Wow, I'd actually believed we encountered every roadblock possible during our stay here, but apparently we were lucky in this department. Our experience WAs actually rather simple - we purchased insurance with Aviva, a basic policy for the children and myself (as my husband WAs insured through uni). We were required to purchase private as my husband is here on a PhD visa. We brought our letter in and it WAsn't overly scrutinized and all WAs accepted. Our first six months meant pre-existing WAs not covered, BUT all other costs were, and that WAs enough fo ...

Thank you. The company is located in Bushey, but I believe they would prefer I live with easy access to the M4 corridor, so maybe Reading Area? My plan is to negotiate this if I can, prefer to get farther from London to bring housing prices down. I do get a company car that I can use for personal reasons, so that will help tremendously. Again, I'm hoping it works and I can tough it out long enough to gain citizenship, and since I'll do some traveling perhaps a company in Ireland will offer something.

... regular national/state school and will be learning Irish, are they required to learn any other languages? If so, are the choices limited? From my own experience growing up in the states, I wish that a second language WAs more prominent in the curriculum. Only Spanish and French were offered in the Area I grew up in and it WAs only required for 2 years in high school. So I can really only order food or ask for directions, haha!

... make a big difference. From a size perspective, you can't compare living anywhere in Ireland with living in a place the size of the Bay Area, and obviously Ireland will never have the same in terms of amenities, so if things like that are a big part of yer lives now, you might WAnt to start thinking about what you'll replace them with.

For those of you who had chatted about this some time back...there is possibly going to be an update to the Catholics-only policy, or whatever form that policy takes, in the near future. It seems like they're proposing scrapping it, or modifying it, to allow for non-catholic kids to attend those schools. There's talk of a 'catchment Area' policy too which is probably something similar to how the US system works, whereby preference is given to local kids. Some details at these links: Removing 'Baptism Barrier' from schools still an uphill task: School baptism rule to be scrapped:

Hi guys im Ronnie im South African married to abritish/irish citizen. My wife parents both are Irish but she WAs born in the Uk and has lived almost all her life there we got married in 2014 in South Africa. We have tried the Uk but got refused so we decided to fly to Ireland. On arrival we told the officer our intentions to remain in the country we used her Irish passport and I WAs given 90 days to register.Unfortunately because of reading to much information we delayed registering because we thought you needed utility and looking for the right house in a g ...

I will be relocating to Ireland next year from California. My two large dogs (my family) absolutely must come with me. I plan to drive them from CA to Boston simply so they have the least amount of time possible on an airline. I WAs told that Aer Lingus requires a pet transportation company. I contacted them and they seem quite nice although expensive. To tell you the true I don't care what the cost is as long as I receive my pets safe and sound. I have some months still to make arrangements so I'm exploring. I am unsure whether the pet transport company is ...

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.

Hi Danielle, Welcome to the site. I hope we can be of some help to you. You ask an interesting question, and I don't think there's a straightforward answer. I certainly know where you're coming from though. I think Irish people are generally perceived as being friendly and welcoming, but their may be a limit to that welcome. By that I mean, that most people have an inner circle of friends that they've basically grown up with, so it can be hard to break in to that group. However, I don't believe that is difficult to make friends, especially for someone like yourself, who says they are quite friendly. If you live in a rural Area, I'd imagine it to be a little trickier to develop close friendships due to what I described above, but in cities it's a lot easier. There is a lot more movement of people in and out, and a lot of foreign immigrants, so finding people in a similar situation is easier. Throw in the fact that you have kids and it makes that even easier. I'll tag a couple of people who may have input from their own (or spouses) perspective. @cfinegan @katemreagan @mcrose @irishfireside Liam

I would be interested in this as well. We plan on bringing 2 dogs, a terrier & a lab. I typically look on daft.ie, and you can go to "Advanced Search" and select "Allows Pets" under the "Facilities" drop down box. I think my plan WAs to contact a local realtor or management company in the Area we wish to move and see what they have or can locate for us. Probably a terrible plan, but seeing how we would be trying to secure a place while still in the US I figure I could maybe get pictures beyond what the listing shows.