New to Limerick...need a lil help!

supermommy

hello...
Ive just relocated my wee family from the states to Limerick.. We are living in Caherdavin Lawn and it seems to be an ideal spot as it is pretty quiet and really close to most things we need.. I refuse to buy into the city's reputation tho we saw a brutal girl fight our 3rd day here..lol

We have only been here a week but so far things are looking ok.
I had a couple questions and wondered if you fantastic people could be of assistance..

First off my husband was looking into working shifts at Dell as we are trying to get him sorted in any kind of job for now. I was reading a thread on Dell last nite and wanted to know if anyone knows- Does one have to be clean shaven and such to work there? I ask because he has long hair and a full beard. It doesnt seem like the kind of work that would really require clean cut looks or anything..
Also I've been looking for any kind of call centre positions here and seems like I might be getting an interview with GE. Does anyone know anything about their collections jobs? I have always been leary of collections jobs as I dont have a very forceful/aggressive type of personality like I would think would be required for that kind of thing. I really wanted to get on with O2 since I have mobile phone customer service experience but so far they havent called me.
We will be bussing it until one of us learns to drive. I was told the bus system was ok here..
Lastly, does anyone know of a public fax machine close by? I am thinking we will have to go into town to use one but figured I might ask. Dell is asking for the misters passport and green card to be faxed in.
Any other advice would be great. Esp on local schools for my 3 boys..ages 5,7 and 11..
Thanks a bunch!

Chong

You dont need to be clean shaven nor have short hair , I can confirm this as I work there.

With Dell also a bus operates across from Ivans shop at the start and end of shifts, its operated by Dell and is Free.

Here are a selection cust service jobs in the area:

http://jobbank.fas.ie/servlet/Watis?SESS=75026_5&REQUEST=WWW_JS_VAC_SHOWJOBS&BACK=TEMPLATE%3DWWW_JS_VAC_CRITERIUM_SELECT.HTM

http://www.jobs.ie/Jobs.aspx?Categories=6&Regions=18&Keywords=&Submit=Search

For schools , you have Christ the King boys school which is about 5 mins away from where you live on foot, great school in my opinion as I went there as a young un.

http://www.limerickindependent.com/local-news/local-news/scoil-chr%EDost-r%ED,-caherdavin/

Contact Details:

Christ The King
Caherdavin Limerick
(061)453484

Caherdavin is a very safe area also especially the Lawn, as I still live here.

Also Limerick is by no means whatsoever like you read on websites or see on tv. The place in the main is safe, the criminal activity revolves around gangs in the city's council estates, and doesnt involve the public. Limerick is a nice ol place. Also get your kids down to the local GAA club they might find they like a bit of Hurling or Gaelic Football, the local club is at the entrance of Caherdavin Lawn called Na Piarsaigh.

Alternatively they might like some soccer , Caherdavin Celtic play beside the Greenhills hotel across the road from the entrance of Caherdavin Lawn.

Oh and finally welcome to Limerick and Ireland

Mr E

Great post, Van Zuylen.... well done!

Amazotheamazing

Also, get your kids playing rugby, Shannon would be your local club, they have their training pitches out near Coonagh (the roundabout with Tesco). They have a website which I think has details of underage training sessions.

For secondary school, I'd recommend Ardscoil Ris, went there myself and it's a good spot. If you want your kids to have a co-ed school (mixed boys and girls), personally I'd recommend the Crescent, gets good grades and has a good sports programme. St. Nessans is probably nearer to you, but it has a very mixed reputation.

MarkR

I used to work in GE years ago doing application entry and debt collection. Really it's just calling people up to remind them they haven't paid, ask them would they like to make a payment etc. It's probably still as militant as it ever was, but most call centres are.

A point to note is that a major call centre in the same industrial estate just let go of 80 people (tech support so not direct competition I suppose)

phog

OP mentioned a public fax, not sure of any nearby but I'm sure Ivans would help out.

Chong

I went to St Nessans , but its been about 6 years. My bro having just finished there would no longer recommend the place, Ard Scoil or the Crescent as Amazo suggested would be the best options. Although Crescent is a quite a hard place to get your kids in to I believe. All 3 schools would be the equivalent of High School , so your boy of 11 might be eligible for these schools. Both Ard Scoil and St Nessans are in reach of where you live, both I'd say are same distance, both 10 mins.

There is also Villiers in the area , which is close too but Villiers is a bit of a posh school. Although with Villiers , there is a quite a few of internatiional students attending there.

Chong

Defo , some my family work in there, if you ask at the card desk for one of the supervisors they would be more than happy to help, failing that ask for Ivan himself, good bloke and would be more than happy to help ya out with use of the Fax Machine.

Amazotheamazing

It's a pity the way Nessans has gone, but from what I hear I don't think I could really recommend it to someone who was new in the area.

Also, OP, you are quite near one of the best rowing clubs in Ireland. St. Michaels has a long history of producing good rowers, two times world champion Sam Lynch learned his trade there. If your kids aren't into field sports, St. Michaels can provide a sport for the less co-ordinated amongst us.

Limerick Athletic Club also have an active underage club based out of UL (I think?).

Sorry if I'm over emphasising sports, but I really do think it's a good way to integrate your kids into the community, and you'll probably meet fellow parents who can give you clues as which are the best schools etc.

Chong

Spot on with the sports Amazo, gives a great chance to integrate.

Also agree on the St Nessans part, only thing about the place is they take everyone in, but that has its good and "Very" bad points.

Chong

I nearly forgot, one of the great benefits about Ard Scoil Ris is they play Basketball and they also have Limerick Lions play there also AFAIK.

So if you kids like Basketball, being from the home of "The Jazz", another plus point for Ard Scoil.

supermommy

Those were all fantastic responses!! Thanks!
For the boys schools I dunno where to start but the info you guys gave will surely help. I think a neighbor recommended one of the St. Michaels schools.
Will they all be split up like? My 11 year old..(well he is 11 in one week exactly) would be going in 5th grade in the states. We started him off at 6 there rather than 5 so he is in a lower grade than he would normally be. Same thing actually with my 7 year old and I think he might need some help catching up to the other students. He is still having some troubles with reading. I just am hoping there are teachers willing to help him! I worry about them fitting in.. esp cuz none of them are into sports but I have talked to them all about the fact that sports are super big here and they will have to be getting into it. My 7 year old is gaggin to play soccer tho.. Would love to get them involved, with the hope that none of them would be made fun of for their beginning skills..


For the fax, I think we were thinking of heading into town tomorrow cuz we have yet to take a bus into the city center. Will be sure to ask about it in Ivans tho as it will be on the way. We were thinking it might be a good idea to try and sort out the bus system before we start heading off to job interviews n such. Thats great Dell has a free bus. If he can handle the monotony of shift work and the wonky hours he might be ok for a bit.
Any idea of what sort of wage you start out on with that job?

Im laffin at the home of the Jazz! We arent from Utah..just spent a year there killing time and absolutely hated it. Was a gorgeous place but the religious aspect of it all nearly killed us. We are way too open minded for such a place. We are actually from Cali, have lived most of my life there. Spent a month there before we left and a month in Oregon and am so glad to be out of the heat! It was unbearable!

So far everyone here in Limerick that we have had dealings with have been so very nice! I hope it continues. Caherdavin Lawn is great! We are across from the GAA club tho I probably shouldnt say which house exactly (I feel like we stick out like sore thumbs tho!- Ah they look like goofy Americans!)

Anyways thanks again for yer help people!

Karmafaerie

Just to let you know that nearly all Post Offices and Spar shops have a fax service too.
Just ask at the counter.;)

P.S: Welcome to Limerick.

zuroph

keep trying with O2 as well, they have a fairly regular staff turn over, and im sure there may be some disappearing off to college in the next month.

supermommy

Thanks you guys!
I got the fax sorted out by going to an internet shop in town, as easy peasy. Wish I would have thought to ask in the post office after Ivans said no. The lady looked at us like we were raging mentalists. So now the mister has an interview Monday for Dell. Anyone have any idea what he should expect? They said it could last up to 3 hours! I figured out that he needs to take the 304 bus from in front of Brown Thomas to get out there.

As far as I go...I got some call backs from a couple places today. One agency is lining up an interview with Halifax Insurance after I meet with them tomorrow. I also had a phone pre-interview with O2 today that I think went quite well. One lady rang at the buttcrack of the morning just to tell me they didnt have anything open...grrr..
I do love how quickly you can get into the city centre from out here. Im used to at least 45 mins + on the Dublin busses.. Hoorah!
So far things are looking super de dooper!

Anyone know what food places deliver out here? Pizza, Chinese..whatever..

I am so thankful for this forum!

ninty9er

Your 11 year old should probably be heading into "6th class";being the 8th year of primary school, alternatively he could be an older "5th
class" candidate.

The majority of kids here will have started school between the ages of 4 and 5. 4 if they are due to be 5 during the school year and 5 if they have turned 5 during the summer.

The 11 year old, due to age will most likely be exempted from Irish and the other 2 not due to age. Although it could be hard work for them I can recommend the Modhscoil as a primary school.

The teachers and principal take no shit and it's a generally more disciplined school than most of my freinds and colleagues went to. The principal will also fight for your kids' secondary school of choice. When I left in '99 the phone bill for the month before enrolement deadlines for secondary schoold was alleged to be
£2,500. The facilities are top class, BUT it's a Gaeilscoil. At 5 and 7 this can be overcome, but it's unlikely for an 11 year old to be able to start from scratch. I know of not one primary school anywhere in the country I could recommend above it. There's also the bonus that of all the schools they are the least likely to ask for money and most likely to have state of the art technology. There's a lot of fundraising on an ongoing basis and the parents council there is fairly active continuously as opposed to just when the school is threatend with losing some facility. www.modhscoil.ie

Otherwise there is Christ the King in Caherdavin or JFK on the Ennis Road are both all boys, though your 5 year old would probably go to Salesians Infant School (http://salinf.ie/) until 2nd class if the 7 year old was to go to JFK

Villiers which was mentioned earlier is fee paying, although most schools will have a (non)"voluntary contribution" required. Ardscoil Rís (www.ardscoil.com not very up to date). If your kids are already academically inclined, it's the perfect setting for getting on well and getting a collece place. Remember to register residency immediately as it will be an issue 6 or 7 years down the line if/when college/university fee assessment comes into play. The citizens info site is down at the moment for some reason, but definitely worth checking out.

St. Michael's is located in the city centre, but I would imagine it is difficult to get into. The Limerick School Project is a multi-denominational school that I never really saw the attraction of really. It leaves out the religious stuff and is more artsy from talking to some of my parents friends who sent their kids there

Religion is an integral part of 95% of primary schools. In 6th Class kids are Confirmed and it's a big family day, while the same is true of 2nd Class for First Holy Communion. It's more likely now that there will be kids not taking part that back in my day, but if You're not Catholic, the time spent in preparation for these in class could be used by your kids to catch up where they need to.

On the worry of slagging for lack of skills. I think as a culture, we slag each other a lot more, but in an inoffensive manner. so being called a sissy-boy etc. should be taken with a pinch of salt and met with a witty reply. There'll probably be an element of your kids being "the yank" or the "new kid", but that all wears off and we're a much more diverse society at more age levels than 5 or 10 years ago.

Hurling or Football with Na Piarsiagh (the place across the road from you) is probably a good idea as there's a social side to the club as well as the sporting side. Baseball would be a good base for Hurling.

You'll need recommendations for a number of things...but importantly you'll need health insurance should anything, God forbid, happen to any of you.

Your options are

www.vhi.ie
www.hibernian.ie
www.quinn-health.ie

VHI is the largest due to being previously state owned, but is not necessarily the best. There are a number of variations and levels of cover so a bit of research is worhtwhile as there are kinds of lockout clauses that cause trouble if switching down the line.

A few recommendations

A doctor - Ger O'Connell on the Ennis Road, His son and daughter are alos GPs there. They possibly even have a trading name by now. Been my GP since I was about 3.

A dentist - Paul O'Connell in the Old Quarter in town. Find him brilliant, did my crown last year.

An oil/coal supplier - Estuary Fuels Foynes.

A car/cars you will DEFINITELY need - www.carzone.ie should inform you there and there's a very helpful motors forum on here. You'll find petrol fairly expensive, but I think you mentioned neither of you dirve so it probably won't bother you as much as it would if you did in the US.

A seaside resort - Dunmore East, Co. Waterford; Lahinch, Co. Clare; Glenbeigh, Co. Kerry and no doubt someone will bring up Limerick's summertime carbon copy; Kilkee Co. Clare.

A bank account - you may already have; but

www.boi.ie
www.aib.ie
www.ptsb.ie
www.ulsterbank.ie
www.halifax.ie

I find AIB good and there are plenty of ways of avoiding account fees with most of them (using internet banking and debit cards to pay for stuff)

Your local Credit Union is Caherdavin Credit Union for regular saving and small loans. Very handy.

On the jobs front: are either of you qualified for a specific job that we could recommend places for?

ninty9er

supermommy wrote: »

I do love how quickly you can get into the city centre from out here. Im used to at least 45 mins + on the Dublin busses.. Hoorah!
So far things are looking super de dooper!

Anyone know what food places deliver out here? Pizza, Chinese..whatever..

I am so thankful for this forum!

I definitely wouldn't consider the Caherdavin bus quick!! but anyhow there's a few Chinese that deliver (if you haven't had Chinese here yet expect it to be a lot spicier than the States.)

The closest to you is the WokKing just opposite Ivans, by the Mace and the butchers/dry cleaners/Bank of Ireland. The Shamrock by Dunnes however is much nicer IMO.

Pizza wise there's Dominos and Apache as well as Four Star and I'm sure I'm missing another one.

All you need is here

sioda

Add another to the welcome to limerick

Again ex Ard Scoil Ris here and cant say that much bad about it but it was school now though I would prefer a non religous school but thats just me

Really miss living on the north side coz you do realise how much closer to town you are bus to UL from town is way worse

Food wise gotta agree with ninty9er the shamrock is the business they dont deliver but you could walk it no bother.

Gotta be great havin 24 hour dunnes on the door as well.

Suprised to hear about Ivans not like them at all

Doctor wise another O Connell patient here since birth god 29 years . Both of his kids are excellent as well his son being yet another Ardscoil head

ninty9er

sioda wrote: »

Gotta be great havin 24 hour dunnes on the door as well.

Don't you mean; the Dunnes formerly open 24 hours:p

sioda wrote: »

Suprised to hear about Ivans not like them at all

I bet you it was that aul wagon. The tall old blond one.



Supermommy; in my haste I forgot to say welcome to Limerick oh, and welcome to boards!!


I'm in shock Sioda's a guy?? who'da thunk it....this is why more people have to start coming to Beers!!

sioda

ninty9er i get that a lot its the irish of my surname

what happened Dunnes?? Very handy at christmas

this being out of the country for a year kills me dunnes closing new pub/club times.

samhain's son

The greenhills hotel is nice for lunch and you can get a fax sent at reception for about a euro while you dine.

Comhrá

Welcome to Limerick....It's a good ol place, and you can take it from me.... a Tipperary man!

About bus services into town, you'll get the 302 from the road into Caherdavin Heights, off the main Ennis Road, opposite Casey's Garage as you walk up to Ivan's shop from Caherdavin Lawn. You can see the bus shelter/stop from the Ennis Road.
Here's a link to the timetable which you can download:

www.buseireann.ie/pdf/1202230807-302.pdf


John.

Larr

Welcome to the area...I too live in Caherdavin. You seem to be sorted with all the important stuff ....schools, work, transport.

Now for the REALLY important stuff... Food! The chinese across the road The Woking is excellent. They don't deliver, but they do take orders over the phone and it's only a 5 minute walk 061 321100. If you're on your own with the kids and can't get out there's also a Woking in town that deliver 061 312444. For Pizza, Fish & Chips and all that there's a new restaurant that delivers on the Old Cratloe Road called Cafe Italia...it's great and you can get that on 061 458689. They also do kids parties there. They're really nice and the food is gorgeous.

Hope you settle in well and Welcome again

larr

Larr

Suprised to hear about Ivans not like them at all




What did Ivans do???

ninty9er

sioda wrote: »

ninty9er i get that a lot its the irish of my surname

what happened Dunnes?? Very handy at christmas

this being out of the country for a year kills me dunnes closing new pub/club times.

The pub thing only affects theatre licences and there aren't any in Limerick...so no change!

Karmafaerie

I haven't worked out in Dell myself,but from what friends tell me, the interview involves a lot of safty info.
Learning how to pick things up without damaging your back and such.

The only real training part is where they get you to put a sprinkler system together, to prove that you can build things.
It's supposed to be fairly straight forward all in all.

The 304 is the correct bus alright, that'll bring you all the way out to Raheen, and (roughtly:P) leaves every 15-20 mins from the front of Todds/Brown Thomas.

rok

Welcome to Limerick + Caherdavin, and best of luck with the move, the job hunt and settling in!

To get from the city to Caherdavin Lawn, the bus to Coonagh (number 305) might be quicker? I believe it goes straight out the Ennis Road, instead of winding through Shelbourne Road, LIT and the other side of Caherdavin route. You can probably hop off at the stop at Ivans, (not sure if it serves the stop at the Coonagh Roundabout only!).
Caherdavin bus route is served more frequently but they both depart from Dunnes Stores on Henry Street, so you could hop on whatever Bus arrives first.

http://www.buseireann.ie/pdf/1202230836-305.pdf
CITY CENTRE to COONAGH
All buses serve the City Centre (William St.) and All buses depart City from Henry St.

I think there is still a Clareview <--> City Centre bus service.
Bussin' it from this side of town to UL used to be a disaster, I remember the threads on it here. Thankfully those days are behind me now.

If you get a job in Shannon there is be a bus service that picks you up from Ivans/Caherdavin Cross, and may also stop at the Opel Garage near the main entrance to Caherdavin Lawn... don't know if someone told you that already.

Have you found Eddie Rockets "AMERICAN STYLE" Diner yet ?
http://www.eddierockets.ie/iopen24/defaultarticle.php?cArticlePath=211_213 Dont know how authentically American you will find the food, but it might help some of those homesick moments lovely grub, but kind of expensive (tip - Tesco + Dunnes often have a "2 for 1" burger vouchers on back side of till receipt).
It is beside the Travel Lodge Hotel at the Coonagh Roundabout, accross the main road from Tesco.

Limerick Dude

supermommy wrote: »

Thanks you guys!
I got the fax sorted out by going to an internet shop in town, as easy peasy. Wish I would have thought to ask in the post office after Ivans said no. The lady looked at us like we were raging mentalists. So now the mister has an interview Monday for Dell. Anyone have any idea what he should expect? They said it could last up to 3 hours! I figured out that he needs to take the 304 bus from in front of Brown Thomas to get out there.

As far as I go...I got some call backs from a couple places today. One agency is lining up an interview with Halifax Insurance after I meet with them tomorrow. I also had a phone pre-interview with O2 today that I think went quite well. One lady rang at the buttcrack of the morning just to tell me they didnt have anything open...grrr..
I do love how quickly you can get into the city centre from out here. Im used to at least 45 mins + on the Dublin busses.. Hoorah!
So far things are looking super de dooper!

Anyone know what food places deliver out here? Pizza, Chinese..whatever..

I am so thankful for this forum!

That bus will only bring him to the roundabout at the edge of the industrial estate, he will then have to walk to dell from there and it is a bit of a maze to get there. I would recommend getting a taxi from town as it would be more reliable, less chance of being late for the interview and he wont get lost!

chuckles30

I'm not sure about pizza, but for Chinese, I can highly recommend Woking across the road from Ivans.

If you need to get to Shannon for any interviews, the buses go from in front of Ivans and it'll probably take about 30 minutes from there. Depending on the time of day, they go into the industrial estate.

supermommy

Limerick Dude wrote: »

That bus will only bring him to the roundabout at the edge of the industrial estate, he will then have to walk to dell from there and it is a bit of a maze to get there. I would recommend getting a taxi from town as it would be more reliable, less chance of being late for the interview and he wont get lost!

Any idea of how much a taxi would cost from Caherdavin to Dell? Or even just the city centre to Dell?
He cant take the bus anyways it looks like as they have him coming in to interview at 8am and the it looks like the earliest bus from Caherdavin doesnt leave til 730...
He might just need to reschedule his interview...
What a pain in the tits..

Thanks for all the useful info!

supermommy

rok wrote: »

Have you found Eddie Rockets "AMERICAN STYLE" Diner yet ?
http://www.eddierockets.ie/iopen24/defaultarticle.php?cArticlePath=211_213 Dont know how authentically American you will find the food, but it might help some of those homesick moments lovely grub, but kind of expensive (tip - Tesco + Dunnes often have a "2 for 1" burger vouchers on back side of till receipt).
It is beside the Travel Lodge Hotel at the Coonagh Roundabout, accross the main road from Tesco.

Ahhh I actually saw that just the other day!! I had Eddie Rockets last time I was over and it was fantastic! It is uber expensive tho yer right about that. I reckon at some point we will be heading over there for a meal.
I noticed some of those vouchers on the back of the receipts-they are pretty good!