-bed. However, traffic can be awful, os you need to consider rent -v- travel time and costs.

I consider transit accessible if there is up to a 30 minute walk to a well serviced option (i.e. to a train line). This is the limit of what I will walk here in our Canadian winters (I have done this at -30 consistently). I would only be looking for part-time work, so bicycle commuting would be more important than transit initially. I have part-time remote work here in Canada that I will be continuing in Ireland.

Weatherwise, it rarely snows here and is usually gone by lunchtime. If it lasts longer, the country can fall apart. However, much of the winter is from -5C to +10C and either clear skies and cold or cloudy and windy / rainy. It will rain most days. This can be much harsher than a constant freeze. Summers are mild, so air conditioning isn't needed in homes. In fact, be suspicious of anywhere that advertises it.

Do check what broadband options are available at any prospective property (don't trust the landlord /agent to know or tell the truth).

My spouse may be able to drive in Ireland (we're still trying to determine license transfer options), but I'm not even legally licensed to drive here in Canada. So we need to be realistic and plan for not having a vehicle for commuting purposes. We currently have a car in Canada, but do not use it for our regular commute, so it won't be a significant adjustment for us in the short term.

Read here: https://www.ndls.ie/holders-of-foreign-licences.html#holders-of-licences-issued-by-recognised-states A car isn't essential in the city and can be a nuisance. Cars and motoring is expensive.

We have allocated a week in December out of a larger vacation to visit family to spend in Dublin as a pre-planning visit.

December isn't a particularly good month for this, people will be too focused on Christmas. Nothing gets done from December 23 to January 2.

CDNCMA

Diane Selwyn wrote: »

I don't think you will have trouble getting work with your qualifications - why not look at a short term rental so that you can decide what area you want to move to?

Re bed sizes it goes single, double, king, superking. There is also a small double or three quarter size that is really a bit too small for two people. Also rooms are often advertised as doubles when they are really only big enough for one person - unless you fancy a bunk bed arrangement!

Unless you already know Dublin really well you would want to live here for a while and become familiar with different areas before committing to purchase a property in my opinion.

Hi Diane,

Thank you for your reply. We are also considering them, but I have admit I haven't really been able to find many short term rentals that aren't executive level. This may be my own personal frugality at play, but I'd prefer not to have to resort to them even if only for a few months. That's just not our lifestyle.

Do you (or anyone else) have any recommendations of where to find short term rentals?
Are there any agencies over there known for this that perhaps I'm simply not finding in my searches? Are they maybe called something other than a short term let or rental? I have been looking through it for the past 6 months or so (since we decided to book in a pre-planning visit) to get an idea of where the market appears to be and I found a total of one apartment as a short term rental (paid upfront, etc.) for 1,500 eur (which we'd certainly consider for the first 3 months or so).

I know daft.ie has a section for short-term, but it largely seems to be focused on regular landlords that would be flexible on lease terms. I suspect they would not be flexible on any of the other points against us.

Thank you for the clarification on beds and room sizes. It is very difficult to tell form the daft ads, but quite a few 'double rooms' have looked very small to us (and by that I mean unlikely to fit a double bed nevermind a king/super king).

I also agree with you regarding purchasing property without being familiar with the city. It was simply an option we had considered when we saw 1 beds advertised for 90K Euros. You can't get one-bed/bath condos here for that price even at a 1.5 EUR-Cad exchange rate (though that may be due to the condo vs. management company structure).

CDNCMA

Victor wrote: »

While things are improving, indeed growing strongly, realise that the economy is still fragile. <snip>

These sound like jobs that could get good salaries here. Talk to some employers and recruitment agencies. Do realise that certain things will be different here, especially for an accountant. <snip>

Have you looked at quarantine regulations for cats?

Landlords need to be convinced. Get a job before you move here and get a reference from them, bring your landlord reference, be willing to pay a higher deposit.

Realise that many landlords will see €30,000 as a reason to increase the rent.

<snip>
Weatherwise, it rarely snows here and is usually gone by lunchtime. If it lasts longer, the country can fall apart. However, much of the winter is from -5C to +10C and either clear skies and cold or cloudy and windy / rainy. It will rain most days. This can be much harsher than a constant freeze. Summers are mild, so air conditioning isn't needed in homes. In fact, be suspicious of anywhere that advertises it.

Do check what broadband options are available at any prospective property (don't trust the landlord /agent to know or tell the truth).

December isn't a particularly good month for this, people will be too focused on Christmas. Nothing gets done from December 23 to January 2.

I've snipped out links and some items I didn't directly address to make this a bit smaller and comply with newbie restrictions.

Thank you for such a detailed reply. We're in Calgary and this is an oil town so the economy here is tanking at a rate not seen since the 80s. We weathered the 2008-2009 recession quite well, and have continued since then so now it's time to pay the piper, I guess. My spouse hasn't lost their job yet, but we strongly suspect it will come in the spring, so a struggling recovery is probably better than a full-scale dive either way.

I personally have wanted to experience living overseas and we think Dublin presents a good mix of lifestyle, opportunity and location, despite the hurdles presented (no overseas move was going to be stress-free). It's much closer to my husband's family than our current location without being too close for everyone's comfort. I actually quite enjoy Calgary's winters (I'm from somewhere more north and much colder), but I wouldn't mind winters where we can be active outside year-round with ease. And I don't enjoy hot summers (over 25C) so that was oddly enough a selling point for me on Dublin.

We've looked into cats and pet import regulations and Canada is on the approved third country list where they will accept paperwork from our vet proving the necessary vaccinations in lieu of the EU pet passports. It appeared to me that the clearing vet may actually replace our certificate with a pet passport at the point of entry, but that part remains unclear. The more difficult part for me is that they can only travel through cargo lines (i.e. not on our flights) and within 5 days before us into Dublin. There will likely need to be a few days of kenneling as a result.

Thanks for the tips about December, we're actually planning to be in Dublin from the 16th - 23rd for that exact reason and then travelling onward to Germany for holidays with family. We are looking to send out some CVs in the next week or so and potentially connect if any employers or even recruiters might be interested while we are in town.

Lately I've actually been more on the business intelligence/analysis side of accounting in Canada, and would likely try that first simply because of the exact issues you've mentioned.

I really appreciate the detailed information you, and a number of other posters, have provided. Thank you all!

athtrasna

Just a gentle reminder that this is the accommodation and property forum Also snipping posts is generally only done by forum moderators. Thanks

CDNCMA

athtrasna wrote: »

Just a gentle reminder that this is the accommodation and property forum Also snipping posts is generally only done by forum moderators. Thanks

Understood, and my apologies.

Tarzana2

athtrasna wrote: »

I know cats are much quieter but there are risks such as toxoplasmosis being transmitted in cat urine, causing a risk to pregnant women.

That risk is really tiny, especially as it's only a risk to pregnant women who have never been around cats before.

Victor wrote: »

It will rain most days. This can be much harsher than a constant freeze.

As a former avid cycle-to-worker, that isn't true, even in winter. It rains a lot less in Ireland than advertised. I was rarely cycling to and from work in rain.

testaccount123

CDNCMA wrote: »

I also agree with you regarding purchasing property without being familiar with the city. It was simply an option we had considered when we saw 1 beds advertised for 90K Euros. You can't get one-bed/bath condos here for that price even at a 1.5 EUR-Cad exchange rate (though that may be due to the condo vs. management company structure).

Daft has 14 apartments in Dublin priced at < 100k, They are either in undesirable areas or seriously distant from the city. For a place in a location suitable for two young professionals looking to work in and enjoy the city, you are looking at a LOT more to buy.

the_syco

CDNCMA wrote: »

Yes, we are currently set on Dublin.
We do not expect the same level of employment opportunities in the smaller cities.

Would you consider one of the nearby towns? How much commuting each way to work would you be prepared to do? A 100k won't get you much in Dublin, but may get you something nice whilst still near'ish via train and/bus.

CDNCMA

the_syco wrote: »

Would you consider one of the nearby towns? How much commuting each way to work would you be prepared to do? A 100k won't get you much in Dublin, but may get you something nice whilst still near'ish via train and/bus.

I personally love the idea of a smaller town for commuting or even a commutable rural property (I grew up on a small farm), my spouse sadly is not fond of the rural idea and skeptical of the small towns. Mostly because out here the satellite towns are quite the commute still.

Any towns/areas to suggest?

MarkAnthony

Try going direct to a landlord rather than through an agency you'll have more luck with non-standard requests such as Cats, references etc.

Also having a tall spouse I feel your pain ref furniture sizes, however on a practical level fitting a King sized bed into most one or even two bed Dublin apartments is probably your biggest obstacle!

Edit: I don't buy this salary = a reason for landlords to increase rents thing. The apartment is either at market rate for the area or it's not. Other than 'It's a rough area' conversations the second most talked about topic amongst the chattering classes of Dublin is the housing 'crisis'. It's not anywhere near as bad as people make out for professionals with a reasonable income.

CDNCMA

MarkAnthony wrote: »

Try going direct to a landlord rather than through an agency you'll have more luck with non-standard requests such as Cats, references etc.

Also having a tall spouse I feel your pain ref furniture sizes, however on a practical level fitting a King sized bed into most one or even two bed Dublin apartments is probably your biggest obstacle!

Would this be through contacting landlords on Daft.ie then?

It can be a challenge over here as well to find spaces that fit a kind, so I am concerned about that.

MarkAnthony

CDNCMA wrote: »

I personally love the idea of a smaller town for commuting or even a commutable rural property (I grew up on a small farm), my spouse sadly is not fond of the rural idea and skeptical of the small towns. Mostly because out here the satellite towns are quite the commute still.

Any towns/areas to suggest?

Look at the Northside suburbs. For not much more than you're suggesting for a one bed you should be able to find a reasonable house in Kilbarrack with a garden and a 15 minute DART ride into the City.

Edit: Example

MarkAnthony

CDNCMA wrote: »

Would this be through contacting landlords on Daft.ie then?

Exactly.

the_syco

CDNCMA wrote: »

Any towns/areas to suggest?

Google map of Dublin and it's surrounding areas, minus any labels. There are still those little towns dotted around Ireland, but the commuter towns can be towns within themselves.

The "middle western sprawl" is that of Lucan/Leixlip/Maynooth/Kilcock. Maynooth is one such place. Forty minutes on the train to Dublin, it supports a load of students, thus has a good nightlife. It's outside Dublin, but not totally rural. However, some of the estates do contain a lot of students, so something to keep in mind.

MarkAnthony wrote: »

Look at the Northside suburbs. For not much more than you're suggesting for a one bed you should be able to find a reasonable house in Kilbarrack with a garden and a 15 minute DART ride into the City.

Edit: Example

I've no experience renting northside, but once you get outside the "main" city, you can get good prices as shown.

=-=

TBH, if you're non-denominational, I'd suggest picking the place with the support of the kids in mind. No point in having to add an extra hour to your journey to drop the kids off to the nearest non-denominational school. Have a read of this thread to see why you pick your school first.

CDNCMA

the_syco wrote: »

<IMG>
Google map of Dublin and it's surrounding areas, minus any labels. There are still those little towns dotted around Ireland, but the commuter towns can be towns within themselves.

The "middle western sprawl" is that of Lucan/Leixlip/Maynooth/Kilcock. Maynooth is one such place. Forty minutes on the train to Dublin, it supports a load of students, thus has a good nightlife. It's outside Dublin, but not totally rural. However, some of the estates do contain a lot of students, so something to keep in mind.


I've no experience renting northside, but once you get outside the "main" city, you can get good prices as shown.

=-=

TBH, if you're non-denominational, I'd suggest picking the place with the support of the kids in mind. No point in having to add an extra hour to your journey to drop the kids off to the nearest non-denominational school. Have a read of <url> to see why you pick your school first.

Thanks for the description. I have seen a number of things and threads on Maynooth but it is difficult to gauge what the commutes are in reality. Sounds like a trip out to the west/northwest commuter towns might be worth including on our visit. We're expecting longer commutes for the first year anyway, since we both may not have jobs before we find housing.

No kids, but thanks for the tip.

the_syco

CDNCMA wrote: »

No kids, but thanks for the tip.

Think I may have gotten ye mixed up with the "Moving back to Ireland from Sweden" thread

There was a room under a stairs that was rented for €400 - renting in Dublin city centre is madness. This also means that the landlords can pick the person with a job who has no baggage over someone that does.

If you do find it hard to get a place, maybe say to the landlord/agency that you'll get it professionally cleaned when you leave?