Hello everyone...
I and my family are moving to Ireland and I don't really know which city is best for family.
Please I need your suggestions on which area is best for families.
I'm looking to seeing your responses.
Thanks.
Hi! I think it depends on each family really. We moved to rural Ireland when we first arrived here but soon realised we were really city people so now live closer to Dublin. When we were trying to decide which city to move to, we were considering Dublin, Galway and Cork. Dublin won for us due to the airport and the choice of family activites available.
There is 'De Madelief' school in South Dublin where Nederlanders meet and their children can learn Dutch etc.
Also something to consider is the housing crisis in Ireland at the moment so that might impact the decision of where to locate to.
What is your purpose for moving to Ireland?
Yea it depends on each family, someone advised me to stay in Dublin because there's a lot of job opportunities and going to school will be much easier, but houses are very expensive in Dublin and I'm also thinking that Dublin might be a very busy area. I just want a cool city very close to Dublin.
I've been searching for a nice city for family through goggle, so far, I'm looking at these cities: Naas in Kildare, Lucan, hopefully I will get more cities and will decide on which one to choose from....
Thank you so much for your response, appreciated 🙏
They are towns not cities.
Ok, thank you.
To study and also to work
Work as what? To study what?
Sorry to be blunt (but hey, if you're Dutch, you'll understand) - but without some idea of what you want to achieve, it's very hard to advise.
Hi OP
Just on the town/city thing it's worth noting that The Netherlands has a population density of 510/km2, where as Ireland has a density of 71/km2
So we don't have many cities in Ireland.
In reality there are only four cities, Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway.
After that you have what would be considered big towns, Dundalk, Drogheda, Portlaois, Sligo, Ennis etc.
After that it's small towns and villages and single houses in the country.
Dublin is the only city that would have anything considered a "metro area", Naas and Lucan would be considered part of the Dublin metro area but would also be considered towns in their own right.
Tbe question for you is what do you expect from Ireland?
Do you have kids and what are their ages ?
What will you be working at ?
What do you expect from the place you want to live in with regards facilities etc ?
As I said the population density is low, so you will not have all the amenities within easy reach as you might have in a more densely populated country like The Netherlands.
Dublin is very expensive but there are more job and study opportunities here - depending on the sector you are in.
If you have children, schools are a massive consideration. We chose where to locate to in the east coast after visiting the schools. We didn't have the best experience with schools in the west coast so it was our first priority. We chose the locations where Educate Together Secondary Schools were to be built.
I would advise visiting the towns and areas you are considering to get an idea of them. Although moving here has been the best thing we have ever done, it was a massive cultural shift for my Dutch husband, especially as we moved from city to rural west of Ireland. At that time we did not have children so it was ok to choose a house/area online but we would not have chosen it if we had seen it in real life. I think we stayed there 4 months in total.
Good luck!
This is very encouraging, thank you so much, appreciated.
Your reply is appreciated. Thank you so much.
My intention is to study nursing in English language and also to work in the field of nursing and health service.
Do you have a university place?
Be prepared for how inefficient services here are in comparison to NL. Our public transport is extremely slow and not well designed. Also the people here like it that way and object to attempts to change it. Avoid Cork, worst decision of my life was to move there, it is wealthy and has good job opportunities but everything else is a negative, it's about the same size as Amersfoort but may as well be a hundred years behind it.
Oooh hush! Cork is grand, like! Pretty much everything within walking distance and if you DO want to go out further most places are close by AND a daily (2ce daily) direct flight to the Netherlands. YOu arrive in Cork airport and 30mins later you are on the way home.
@Vicky4life , as others have said there are only four cities in Ireland so the areas you've mentioned are more like commuter towns. I would really call Lucan more of a suburb of Dublin. One of the main things you'll have to look at is being close to your university/hospital, if you're studying nursing. Again, to quote others, public transport is not great in Ireland. Dublin is divided into north and south of the River Liffey and you'll want to live on the side where you work ideally. Although Ireland is very small, it can take forever to get to places. Often, there is no direct bus between two places in Dublin, so you have to go into the centre of town and get a second bus, sometimes even back in the same direction that you came! Welcome to the surreal world of Ireland.
Technically Kilkenny is a city!
OP the location of your nursing course should dictate where you live.
Not yet but I'm considering Dublin or Limerick.
Ok, thank you
Ok, thanks
Ok, thank you so much
Ok, thank you so much.
youtube have any number of articles by folk who have done exactly what you are planning. google?
My first thought as I have friends in Holland is that it IS going to be a culture shock.. BUT there are some excellent expat forums here that will give more detailled info. I occasionally contribute as I am an expat English person.
Undergraduate nursing programmes are taught at colleges in every corner of the country outside of the large cities (Letterkenny in the north-west, Waterford in the south-east, Tralee in the south-west, Dundalk in the north-east, Castlebar and Sligo in the west and Athlone in the central region). Programmes at the more established universities in Dublin, Cork and Galway would be highly sought after with higher educational requirements for entry.
you mention “family” which might mean that you have children? It might be that you have less attraction to the social side of university life (one of the reason why the big city universities are more prized). Consider the study/work/life balance required. There is little point in targeting a college which requires a substantial commute if your living arrangements preclude big city living - accommodation issues persist throughout the country but are most acute in the large cities.
Yea, I'm also using YouTube and Google. Thank you so much.
Limerick and Waterford aren't too bad, both are dense and don't tend to have the anti progressive attitude that's found in Cork and Galway. Limerick is also flat and Waterford's terrain is similar to Arnhem whereas Cork is fairly hilly and Galway is also flat. Galway and Cork's weather is atrocious, Picture the Afsluitdijk on a wet windy winter day and that's Galway for 11 months of the year. Cork is damp and has heavy wet air for most of the year round and both cities have the worse traffic I've ever experienced in western Europe. Limerick has plans for a suburban rail network and Waterford is easy enough to get around. Waterford's location is good as Waterford county is extremely pretty with dozens of beaches and a nice mountain range all within easy driving distance from the city and there are other towns like Kilkenny, Carlow and Wexford nearby and its an hour and a half drive to Dublin. Limerick has a good motorway connection to Galway 40/50 mins and Dublin 90/100 mins. If managed correctly Waterford airport should become successful as the south east has no passenger routes at the moment. Both Limerick and Waterford have good shopping choices too. Limerick's city centre is unusual by Irish standards as its a grid pattern so its easy to navigate so in some ways is like Rotterdam.
Have you ever been to Ireland? If you can afford to make a trip before you commit to anything, it'd be money well spent. It might be an eye opener for you.
I am Dutch ... Nursing student (year4) ...PM me if you want more info
Do you have an EU passport?
Anti progressive?
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