Help With Moving to Dublin in the Fall from USA

cymbal

Hey Everyone,

I am not sure if this is the right forum to post this thread - but hopefully it is. Anyway, I've been to Dublin about 9 times over the last several years & am moving there in the fall. I've been to a ton of cities in the usa and europe with my job, and it has been one of my favorites - so I am looking forward to living there (minus everything involved with moving).

Two things that have been a challenge for me are finding a place to live & figuring out your healthcare system. I have a minor medical issue - but I have to take a pill for it every day. I read a lot about the insurance system online, but I am not going to be eligible for 5 years (if ever) and I don't mind paying for private insurance (it's $4000 a year here) - I just don't know how to do it or where to look. I just want to do whatever makes things easy...the cost isn't really what worries me. The waiting / red tape is what worries me.

With finding an apartment, it seems like you guys don't have any rental agencies at all? Or am I just totally missing it? I saw the listings on daft.ie and let.ie -- do people go to every appointment on their own? When I moved from one state to another - I got a rental agent to take me to 5 apartments and I just picked one - and he got a check for the 1st month of rent. Also, are landlords going to trust me without a credit history in Ireland? All American landlords do a credit report on you to see what you owe & if you have any bankruptcies. I can show them this american report - or just pay cash ahead or something, but I'm not sure if they'd rather not bother with the "risk" of some random American with no credit history.

Well, sorry it was a bit long - there's actually a lot more than just health insurance and an apartment... but those are the main two things that I just have to sort out first...then, I can figure out how to fit my food in your small refrigerators and everything else. Thank you!

If there is a forum on moving - or a board somewhere, I would really appreciate the link. I know there's a blog by this couple who retired there but it doesn't all really apply.

adamski8

With health insurance im pretty sure you can just ring 1 of a dozen health insurance providers and you will be covered by the next day. You can do it online.

No rental agencies but all they might ask for is a reference and a months rent as deposit. Never heard of credit reports here.

I dont think you have anything to worry about. Most things in ireland are super easy to set up unlike some other countries.

miss no stars

adamski8 wrote: »

With health insurance im pretty sure you can just ring 1 of a dozen health insurance providers and you will be covered by the next day. You can do it online.

No rental agencies but all they might ask for is a reference and a months rent as deposit. Never heard of credit reports here.

I dont think you have anything to worry about. Most things in ireland are super easy to set up unlike some other countries.

Very unlikely to be the case with a pre-existing condition.

Health insurance here basically has exclusion periods for certain things after you take it out - for example if you've never been insured before you have to wait (I think) a couple of months before you can claim for a planned procedure, otherwise nobody would take out insurance til they knew they needed to claim. Same with pregnancy benefits, they don't pay out til for any pregnancies that happen before 9-12 months after you take out the insurance. You'll have to check the specifics of whatever policy you take out. Your best bet is to try and get your current provider to cover you in Ireland for a couple of months while you set yourself up.

Also, insurance here doesn't cover the cost of medication. We do have a cap on the amount that a single family has to pay for prescription medication in one month though (€144). So you'll never pay more than €1728 for prescription drugs in a year. Add in another €1000 or so for a reasonable level of cover on your insurance and you'll be paying about the same as the $4000 you're paying now.

athtrasna

There are only four health insurance providers, Vhi, Laya, Aviva and Glo. All of them have a good online presence so I'd advise dropping them an email with your queries. Also check out hia.ie it's the health insurance authority, they have a good tool to help you find the right policy.

There are letting agencies here but they work for the landlord not the client. Rentals in Dublin are at a premium these days, demand is high so it's a landlords' market, they choose their tenants. Daft is probably your best resource though we're pretty helpful on here too

seamus

cymbal wrote: »

Also, are landlords going to trust me without a credit history in Ireland? All American landlords do a credit report on you to see what you owe & if you have any bankruptcies. I can show them this american report - or just pay cash ahead or something, but I'm not sure if they'd rather not bother with the "risk" of some random American with no credit history.

Effectively there's no such thing as credit scores in Ireland. Your credit history lists all loans you've had for the last five years and any missed repayments. This is only accessible to you and licenced credit institutions with your permission.
Landlords, utilities, shops, etc cannot access your credit history.

The typical way a landlord establishes trustworthiness of a tenant is by written reference from your employer (basically proving you can meet the rent) and/or by written reference from previous landlords. A credit history from the US will probably be meaningless to most.

Renting in Ireland is quite immature in comparison to other countries. Most landlords ask for a deposit before renting, which is usually a month's rent. This is theoretically to cover any extraordinary damage to the property during your tenancy. It doesn't go into escrow or get held with an agent or anything like that. It goes into the landlord's back pocket and you have to trust that he will give it back at the end of the tenancy. There are things you can do to force him to give it back, but until that happens you're short that cash.

cymbal

Hi everyone, thanks so much for getting back to me so quickly. I really appreciate it! Here are a few questions I have from what you said...long again...sorry! I split it into the two topics:

Health Insurance
Miss No Stars - When you mentioned the prescription drug cap, is that just for Irish citizens? I read about that somewhere else, but I couldn't figure out who it applies to. I would probably keep my American insurance for a little bit & get my doctor to prescribe extra stuff for a while until the Irish insurance is set up. I need one thyroid pill prescribed...that's really it. There are 2 others that I just keep bc sometimes thyroid can give you side effects - but that's not often. Still, those are more prescriptions. And, then I need to see a doc every 3-4 months for the standard blood tests. That's the extent of my preexisting condition. Anything else would be true insurance for health probs. The cash price of having hypothyroidism with insurance is like $100 a year here (co-pays and discounts). Without insurance, it's like $2500 a year. Our healthcare system is very messed up because you get a bill for $800 for a thyroid test, and the insurance company says "that test is only $40 based on our contracted rate" and then they pay $30 and you pay $10. If you don't have insurance, you owe the full $800. Makes no sense, but that's how it is (though in theory, everyone is supposed to be insured now with obamacare). The same happens with doctor visits. You get a $400 bill - but you only owe $20 - and insurance caps it at $100. Without insurance, you owe $400. I don't know if Ireland is anything like that though (I hope not). When obamacare finally passed here, nothing was excluded as preexisting. But, you think it would be in Ireland? Or, there would be a waiting period? It's not going to go away... I mean, this thing is for life once you have it. Fortunately, it's not considered a major problem...even in the "exclusionary" days before obamacare - thyroid patients were allowed on plans because it's so cheap.

Athtransa- thanks for listing all the carriers...It was a bit confusing when I was googling for Irish healthcare. That was very helpful.

Apartment
My current building is managed by this huge company and their policy is that they refuse to write anyone a reference letter. They let you get your account statement that shows all your payments, but that's it. I noticed landlords on daft wanted a reference, but I can't do much aside from the account statement. I suppose a landlord could call them & hear from their own mouth that they won't give a reference but they will email the account details. I do have enough cash to show a LL up front that I can pay for the year if they are really worried about me... but I don't want to have to show people my savings accounts really.

Is there a separate section on boards.ie for renting? I know Dublin sorta well...but I tended to stay by TCD every time I was here - so I know D2 mostly the best. Some of my friends told me to look in Rathmines and Ranelagh - where they live(d)...and I've been over there and it seems fine. The only thing is I have no plans to ever drive...so that might limit my options. Also, I'm a seriously light sleeper / noise-phobe. Right now I live on the 30th floor AND face a courtyard. All I want in Dublin is something quiet & near transportation...and not really old. I can afford around €1200 maybe 1400 max max. I'd be ok with a roommate, though I'm in my 30s and kinda over that phase of my life. I'll be there in September to look for an apartment, but I'll miss the major Sept 1 lease start date... Hopefully that's not a huge problem. I can get something Oct 1 or Sept 15.

Thanks again for your replies. I really appreciate it!

miss no stars

cymbal wrote: »

Hi everyone, thanks so much for getting back to me so quickly. I really appreciate it! Here are a few questions I have from what you said...long again...sorry! I split it into the two topics:

Health Insurance
Miss No Stars - When you mentioned the prescription drug cap, is that just for Irish citizens? I read about that somewhere else, but I couldn't figure out who it applies to. I would probably keep my American insurance for a little bit & get my doctor to prescribe extra stuff for a while until the Irish insurance is set up. I need one thyroid pill prescribed...that's really it. There are 2 others that I just keep bc sometimes thyroid can give you side effects - but that's not often. Still, those are more prescriptions. And, then I need to see a doc every 3-4 months for the standard blood tests. That's the extent of my preexisting condition. Anything else would be true insurance for health probs. The cash price of having hypothyroidism with insurance is like $100 a year here (co-pays and discounts). Without insurance, it's like $2500 a year. Our healthcare system is very messed up because you get a bill for $800 for a thyroid test, and the insurance company says "that test is only $40 based on our contracted rate" and then they pay $30 and you pay $10. If you don't have insurance, you owe the full $800. Makes no sense, but that's how it is (though in theory, everyone is supposed to be insured now with obamacare). The same happens with doctor visits. You get a $400 bill - but you only owe $20 - and insurance caps it at $100. Without insurance, you owe $400. I don't know if Ireland is anything like that though (I hope not). When obamacare finally passed here, nothing was excluded as preexisting. But, you think it would be in Ireland? Or, there would be a waiting period? It's not going to go away... I mean, this thing is for life once you have it. Fortunately, it's not considered a major problem...even in the "exclusionary" days before obamacare - thyroid patients were allowed on plans because it's so cheap.

http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/list/1/schemes/drugspaymentscheme/Your_Guide_to_Drugs_Payment_Scheme.html

Anyone ordinarily resident in Ireland qualifies for the drugs payment scheme (the cap on your medication costs). I think you have to apply to be part of it though. There's also a discount pharmacy in Dundrum called healthwave. If they stock your medications you actually may be better off registering with them and not hitting the payment cap: http://healthwave.ie/price-list/

Regarding existing conditions, I don't think the existing conditions are excluded per se, but have a waiting period before you can claim treatment costs for them. Also, blood tests are free if your GP sends you for one and you're willing to hang around the phlebotomy department of your local hospital for a while waiting to have it done.

Co-pay is slightly different than in the US. For example, if I go into hospital for a planned inpatient procedure and have a semi-private room in a public hospital, I pay nothing. Just sign at the bottom of the claim form. If I go to the emergency department without a doctor's letter I pay the bill (€100) and my insurer refunds me €75. But that'll all depend on what type of insurance you have. But the price of the procedure is the price regardless of whether you have insurance or not. Generally speaking, you're either covered for something, not covered for something, or partially covered where the level of cover is defined in advance (e.g. be covered for xrays and scans in a designated list of hospitals but not for the same procedure in others; or if for inpatients you have full cover for a semi-private room and you want a private room, they'll pay the amount they'd be paying for a semi-private room and you pay the balance).

cymbal wrote: »

My current building is managed by this huge company and their policy is that they refuse to write anyone a reference letter. They let you get your account statement that shows all your payments, but that's it. I noticed landlords on daft wanted a reference, but I can't do much aside from the account statement. I suppose a landlord could call them & hear from their own mouth that they won't give a reference but they will email the account details. I do have enough cash to show a LL up front that I can pay for the year if they are really worried about me... but I don't want to have to show people my savings accounts really.

Is there a separate section on boards.ie for renting? I know Dublin sorta well...but I tended to stay by TCD every time I was here - so I know D2 mostly the best. Some of my friends told me to look in Rathmines and Ranelagh - where they live(d)...and I've been over there and it seems fine. The only thing is I have no plans to ever drive...so that might limit my options. Also, I'm a seriously light sleeper / noise-phobe. Right now I live on the 30th floor AND face a courtyard. All I want in Dublin is something quiet & near transportation...and not really old. I can afford around €1200 maybe 1400 max max. I'd be ok with a roommate, though I'm in my 30s and kinda over that phase of my life. I'll be there in September to look for an apartment, but I'll miss the major Sept 1 lease start date... Hopefully that's not a huge problem. I can get something Oct 1 or Sept 15.

Thanks again for your replies. I really appreciate it!

There's an accommodation and property forum here, useful enough for renting and has a couple of guides to what to look out for. I honestly can't see why a landlord would turn down someone who's come from abroad and can show a history of renting and paying on time plus has a reference from their employer. If you want to be in the centre of things and somewhere new, maybe look around the IFSC or Grand Canal Dock area?

wahesh32

Hi OP,

I'm an American living in Dublin.

I wouldn't worry too much about being without health insurance when you first arrive. Unfortunately, the US system makes Americans very paranoid of every being without insurance, but that's not the case here. You'll always be taken care of. There's no medical bankruptcy here :-). The public system tends to provide quite good care, and can occasionally be fast/efficient (depending on what you need), but there's also a chance you can be put on a several month waiting list. It depends on what you need, and how medically urgent it is. If I were you, I'd try to get into the public system as soon as you arrive in Ireland (even if you don't need any care for your condition right away). This is simply so you're in the system.

You can also do things on the private system, which tends to greatly speed everything up (in my experiences, the private system here is faster and more efficient than the US system with health insurance). Also, the cost of the private system with no insurance tends to be roughly the same price as the same procedures in the US with insurance. You can also claim 20% of the cost of non-covered procedures back on your taxes. If you get health insurance in Ireland, then the private system's costs will go down.

Prescription medicine here tends to be significantly cheaper (my asthma inhaler is 10% the price I was paying in the US after insurance).

I think (but am not sure) that September is a bad time to look for an apartment because you'll be competing with college students (especially around rathmines/ranelagh). My wife and I don't have a car, and we generally don't miss it (although we live in an area with good transport links to my job and to the city centre). If you do plan on living without a car, you'll have to choose your area carefully. Anywhere along the luas lines, or DART line will help tremendously. There's village centres along the green luas (like ranelagh, dundrum, sandyford) that can have good bus service along with the luas. Or along the DART line (like Sandymount, Blackrock, Dun Laoghaire). Note that these areas will be more expensive because of the transport links.

Good luck!

ScottSF

adamski8 wrote: »

...
No rental agencies but all they might ask for is a reference and a months rent as deposit. Never heard of credit reports here.
...

When I moved here a few years ago my wife's employer paid for a real estate agent who was knowledgeable about renting. He asked about our preferences, made appointments, and took us around for one day. He even helped negotiate a decrease off the monthly rent with the landlord, but I doubt that would work in today's hot rental market.

I wonder how to go about finding a similar person in Dublin. Anyone know? You would think there could be a good demand for this paid service since it is time consuming and someone new to Dublin could use advice on what to look for and what to avoid in units and neighborhoods.

We brought lots of paperwork to "get approved" by our landlord like a letter of employment that lists pay, a copy of a recent bank statement, and had to pay a month's deposit to secure the apartment which is typical in the US too. You also most likely need to open a bank account to set up direct payment of your rent - at least that was required in my case. Opening an Irish bank account could be a bit tricky if you've just arrived and do not have an address yet.

wahesh32

ScottSF wrote: »

When I moved here a few years ago my wife's employer paid for a real estate agent who was knowledgeable about renting. He asked about our preferences, made appointments, and took us around for one day. He even helped negotiate a decrease off the monthly rent with the landlord, but I doubt that would work in today's hot rental market.

I wonder how to go about finding a similar person in Dublin. Anyone know? You would think there could be a good demand for this paid service since it is time consuming and someone new to Dublin could use advice on what to look for and what to avoid in units and neighborhoods.

We brought lots of paperwork to "get approved" by our landlord like a letter of employment that lists pay, a copy of a recent bank statement, and had to pay a month's deposit to secure the apartment which is typical in the US too. You also most likely need to open a bank account to set up direct payment of your rent - at least that was required in my case. Opening an Irish bank account could be a bit tricky if you've just arrived and do not have an address yet.

Excellent points. I had a "relocation specialist" help choose the area, and negotiate the rent as well. I have no idea if the service is expensive, as it was paid for by my job. If you want, I can send you their contact info.

Opening a bank account was quite tricky. To rent an apartment or sign up for any bills (like electricity, cable, internet, etc.), you will be required to have a bank account where they can do automatic bank drafts every month. However, to open a bank account you have to prove residency in Ireland with a bill with your name/address. I would make this a priority when you first arrive. If not, you'll have to pay for things with your US bank and the conversion charges will eat up your savings.

spurious

Thyroid medication is highly unlikely to go anywhere near meeting the monthly 'cap' beyond which you don't have to pay.

Corruptedmorals

If your medication is Levothyroxine sodium, this costs approx €7 for one months supply if it's just the one tablet per day. Not aware of other med costs but it is unlikely to be steep. Levothyroxine (called Eltroxin) is even cheaper in Spain if you know someone heading over at any stage, it does not need a prescription there unless that has changed recently. You could get a few months supply for very little.

If your case is straightforward and does not need endocrinology appointments etc then a GP is the way to go, google a few in the area when you know where you plan to settle to get a few reviews before you register with one. A GP can organise blood tests in the clinic, a consultation generally costs around €60 but follow up appointments that are basically just a blood test should be cheaper.

If you need further investigation, the GP will refer you to a consultant. Privately you pay upfront for these, in the region of €200-300 for a first consultation. You claim it back with health insurance but plans tend to cover brilliantly for inpatient and extremely little as an outpatient unfortunately.

Your average private health insurance plan is €1500 a year if not more. Shop around, I know myself there are hundreds of plans out there from working in a private hospital and verifying cover. Common excesses (copay) €125, they rarely go over this except for the really low plans. Laya is the company with many popular plans with this amount, VHI and Aviva are €75 on their plans with excesses for the most part. VHI tend to be expensive rather than have excesses. We also have shortfalls on plans, Laya in particular, not VHI or Glo.

Dord

spurious wrote: »

Thyroid medication is highly unlikely to go anywhere near meeting the monthly 'cap' beyond which you don't have to pay.

+1 It'd probably under €20... depending on dosage etc. You can buy generic brand thyroid meds here. Fully approved and from a pharmacy, just no fancy brandname.

Expect to pay in or around €50 per visit for the doctor. If you need, some pharmacies do the tests also. I think around €30.

Most health insurance policies here don't cover the prescriptions, or cover partially. My last policy covered 50% of the prescription costs and doctors visits up to 6 a year or something. It depeneds on the policy.

You'll certainly be paying less than US, even without medical insurance.

EDIT: If you're coming here and have work lined up, check with your employer. Most big companies would have corporate medical plans available at reduced rates and subsidised by the company.

cymbal

wahesh32 wrote: »

Hi OP,
I wouldn't worry too much about being without health insurance when you first arrive. Unfortunately, the US system makes Americans very paranoid of every being without insurance, but that's not the case here.
Good luck!

Thank you for saying that. Yes, it is (even post obamacare) still a mess... My parents were self-employed so they had to go through ridiculous amounts of tests every year they wanted to renew their plans. (And ironically they are in the medical field!) I've typically had healthcare through school or work.

I'm reading through the other posts- I just had to reply to that first! It was really on my mind.

YumCha

On the health insurance thing:
- Cost of getting drugs on prescription is never covered
- If your employer is paying for health insurance (which they normally do here - check first) the 5 year waiting period is *usually* waived
- Things your insurance will give you a partial refund on (check the plan): doctor's visits, tests, specialist visits etc. etc.
- At the end of the year, any out of pocket medical expenses (e.g. prescriptions or part amount of doctor's visits not refunded) can be submitted to Revenue for a 20% rebate

Choosing a health insurer:
- If your employer isn't paying for it - check out www.hia.ie. One good thing about Ireland is that all providers have to offer all plans to the public (even the special rate corporate ones) so don't just look at their individual websites.
- I think there's also a tax rebate (20% maybe?) if you end up having to pay your own health insurance

And renting is as most people describe... If you're moving over with work they should have someone to help you navigate through a lot of this...

cymbal

Thanks again everyone. That's interesting you don't have coverage for the Rx side of things - unless it's over the cap. That would make things a lot easier here in some ways. We have "out of pocket maximums" but it's not as easily calculated as it sounds.

I think I am going to see if the relocation specialists will help me with a rental. My visit coming up is short, and even though I can imagine agents wouldn't want to waste their time for a small rental commission...maybe if they will do it if they make that in a single day.

Wahesh, can you send me their info?

I'll look on the part of the board w/ moving / neighborhoods.

I will have to try to set up a bank acct as soon as the lease is signed. I knew I'd have to deal with the fees for a while.

Thyroid medicine is very cheap here too btw (even brand name)... with my particular plan, it's free. It's not life or death if I miss a dose or forget to get a test either...nothing ever changed for many years already. It's just something that adds up time/expense wise. Besides just that - I grew up around a lot of doctors, so for my whole life, that made me (a) neurotic about medical problems and (b) treated for any minor cough, scrape, fever, with an arsenal of pills. Plus, I've seen people go with $100,000 bills for things - though... it sounds like that doesn't happen in Ireland.

I can't seem to find the forum for moving / apartment related talk... what main heading is it under?

fussyonion

Soc>Accommodation & Property.

Cathmandooo

Accommodation & Property Forum

While it's not the norm here you can contact any estate agent and ask them to do a residential search for you, you'd agreed a fee with them and they find what suits your needs. Given it's not the norm you could be quoted all sorts of varying fees for the search so shop around.

myhome.ie and daft.ie are the main residential search websites.

Rental prices have gone up recently and can be hard to come by especially in September with all the colleges starting back.

uch

All you need to know about the Drugs Payment Scheme are Here



http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/list/1/schemes/drugspaymentscheme/Your_Guide_to_Drugs_Payment_Scheme.html