Wages to live in Dublin

arccosh

Haven't lived in Dublin for a while, but what would be a liveable wage now?


Been offered a job of circa €60k a year, and would be supporting a GF and child for the next year or two.


Ideally would be living close to work, where rent is around €2.5 - 3k per month, but there is a possibility I'll have to commute (cheaper rent but have to pay tickets, so monthly outgoing would be similar).


I know it's a "how long is a piece of string" question. I'm not too big on going out and quite frugal generally, but I also don't want to be in a position where if I wanted to go for a meal with friends, I could etc...


As mentioned, I'd be renting, so I'd be looking to be earning enough to save for a deposit also...

L1011

You can't afford 3k a month rent, or 2.5k a month for that matter on a 60k salary. Your takehome is going to be about 3.5k, even adding childrens allowance isn't going to give you enough to live on.

An all-services Dublin area annual ticket is ~€1100 a year for someone paying higher rate tax. That would cover the distance out to Balbriggan/Naas*/Kilcock*/Kilcoole* so the drop in rental prices would be vastly more than €90 a month; not working out similar.

*it goes further on rail than bus

rd1izb7lvpuksx

Yeah, at €60,000 pa (even with your spouse's tax credits), your take home is likely to be ~€3,750 pm. Ideally you'd look to save 1/3rd and spend no more than 1/3rd on rent, which would give you a budget of €1,250 pm. Unfortunately, in Dublin, you're more likely to be spending ~50% of your take home on rent, upping your budget to ~€1,875 - still nowhere near enough to live close to your work.

spurious

Partly in jest...Any chance you could get married and get the more generous tax allowances?

Samuel T. Cogley

Where is work? You might get some suggestions on places to commute from.

TimeToShine

I’m baffled as to how someone in the position to earn a €60k salary thinks it is compatible with a €2.5k+ rent AND saving for a deposit. Sorry but you haven’t a chance of living beside work, the max you can spend on rent is about €1800 with your dependents.

If I were you I’d think long and hard about moving to Dublin with a family.

votecounts

The point a lot of people are making is that 60k is about 40-42k take home pay which i agree with is that rent that you are thinking about is not enough. I would sugeest living in a commuter town like newbridge , naas, even carlow but your family life would take a big hit but your costs would be a lot lower
Did not see the saving for a deposit bit, no chance in dublin

arccosh

so.. back to the question in the first line... what would be a liveable wage in Dublin?

I was certain 60k is nowhere near enough, but I wanted to guage what amount is for the life I would be aiming to have, but I'm interested to where 60k would get me also...

As mentioned, I haven't been in Dublin for a number of years, so I haven't a breeze about cost of living, bills, hidden taxes and sevice charges...

If I were to communte, Connolly would be the closest station.

L1011

To pay 3k rent and have a reasonable lifestyle for two adults and a kid you'd want to be earning about 100k before tax to be bringing home 60k after.

To be saving for a deposit for a similar property you'd want to add another 50k to that minimum - that'd be ~25k after tax.

Connolly gets direct trains from all lines now.

Stheno

If you looked around North County Dublin you'll get a two bed for 1500 -1800, in the likes of Swords.

Then you've got bus services like Swords Expres for the commute

That leaves you with close to 2k for bills,living expenses and savings

Samuel T. Cogley

arccosh wrote: »

so.. back to the question in the first line... what would be a liveable wage in Dublin?

I was certain 60k is nowhere near enough, but I wanted to guage what amount is for the life I would be aiming to have, but I'm interested to where 60k would get me also...

As mentioned, I haven't been in Dublin for a number of years, so I haven't a breeze about cost of living, bills, hidden taxes and sevice charges...

If I were to communte, Connolly would be the closest station.

If that's the closest station then you might find something affordable on the DART line in Kilbarrack or Raheny.

PowerToWait

It's fairly mental / sad that a 60k salary doesn't allow someone to even rent in central Dublin.

Close to a grand a week to live down in that soulless, windy hoor of a spot is also bananas.

Stheno

PowerToWait wrote: »

It's fairly mental / sad that a 60k salary doesn't allow someone to even rent in central Dublin.

Close to a grand a week to live down in that soulless, windy hoor of a spot is also bananas.

In fairness op has a girlfriend and child. He could probably find a house share if he were on his own.

2 bed apartments in Grand Canal Dock are renting for 3700 a month near where I work

dubrov

PowerToWait wrote:

It's fairly mental / sad that a 60k salary doesn't allow someone to even rent in central Dublin.

In fairness, that 60k is competing against couples with two incomes. With the different tax treatment, it's more like a couple on 25k each.

ELM327

60k as a salary doesnt go that far these days. Plenty of lads (and lassies) in my field earning more than me (I'd be around the 60k mark too) and they (and I) cannot afford to live in Dublin.

When people say 100k isn't "rich" anymore as a salary, it's because of high rents and higher cost of living. Imagine paying north of 3k to rent!!

rd1izb7lvpuksx

dubrov wrote: »

In fairness, that 60k is competing against couples with two incomes. With the different tax treatment, it's more like a couple on 25k each.

A couple on 50k combined can't afford to rent in central Dublin either. Both are competing against 100k+ tech salaries.

ashes2014

On 60K and paying 2.5k-3k per month on rent you would not have a penny left for yourself or anyone else.

LoneWolfe2020

rent should ideally be no more than a third of your salary. If you can manage living in an apartment you can possibly get a 2 bed for just under 2k in Dublin

DellyBelly

Memphis Gigantic Mothball wrote: »

A couple on 50k combined can't afford to rent in central Dublin either. Both are competing against 100k+ tech salaries.

Yeah 60k isn't a great wage in Dublin unless of course you are a graduate whic hby the sounds of it you are not. Most people in Dublin would be earning 85K+ and if they are married that's 170k that you would be up against. Any chance finding something that pays a bit more. As a few have said 60K isn't a great salary especially in Dublin

L1011

DellyBelly wrote: »

Yeah 60k isn't a great wage in Dublin unless of course you are a graduate whic hby the sounds of it you are not. Most people in Dublin would be earning 85K+ and if they are married that's 170k that you would be up against. Any chance finding something that pays a bit more. As a few have said 60K isn't a great salary especially in Dublin

Most people looking to rent a 3k a month apartment perhaps- it is only very specific industries that have salaries like that.

Samuel T. Cogley

DellyBelly wrote: »

Yeah 60k isn't a great wage in Dublin unless of course you are a graduate whic hby the sounds of it you are not. Most people in Dublin would be earning 85K+ and if they are married that's 170k that you would be up against. Any chance finding something that pays a bit more. As a few have said 60K isn't a great salary especially in Dublin

No they wouldn't.

vriesmays

Memphis Gigantic Mothball wrote: »

A couple on 50k combined can't afford to rent in central Dublin either. Both are competing against 100k+ tech salaries.

They're also competing against charity associations housing former addicts in the city centre sitting on their holes every day on welfare.

BDI

Best bet is somewhere close to a luas or dart station.

Do people honestly think that unskilled shop workers in Dublin are on 75g a year? Or barely skilled office workers?

There is a huge pile of people pulling 4-500 a week on the bus, train and luas in the mornings.

wench

DellyBelly wrote: »

Yeah 60k isn't a great wage in Dublin unless of course you are a graduate whic hby the sounds of it you are not. Most people in Dublin would be earning 85K+ and if they are married that's 170k that you would be up against. Any chance finding something that pays a bit more. As a few have said 60K isn't a great salary especially in Dublin

Meanwhile, in the real world, less than 4% of households are earning 170K+

https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-gpii/geographicalprofilesofincomeinireland2016/incomeinireland/

Homelander

DellyBelly wrote: »

Yeah 60k isn't a great wage in Dublin unless of course you are a graduate whic hby the sounds of it you are not. Most people in Dublin would be earning 85K+ and if they are married that's 170k that you would be up against. Any chance finding something that pays a bit more. As a few have said 60K isn't a great salary especially in Dublin

Why is boards such a breeding ground for utter ****e talk? Most people in Dublin are certainly not earning 85K. Forget the plus. Forget the 8 figure in that statement for that matter.

It baffles me to hear some of these opinions on boards. Read one the other day on the teachers thread about how 50K for a teacher age 36 wasn't a great salary. 60K, as per the OP, is a good wage anywhere, it just doesn't go nearly as far in Dublin as it would elsewhere, that's all. All this bizarre talk which amounts to "if you're not earning 100K in Dublin, you're scraping by".

Plenty of families being reared in the Dublin area on combined salaries less that that..far less that that in many, many cases. Ideal? Course not. But workable? People have no other choice and they get by.

I think the actual median wage in Ireland is something like 29K. The median, as in, the average wage that most people earn, not the average disrupted by high salaries. Not sure how that magically translates to 85K in Dublin.

PhoenixParker

E60,000 is a fine salary for a single person to live very comfortably in Dublin.

E60,000 to support two adults and one child in Dublin is tight, especially when they're unmarried and not taking advantage of tax credits.
To put it in perspective, if each adult was earning individually, the pay that would give the equivalent take home would be E23,500 gross per annum, not much above minimum wage. It's doable, but it's not living in a nice place with a short commute and saving for a deposit money.

If your girlfriend could earn any money at all it would be well worth doing, the first several thousand will be tax free since her earnings will be low.

BDI

Common women gave up the right to not work when they won the right to work. You have to put her out to work.

arccosh

Thanks everyone for the informative replies.

Just for clarification, it is only an offer, I haven't accepted or anything, and more than likely, nor will I be. A lot of these replies seem to be geared towards the scenario that I have accepted and am en-route to Dublin.

The point of the thread was to get a feel of the situation in Dublin at the moment, and what sort of money I would need to live the lifestyle I would like, close to the city. But, also to get a feel of what and where 60k would get me elsewhere on the commuter belt.

Yes my GF will be going back to work, but if we were to move back, initially I would need her not to, so we could settle, and save on childcare.

Keep the replies coming if anyone has any other info !

ongarite

Homelander wrote: »

Why is boards such a breeding ground for utter ****e talk? Most people in Dublin are certainly not earning 85K. Forget the plus. Forget the 8 figure in that statement for that matter.

It baffles me to hear some of these opinions on boards. Read one the other day on the teachers thread about how 50K for a teacher age 36 wasn't a great salary. 60K, as per the OP, is a good wage anywhere, it just doesn't go nearly as far in Dublin as it would elsewhere, that's all. All this bizarre talk which amounts to "if you're not earning 100K in Dublin, you're scraping by".

Plenty of families being reared in the Dublin area on combined salaries less that that..far less that that in many, many cases. Ideal? Course not. But workable? People have no other choice and they get by.

I think the actual median wage in Ireland is something like 29K. The median, as in, the average wage that most people earn, not the average disrupted by high salaries. Not sure how that magically translates to 85K in Dublin.

Median wage in Ireland for full-time workers is 47K based on latest CSO figures.
I would be a safe bet that the average is even higher in Dublin.
https://www.thejournal.ie/rish-workers-earn-an-average-of-e23-an-hour-4677090-Jun2019/

Homelander

That's the average wage, not the median. The median will be lower than that. Some of these figures are outdated but this gives you a good idea.

kippy

arccosh wrote: »

Thanks everyone for the informative replies.

Just for clarification, it is only an offer, I haven't accepted or anything, and more than likely, nor will I be. A lot of these replies seem to be geared towards the scenario that I have accepted and am en-route to Dublin.

The point of the thread was to get a feel of the situation in Dublin at the moment, and what sort of money I would need to live the lifestyle I would like, close to the city. But, also to get a feel of what and where 60k would get me elsewhere on the commuter belt.

Yes my GF will be going back to work, but if we were to move back, initially I would need her not to, so we could settle, and save on childcare.

Keep the replies coming if anyone has any other info !

What's the lifestyle you would like?

The reality, if you've worked out that rent costs will be circa 2500 to 3000 per month is that you will need to earn €30K -€36K per annum net to cover that cost alone.
€60K assessed as a single income returns about €42K per annum (€45K if assessed as a couple)(assuming there are no pension deductions)

Essentially you'd have 6 to 15 K per annum to live on - give or take.
This would need to cover:
Food
Bills
Clothes
And anything else that might crop up.
And whatever else you'd need to cover for three of you.
It'd be a tight existence depending on your expectations.

You'd be better in a small county town on half the salary, granted with the limited opportunities. Maybe the 60K job is a pathway into a better gig.

(Handy site for Net wages - https://taxcalc.ie/budget-2019/) but you'd need to allow for pensions etc out of that also.

L1011

ongarite wrote: »

Median wage in Ireland for full-time workers is 47K based on latest CSO figures.
I would be a safe bet that the average is even higher in Dublin.
https://www.thejournal.ie/rish-workers-earn-an-average-of-e23-an-hour-4677090-Jun2019/

They're not nearly double; nor is a normal grad salary 60k as claimed.

lawred2

spurious wrote: »

Partly in jest...Any chance you could get married and get the more generous tax allowances?

the what?

L1011

lawred2 wrote: »

the what?

€1,500 home carers tax credit; and then any balance of credit/cut-off if the fiancee is working part time is what I presume they meant. The former certainly isn't generous!

lawred2

L1011 wrote: »

€1,500 home carers tax credit; and then any balance of credit/cut-off if the fiancee is working part time is what I presume they meant. The former certainly isn't generous!

that's only if the partner isn't working right? Or at least not using all their low rate band!?

because other than that there's shag all difference

piplip87

What kind of life do you have now op ?

To live closer to work to see your child grow up you will be struggling.

To commute and have the life you want you may not see the wee person as much ?

It's tough commuting. I had varying commutes over the last few years. It's all tough. Relationship straining and missing out on seeing the wee fella Monday - Friday some weeks.

60K in Dublin is 80 or 90K in other parts of the country.

kippy

lawred2 wrote: »

that's only if the partner isn't working right? Or at least not using all their low rate band!?

because other than that there's shag all difference

Exactly, it baffles me that there are people who do not understand how basic income tax works.

L1011

lawred2 wrote: »

that's only if the partner isn't working right? Or at least not using all their low rate band!?

because other than that there's shag all difference

Yeah, 1500 if not working; and the others only if there is credits/bands left. Its not some magic pile of credits awarded just for being married which some people seem to think it is.

arccosh

situation I am in at the moment, I could pay rent on a house, care for my gf and kid, run a car, and on a good month, save a couple of hundred quid, with me being the sole earner. Mind you it would be a very frugal life.

My end game is to try get back to Dublin at some point,but I'm in the mid to senior level of my career in a specialist industry which Ireland doesn't have much of. I can laterally move to similarish jobs, but again, having worked in such a niche area has worked for, but also gone against me.

I could get higher paying jobs in Dublin no problem, but most are 45-50 hour management roles, which would be a pain in the ass going to from a technical role with a strict 40 hr week and no sub-ordinantes to look after.

This role I was offered is a decent 9-5 job, with lots of technical aspects and progression oppotunities, 60k is basic, there are also bonuses (which I don't want to be relying on) which are supposidly unlimited, but I have a follow up meeting where I'll ask what a realistic take home looks like and are they monthly or annual.

I have it very very cushy where I am, I know I won't get that back home, but aim is to get something as close to it without sacrificing too much money or time.

arccosh

UK ... I can do the waiting game, but I'll have to jump at some point, and I won't get the conditions or wage I have now for what I do.

so I'm trying to suss best case scenario

retalivity

Tbh, if youre open to paying €2500-3000 rent on a €60K gross, thats at least 66% of take home pay gone on rent as per someone else's numbers earlier per annum (€30-€36k over €45k). That to me is utter madness on your own, never mind with a partner and child to support.
L know dublin rents are crazy, but youd have to question the worth of handing over 2/3 of your wages vs the need to be in dublin.

L1011

Take a proper look at transport fares here and then remember you'll get half off in tax relief - what were already a lot cheaper than the UK gets vastly cheaper again

Theres places in London with with multi thousand pound annual rail fares that'd be covered with a rail ticket coating about 900 after tax here

realdanbreen

arccosh wrote: »

so.. back to the question in the first line... what would be a liveable wage in Dublin?

I was certain 60k is nowhere near enough, but I wanted to guage what amount is for the life I would be aiming to have, but I'm interested to where 60k would get me also...

As mentioned, I haven't been in Dublin for a number of years, so I haven't a breeze about cost of living, bills, hidden taxes and sevice charges...

If I were to communte, Connolly would be the closest station.

I take it you're no mug seeing as somebody is paying you 60k per anum. So it's strange that you can't figure out how much you need to live in Dublin. It's not like you're moving to Kuala Lumpur.

kippy

arccosh wrote: »

situation I am in at the moment, I could pay rent on a house, care for my gf and kid, run a car, and on a good month, save a couple of hundred quid, with me being the sole earner. Mind you it would be a very frugal life.

My end game is to try get back to Dublin at some point,but I'm in the mid to senior level of my career in a specialist industry which Ireland doesn't have much of. I can laterally move to similarish jobs, but again, having worked in such a niche area has worked for, but also gone against me.

I could get higher paying jobs in Dublin no problem, but most are 45-50 hour management roles, which would be a pain in the ass going to from a technical role with a strict 40 hr week and no sub-ordinantes to look after.

This role I was offered is a decent 9-5 job, with lots of technical aspects and progression oppotunities, 60k is basic, there are also bonuses (which I don't want to be relying on) which are supposidly unlimited, but I have a follow up meeting where I'll ask what a realistic take home looks like and are they monthly or annual.

I have it very very cushy where I am, I know I won't get that back home, but aim is to get something as close to it without sacrificing too much money or time.

Based on the figures you've provided and the life choices you've outlined 60K a year is not adequate to live on in Dublin under your circumstances.
Simple as.

arccosh

realdanbreen wrote: »

I take it you're no mug seeing as somebody is paying you 60k per anum. So it's strange that you can't figure out how much you need to live in Dublin. It's not like you're moving to Kuala Lumpur.

top notch input, reason I'm asking is because I don't know what the cost of living is. It's usually how these things work, people have a query, so they ask... unfortunately I don't have the time or money to do a trial run and figure it out myself...

arccosh

kippy wrote: »

Based on the figures you've provided and the life choices you've outlined 60K a year is not adequate to live on in Dublin under your circumstances.
Simple as.

I'm aware of that... but that wasn't the question asked.

Humour Me

If you are Twitter Blindboy from the Rubberbandits had an interesting thread yesterday about people moving from Dublin due to cost of living. I thought it was interesting the people who went from Dublin to London found it cheaper due to transport, services and the number of free activities. They were also getting more for their money with similar rents.

Really makes you wonder how the cost of living in Dublin can be justified.

Ronney

2 Answers to your Q.

No you cannot afford to live near work paying €2.5-3K rent in Dublin

Yes you can afford to live (+GF&Kid) in Dublin just move to the suburbs and pay 1.5-1.8 rent. If you are near a Dart/Luas or Major/Busy bus root commuting 30-40 mins a day is normal enough. Leap fares capped to at weekly maximums

Assetbacked

€60k is considered a low income by Dublin standards unfortunately (https://www.irishtimes.com/business/personal-finance/fiona-reddan-affordable-housing-you-ve-got-to-be-kidding-1.4021490?mode=am), certainly it is for the purpose of purchasing the lowest value apartments and, considering we are a home-owning rather than renting city, this classification applies to most people. €60k would be considered the wage at which an individual can start to actually live at a comfortable level in Dublin.

However, to maintain that salary in the rental market with dependents, it would be a struggle (on the assumption that rent would be in the region of €1500-2000). €70k onwards should enable you to get by.

is_that_so

arccosh wrote: »

top notch input, reason I'm asking is because I don't know what the cost of living is. It's usually how these things work, people have a query, so they ask... unfortunately I don't have the time or money to do a trial run and figure it out myself...

Rent aside it shouldn't be a whole lot different but you need to look out for the length and cost of the commute. I suppose you could probably add increased childcare to that. Location-wise I think it is easier to get into the city from the north of the city. Anywhere else and you're running into multiple local traffic problems.

kippy

arccosh wrote: »

top notch input, reason I'm asking is because I don't know what the cost of living is. It's usually how these things work, people have a query, so they ask... unfortunately I don't have the time or money to do a trial run and figure it out myself...

Okay,
You asked what would be a livable wage in Dublin. There are way too many potential variables involved to give YOU an answer.
People have advised based on what you have said that 60K is not enough. 80K might be enough, but it would depend on your own choices and wants.