Cant afford to live in Dublin

LegacyUser

ive being on the dole for a few years now and i hate it i want to be out working i live in the middle of no where and dont have a car and the towns near by have very little jobs i go to dublin a few days a week to stay with my boyfriend in his family home and now an offer of some work has come to me its only 21 hours a week so there is no way i could move to dublin as the rent is crazy... my boyfriend works but would just get an average wage we want to move in together but all we could afford is maybe 455 a month for rent and there is no way of getting anywhere at that amount everything is six and seven even eight hundred i cant stay in his family home as i know his mother and father would like us to get our own flat as they have stated this before and me staying there 3 nights a week is enough so it looks like il have to turn down work and go on like this without structure to my days and wishing i could be out and about working like everyone else any advice would be great

PinkLemonade

You're boyfriends on an average wage you say? Most young professionals pay above 400e these days to live in Dublin so I don't understand how you combined can only afford 455e?
I'm not saying it won't be tight but I'm sure if you both tried and looked at places a little further out, you'd be able to find something, if you really wanted to......

LegacyUser

Have you looked at any houseshares?
I know ideally you would want to move in with your boyfriend but maybe you could live with roommates first and still stay with him in his folks the odd night,
Then when things get better look at your own place?

LegacyUser

i will be on two hundred a week..and ive to get buses to and from work out of that.. he is only on THREE HUNDRED a week and every flat or house share for two is six hundred euro and bills are extra so when you buy food and bills and bus fares that would not even cover it

m'lady

Could you both not rent a double room in a house share type situation?

R.D. aka MR.D

Could you move into a house share a bit farther out from the city centre?

It'll be hard having to budget so tightly but you never know what those 21 hours could lead to.

Jotunheim

It's not ideal, but his parents might feel differently about you staying if you offer them rent. It could give you a platform to take the job and save money together.

PinkLemonade

sosillyrent wrote: »

i will be on two hundred a week..and ive to get buses to and from work out of that.. he is only on THREE HUNDRED a week and every flat or house share for two is six hundred euro and bills are extra so when you buy food and bills and bus fares that would not even cover it

If that's net, then that's 2k a month between you- but you cant afford even 25% of your joint net income?

When I first moved out I was paying nearer 30%

MrWalsh

If you only work 21 hours you may still be entitled to some form of social welfare payment.

Also with a combined income so low you may well be eligible to rent allowance or some support for housing - you should speak to Citizens Info about this.

On the numbers you are posting though - on a combined income of 500 a week thats 2250 per month (4.5 week month) - surely you could afford 700-800 out of that between you on rent? 2 young people should be able to do the grocery shop on under 70 euro a week, say 150 per month on bills (heat, light, bins, water) - that would still leave you with 500 euro each to live on per month for buses, socialising, clothes etc... Its not loads, but its doable. (and I have estimated high on both groceries and bills there so youd probably have more than that).

Plus if you were based in Dublin you could be looking for better work or a second job in the time outside of the 21 hours you do work.

I presume the 300 per week is your boyfriends take home because otherwise its less even than minimum wage. Can he not also look for something that pays better?

castaway_lady

If either of you were a student in Dublin you'd be looking at paying rent with possibly no work or short part time hours. House share a double room. So its not the ideal you'd like but if we all got our ideal first off then what would there be to work towards. You shouldn't put life and chance to work and build your cv and live independently on hold waiting for the ideal. Maybe once you're in Dublin you can get a second part time job to supplement it. That's all better than inertia and the fantasy of the perfect situation!