Move to Carrick on Shannon

djotters

Hi

We are thinking of moving from the UK to Carrick on Shannon and are looking for info on the following:-

1. Work situation for a self employed carpenter/joiner (30 years exp) - is there much around as a sub contractor and what sort of rates could be expected.
2. We have a 9 year old daughter - what are the schools like/much to do at weekends etc. Any dance schools in the area ?
3. I worked for years in accounts - is there much temping in accounts or admin ?
4. Any other advice/info would be much appreciated.

Sorry for all the questions but have spent of time doing internet research and not had a lot of luck so thought I would try this.

Thank you

fergalfrog

Hi,

I was in a similar situation about 5 and a half years ago. Full details on my move to Carrick on:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055501866

To answer your questions:
1. Work situation for a self employed carpenter/joiner (30 years exp) - is there much around as a sub contractor and what sort of rates could be expected.
I have no idea about this to be honest. I would guess the fall out from the celtic tiger crash is still very evident but things do seem to be improving.

2. We have a 9 year old daughter - what are the schools like/much to do at weekends etc. Any dance schools in the area ?
We now have 2 boys - when we moved here we had no kids. We have no problems with boredom!
Regarding dance, see victoriawalkerdance.ie (no affilation etc)

3. I worked for years in accounts - is there much temping in accounts or admin
Again as per question 1 I would guess there is not a tonne of work on this. The closure of MBNA will not have helped either.

4. Any other advice/info would be much appreciated.

Personally I love Carrrick on Shannon. See this article from as recently as last weekend http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/carrick-s-kurds-relish-a-life-more-ordinary-after-years-as-refugees-1.2231150

While we did not come as far I can understand some of the sentiments of the Kurdish people. The vast majority of locals are very friendly. I work in Dublin 2 days a week and the contrast in the attitude and manner of people is stark.

Coffee/Restaraunts/Shops/Cinema/Swimming Pool etc all more than adequate.
It is 40 mins or so to Sligo and a bit less than 2 hours to Dublin. It is a well serviced train line too and Knock airport is not far either.

I have a conflict of interest here. I love Carrick and don't want the whole world to discover it and move here!

I would suggest you spend a week here and see what you think.

djotters

Thank you very much for the info. We are planning a visit to Carrick on Shannon in the summer.

djotters

Any other info re my post would be very much appreciated.
Thanks

il gatto

djotters wrote: »

Any other info re my post would be very much appreciated.
Thanks

Nice little town with a great buzz around it as it hasn't been bypassed. Unfortunately traffic can be a pain along the river as a result. Took me 15 minutes from Lunny's to the Landmark last Friday (about 300 yards).
It gets a lot of hen and stag nights but mainly summer weekends.
Work situation is a bit unpredictable. The north west hasn't rebounded like elsewhere (yet anyway). In a small town like Carrick, you don't expect to work in the town as much as "in the vicinity". You could pick up work anywhere from Sligo to Longford. That wouldn't be unusual in rural Ireland.
School has a good reputation and there should be more than enough activities to keep kids busy. Lough Key Forest Park is only 10 minutes away and has loads of activities and walks through the woodland.

fergalfrog

il gatto wrote: »

Took me 15 minutes from Lunny's to the Landmark last Friday (about 300 yards).

Just thought I would pick up on this

You probably picked the worst day of the year.
Carrick Carnival was on last Friday which included Taste of Carrick. This was at the quay so everyone going there had to cross the N4 - the guards kept things moving but that was the reason for delays.

On a Friday/Monday of a public holiday weekend traffic can be bad for sure yes but ion general it is not bad. I work on one side of Carrick and live on the other. My commute morning and evening is never more than 9 minutes

I agree with the other points you have made. A lot of people living in Carrick would not be working in Carrick.

il gatto

fergalfrog wrote: »

Just thought I would pick up on this

You probably picked the worst day of the year.
Carrick Carnival was on last Friday which included Taste of Carrick. This was at the quay so everyone going there had to cross the N4 - the guards kept things moving but that was the reason for delays.

On a Friday/Monday of a public holiday weekend traffic can be bad for sure yes but ion general it is not bad. I work on one side of Carrick and live on the other. My commute morning and evening is never more than 9 minutes

I agree with the other points you have made. A lot of people living in Carrick would not be working in Carrick.

And a wedding on in the Landmark. And I was late. It's normally not that bad tbf.

Xenophile

Carrick on Shannon

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrick-on-Shannon

n97 mini

Carrick ex pat here. There's really not a lot of work in Carrick, unless you can somehow get into the stag/hen party trade as that's booming. Carrick like the rest of the west of Ireland always had a shortage of employment, which is probably (ironically) one of the main attractions to the place, especially for older people looking to settle down.