American invasion in Balbriggan, please don't hurt me .

TimANDco.

To start, Hello and sorry don't let the title fool you lol. My wife, 2 young children and myself are moving to Balbriggan on dec.18th. We currently live outside Paris, I am american and she is french. We moved to France from the states about 15 months ago to offer our children a better education. Well needless to say it hasn't been working out for us, the gov't system has been absolutely terrible with helping me stay in the country even though my wife is french, so we're moving out!

She has always wanted to live in Ireland so this move we decided to go for it and found a small apt. in Balbriggan to get us started. I've been searching alot of stuff online as I don't have any clue to what anything is called(store names and such). Been looking for automotive shops, grocery store names, furniture stores and stuff like that. I've seen alot of my questions lead me to this site so I thought I would go ahead and sign up for it and give it a roll in case I had any dire questions, that and i've always been a forum buff.

Wanted to mainly just say Hi to all in the area on here and a few simple questions.

1. Who has good phone/internet/TV service for balbriggan, as I said we just moving there and I have NO clue who the TV companies are in Ireland in the least bit.

2. I'm a huge car fanatic and work on my own as much as possible, is there places like Halfords in the UK. In the states we had a place called Autozone and they would sell all sorts of parts, lights, cleaning products stuff like that.

3. This is the last one i promise lol. I have 2 young kids 4&5 and currently they are both in school here in France, but my youngest can't get in till next year and we might not even be able to get my 5 year old in due to schools being full. Just wondering if anyone knows of a good playground, or play place for kids for day events or learning centers/museums/old churches stuff like that to take them to as to keep them busy.

Thanks anyone for the input or any other info you wanna toss out there. I'll be floating around reading up as much as I can till we actually move.

buttercups88

Hi first of all best of luck with the move, i'd say it will be daunting i'm not living in balbriggan itself but work there and don't live too far so will do my best to help

1. Who has good phone/internet/TV service for balbriggan, as I said we just moving there and I have NO clue who the TV companies are in Ireland in the least bit.

The main phone & broadband provider would be Eircom, expensive but reliable, sky are offering both as well as tv but internet is fairly new and not so reliable. Imagine, vodafone and wimax are all other broadband companies but not sure what their service is like in Balbriggan.

2. I'm a huge car fanatic and work on my own as much as possible, is there places like Halfords in the UK. In the states we had a place called Autozone and they would sell all sorts of parts, lights, cleaning products stuff like that

I'm not sure about Balbriggan but Swords isn't far and has a decent sized Halfords there's one in Drogheda which wouldn't be far either

3. This is the last one i promise lol. I have 2 young kids 4&5 and currently they are both in school here in France, but my youngest can't get in till next year and we might not even be able to get my 5 year old in due to schools being full. Just wondering if anyone knows of a good playground, or play place for kids for day events or learning centers/museums/old churches stuff like that to take them to as to keep them busy.

this is where i'll probably be of most help, there is lots for kids in the area Ardgillan Castle is lovely for walks and has a very big playground. Malahide Castle and Newbridge house are similar and not too far either. You can do tours of the Castles as well ,Newbridge also has a petting farm that's nice for families.
In Balbriggan there's also PJ's playcentre, cinema. Skerries is lovely as well to go for walks along the beach and there's a playground too.

In Drogheda there's Funtasia indoor waterpark and amusement centre, there's another one in Bettystown (no waterpark there) both have bowling and mini golf as well.

For museums you're best going into Dublin city

Jimdagym

Welcome, you'll love it here, we are a friendly bunch.
As said, there is a Halfords in Drogheda and Swords, however,there are a couple of fine motor factors in Balbriggan, and the lads in both are quite helpful anytime I have been in them.
Buttercups has given you a great answer regarding the otheer questions, I'll just add that we have the beach beside us too. My kids are the same age as yours and theres always things for them, either in the town or within 20 minutes by car.

Any more questions just ask!:)

fergal.b

Hi TimANDco welcome, I'm just out side Balbriggan but as far as I know you can pick up free tv stations from the north of Ireland if you didn't want to go with SKY or one of the others.
Balbriggan has a good motor factors called "Celtic Car Parts" and they should satisfy your needs and if they don't have what you need they will get it in for you
Best of luck with your move.


.

TimANDco.

thanks all for the warm welcome and quick answers, Halfords was just what I was looking for as I know them from the UK they just don't have them in France(or any car stores for that matter). I'll check out Eircom as well if that's the stable one, i'm a bit of an online gamer as well and can't STAND a slow connection.

And thanks a ton for the kids stuff to do, i know my wife will be really excited to hear about that.

buttercups88

TimANDco. wrote: »

thanks all for the warm welcome and quick answers, Halfords was just what I was looking for as I know them from the UK they just don't have them in France(or any car stores for that matter). I'll check out Eircom as well if that's the stable one, i'm a bit of an online gamer as well and can't STAND a slow connection.

And thanks a ton for the kids stuff to do, i know my wife will be really excited to hear about that.

there are also plenty of preschools in Balbriggan that might be worth looking into for the kids especially if they won't be able to start school right away, just to make friends and also introduce them to Irish language which they will learn in school, even though Irish isn't spoken here it's an important subject in school.

You're younger child might be able to get a place as part of the ECCE free preschool years (if they were less than 4years and 7months on Sept first) that gives 15hours per week (3 hrs a day), might be worth looking into

TimANDco.

buttercups88 wrote: »

there are also plenty of preschools in Balbriggan that might be worth looking into for the kids especially if they won't be able to start school right away, just to make friends and also introduce them to Irish language which they will learn in school, even though Irish isn't spoken here it's an important subject in school.

You're younger child might be able to get a place as part of the ECCE free preschool years (if they were less than 4years and 7months on Sept first) that gives 15hours per week (3 hrs a day), might be worth looking into

yea we are already looking into that, we have to get there first to get our PPS number then we are gonna apply for that.

One other thing anyone know of a store that does like, online ordering and in store pickup, looking for a TV and trying to order it on the cyber monday deals then pick it up when we get there. I've checked out tesco since there is one in balbriggan now but it seems that its only a grocery/clothing store and doesn't sell TV's, i would be mistaken though

buttercups88

TimANDco. wrote: »

yea we are already looking into that, we have to get there first to get our PPS number then we are gonna apply for that.

One other thing anyone know of a store that does like, online ordering and in store pickup, looking for a TV and trying to order it on the cyber monday deals then pick it up when we get there. I've checked out tesco since there is one in balbriggan now but it seems that its only a grocery/clothing store and doesn't sell TV's, i would be mistaken though

Tesco in balbriggan have tv's but no online ordering. Try either Currys (Swords or Drogheda) or Powercity (Drogheda) Argos (drogheda and swords) as well might be worth looking at you can reserve online and collect & pay instore. Also harvey norman

Jimdagym

TimANDco. wrote: »

yea we are already looking into that, we have to get there first to get our PPS number then we are gonna apply for that.

One other thing anyone know of a store that does like, online ordering and in store pickup, looking for a TV and trying to order it on the cyber monday deals then pick it up when we get there. I've checked out tesco since there is one in balbriggan now but it seems that its only a grocery/clothing store and doesn't sell TV's, i would be mistaken though

Its a massive Tesco and it has a large TV and electronics section.

If you like your gaming, eircom fibre is excellent, with excellent latency in my experience.

tatli_lokma

Welcome to Balbriggan!

UPC are good for fibre powered broadband. I have phone and broadband with them and tv with sky. What provider you go with will depend a lot on where in the town you live as none of the providers are able to provide all their products throughout the town.

Stheno

@ OP if you like working on cars, join the motors forum on here

coolhandluke

TimANDco. wrote: »

To start, Hello and sorry don't let the title fool you lol. My wife, 2 young children and myself are moving to Balbriggan on dec.18th. We currently live outside Paris, I am american and she is french. We moved to France from the states about 15 months ago to offer our children a better education. Well needless to say it hasn't been working out for us, the gov't system has been absolutely terrible with helping me stay in the country even though my wife is french, so we're moving out!

She has always wanted to live in Ireland so this move we decided to go for it and found a small apt. in Balbriggan to get us started. I've been searching alot of stuff online as I don't have any clue to what anything is called(store names and such). Been looking for automotive shops, grocery store names, furniture stores and stuff like that. I've seen alot of my questions lead me to this site so I thought I would go ahead and sign up for it and give it a roll in case I had any dire questions, that and i've always been a forum buff.

Wanted to mainly just say Hi to all in the area on here and a few simple questions.

1. Who has good phone/internet/TV service for balbriggan, as I said we just moving there and I have NO clue who the TV companies are in Ireland in the least bit.

2. I'm a huge car fanatic and work on my own as much as possible, is there places like Halfords in the UK. In the states we had a place called Autozone and they would sell all sorts of parts, lights, cleaning products stuff like that.

3. This is the last one i promise lol. I have 2 young kids 4&5 and currently they are both in school here in France, but my youngest can't get in till next year and we might not even be able to get my 5 year old in due to schools being full. Just wondering if anyone knows of a good playground, or play place for kids for day events or learning centers/museums/old churches stuff like that to take them to as to keep them busy.

Thanks anyone for the input or any other info you wanna toss out there. I'll be floating around reading up as much as I can till we actually move.

Why oh why balbriggan ?

Jimdagym

coolhandluke wrote: »

Why oh why balbriggan ?

Superb contribution.

The Hill Billy

coolhandluke - If you have nothing constructive to offer, do not post in this thread again.

tHB

Pro Hoc Vice

TimANDco. wrote: »

yea we are already looking into that, we have to get there first to get our PPS number then we are gonna apply for that.

One other thing anyone know of a store that does like, online ordering and in store pickup, looking for a TV and trying to order it on the cyber monday deals then pick it up when we get there. I've checked out tesco since there is one in balbriggan now but it seems that its only a grocery/clothing store and doesn't sell TV's, i would be mistaken though

You are aware that its more than a PPS number you will need. Is your wife coming to work in Ireland? Have you Irish citizenship or a right yo it? If not are you aware of the applications you will need to make?

tatli_lokma

infosys wrote: »

You are aware that its more than a PPS number you will need. Is your wife coming to work in Ireland? Have you Irish citizenship or a right yo it? If not are you aware of the applications you will need to make?

OP would have European union rights as he is married to an EU citizen. So will be able to apply for residency, work etc. And if his wife has worked in the EU a lot of the social welfare benefits would be open to them to apply for.

Pro Hoc Vice

tatli_lokma wrote: »

OP would have European union rights as he is married to an EU citizen. So will be able to apply for residency, work etc. And if his wife has worked in the EU a lot of the social welfare benefits would be open to them to apply for.

I asked would the wife be working as treaty rights are an economic right not a social right. Yes the husband can make a EU Fam 4 application hence why I said it's more than just applying for PPS number. Seeking work can be accepted as exercising treaty rights. Social welfare is restricted as not habitually resident.

tatli_lokma

infosys wrote: »

I asked would the wife be working as treaty rights are an economic right not a social right. Yes the husband can make a EU Fam 4 application hence why I said it's more than just applying for PPS number. Seeking work can be accepted as exercising treaty rights. Social welfare is restricted as not habitually resident.

But he and his wife have been a habitual resident of another EU country so depending on how long they were in France they may well qualify (OP mentions they lived in Paris but not if they lived elsewhere in France or the EU so it's not clear).

ETA - just realised it's EEA nationals that are exempt but OP's wife is French so exempt either way. And they have lived in France for 15 months (didn't spot that first time in the original post) there are a lot of social benefits they can apply for (obviously some of which are means tested so no guarantees).

tatli_lokma

infosys wrote: »

I asked would the wife be working as treaty rights are an economic right not a social right. Yes the husband can make a EU Fam 4 application hence why I said it's more than just applying for PPS number. Seeking work can be accepted as exercising treaty rights. Social welfare is restricted as not habitually resident.

But he and his wife have been a habitual resident of another EU country so depending on how long they were in France they may well qualify (OP mentions they lived in Paris but not if they lived elsewhere in France or the EU so it's not clear).

The Hill Billy

Let's get back on-topic & keep the discussion to the OP's questions about Balbriggan & the local area.

Thank you.

tHB

Spook_ie

Not specifically Balbriggan but probably a handy site to know

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/moving_country/moving_to_ireland/

TimANDco.

Thanks all for the helpful responses and we have already talked to the Garda about my papers and we are all set on that end.

I think we are ok for now on info from questions I asked before. Most of it is a wait and see sorta thing.

jim-mcdee

coolhandluke wrote: »

Why oh why balbriggan ?

Whats wrong with balbriggan? As you are a <mod snip> perhaps you have some inside knowledge you can share....

The Hill Billy

A general warning to all - as per site Terms of Use, under no circumstances should any attempt to allude to a poster's real identity be made in these forums.

Thank you for your cooperation.

tHB

cathy01

Ah welcome to balbriggan.sure i might bump into you at the paren and toddler cairde centre Monday and Friday 10 .40-12 if not arrange a house warming and we'll all come.x sure aren't Americans all Irish anyway ? Xxx ill bring a cake :-)

minikin

Welcome to the town TimANDco! Hope you got settled in ok today.
Check out the public library on George's Square - an excellent resource for someone new to the town (internet, dvds, games, books etc). http://www.fingalcoco.ie/community-and-leisure/libraries/find-a-library/balbriggan-library/

Regarding internet/tv etc - UPC (Cable) is also available in some parts of the town (www.upc.ie)

Have a great Christmas!

TimANDco.

Well we sign our lease tomorrow and got a place near Main Street that overlooks the water. Was gonna check out eircom and see what they offer. So much to get in order though moving from another country

cathy01

TimANDco. wrote: »

Well we sign our lease tomorrow and got a place near Main Street that overlooks the water. Was gonna check out eircom and see what they offer. So much to get in order though moving from another country

Lovely ,just in time for Santa.i have a 17 year old daughter if your ever looking for a baby sitter .:-)
You will love Balbriggan. ,xx

Moonbeam

Cathy - you just made me feel old!!
I remember her in Foroige and she must have been about 12!!

Good Luck in your new house and I hope Balbriggan works out for you and your family.

Emperor Fing

Just a suggestion. You are looking for work so buy a bus and rail monthly ticket ahead of time for January.