Moving to Ireland...

OHCAC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122520040#Comment_122520040

Ah no, I'm well aware that there will be things I'm not used to, sights and smells etc! Just like the freedom the country has to offer, but of lands for the kids to run around in, being able to grow my own food etc.

enricoh

Know plenty of Brits living here, many met their Irish missus over there n relocated here. Most of em happy enough here I reckon.

Property prices are inflated due to multinationals corporation taxes here, I think that is going to be under pressure going forward and we are peak prices.

Mates moved to France and I was astounded as to what they got in a rural town for 250k. Maybe the area was undesirable, I dunno.

CelticRambler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122519660#Comment_122519660

Definitely better value, that's for sure. 750k is about five times as much as you'd need for a decent house and 2ha.

My neighbours' 4-bed 3-rec +2ha has just gone on the market for 120k. Very rural; bus stop 100m away (free travel to/from school for the children), three railway stations within 25km. Son No.1 + GF have just spent a long weekend with me, having public transported themselves from Antwerp.

I have strong family ties to rural Ireland, east and extreme west, but having sampled the continental lifestyle, there's no way I'd swap it now for a modern Irish one.

RiderOnTheStorm

just my tuppence worth …..

Very hard to get away from it all AND have facilities ….. its usually one or the other. You can go to a remote area and get house & land for that money, but you wont have great amenities / facilities. The closer you get to Tesco, the more the price goes up. It may seem attractive now to be miles away from shops / noise / motorways , but if you get sick and need an ambulance (or fire brigade, etc) then you are in trouble. In the Ambulance service they talk about death-by-geography, where some 999 call that could be dealt with in very straightforward way if in a big town / city , then becomes life threatening if you are an hour away from a big town. And thats a lot of Kerry , Cork , etc

However ….. my mate worked for a long time in Bantry and said the place was full of Dutch / English / Germans etc who wanted to leave the rat-race behind but still wanted good broadband (that was his joke) , so thats my recommendation for balance (well, the general area of W Cork / Bantry). And with a great mix of nationalities , the ex-Londoner wont be slagged to death (because that will happen in lots of areas)

Last recommendation, visit a few places before you settle. Dublin is not Ireland. Make a list, bring car over and stay a while in local B&Bs and see what you like. Its a big decision, so take your time.

Hope you find something that ticks all your boxes!

gipi

Another thing to keep in mind is the availability of good broadband, if that's important to you. You haven't mentioned how you're going to earn a living, (not that I want to know), but if, for example, you'll be a remote worker, the quality of broadband could be make or break for an area.

ednwireland

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122520140#Comment_122520140

starlink is a bit of a game changer in that regar. we live less than 2km from a town and never had good Internet. bit of a blackspot for mobile as well go starlink a few months ago and its been brilliant.

Unknownability

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122519623#Comment_122519623

I have never heard anybody state his accent was anything to do with his murder.

Terrible thing to associate with it especially as it's the time of his anniversary.

LambshankRedemption

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122520040#Comment_122520040

There was a peasant who for years had coveted his neighbor's house; not for the house itself, which was almost a ruin, but for the land that was attached to it. He offered to buy the property, but his neighbor, taking advantage of the sharp rise in house prices, accepted a higher offer from a Parisian. During the winter, the Parisian spent millions of francs renovating the house and installing a swimming pool. Finally, the work is finished, and the Parisian and his chic friends come down for the long First of May weekend. They are charmed by the house and amused by the quaint old peasant who lives next door, particularly by his habit of going to bed at eight o'clock. The Parisian household is awakened at four in the morning by Charlemagne, the peasant's large and noisy cockerel, who crows nonstop for two hours. The Parisian complains to the peasant. The peasant shrugs. It is the country. Cocks must crow. That is normal. The next morning, and the morning after that, Charlemagne is up and crowing at four o'clock. Tempers are getting frayed, and the guests return to Paris early, to catch up on their sleep. The Parisian complains again to the peasant, and again the peasant shrugs. They part on hostile terms. In August, the Parisian returns with a houseful of guests. Charlemagne wakes them punctually every morning at four. Attempts at afternoon naps are foiled by the peasant, who is doing some work on his house with a jackhammer and a loud concrete mixer. The Parisian insists that the peasant silence his cockerel. The peasant refuses. After several heated exchanges, the Parisian takes the peasant to court, seeking an injunction to restrain Charlemagne. The verdict is in favor of the peasant, and the cockerel continues his early morning serenades. Visits to the house eventually become so intolerable that the Parisian puts it up for sale. The peasant, acting through a friend, manages to buy most of the land. The Sunday after the purchase goes through, the peasant and his friend celebrate with a huge lunch, the main course of which is Charlemagne, turned into a delicious coq au vin.

Maybe Province is out for the OP too…

beachhead

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122520347#Comment_122520347

Sounds like an excellent french cine plot.Only problem 2 people would need at least 2 cockerels each to make a meal.

beachhead

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122520345#Comment_122520345

It wasn't.he was at a late party that went wrong for him.I'd say due to xenophobia at it's heart.

yagan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122519790#Comment_122519790

Couldn't find the exact one but searching with "buying a farm in IReland" through up a few channels with people doing exactly what you're thinking of.

As others have said safety isn't really an issue, but getting on with your neighbours is, especially if you go rural.

I guess if you're seriously considering a move you have to make a few trips, especially in winter when you'll get a better idea of what rural life can be life.

I'm a townie who tried doing rural and I couldn't hack it. You can get houses in towns with gardens big enough to grow veggies but obviously you can't keep farm animals within town limits. Plus becoming your kids taxi cannot be warned against enough.

mariaalice

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122520388#Comment_122520388

Sorry if I phased it incorrectly but the xenophobia must have been based on something the funny thing is his had recent ancestress who came from the areas so he was part of the community its very odd.

Anyway Ireland has changed enormously in the last 20 years.

con___manx1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122519268#Comment_122519268

There is close to 300000 British people living in Ireland in 2024. Yes they will get some stick especially if they are going down the pub watching an England match or something but thats to be expected considering our history.

it would be a minority that would have a serious anti brittish centement. It would be more the older generation than the young.

If 300000 are living here it cant be that bad.

I agree with everything else you said pretty much. The tax the middle income earners pay is ridiculous. To much old money in Irealnd.

yagan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122520428#Comment_122520428

I think I read in the last census that of that 300.000 half were duel passport holders, probably born in the UK and moved back.

I also know an English lad with zero Irish ancestry who let his UK passport lapse once he got his citizenship here.

thereiver

In small towns the crime rate is low ,you,ll have to drive a long distance to work though . most migtants go to citys as that's where the jobs at are unless you do online tech work .look for towns at least 20k population .look on daft ie my home.ie

Geuze

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122519589#Comment_122519589

Galway city is like that, the county not so much.

Geuze

Lowest house prices are in west / north midlands, i.e. east Mayo / Roscommon / Longford / south Sligo.

I'd say, in general, house prices are higher in Cork and Kerry than in rural Co. Galway?

Geuze

Large detached house near small town in Co. Roscommon:

Geuze

House and 6.2 acres:

thereiver

My advice buy a house no more than 15 mins drive from the local town. town must be big enough to have 2 supermarkets and a primary school,secondary school, eg at least 10,000 population.

dexbonus on youtube, bought a house in england with a few acres .she has a few sheep and some chickens.one child .she makes gaming videos.

every shop,hotel ,cafe has non irish people working there .

my experience is children gradually lose their accent , if they are young after a few years.

A medium sized town will have schools ,library, supermarket , sports facilitys,gyms etc

rent is very high in ireland, theres a housing crisis . young people are leaving ,theres a shortage of teachers and nurses .

tinytobe

If moving to Ireland is of interest, housing will be the biggest concern. If you can't afford to buy, don't move to Ireland, it's as simple as that.

I'd consider Tralee or Killarney, both not too far a away from Shannon airport, but big enough in size for schools, supermarekts, family, and halfway reasonable prices if size and land is concerned.

Vita nova

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122520382#Comment_122520382

Exactly, sounds like something that Marcel Pagnol would have written and set in Provence. A variation on the movie Jean de Florette.

mykrodot

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122521651#Comment_122521651

I'm from Dublin/Meath and moved to Kerry last year. Tralee has a rougher reputation than Killarney but both towns are experiencing huge changes in their demographics, a very large mosque in Tralee and a huge amount loss of tourist accommodation in Killarney has gone into Government contracts for migrants which has resulted in many restaurant and small business closures. Housing is at a premium.

OP be aware that the Summer in rural Ireland is very different to the Winter. Many people I know in Kerry & Cork escape from here to sunnier climes in the Winter as it can be very dark and very bleak. If you are living in a big house surrounded by lots of land it will be dark and very quiet and everything will be a car journey. It will be a huge change from London. Visiting a place on holidays in Summer is very different to living in it all year round. I am Irish and knew Kerry well but it is still a very big adjustment to live here all the time.

While I live in West Kerry, I regularly go to South Kerry and house sit a friend's house. He is a lovely English man with a very posh accent, he only spends a few months a year here in Kerry. He has had regular falling out with the local farmers/neighbours and the Gardai have been involved a few times. This is over poaching on his land, badger and fox hunting etc. Locks on gates have been broken and fencing removed. Some of these local older farmers are a law onto themselves. His firmly believes his posh English accent aggravates them even more.

I think Galway might be more cosmopolitan! Sligo is also stunning. However anywhere on the West and South Western seaboard of Ireland seem to be getting wetter and wetter every year!

Slightly Kwackers

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058365081/moving-to-ireland

Why?

Southerners usually sell up and buy family homes in North Wales, Anglesey is a choice spot.

Nice scenery, cheap, although they are apt to speak Welsh in your presence as for some strange reason they are a bit miffed about having their kids priced out of their heritage.

I think you need to seriously think about why you want to move and how you want to live.

I found London people quite different and hard to get used to when I lived in the English Midlands.

It's still pretty friendly here and very welcoming, but I notice with the influx of English accents in residence, there is a proportionate increase in no trespassing and private property signs. In what was a very outgoing area, that is not a pleasant change.

Them damn things were alien in my youth, in fact the whole thing about English footpaths was totally ridiculous where you had to trample a crop diagonally through a field if the map portrayed it.

Here you just walked where you wanted and avoided crops by sticking to the borders.

Sorry if I seem negative, but I did a lot of work in and around London, there was nothing and no one that I found attractive about the place. Chalk and cheese if you compare it to anywhere in Ireland, even Dublin.

Unless you have connections here or an affinity, you would probably be better to try sticking the pin in another map.

thereiver

As you go west the weather gets colder and wetter in terms of rainfall even in the summer

tinytobe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122521745#Comment_122521745

Yep, Galway and Sligo are also very good choices.

Shauna677

OP, west cork is beautiful. Come and visit.

https://www.property.ie/property-for-sale/Bela-Vista-Kilnameela-Clonakilty-Co-Cork/19827254/

afkasurfjunkie

East Galway, south Roscommon, Westmeath all nice enough places. You’ll get a decent 4 bed for less than 400k. Somewhere near the M6 motorway. I can be In Shannon airport in 60 mins, Dublin in less than 90. Roscommon has some type of social media drive at present encouraging people to move there. Know a few people in my town who moved back or from England. Zero issues from an anti-English perspective.

mariaalice

The OP we ill be grand they sounds sensible, west Cork, Clare, Sligo are lovely and have diverse populations for a long time, the OP is not a wealthy early retire they have a family they will be involved in the community that makes a difference.

AnnieinDundrum

14 year old will possibly be looking at uni or college of some type in 4 years. Certainly cheaper to go to uni in Ireland than in UK, at least fees are lower but living away from home is expensive and there aren’t universities in rural areas.

AnnieinDundrum

you don’t mention work opportunities for either you or a partner so I’m guessing you are independently wealthy. I’d rent for a while before investing

mykrodot

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122522312#Comment_122522312

I would definitely rent a while before buying. Good advice!

You have no idea of an area if you haven't spent time there. As an Irish person moving to Kerry 2 years ago I initially went "sale agreed" in a different part of Kerry to where I am now as I fell in love with the house. I was allowed stay there under a "caretaker" agreement while Planning Permission was sorted (yeah I know things are done differently in Kerry!) . In those 3 months lots of other issues came up with the house. But more importantly I quickly realised the area was not for me! I felt so isolated and watched. Lots of cars driving past slowly looking at me unpacking shopping etc. People wanting to know all about me and my story but no information back. The house had been built on family land and the family were in houses behind mine, I felt observed all the time. Everyone in the area was local, settled and quite old.

Luckily my Solicitor told me to pull out of the purchase as there were major structural issues. I had a lucky escape. If the sale hadn't been delayed for PP reasons I would be stuck there now, utterly depressed. My point being , live in an area and get to know the locals and the neighbours first, if you possibly can. Its a harsh reality being in a place full time, rather than a few weeks holidays a year.

greenpilot

Go West of the Shannon. I moved here 30 years ago, first to Westport, which was unbelievable back then, before it became very busy with Tourists, then on to a place near Knock Airport. Mayo is an incredibly wonderful, safe, relatively economically favourable county to raise a family, or if you're older. Lots of British ex-Pats here, so you'll settle in.

If you don't mind the rain, enjoy peace and solitude, make an effort with getting to know the local community and have a car, you'll never look back. Even take a look at what €300,000 will get you in Mayo/Roscommon. You get a lot of bang for your buck. Plus, you'll get to know what a "Meitheal" means. Trust me, come winter, it will become part of your vocabulary! Schools are fantastic too, by the way. Great University in Galway and fantastic colleges in Sligo and Athlone. Castlebar and Roscommon hospital are only up the road. Tiny waiting lists in comparison to Dublin. Once people get to know you, it will be " ah sure, you can pay me next week". Once you keep your word, you'll have a line of credit at the business for life.

I'm originally from Kildare and I could never, ever, ever go back. The East of Ireland has changed in ways that are not necessarily good. At all.

mariaalice

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122522412#Comment_122522412

What were you looking for when you moved?

OHCAC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122521745#Comment_122521745

Thanks for your reply. I know the weather is going to take some getting used to, I'm alright with cold and rain but like you say the west coast will probably be very different to what I'm used to.

That's a shame about Tralee, had an uncle who went there maybe 15 or 20 years ago and he said it was beautiful, and he said the people we're great, but I know there's been a lot of change in Ireland. Dublin really isn't what it used to be, I guess I was hoping that a lot of the countryside areas would have escaped those changes.

Galway seems to be a popular suggestion, I'll have to organise a holiday there with the family and see what they think.

OHCAC

Thanks for that, love the look of that old stone house, had a look online and it needs some work doing but would be beautiful once done.

OHCAC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122521934#Comment_122521934

Why? Like I said, I'm sick of life in England. It has gotten so much worse Iover the last 20 years, and it wasn't even that good before that.

I've no interest in Wales, I know there's nice scenery and cheap prices but it's not for me. I'm Irish and would love to go back to live, even if it's in an area I have no links to.

I know what you mean about London, which is why I want to get out of here. Where I'm from in Dublin is great, but so much has changed, especially in town, and I want a more peaceful, rural life now.

OHCAC

Good advice, the difficulty is with kids I can't be renting a place for a few months, moving somewhere else for 3 months etc until I find the "perfect" place. They've school to go to, I need to find work etc. Going to a place for a few weeks is one thing, might be the road I have to go down.

OHCAC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122522100#Comment_122522100

Think I will, the kids have half term in October/November so ill have to do it then.

OHCAC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122522312#Comment_122522312

Sadly not, I work on the railways, so would be handy to find similar work. I k ow the Irish railway system is next to non-existent but have seen that the government voted to spend a load updating it over the next 30-40 years. Whether that ends up happening or not is anyone's guess

kravmaga

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058365081/moving-to-ireland

Whatever you decide to do do not move to Dublin.

Anywhere else in a rural location with get you good value for money for a house with some land. Kilkenny or Kildare, or Ennis in County Clare.

Check this Irish government link for advice on Moving to Ireland from abroad.

https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/moving-country/moving-to-ireland/

Best of luck whatever decision you make on location.

Fr Tod Umptious

Hi OP

I live in a small town/big village about equidistant from Tralee and Killarney.

Been here for almost 20 years, originally from another part of the west of Ireland.

It has everything one needs, primary and secondary school, a number of convenience stores, butcher, baker, cafe's, takeaways, pubs, RC church in the village and two COI churchs within a few miles.

Nearest Aldi and SuperValu are 7 minutes drive away.

Bigger and specialist shops about 25 minutes drive away in Tralee and Killarney.

Multiple hotels with swimming pools in both towns.

Tralee was always "less pretty" than Killarney but I would never consider it or Killarney unsafe, and the demographic is not changing rapidly, it's changing but the vast vast majority of both towns is still Irish and that will be the case for decades if not centuries.

Kerry is a popular place for people to move to so it can be expensive for real estate.

You will find better value in places like Sligo, Mayo and Roscommon.

In the last few years Castlebar was judged to be the best town in Ireland for remote working.

AnnieinDundrum

maybe start with job hunting then and rent if you can find a job.

There aren’t going to be many employers looking for railway workers, in what capacity I don’t know obviously but I’d say that would eliminate any very remote places to live. Major towns only. Unless you want a long commute to work.

likewise your partner may want to work so again look at towns with relevant industries

Hooked

I'm a Limerick man, born n bred in the city - which is now a bit of a kip, I'll admit. Cork is my favourite place to visit (very welcoming people), then Clare, then Galway. Having recently moved to county Limerick - maybe 15 mins outside the city - I have the benefits of country living, but access to the city for work, meeting up with mates and find the daily commute a piece of piss.

Limerick is a short hop (1h) to Galway, Cork, Care, Kerry and even Dublin is only 2 hours up the road. Close to Shannon (international) airport. University of Limerick, TUS, plenty of job opportunities, and lots of lovely areas 15/20mins outside the city that you'd get plenty of house and an acre or 2 for well under your 750K. I'd advise that kind of mindset with regards to jobs and education. Most 'Parishes' will have a nearby school, GAA club, local shop, few pubs etc…

I'm in Ballybricken for example. Have 2 clubs nearby. School, Local shops, few pubs… short spin to Lough Gur, and have nearby Caherconlish and Ballyneety (7/8 mins away) for bigger shops, restaurants, take aways, etc. You need to be thinking along those lines IMO - re: schools, amenities, shops, social outlets and a GAA club nearby never hurts. We've the lot on our doorstep… just no kids to use them. LOL

Slightly Kwackers

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122522596#Comment_122522596

Great!

Reading your initial post I simply assumed you were like a lot from London who decide to sell up and use the considerable amount of capital tied up in city homes to buy into communities and carry on acting as if they were still in their own little social enclave.

I echo your observations, Brexit in particular got a lot of the rubbish out from under their rocks. I always used the family home here as a second residence, or more likely first actually as I always worked away from my UK address. Anyway I just had enough, a few discussions at work about Brexit were a complete shock. The racists were Engineers, who like myself worked all over the world too.

I came over rapidly and early to what was intended as my little retirement project.

Actually a lot of English accents here belong to those like myself who had dual citizenship and qualified for a passport here.

I think those that came after Brexit are some of the best!

Like John West, it's what's rejected that makes the product :-)

I wish you all the best.

I don't spend much time in Dublin and cities tend to be very alike really, but the one notable difference here is the rarity of notices telling customers that hitting or abusing staff isn't allowed.

It's sad that in Britain and England in particular, that is seen as a normal feature of shops, doctors surgeries, council buildings, everywhere really.

I don't even think that the message about what it say's about life in England is even noticed by those it's displayed in front of.

It probably was about twenty years back they really proliferated now I think about it.

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122519633#Comment_122519633

Ireland is an expensive country, so once you have spent the 750K, how are you actually going to generate an income? What skills do you have? Have you considered the costs of getting to work from the countryside and so on…

I don't think Ireland has been the place to drop out and live out of the land for some time now.

pavb2

If I was doing things again I’d consider Scotland lovely countryside and easy to get around the major cities and towns. Of course if you went full nuclear you could consider the 1€ or 3 € houses in Spain or Italy.

We’re in the countryside just outside Wexford town and when me and the wife have talked about moving we realise that compared to the hassle unless we had sea views there would be few advantages. We’d considered the Copper coast Waterford or Dungarvan years ago but this came into focus last week with the Fleadh, the experience in Wexford was fantastic so I can’t now see us making a move elsewhere.

One downside here though is transport 2.5 hours to Dublin airport and 2 + to Cork by car add another hour if going by bus. Waterford used to have a couple of flights to UK which were worth paying the extra money for but these stopped about 5 + years ago. I don’t like the hassle of airports anymore so tend to get a ferry from Rosslare to UK.

CelticRambler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122522596#Comment_122522596

Among those of us who move internationally, there's a golden rule: be sure that you're running towards, not away from something. It's twenty years since I too had had enough of living in England (well, more than that) and could see the "writing on the wall" for the way the country was going. So with MrsCR, we began considering our options. One of those was to "go back" to Ireland - but be warned: you can't ever "go back" because the country will have moved on without you.

In our case, we accidentally found ourselves with a few months to see what Ireland (Dublin) was really like from a living-there-day-to-day-in-the-autumn/winter perspective, and we didn't like what we saw. It wasn't really bad - there were just too many anglo-american influences creeping into so many aspects of the culture, and that wasn't something we wanted our children to grow up with.

So we stuck with our Plan A, for which we'd spent about three years visiting various locations, particularly in France, and at various untouristy times of the year. We made sure to include our (primary and pre-primary school age) children in the process too, so they felt it was as much their decision as ours when we chose our definitive location.

thereiver

large towns only, 20k population, once you go west eg over 70 miles from dublin it,s colder and wetter ,eg rains longer and more frequently. look on rte player great house revival about people buying old houses and upgrading them ,in rural area,s or citys .search video bing great house revival

OHCAC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122524939#Comment_122524939

I'm a railway engineer but my chances of getting work in that field over in Ireland are slim, however I used to do property maintenance which may provide some work for me. I also plan on setting up a little workshop for me, I started my working life doing carpentry and joinery so would like the chance to get back into that, making furniture, kitchens etc.