Anyone here make the move from a small town to Dublin?

JakeArmitage

I am considering looking for a job in Dublin and making the movie up there,I am in full time permanent employment in Waterford that pays well. The problem is I am in my late 30's , I am single and most of my friends have settled down so I find where I am living quite boring and to be honest lonely.I definitely think with a little effort there's a much better scope for making new friends and having a much better social life up there.However I also need to consider that I would probably have to take a bit of a hit in pay if I moved up, there's also the increased cost of living especially with rent and I may have to quit a permanent job to go on contract with no guarantees. It seems I am having a tug of war with myself regarding the pros and cons when at the end of the day, I am single, I don't have a mortgage and most importantly no dependants. I suppose what I am looking for is some advice from people who moved up to Dublin in a similar situation, was it a mistake? or was it the best decision you ever made? Feel free to offer advise even if this wasn't your situation, thanks

cgcsb

Spend a few weekends in Dublin meet social groups etc. and try it out before committing. Financially it's a bad move unless you are getting a big pay rise. You're talking 1,300€ per month for a liveable 1 bed apartment.

Yes the social scene is massive, but is it easy to make friends? I would say no, and I'm a native Dubliner.

carlmango11

cgcsb wrote: »

You're talking 1,300€ per month for a liveable 1 bed apartment.

Nah, you could do cheaper I'd say

cgcsb wrote: »

Yes the social scene is massive, but is it easy to make friends? I would say no, and I'm a native Dubliner.

Agreed. Counter-intuitively the bigger the city, the more isolating it can be.

mattaiuseire

I'm from a large town in the north of England, moved over to County Mayo about 3 years back, found work in Dublin and have been here for 2 years now. Rent is excessive but me and my girlfriend get by okay and manage to save money.

Wouldn't say it was the best thing I ever did, I like the city life, but living in the middle of the city takes a toll on your rent and there are lots of reprobates knocking about... Suppose you get that with any city though.

Making friends, I agree with a previous poster, is not easy, but that's more likely down to the fact that I'm a ****.

nxbyveromdwjpg

If I was in your shoes I wouldn't think twice.

There's more to life than full-time employment, and you'll regret it more having not tried.

Nothing ventured nothing gained, etc

gaiscioch

Above all else, I'd look very, very carefully at your accommodation costs. It's tough enough for most couples to save here as a result of them. As a single person it's going to be considerably harder. Do your Daft/myhome searches. Look at the figures very impassionately. Far away fields are not always greener.

Down the road, what you can buy in a decent area here for, say, €400k (based on a combined salary of c. €130k with 20%/€80k deposit) is despairingly poor value in my view. How many years of your life will you have to work just to pay off that difference in property prices? Only you can decide if it'll be worth it. I love Dublin, the history, the sea, the craic, but if I were to move outside it I would in effect be giving myself a very large payrise (and a bigger pad).

Lastly, family supports really will matter if you have kids so keep an eye on that (additionally, crèche fees are just over €1k per month per child in my local crèche). Best of luck.

P.S. Meetup.com could be worth trying in Waterford. For instance, there are some very active walking groups down there where you could meet people.

ProudDUB

carlmango11 wrote: »

Nah, you could do cheaper I'd say

You could definitely do cheaper, if you are ok with living in a house/apartment in a quiet housing estate in the suburbs. But if you want to live in the heart of the city centre and have all the amenities and opportunities for craic on your doorstep, then you can expect a massive hit to your wallet. But if your job is in town, you are looking at commuting costs and they can really add up.

It all depends on where the OP is going to work imo. I'd focus on finding employment first, then think about where you will live. There is no point in getting a great deal on a great apartment in Sandyford, if you will be working in Swords, or vice versa.

JakeArmitage

Rent prices in the out skirt of the city in places like Clondalkin aren't actually that bad

kingtut

I moved from a small town to Dublin (rent share situation) and have had no issues, rent is not too expensive and it is very easy to make friends. Your living costs (and rent) will definitely go up but if you can deal with that then go for it

fiachr_a

It rains less in Dublin than Waterford.

Joshua5

Come up for a weekend and go to coppers, you'll make plenty of new female friends.... then disappear back to waterford when they go all crazy as copper catches do...

anto9

Dont do it .

MartyMcFly84

I have been living in Dublin for 2 years now. Previously Spain and Waterford.

The pros are, there is a lot more going on here than in the rest of Ireland. So many bars and restaurants it will take you years to see them all. In Waterford you are pretty much stuck with the same few bars every single weekend.

In my experience it is slightly difficult to make friends with Irish or more specifically Dubliners in Dublin, they very much have their own friends and not overly interested in making new ones. Particularly if you are on your own. People are much less willing to talk to you in a bar and it is seen as a bit weird to go out on your own. In Spain I would go out on my own the whole time and meet people in every bar.

If you join a club or team of some kind it does get easier, but still takes some time. A plus though is there are loads of people in Dublin who are not from Dublin in a similar situation, and are more willing to meet/chat and make new friends.

Cons for me - Expense of rent, costs of nights out, Traffic, neerdowell's

Bigger cities can be lonely places, but there are opportunities there that you will not get in smaller towns.