Tips for moving to the city?

Rudi Montes

Hey there. I'm going to move from the countryside (Skibbereen) to Cork soon. I've checked out a few rooms to rent, which seems to be the cheapest option for someone doing only temporary work (which will be my case, for now).
Is there anything I should look out for when renting a room? To be honest I'm a bit intimidated by the whole ordeal and it would suck if I ended up in a worse situation than I need to because I chose a terrible street to move to or something like that. The prices of these rooms seem to be around €250-€300 + expenses, but rarely do they give an estimation of how much these expenses are in the ad (haven't called anyone yet). If it's €50-€75, it's one story, if it's double that, it's a little bit more complicated.

Besides that, it'll be my first time living alone (and my first job, too). I can only imagine that food will be my biggest headache, but I'll manage. In case anyone remembers a topic I made here weeks ago, I came here from Portugal, where it is very hard for someone to move to one of the big cities with as much ease as in Ireland, so I'm very excited about the prospect (Biomedical Engineering, my field, was very very scarce in Portugal, too).

So, basically, any tips for living in Cork? Like super-secret spots where you can buy food for cheap? Preferrably food that doesn't require too much cooking? (I'm only half-joking. >_>)
Feel free to tell me about little quirks from the city you think could be helpful. Every little thing helps!

evilivor

Rudi Montes wrote: »

Hey there. I'm going to move from the countryside (Skibbereen) to Cork soon. I've checked out a few rooms to rent, which seems to be the cheapest option for someone doing only temporary work (which will be my case, for now).
Is there anything I should look out for when renting a room? To be honest I'm a bit intimidated by the whole ordeal and it would suck if I ended up in a worse situation than I need to because I chose a terrible street to move to or something like that. The prices of these rooms seem to be around €250-€300 + expenses, but rarely do they give an estimation of how much these expenses are in the ad (haven't called anyone yet). If it's €50-€75, it's one story, if it's double that, it's a little bit more complicated.

Besides that, it'll be my first time living alone (and my first job, too). I can only imagine that food will be my biggest headache, but I'll manage. In case anyone remembers a topic I made here weeks ago, I came here from Portugal, where it is very hard for someone to move to one of the big cities with as much ease as in Ireland, so I'm very excited about the prospect (Biomedical Engineering, my field, was very very scarce in Portugal, too).

So, basically, any tips for living in Cork? Like super-secret spots where you can buy food for cheap? Preferrably food that doesn't require too much cooking? (I'm only half-joking. >_>)
Feel free to tell me about little quirks from the city you think could be helpful. Every little thing helps!

There's a Portuguese food store on Shandon street if you want the taste of home.

Bacchus

Rudi Montes wrote: »

Hey there. I'm going to move from the countryside (Skibbereen) to Cork soon. I've checked out a few rooms to rent, which seems to be the cheapest option for someone doing only temporary work (which will be my case, for now).
Is there anything I should look out for when renting a room? To be honest I'm a bit intimidated by the whole ordeal and it would suck if I ended up in a worse situation than I need to because I chose a terrible street to move to or something like that. The prices of these rooms seem to be around €250-€300 + expenses, but rarely do they give an estimation of how much these expenses are in the ad (haven't called anyone yet). If it's €50-€75, it's one story, if it's double that, it's a little bit more complicated.

Besides that, it'll be my first time living alone (and my first job, too). I can only imagine that food will be my biggest headache, but I'll manage. In case anyone remembers a topic I made here weeks ago, I came here from Portugal, where it is very hard for someone to move to one of the big cities with as much ease as in Ireland, so I'm very excited about the prospect (Biomedical Engineering, my field, was very very scarce in Portugal, too).

So, basically, any tips for living in Cork? Like super-secret spots where you can buy food for cheap? Preferrably food that doesn't require too much cooking? (I'm only half-joking. >_>)
Feel free to tell me about little quirks from the city you think could be helpful. Every little thing helps!

That's a very broad set of questions. What are the important things you need in where you want to live? Do you need to be near UCC or any other area? Do you need to get a bus to work (I'm presuming you don't drive here)? How far from the city center are you happy to be?

As for expenses, they will vary wildly depending on how energy efficient the house/apartment is. Avoid storage heating, it's sh*te. Look for damp (or dark spots) on the ceiling and walls (particularly the corners), that's a sign straight away the house has ventilation and/or heating issues.

The less that food requires cooking/work, the more expensive it is going to be in general. If money is an issue, learn that quickly. You can get great chicken thighs/legs in the English Market at 30c a pop. 3 of those, some spuds/salad and you are stuffed. About an hour in the oven (season to taste) and you've got yourself a fantastic dinner for a few €. In general the English market is a great place to buy quality meat relatively cheaply. Veg is pricey though, but there's plenty of supermarket to choose from. If you can manage to live near an Aldi, they offer great value too. Turners Cross area would put you walking distance to town and to an Aldi

Rudi Montes

evilivor wrote: »

There's a Portuguese food store on Shandon street if you want the taste of home.

Haha, thank you! Good to know!

Bacchus wrote: »

That's a very broad set of questions. What are the important things you need in where you want to live? Do you need to be near UCC or any other area? Do you need to get a bus to work (I'm presuming you don't drive here)? How far from the city center are you happy to be?

As for expenses, they will vary wildly depending on how energy efficient the house/apartment is. Avoid storage heating, it's sh*te. Look for damp (or dark spots) on the ceiling and walls (particularly the corners), that's a sign straight away the house has ventilation and/or heating issues.

The less that food requires cooking/work, the more expensive it is going to be in general. If money is an issue, learn that quickly. You can get great chicken thighs/legs in the English Market at 30c a pop. 3 of those, some spuds/salad and you are stuffed. About an hour in the oven (season to taste) and you've got yourself a fantastic dinner for a few €. In general the English market is a great place to buy quality meat relatively cheaply. Veg is pricey though, but there's plenty of supermarket to choose from. If you can manage to live near an Aldi, they offer great value too. Turners Cross area would put you walking distance to town and to an Aldi

I definitely need broadband. I don't have a driver's license, but I have no qualms about walking for extended periods of time. Ideally, I'd like to be within 30-40min walking distance of everything I might need (like Lidl, etc). I'd love it if I could walk (even if it's an hour-long walk) to the factories where I'll be working (temp work, so they'll vary), but if I can't, I'll happily use the bus. If being 10min away from the city center and being 20min away from the city center means a €100 difference in the monthly rent, I'll gladly take the cheapest offer.
Eventually I want to take my Master's (at UCC, if they'll have me), but that's still at least a year away, so I'll look into housing closer to the school when the time comes.

Thank you for the tips about food! I understand that uncooked is cheaper, I just meant that I'm an incredibly average cook. So all I can handle is pasta/rice and meat. Nice to know that I can find meat relatively cheap, though!

Bacchus

Some form of broadband will be available across the city. What part of the city are you working in? You can probably get a good idea yourself on Daft.ie what is available in the area between work and the city. There's an Aldi in Turners Cross and a Lidl not to far away from that area either.... more towards Wilton direction. They're the only two I use so don't know of any other in the city.

confusticated

There's an aldi in Blackpool too. And the north side is generally a bit cheaper for rent. For what to look out for when renting, take a look in the accommodation and property forum. I don't know what factories you will be working in but if they're in little island you might want to be near the train station...check out bus routes and stuff before picking an area.

Good luck! Post if you've any queries about a particular area.