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Relocation to Galway with children
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16-01-2015 12:57am#1
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Not really, never been to Irelandop, have you ever visited Galway?
Yeah, a good idea, but I might be getting a job offer soon with no much time do decide, so not sure it's feasible.might be a good idea to come over and hire a car/bike for a day and just get a vibe for the place...
It's just the proximity of the Atlantic and all the weather systems coming from there, which bing straight into Irish West coast as a first thing. Therefore the rainfail. I'm from a city that has nearly 25% annual rainfall of Galway. I do suffer in the UK which has about twice as much as my home city, but still half of that of Galway. So don't know really what to think.lots of pros and cons about this town but overall I wouldn't live anywhere else, even taking into account the bloody weather! (the reason for notorious Galway grey weather is that we're right bang in the middle of the west coast so we're always on the edge of somewhere else's worse weather!... that's me pet theory anyhow)
Best of luck, I hope you get well soon.on the topic of healthcare, I'm actually in hospital at the moment for an acute infection via a GP referral into the public system and I'm receiving good rapid care.. can't fault it so far.0 -
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Are the schools used to foreigners at all? I'd say foreigners are not that common, are they? Also, my cocern is, I hear the schools are Catholic and teach catechism and stuff like that. Myself raised in liberal catholic family, but I'm not really religious and don't my child to be pushed into a certain religion (any really).Paddyfield wrote: »I pretty much agree with most of the above. I live in Knocknacarra which is 2km from Salthill and 5km from city. Busses are frequent and efficient. Getting into a primary school wasn't a bother for my kids but I believe that secondary schools are tougher to get into.
Right, I guess it's case by case. It's difficult to generalise.One of kids was was critically ill when he was born and spent 4 months in neonatal intensive care. His life was in the hands of some outstanding medical professionals who beat the odds. He survived and thrived. He is 8 now. My missus was also very sick at the time and spent a week in intensive care. Both received world class care through the HSE. Never ever underestimate the Irish health system. It ain't perfect but it's damn good when needed.
InterestingEnjoy Galway. When the weather is crap, it's very crap. But when it's not crap, we celebrate it. When it's beautiful, we stay indoors and give out about the heat. ;0)
I ain't no Irish, neither my wifeFINALLY..... Where are you from originally and where do you live now? If you are originally from Westport and are currently living in Southampton, then you will blend in quickly. If you are originally from Longford and are currently residing in Milton Keynes, then Galway will overwhelm you.
CheersFailte abhaile0 -
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I'm quite afraid to be honest. Never been to Ireland. Potential cons what I can see straight away upon doing my shallow research are: the healthcare system (some scary reports, need to pay private insurance), small market therefore small competition leading to not so big range of services/goods offered (compared to, say, the UK), alcoholism seems to be a problem (i.e. absence of social life if you are not a drinker or even a drunkardI'd suggest going for it. Ireland is class, great way of life and seemingly an ever increasing population coming over from the UK.
), and of course the weather.
Couple of pros: nearly no water charge, no council tax, beatiful countryside/mountains/lakes, friendlier and more family oriented people (I hope, compared with the UK), cheap Guiness??
That's exactly what I'd imagineIreland is probably a bit more multi-cultural than you might think. Somebody who has never been would likely think it's a small Island with only Island people but it's not. I mean, I'd expect Dublin (and maybe Cork) to be a bit multi-cultural, but that's it. 0 -
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I agree, we've had a similar experience when we moved to the UK.As someone also with a 3 year old daughter who has moved around for my partner's career, I insist you come to Ireland and check it out for yourself. I have moved to places that I researched but had never been to and it didn't turn out well. It just wasn't a good fit for us, no matter how good it might be on paper or how wonderful people tell you it is.
SureGalway is wonderful though, thought I would throw that in there. But do visit these places suggested for yourself, especially with your wife. 0 -
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We are from the Czech Republic and India respectively.I had to smile at that. You might be surprised to hear that it's actually quite the opposite. Foreigners, we prefer to say 'non national' are very common in Ireland and Galway in particular. At times walking around town you'd think you were anywhere but a small city on the west coast of Ireland when you hear all the languages spoken. The schools are very used to kids from all over. Indeed in some areas, Irish kids are the minority. You don't say where you're from originally but you'll probably find some of you countrymen already living here.
Interesting.Galway is a very open and cosmopolitan city. If you watch the St Patrick's Day parade in Galway, it's more like a celebration of flags of the world than Irishness.
Fair enough then and thanks, this helps.Yes most of the schools are Catholic however they are long used to children of other faiths. I even once saw two Muslim girls wearing the uniform of the local Catholic convent school! Most Irish now are in fact liberal Catholics. My sons school is Jesuit in character but nothing is pushed on them so far. There are non Catholic schools but are often popular and hard to get into. Plus what school you choose is dependant on where you settle. Also some of the best schools teach entirely through the Irish language. That's not the problem you might think because most kids start with no Irish at all. Yours I see is three so that won't be a problem because he or she will start at the same level as all the others.
I think the health insurance was in the package, but I don't have details on that. What discount would I typically get?In terms of health insurance. Check the job offer. Many companies, particularly multinationals offer a subsidised health insurance package. Galway is well equipped with hospitals. The main regional hospital is here, plus two private hospitals.
Yeah, renting. Which brings me to another point, I've seen nearly all rental properties are furnished, quite opposite the situation in the UK and also continental Europe I'd say. We've got some furniture obviously, so I'm thinking how to go about this...As for where to live, well I assume you're going to rent. There is a lot of demand for rental properties, party due to the large number of foreigners living here. So you'll need to look at getting a place quickly. Once settled though you can look around for something better. You'll find people you work with will advise from their own experiences.
I hear Irish complain a lotWeatherwise to be honest, in my experience it's not as rainy as people say. In fact statistically it's the same as most of the rest of the country. But once you go west into Connemara it's gets wetter. There is a lot of exaggeration about it though. Heavy rain is the exception and most commonly it's showery and it rarely lasts all day. We do get treated to a couple of Atlantic storms each year. But anyway the annual rainfall is double compared to where we live right now 
WickedI even saw people sitting outside a café, wearing coats of course. Typical for Galway in the Winter.
Yeah, it does, indeed. And it's interesting considering it's such a small city.I rarely meet anyone, foreign or not who regret living in Galway. Indeed many Irish people when they find out where I live tell me that they would love to move here. That says something.0 -
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Shocking. I guess prescriptions are paid too. Sounds like Switzerland or Norway. How do retired or people with low income cope with this?
As far as i know you only pay €120 approx per month on prescriptions max the goverment pays the rest.
Galway is a good place to live. Just dont come here expecting free health care etc. If you have an active and generally healthy lifestyle Galway would be a good fit.0 -
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After a huge row, even rich retired people get their prescriptions paid for. The government tried to make it based on income or means but they got slaughtered on that. So those of us with normal incomes have to pay but rich pensioners pay nothing.Shocking. I guess prescriptions are paid too. Sounds like Switzerland or Norway. How do retired or people with low income cope with this?
Shocking. I pay for all my prescriptions but a retired Doctor pays nothing. But people with limited income pays nothing or whatever minimum cost unless they have a medical cards
Typical mad Irish logic. Low income people pay very little. Working people pay plenty but get better treatment.
But I have to say it works out in favour of people on decent money. If you have health insurance any medical costs are tax deductible.
People on low incomes just have to wait longer unless it's critical. My Mother was recently diagnosed with Cancer. No cost is involved, no issue with insurance. She has the best of treatment even though it's now palliative. She is being well looked after.
She is getting the best of the treatment but there is nothing medicine can do. It's in these situations where you realise that our health service is not as bad as it's painted.
No amount of health insurance would a save her but it could bankrupt us all in other countries. So don't exaggerate the issue.0 -
I'm happy that you mentioned the middle thing, as most Czechs will starting giving you a lecture when they hear someone calling them Eastern Europeans. It's a peculiar thing. As geography books say it's a country in Central Europe, Austria lies on more or less the same longitude and is rarely being called Eastern European country...here you goOk Czech and Indian you'll fit right in. East Europeans like Poles, Lithuanians etc are very common, and yes I know being Czech are not the same but but being 'middle European is normal in Galway these days. Plus Indians are far from rare.
I'll request more info regarding this.I can't say what discount you get as it varies with the company but the American company I worked for at one stage made it very attractive.
OK, will try to ask, but I'm kind of starting to think about an alternative scenario for our furniture.When it comes to renting being furnished is the norm. As is happens we rent a house and supplied the furniture etc. But you can always ask. For one of our tenants we stored our stuff and they supplied their own furniture. But no our tenants are very happy now so don't ask. It's a landlords market anyway.
Yes, it's clear it must a nice place, I really appreciate all the answers and help. Home town is a home town, it will be always number one for me as well.I do think that from the replies it's clear people like living here. I'm from Dublin and honestly I would like to go back there but it's not because Galway is a bad place. It's just that I love my home town. But I also love Galway and I can't think of a bad thing about the place.
I do find this very attractive, I enjoy walks by lakes, in forests and hiking too and Galway seems really well positioned for this...To give you an example. Tomorrow me and my wife who is a Galway native, it's a Sunday and we think we need to go somewhere for a drive. For once we'll be avoiding one of her numerous sisters. But we are spoiled for choice. One hour in any direction will take you to some extraordinary scenery. Connemara, the cliffs of Moher, Cong, etc.
You can drive out of town for not very long and find yourself off the edge of the world.0 -
I'm quite afraid to be honest. Never been to Ireland. Potential cons what I can see straight away upon doing my shallow research are: the healthcare system (some scary reports, need to pay private insurance), small market therefore small competition leading to not so big range of services/goods offered (compared to, say, the UK), alcoholism seems to be a problem (i.e. absence of social life if you are not a drinker or even a drunkard), and of course the weather.
Couple of pros: nearly no water charge, no council tax, beatiful countryside/mountains/lakes, friendlier and more family oriented people (I hope, compared with the UK), cheap Guiness??
That's exactly what I'd imagine I mean, I'd expect Dublin (and maybe Cork) to be a bit multi-cultural, but that's it.
All of those concerns are not without base to be honest. The healthcare system is awful. Going to the GP is grand, it's just like anywhere else. I believe we actually have one of the highest infant mortality rates, so it can't be that bad, right? We're pretty good at vaccinating. I think cancer treatment is pretty good too for the most part. There's been mishandling of scans on a couple of occasions but I think for the most part it's good.
If you have to go see a consultant about something, it's always a bad experience. Even when you get the help you need, it can be slow and unpleasant. There's some great surgeons and some pretty piss poor surgeons. I wouldn't want to have to rely on the healthcare system if I got very sick.
Galway actually has a wide variety of restaurants and pubs...so there's competition there. We've also got many of the same chains that you guys have in the UK e.g. Boots, Smyths Toystore, JD Sports and all of that craic. Cost can be high for some things due to the high vat rate. Some of the taxes in Ireland are a joke but it's likely a lot cheaper in Galway than somewhere like Manchester and London
Alcoholism is a very real problem but you don't have to deal with it, if you don't want to. Other than during festivals and events, you shouldn't see drunks stumbling around all that much0 -
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The infant mortality is not so good compared to most of the continental Europe (as per the latest OECD data), but it's better than that of the Netherlands, UK and Austria. I don't think this is a major issue.I believe we actually have one of the highest infant mortality rates, so it can't be that bad, right?
We rarely go to a doctor and if we do, we go to a GP. But one never knows when one gets sick or has an accident.If you have to go see a consultant about something, it's always a bad experience. Even when you get the help you need, it can be slow and unpleasant. There's some great surgeons and some pretty piss poor surgeons. I wouldn't want to have to rely on the healthcare system if I got very sick.
Pub competition of course.Galway actually has a wide variety of restaurants and pubs...so there's competition there.
Didn't study taxes much, but joint taxation for couples is a big plus compared to the UK. There's no council tax like in the UK, but the private health insurance is pretty much the same, so no difference here. Food and utilities prices and seem to be more or less the same or a bit higher to me. Rental prices are definitely lower than where we live (at least 15%). Public transport (especially train) seem much lower thatn in the UK.We've also got many of the same chains that you guys have in the UK e.g. Boots, Smyths Toystore, JD Sports and all of that craic. Cost can be high for some things due to the high vat rate. Some of the taxes in Ireland are a joke but it's likely a lot cheaper in Galway than somewhere like Manchester and London
I read about this the other day on this forum and someone mentioned there that if you don't go to pub, it's not so easy to make friends, would you agree with that?Alcoholism is a very real problem but you don't have to deal with it, if you don't want to. Other than during festivals and events, you shouldn't see drunks stumbling around all that much0 -
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