Moving to Dublin from Blighty

daniel3982

Hi, I'm moving over to Dublin in late November/early December after thinking about it for a good couple of years now, currently in Newcastle and am 25. Have a ton of friends in Dublin, and am really looking forward to it. Have always had a great time when over, despite things being so expensive!

Thing is I've lived before in Berlin and while some things were much easier then Ireland (finding digs for example, they have hundreds of great flatshare websites), the beauracracy over there was a nightmare, so just have a few questions, cheers in advance to anyone who can give me any help at all!

Firstly, is there any other flatshare websites then daft.ie and gumtree.ie, Daft is absolutely sh*te, neglecting in most cases to mention the most important thing, info about the flatmates! I really want to be in a laid back place, have had some bad experiences with flatshares before so definitely want to be careful.

Secondly, is there any places that you can stay for a week or two while I hunt down a flatshare, obviously I'll try my friends first but just incase is there any relatively cheap long term hostels I can rent for a week or two?

Thirdly, since I'll be moving over without a job setup first (but enough savings to cover a few months rent and bills) will this be a problem to most prospective flatmates? It never really was in Manchester or London but I've heard Landlords can be really tight in Ireland regarding employment references and such, this becomes a bit of a chicken and egg situation if this is the case!

Fourth, will 450 euro be enough to have my own room somewhere not absolutely miles from town, it should be really shouldn't it? Which areas would you advise I look in with that sort of budget?

Fifth, and this is where it's a bit more confusing I guess, what the craic with registering for a PPS number, as a Brit will this be easy or a hassle? Do I need it before I get a job? I'm going to be looking just to do agency office work til I find something more permenant when settled down, but will they not employ me until I get one? Same with a bank account really? Will I have to live off savings until I get somewhere to live, then a bill sent to me, and then register for these, before I can work? How long do you think it'll all take?

And lastly, I'm assuming basic healthcare is free and I don't need to have some sort of private insurance (I had to in Germany before I got a tax number, was a total nightmare), do banks charge for accounts in Ireland?

Are there any other things I should be aware of before moving over, or I should prepare myself for?

Cheers!

daniel3982

I completely forgot to ask about taxes!

Do you pay council tax in Ireland, or something similar? Any other taxes apart from income tax; national insurance?

Thanks again!

Steve

Firstly, welcome aboard - I hope it works out for you:D
I can't answer the accomodation questions as I simply don't know enough about what your asking. I can offer what I know:

daniel3982 wrote:

Fifth, and this is where it's a bit more confusing I guess, what the craic with registering for a PPS number, as a Brit will this be easy or a hassle? Do I need it before I get a job?

It should be easy as your a Brit - I think it's just a matter of registering.

daniel3982 wrote:

And lastly, I'm assuming basic healthcare is free and I don't need to have some sort of private insurance (I had to in Germany before I got a tax number, was a total nightmare),

This will be the biggest shock - you cannot afford to be sick in IRL (compared to what your used to). You pay for everything, you get left waiting on a trolley for 6hrs if you get run over, A&E does not exist in any rational sense here. You will need health insurance to survive, job or not.

daniel3982 wrote:

do banks charge for accounts in Ireland?

Yes -unless you have a guaranteed income of at least €1500/m and qualify for free banking.

daniel3982 wrote:

Are there any other things I should be aware of before moving over, or I should prepare myself for?

Public transport here is absolute rubbish. I know you complain about it over there but you have it easy in comparison. Owning a car is equally bad - Maggie built an infrastructure in England while we scoffed and said it would never be needed. The main arterial motorway around dublin has a 40mph speed limit and you'd be well pressed to ever achieve that.
On the up-side , our bars are much better, as is eating out here.
/tries desperately to think of more and gives up
Best of luck - sorry for only giving the down-side but I'm in rant mode tonight.

DublinWriter

daniel3982 wrote:

Do you pay council tax in Ireland, or something similar? Any other taxes apart from income tax; national insurance?

We don't pay council tax here in the Republic, but you'll find that the money is extracted from you indirectly in other ingenious ways, such as a higher rate of VAT (21%) and bin tags.

It would be also helpful for you to know the correct phraseology here. What you call income tax we call PAYE. What you call National Insurance we call PRSI.

You should check out www.revenue.ie for details on getting a PPS number.

Unlike mainland Europe, there are no other direct taxes that you pay and our system is very similar to the one used in the UK.

daniel3982

Cheers a lot guys

Healthcare sounds the biggest nightmare, as it was in Germany (and we moan about our NHS!)...

I know Dublin transportation can be emmmm lets say hit and miss. Living in Manchester was a nightmare for that though, never go down the deregulated route, it's the worst thing we ever did (while lucky London didn't).
at least there being no council tax is a godsend, makes your crazy rents seem not as bad. Saying that wages are much higher then in Newcastle anyway, I'd go as far as to say that both rents and wages appear to be nearly double what you they are here!

Cheers again anyway guys.