moving to ireland. advice?

juli

hi i am an american but am planning to move to ireland within a year or two. i am 20 so i dont want to end up in a bad area but i need someplace cheap. any advice?

shortys94

not dublin, if u want cheap
i moved back from america 1 year back:)

juli

so you left ireland to come back to america? why?

Hagar

Don't tell me there's a potato famine over there now.

juli

i just dont like it here. i have lived on the east coast and the west and i just want a change. i herd alot of good things about ireland. i have been to scotland and loved it there so why not try ireland?

Aisling(",)

No offence but Ireland is a kip and I love living in Ireland.Scotland is a fair bit nicer if you can understand what they are saying through their accents

dSTAR

I'm not exactly sure why Irish feel the need to run down their country. Anyone who has lived outside Ireland can see certain things that Irish people take for granted. I lived in quite a number of countries (including the US, UK, Australia and Holland) for the past 15 years and have to say that Ireland is one of the best countries.

Juli a move to Ireland is a good move. I would recommend Donegal, Kerry or Galway which are lovely and good people too. I would give my right arm to have a cottage overlooking the atlantic ocean with a peat fire and a dog asleep at my feet while I spent my time writing and reminiscing.

Illkillya

Well juli... where do I start? You're lucky I'm here to save you from your folly because I stumbled upon this misplaced thread accidentally.

Do you realise this is the DUBLIN CITY FORUM???

The 2 criteria you mentioned are:
1) not a bad area
2) cheap
In this case you are totally on the wrong forum, because if you want some place cheap in Dublin City, then I'm sorry to say but it will be a bad area.

My advice to you, is to come to Ireland's Capital city - the city that floats, home of Joe Gamble, the Mad Lady and Me, and Tung Sing: Cork City.

Ideally the best way to come, at your age especially, would be through some university - but assuming thats not an option then its going to be very difficult no matter what.

Here a few reasons why Cork would be easier:
1) Relatively cheap
2) There are very few bad areas
3) Great place to live, nice ppl etc., all that stuff
4) Plenty of work
5) Small city - easy to get around and that actually counts for a lot when you have to suffer all the administration and opening bank accounts and sorting out this and that when you're in a new country.

Alternatively, Galway City (more on that later)

Myself I spent some time on the west coast of USA, and I spent about 6 or 7 years on the east coast when I was growing up and it is always best to be in Cork.

dSTAR's advice is good, and places like Donegal and Kerry are really nice and I'm sure you'd love to spend some time there or get a holiday home, but I have to warn you, do not move from USA to Kerry, because it will kill you. For a 21 year old this would be impossible. This is something that you can only do when you're middle aged, you go to a random place in the middle of nowhere where the scenery is beautiful and theres a quaint village nearby, and you fork out your 300,000 for a cosy cottage with 7 acres and a slight view of the sea, and you go for a game of poker in the local pub every Tuesday night and have a nice little existance to settle down in if you like that kind of thing.

These places - Donegal, Kerry, etc. - unless you're born in the area, then they are for tours and holidays and old people. You MUST go to a city or a large town at least, otherwise the isolation (even in the city there is a serious danger of isolation, being in a new country and all that) will destroy you.

And the best options are Cork City (see above) - and you can take a bus down to Schull, or Clonakilty, or Bantry, or Killarney, or wherever you want for the weekend, or Galway City (smaller than Cork, but for someone your age it is a good option). I'm not even going to start on the benefits of living in Ireland because there are far too many, but it is always good to live in a new country.

Galway is full of people young 20s etc., a good vibrant town and a nice place to live for a couple of years... also a good base to explore the west of Ireland - Clare, Connemara, even Donegal and all that.

And I think you misunderstood shortys94 when he said he moved back FROM america 1 year back -> implying he left america to return to Ireland.

dSTAR

Illkillya wrote:

My advice to you, is to come to Ireland's Capital city - the city that floats, home of Joe Gamble, the Mad Lady and Me, and Tung Sing: Cork City...

I really wanted to add Cork City to the above recommendations. Unfortunately I only ever spent a w/end there and did not have time to really form an opinion.

But you have me SOLD!

Rb

Sorry, Cork City is the best city?Em, No.
IMO I'd say either choose Galway or Dublin.Dublin's expensive but if I wouldn't live anywhere else in Ireland(And I've been to alot of other places in the country).

Illkillya

rb_ie wrote:

Sorry, Cork City is the best city?Em, No.
IMO I'd say either choose Galway or Dublin.Dublin's expensive but if I wouldn't live anywhere else in Ireland(And I've been to alot of other places in the country).

Firstly, theres nowhere that I said Cork city is the best city. Even from the very start your post is thoroughly confused. In the event that you geniunely couldn't understand what I thought was a fairly simple post, I will take you up on your statement anyway. Arguing over what is the 'best city' would be very stupid, is this what you're trying to do? I'm assuming "Em, No" is your insightful conclusion that Cork city is "not the best city", as if anyone had even made such a claim (btw theres no need to apologise either).

Theres something important that juli should know - I would strongly recommend that you not take the advice of someone from Dublin on where to go in Ireland. In general, Dublin people are not well liked outside the city (I'm not saying these are my own feelings) and unless they manage to neutralise their accents (like Pat Kenny) then any effort to break free from the land of sirens and syringes ultimately ends in a defeated return, hobbling back inside the pale to cry themselves to sleep in their 200euro-per-week grubby bedsit.

dSTAR

rb_ie wrote:

IMO I'd say either choose Galway or Dublin...

Looks like the old rivalry between Cork and Dublin is going to rear its ugly head! Judging by the opinions of quite a few Aussie friends of mine who have been to Ireland recently, the majority of them said that they didn't really like Dublin and preferred other areas including Cork, Galway and parts of Northern Ireland.

Rb

ah it's not a rivalry between Dublin and cork, cork is just jealous of Dublin
Juli, you'll be 21/22 coming here right?So what it is you're looking for when you get here(apart from somewhere nice to live that's relatively cheap)?

Gick

Ballymun is a lovely area and relatively cheap

fly_agaric

Illkillya wrote:

In general, Dublin people are not well liked outside the city (I'm not saying these are my own feelings) ...

Be a man and give an unqualified insult!
Utterrly gutless...

MrJoeSoap

Illkillya wrote:

home of Joe Gamble

Gick wrote:

Ballymun is a lovely area and relatively cheap

LMAO x 2 !

dSTAR

rb_ie wrote:

Juli, you'll be 21/22 coming here right?So what it is you're looking for when you get here(apart from somewhere nice to live that's relatively cheap)?

Half expecting some cheesy chat up line with "you can stay in mine and shore I'll show ya da sites!

:rolleyes:

Rb

dSTAR wrote:

Half expecting some cheesy chat up line with "you can stay in mine and shore I'll show ya da sites!

:rolleyes:

I'll show her "The Spire"

What I meant was what is she looking for i.e does she want to live in a large(ish) city, or a rural town, what kind of social life is she looking for etc etc.

MrJoeSoap

Wouldn't mind escaping up her Port Tunnel.

Don't get mad at me, its a quote from The Office (slightly altered)!!!

lodgepole

Illkillya wrote:

Theres something important that juli should know - I would strongly recommend that you not take the advice of someone from Dublin on where to go in Ireland. In general, Dublin people are not well liked outside the city (I'm not saying these are my own feelings) and unless they manage to neutralise their accents (like Pat Kenny) then any effort to break free from the land of sirens and syringes ultimately ends in a defeated return, hobbling back inside the pale to cry themselves to sleep in their 200euro-per-week grubby bedsit.

Well i'm from Dublin and have strong opinions about all of Ireland's cities. Where did you live in Dublin if you have lived here? I'm just curious because a great deal of what you think about the place is inaccurate.

First of all Dublin people are as loved outside of their city as anybody in the country. I've travelled through every county on the island and have never had any kind of grief because of where I was born. I'm not sure what the deal with the accents is, since in general the Dublin county/city accent is slightly more neutral than those in the south and south west of the country. Heavy inner city accents aren't, but Cork certainly has it's fair share of unintelligible accents... Try holding a convesation with somebody in Dunmanway if you don't believe me. It took me months to be able to fully understand my friend's father down there.

Dublin has quite a few very affordable areas that are in quite reasonable areas. On the south side of the city, only a few minutes from the centre are two areas, Rathmines and Ranelagh. Both are packed to the gills with one and two bedroom apartments which won't break the bank assuming you aren't working minimum wage. If you are working at the lower end of the wage ladder, the further south west you go the cheaper it'll be. Areas like Knocklyon and Firhouse can often have reasonably priced houses and if you can get in with three or four other people you're away in a flash. On top of that you'll be living a few minutes from the Wicklow border and at the foot of the Dublin/Wicklow mountains. North of the city Drumcondra has a lot going for it and is a short walk from O' Connell St. If you go a little further north along the coast there's quite a few areas that are cheap to live in and not too bad. Staying along the coast puts you in line with the DART, the train service into the city.

I'd recomend you visit www.DAFT.ie, it's an excellent resource for finding a place to live.

If I was to recomend somewhere to move elsewhere in the country, I would recomend the following... Galway City. Beautiful small town with an amazing night life and less arseholes than any other city in the country. Only a short distance from the Burren if you're interested in walks and nature. Work there will be harder to find though... If you can get something take it... Similarly but with even less of a chance of work, if you can find somewhere to live in Killarney, it's in one of the most beautiful parts of the country.

Cork shares all the same problems that Dublin has since they're similarly sized (Dublin is bigger though). I personally prefer Dublin, i've never enjoyed Cork as a city. It's gone through major changes in the last few years though so my opinions are a little out of date.

Belfast is a great town too, but I don't know enough about it to recomend it. I've only visited a couple of times. It's like smaller cleaner version of Dublin and has some fantastic people living there.

Rb

Lodgepole wrote:

I've travelled through every county on the island and have never had any kind of grief because of where I was born.

I have!In Cork nonetheless, got attacked outside a club and held up with a broken bottle just for being from Dublin (that was their explanation when I said "Wtf did I do?" ) :rolleyes: I don't hold grudges though.....
Saying that though, I've always found the people quite hostile and rude towards me (except for the people I know)

Lodgepole wrote:

I'm not sure what the deal with the accents is, since in general the Dublin county/city accent is slightly more neutral than those in the south and south west of the country. Heavy inner city accents aren't, but Cork certainly has it's fair share of unintelligible accents...

Agreed, and think about it if we fellow irishmen can't understand them some of the time what hope does a foreigner have?!
It's just the extremely heavy Dublin accent that one might have problems trying to understand and in all fairness there's only a very small amount of people that have such an accent.

Lodgepole wrote:

Dublin has quite a few very affordable areas that are in quite reasonable areas. On the south side of the city, only a few minutes from the centre are two areas, Rathmines and Ranelagh. Both are packed to the gills with one and two bedroom apartments which won't break the bank assuming you aren't working minimum wage.

Rathmines is amazing place for young people to live, right beside the city but yet distant enough to avoid the inner city problems. It also apparently has the youngest population in Dublin or so I hear.
Lots of clubs & pubs in rathmines also, supermarkets, restaurants etc. all within walking distance too(as is the city centre)

Ranelagh is great too, a bit quieter than Rathmines but still close to the centre of Dublin and if you're feeling lazy you can just get the LUAS

(I know you know this Lodgepole but thought I'd explain a little more to the OP )

Blondie86Star

Well I'd stongly suggest living in Dublin if you're coming here.
It is expensive compared to other EU cities but it it the best Irish city.
Galways pretty cool too, real university town

Dublins a really young city too.

And if you are gonna live anywhere Ranelagh/Rathgar/Rathmines, great place to live, really close to town.

dSTAR

Blondie86Star wrote:

And if you are gonna live anywhere Ranelagh/Rathgar/Rathmines, great place to live, really close to town.

I have to agree with you there. This was my old stomping ground for many years before I took off overseas. There are some amazing little streets tucked away with really well maintained Georgian Terraces and doors.

Notable places that I have lived were above the 'The Hill' pub in Ranelagh, above the 51 Cafe in Ranelagh Village, Belgrave Square and Rathgar Road.

juli

sorry i dont hve much time to get on the net.
i was sort of looking for a quite place, but at the same time maybe a party place on the weekends in a town close by. i am not really a city person but i live in one now and manage fine. i dont plan on living in ireland forever ( but who knows). maybe just a couple years. i like to travel. but thanks you guys i have lots more to go by then i did before. and yes i knew this was a dublin site i am just not very good with chat room stuff so i just went to the first one i saw that had to do with ireland so sorry for that too.

Rb

Enniskerry! Nice quiet little village area, some lovely sights(quite near the Powercourt Waterfall) and it's a very short trip into Dublin city centre for the partying/shopping/working etc etc.
I'd imagine rent is quite cheap too.

lodgepole

rb_ie wrote:

Enniskerry! Nice quiet little village area, some lovely sights(quite near the Powercourt Waterfall) and it's a very short trip into Dublin city centre for the partying/shopping/working etc etc.
I'd imagine rent is quite cheap too.

Finding a house and a job would be a problem in Enniskerry. There is a Dublin bus that goes out there, but only to the village centre. You'd have to have a car which would mean international license and car insurance. Beautiful area though...

AARRRGH

juli -

I have a few friends who have come and lived in Dublin.

If you are looking for romantic Ireland but don't want to be in the middle of no where, move to Galway. It's a lovely little city with the wilderness just down the road.

If you are looking for a modern party city then come to Dublin. It is possible to get a cheap room (320 - 400) a month with a bit of effort. In fact, I know a room going for 320 right now. But Dublin IS very expensive. More expensive than London. Your wages do not go far at all in this city. It's really something you need to be aware of. But EVERY foreign person I know (and I know a lot) all loved their time here. Mostly for the fun and the people, not because Dublin is a particularily beautiful city (it is small and cosy though.)

You will not regret coming to Ireland. It is not dangerous at all. The people are nice. The expensive factor is the only problem.

Dublin if you like to party.
Galway if you are looking for traditional Ireland.

AARRRGH

Also, juli, can you legally work in Ireland? If not you will have a very very difficult time getting a work visa.

juli

Enniskerry sounds great. i am going to get a visa. i already looked into it. i am a waitress so i shouldnt have a problem getting a job. they do have resturants there right? also i plan on becoming a bartender when i turn 21. cant LEGALLY drink till then. thanks again.

lodgepole

juli wrote:

Enniskerry sounds great. i am going to get a visa. i already looked into it. i am a waitress so i shouldnt have a problem getting a job. they do have resturants there right? also i plan on becoming a bartender when i turn 21. cant LEGALLY drink till then. thanks again.

Be aware that waitressing works a little differently here. The tipping isn't going to be as good as it is in the US. But the hourly wage will be a vast improvement. You can start becoming a bartender here, if you have previous waiting experience in a pub. You can wait tables at 16 here, and work the bar at 18.

Rb

Lodgepole wrote:

Be aware that waitressing works a little differently here. The tipping isn't going to be as good as it is in the US. But the hourly wage will be a vast improvement. You can start becoming a bartender here, if you have previous waiting experience in a pub. You can wait tables at 16 here, and work the bar at 18.

......And get a pretty damn good wage while doing it(working behind the bar)