Study in Ireland for a year - how about Cork?

arirang

Hi,

A good friend of mine is planning to study English in Ireland for a year, and we're trying to decide what would be the best place to go to. Dublin is the obvious first choice due to bigger diversity of schools available and of course being a bigger city, there's just 'more to do', but is it really the right choice? I am a Belfaster myself so I'm not too familiar with Ireland, so I would appreciate any and all advice for this.

My friend would ideally like to work part-time after classes, and I've heard horror stories about job hunting in Dublin. Is it perhaps better in Cork? She has some previous experience with typical student part-time jobs in retail and cafes, and her English is pretty decent (not native level, but close to fluent). How about apartment prices and availability? She'd prefer to stay away from house-sharing really. Anything else worth considering, would you recommend Cork compared to Galway or Dublin in general?

Thanks in advance, and hope to get some answers!

becost

arirang wrote: »

Hi,

A good friend of mine is planning to study English in Ireland for a year, and we're trying to decide what would be the best place to go to. Dublin is the obvious first choice due to bigger diversity of schools available and of course being a bigger city, there's just 'more to do', but is it really the right choice? I am a Belfaster myself so I'm not too familiar with Ireland, so I would appreciate any and all advice for this.

My friend would ideally like to work part-time after classes, and I've heard horror stories about job hunting in Dublin. Is it perhaps better in Cork? She has some previous experience with typical student part-time jobs in retail and cafes, and her English is pretty decent (not native level, but close to fluent). How about apartment prices and availability? She'd prefer to stay away from house-sharing really. Anything else worth considering, would you recommend Cork compared to Galway or Dublin in general?

Thanks in advance, and hope to get some answers!

arirang

Don't mean to start a fight with anyone I mean Ireland as in RoI of course;;

becost

Ireland is an island to the north-west of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth. To its east is the larger island of Great Britain, from which it is separated by the Irish Sea.

KCAccidental

arirang wrote: »

Hi,

A good friend of mine is planning to study English in Ireland for a year, and we're trying to decide what would be the best place to go to. Dublin is the obvious first choice due to bigger diversity of schools available and of course being a bigger city, there's just 'more to do', but is it really the right choice? I am a Belfaster myself so I'm not too familiar with Ireland, so I would appreciate any and all advice for this.

My friend would ideally like to work part-time after classes, and I've heard horror stories about job hunting in Dublin. Is it perhaps better in Cork? She has some previous experience with typical student part-time jobs in retail and cafes, and her English is pretty decent (not native level, but close to fluent). How about apartment prices and availability? She'd prefer to stay away from house-sharing really. Anything else worth considering, would you recommend Cork compared to Galway or Dublin in general?

Thanks in advance, and hope to get some answers!

depending on her language there are quite a few jobs for people fluent in other languages in Cork at the moment. whether that would fit with her class schedule I'm not sure.

If she plans to rent by herself, then she'll need a good bit of cash no matter what City she goes to. Min. 500 a month for rent before bills and that would be a right dump!

Cork is good though especially if you are into arty things or food. Really good scenes in both at the moment. The nightlife is alright, but depends on what you're into really. If she likes getting pissed to top 40 hits then she'll be in heaven

Best thing about Cork really is the surrounding areas. West Cork is an amazing place to visit throughout the year and the ring of Kerry/ Killarney etc is close for the touristy stuff.

Dublin is definitely more bustling if you're into the Urban thing, but for a city of 1,000,000, I'd expect a lot more than it has. Obviously it's better for travel connections though.

I know what I'd choose anyways

who_me

Sorry to revert to city stereotypes, but Cork is probably easier to get around, cheaper and more friendly.

You don't have a huge selection of clubs, but the (late) pub scene is quite good; and the city centre is quite small and accessible. Obviously renting solo will be a bit more expensive than sharing, but still probably not too bad. I'd say the (casual) job market is still pretty good.

Balmed Out

Normally plenty of Japanese, Korean, French and Spanish people spending a year or so working / living in Cork for a year or so. Those I've known in the past have all loved it.

Blitzkrieger

I've heard from a lot of foreign visitors that Cork is a more 'European' city. There's a lot of big multi-nationals with call centres here, but in terms of part time work, I'd say you could judge it from the jobs thread on this forum.

Not that I don't like Dublin, but Cork is more laid back and friendlier. Acommondation can be expensive if you don't want to share, but with she'll probably find something in budget if not a particularly high standard. In terms of nightlife or things to do during the day; there's always something to see or do.

We're not perfect though. I have heard stories about people being treated badly because they're 'not from Cork' and outright racism, but I've rarely encountered it myself.