Dublin, €30k salary whilst running a car, is it doable?

ifeelabreeze

I'm a recent grad on €30k a year, really enjoying the work and I've a great boss.. But living in the midlands is fast approaching painful.

I'm getting more and more tempted to move to Dublin. But I'd need to keep my car as our office is closer to Clonee than city centre, I'd only be in office 2/3 days a week though which should soften the blow.

I've friends living in Dublin on that and less but none of them also run a car. I'm currently paying €50 a week back to the credit union on it, on top of everything else. So I could potentially look at downgrading as I'd be doing a lot less mileage.

Rent is going to be the killer but is it realistic to expect a decent quality of life in Dublin on 30k whilst running a car?

(The car will not be left running constantly, but figuratively speaking it will be)

lau1247

If you are living rent free or near rent free in midlands, I'd suggest you stick it out for a little while more. As you have acknowledged that rent is killer, have you consider parking cost? Also when you like closer to dublin, you will probably go out more with friends etc unless you stay in most of the time which defeats the purpose of moving close to everything (apart from the commute). All in all, it is probably doable but don't expect to save much if that is the long term goal.

o1s1n

Depends entirely on the rental setup.

A room in a house share is a very different experience cost wise than renting a whole apartment to yourself for example.

30K is what, about 2,150 take home a month?

If you were renting a 1 bed by yourself for 1,500 you'd be left with 650 for the rest of the month. 162 a week.

If you only had 162 to spend on everything a week I'd say you'd very quickly be wondering if you needed the car or not.

Totally changes if you are renting with a partner though, or in a house share.

Rechuchote

Why not ditch the car and get an ebike? The Bike-to-Work scheme will give you a good lot of the price (up to €1,500, but that depends on the tax you're paying).

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120748078#Comment_120748078

At 30k, it will give you a lot less off the price unfortunately - need to be on higher rate tax (a bit over 40k to have paid enough tax for there to be tax to reclaim) to get the big discounts.

Danzy

You could do it but you'll have a very lean and quiet life in Dublin on 30k.

Ubbquittious

Do you intend to live in the car?

Honestly to feck. If I had to be in Dublin a few days every week I'd invest in a stealth camper. Perhaps crash on someone's couch the odd day, shower in work, etc.

If you go down the property rental route you might not even get anything. You could be there for weeks/months trying to view places and watching them go before your eyes.

newmember2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058297423/dublin-30k-salary-whilst-running-a-car-is-it-doable

You'd get a house share for €1000 or less a month in Dublin. The hard part is actually getting one though, as anyone letting rooms at the moment will be getting dozens if not hundreds of inquiries. What setup do your friends have? I'd be asking them to keep an eye/ear out for you.

LimeFruitGum

I'd love to say go for it, but I think you'd have to go for higher paying roles if you want to live closer to Dublin, and be willing to house-share for a while.

miamee

If your office is closer to Clonee and you absolutely want to move, I'd recommend looking for somewhere to live around there rather than paying a huge premium to live in the city centre if you don't need to be there. There is a good and regular bus service from Blanchardstown to the city centre, not sure how good the 70 is from Clonee. Car insurance may well go up if you move toe Dublin too, something to keep in mind.