... on the cost of living, which after reading the criteria does take into account some entertainment too - i.e. it is the "happy WAge" Second question i have is that we have been looking out towards dunshaughlin/Ratoath Area with my potential opportunity being in and around blanch. Research shows me that energy and services are more expensive (and sometimes unreliable) in the rural Areas. Is this true? I envisage household shopping would take place in blanch and I would rely on public transport to and from The whole concept of cost of living is a real unknow ...

... as Liam said, there are plenty of commuter towns around the city, some with access to public transportation so you may not even have to drive. The further out you go the cheaper it will get! If you go outside of Dublin you are more likely to get what you need for a better price. I worry about the weather in regards to my husband who WAs born and raised in California. He has spent some pretty horrible vacations during the winter in Ireland so he has an idea of what he is in for. Have you and the kids visited Ireland for long periods? You can start thinking ...

... and have been lucky enough to spend some time in each place). -To be in a society with more progressive thinking and social policies. (I know Ireland still has some WAy to go!). We WAnt to get away from guns, conservatives, religious zealots, complicated and expensive healthcare, car-centric attitudes, oppressive heat and cockroaches/mosquitoes. If you hadn’t guessed by now, we’ve been living in the South! -Healthcare is a big one for us, as we are dealing with some chronic health conditions. We had some experience with the health system in Ireland this p ...

... If you WAnt to commute 2 hrs each WAy to work you can find much cheaper. On top of federal income tax (roughly 25-28%), CA has 13.3% state tax, highest in the country. As Liam mentioned, 1% property tax and the additional add on; homeowners insurance, homeowners association (pays for community pools,parks) which could be $150-$400/month, earthquake insurance (still WAiting the the "big" one to happen, ect). I commute depending which office I work at anywhere from 20-55 miles each WAy. Current petrol prices $2.65/gallon. I do find in Ireland they tend not to ...

You'd have to wonder will this be much of an issue as time passes (in general, not for your family). After all, so many people travel and move all over the world these days, therefore 'diluting' any culture that did exist. Maybe in Ireland, where there hasn't traditionally been a lot of inward migration, this will take a while to have any long term affect. But, in places like the US, Australia, Canada, UK, where a large portion of people are from elsewhere, I think TCK's would be very much the norm. In southern CA, the percentage of people who have any sort of family ties to the Area is pretty small. The culture is essentially re-forming continually. I hope your daughter adjusts well, Megan. I'm sure she'll grow out of the 'sass' within the next 10 years 🙂

So, because we can't seem to manage going ONE DAY without a hot mess, my husband had a minor car accident. He WAs in stopped rush hour traffic, in his lane, and a motorcycle weaving in and out of lanes hit him. Again, he WAs stopped. Garda arrives, the motorcyclist claims he has no memory of what happened. He is fine, mind you. The rear bumper of my screaming Japanese car is not. Tail light knocked out, as well. Garda took the report, everyone went on their WAy. Husband immediately phones our insurance. They instruct him it's up to the motorcyclist' ...

Hello! My husband and I will be relocating to Ireland in the early part of 2016 with our two young boys. At the time of our move, our oldest will be 3 turning 4 in June and our youngest will be 1 turning 2 in November 2016. My work will be in Carlow, while my husband will be home-based with an office in Cork, so we are considering living in Wicklow or the surrounding Area. We are trying to find out some more information on school and daycares/preschool. What is the earliest age that children start attending school? And are there preschools or daycares that are better than others? Currently both boys attend an at-home daycare, however we are not opposed to daycare centers or preschools. Any help, advice, comments would be extremely helpful.

I definitely feel your pain @redhead. I have young kids too, and getting them into good schools in an Area we WAnted to live, WAs an issue for us too. I hope everything falls in to place for you and your daughter. One thing I'd like to point out is that Ireland is still a little behind the times with regard to mixed gender schools. They are becoming more and more common, but the heavy influence the Catholic church had on Ireland in days gone by, still looms. Many towns will only have all boy or all girl secondary schools, so keep that in mind when looking. S ...

i am new to the forum- but i am jumping in ! when we move to ireland- my daughter and i discussed what we WAnted to do first- it goes as such- WAlk about our village, go to the butcher, get fresh bread, cheese shop, the post office, local pub, etc.... and introduce ourselves, next explore other local shops & servives, take the dogs for WAlks, go to the closest shore line, explore what surrounds us and our new home- i agree with cfin- moving anywhere new is a culture shock- the move to ireland will be a big one- and i for one, dont WAnt to zip off and ...

... difficulty getting a 40 foot container right to your door. When my shipment arrived in Ireland from the states, the individual pallets were send to a central WArehouse via 'large' truck (with other goods). From there I had to go and collect it (and unpack it from the pallets) and put it on a much smaller truck to get it to my door. In hindsight I wish I had paid movers to bring it to my door, but they would've still had to have done the same. There is no WAy a large container truck can get to most housing estates, or suburb Areas without breaking down the c ...