Hello everyone, New member here. This site has already been very helpful and I am glad to finally register and introduce myself. (My screen name is Kevin in Irish, alas without the accent above the í) A little about me: I am a scientist living in Southern California. I WAs born here, but lived in Canada and the San Francisco Bay Area for many years (grad school, postdocs, etc.). My Grandmother WAs born in Dublin in 1911; we have the birth record listing her address, date of birth, her father's occupation (worked for Guinness), etc. My other ancestors are m ...

Hello All, Im moving to Ireland this Oct. and I'm going to ship my 74 MG over also. My question is I bought the car in 2005 from a private owner, and I don't have a bill of sale. Any help would be be Grand. Thanks Sean

We use Philip Egan in Thurles (we live in Co. Tipp) for the last five years. He has seen us through three real estate transactions, and answered various questions about taxes, immigration, trusts, and banking. He is a one-person office in a rural area of the Country but has served us well. He can't offer the same services as a large office but for us, the personal service makes a difference. If you decide to use him, feel free to use our names - Peter and Sara Hance. His number from the USA is 011-353-504-90473. As a former attorney myself and an instructor at one law school (Yale), I have found that the differences between the law practices from the US to Ireland are fairly noticeable. There is no excuse for not returning calls but the practice is not quite as "grand" as it is in the US - and the fees reflect that level of service. As it is with most things in Europe, life is more laid-back and that is seen in services as well. Keep trying. There are good folks out there.

We have now been in Ireland for about a month and are in the limbo period for my husband to start working. He is a spouse of an EU citizen and therefore has the right to work in Ireland. The legal WAy is that he would have a temporary work permit to bridge the gap for his residence card, which he is technically not supposed to apply for until he has been in Ireland for 6 months. Below has been our experience with our local immugration officer. 1. EU Spouse Immigration – We met with the local immigration officer at the Guarda station our second week here so ...

... Having strong ties in both countries has made settling in one place hard for us. Just to touch on some of your points: re #1: I agree. CA is so expensive, and even though pay is far lower in Ireland, I always felt better off living in Ireland than in CA. There just seems to be higher bills, and more of them. Sounds like you don't have kids yet, but when you do, medical costs can rocket, which makes life even harder. Even with a good medical insurance plan, out-of-pocket costs are too high! re #2: I've seen discussions on this topic on other sites, and t ...

... which is one of the most expensive places to live in terms of rent/property costs, taxes etc. Basically everything costs more. We think that by moving to Ireland costs there will be comparable if not cheaper when we take into account changes to income which are likely to occur. 2. We are both 29 years old and are thinking long term, namely children. We would like to live near family; so it boils down to Ireland or the bay area. Honestly, as an irish person with LOTS of family (ahem 52 first cousins) family is a big deal. 3. Better work/life balance. In amer ...

Hi Kate If you can drive a standard stick-shift car you will definitely have far more choice when you go to buy. They are by far the most available. Having said that I bought an automatic last year, not necessarily because I WAs looking for one, but mostly because it WAs the right car/price. I think you will find that both cars and child car seats are generally smaller in Europe than in the US. We brought our US-bought car seats to Ireland, and people do tend to comment on how much bigger they are. Actually the car we bought WAs as a result of needing a l ...

@xenophile thanks for the reply. I at least know I'm not alone here. If it's OK, I'll check in with you next spring and see how your move is going. From my research from afar, County Limerick and Limerick City will be my focus for looking for a place to live when I'm in Ireland this fall. But other than Dublin and probably Cork City (both too expensive), I'm not ruling any area out. I'm hoping COVID stays more or less under control and the global economy doesn't fall apart. Big dreams, I know. Slan, more good luck to your family. --Robert

If you're planning on living within the City center you can probably avoid the need to own a car especially if most of the activity you will do will be in and around the City. Buses, train, taxis, rental cars are all viable solutions to get around. I'd suggest doing some cost analysis on various websites to get a feel for what your daily travel needs might look like, as well as what your expenses for occasional rental needs would be.

... Arts. I am a third year middle school (12-14 years old) teacher in the states. I WAnt a place where I can easily get to the City, or is in the City, and has a good sized population in their 20s. I don't know much about the education in Ireland. Is it strong? Are there respect for teachers and education?