Hi, I'm Chris and my wife is Jeannie. We live in Dallas and are going to move to Ireland when we retire. Now we just need to retire! (Hopefully soon.) My two biggest questions are in the areas of real estate and health care. Liam (or anyone else) I noticed in an earlier reply that you said the Model we use in the US with a realtor representing the buyer isn't common in Ireland. Did I get that right? So buyers tend to represent themselves? With being able to search on the internet (I've found myhome.ie to be very good) I actually do think that the buyer's agent Model is becoming kind of outdated. People can mostly find the properties that they like without a realtor. But when it comes time to make an offer, get the required inspections, government documentation, etc,... I can see a buyers agent being useful - particularly for a non-Irish citizen. Perhaps there are lawyers that can play {some} of that role. Can you elaborate on how all that works. I'm also curious about the all in costs of the buying transaction. Here in the US, as I alluded to above, there are lots of inspections (termites in Texas!), document fees ad infinitum. I've seen a "stamp duty"(1%?) referenced on myhome.ie. Is that similar to the property tax we pay here in the US. In Texas I pay ˜2% of my home's appraised value - but I pay it annually!!! I think I like the Irish Model much better. 😉 Health care. So I think I've read that we have to buy private insurance. Yes? But I looked around and some of the prices seemed remarkably good. In the US for my wife and me and I think we would be paying $10-15k.year until medicare kicks in when we turn 65. It looked like I could similar private insurance in Eire for maybe a tenth of the US cost. Can that be right? What am I missing? Sorry for being so long-winded in my intro. I'll go away and think of more questions. But thanks in advance for any help on the housing and health fronts! Chris

... 3) Set up PPS, bank account, mobile phone (all need an address) Is this right? Ideally I WAnt to be looking at places to live at the same time as interviewing for work - will it be possible to sign a lease without a permanent job finalised? I have enough savings to cover the rent and can do temp work if necessary in the interim (I’m looking at senior roles - Sales/business development director level - but it may take a few weeks for the right opportunity to come up). I’m British so don’t need a work permit. Thanks in advance for any advice

Carole, The order in which you describe things make most sense. It's a catch 22 with the address a lot of times, so if you have a rental agreement in place, that should work for the needs in #3. A job offer letter may work too. It's totally at the discretion of the landlord/agency as to whether they will lease to you without a job in place. 3rd parties almost definitely won't allow this. A private landlord might, but it's unlikely. There are short term housing options too. You could go down that route in the short term.

The one I have is not something I could pack up. I did find one that will work on a UK website. It is $299 in the US, and needs about $50-100 in mods to make great. The base Model is £479 in the UK.

Hi all, My family and I are moving back to Ireland imminently. Last minute planning here! could some advise of the following: - will my US grill be ok to use in Ireland? i think i heard people say that propane tank fittings are different in ireland and thus makes no sense to bring a US one back to ireland? has anyone any experience or is there any type of adaptor device to transition to Ireland? - is there any value in bring back any type of small US electrical equipment? i know computers can be changed/dual use 110v-240v so things like that might be ok...but what about just very small Kitchen electrics that might be useful (small oven / coffee machine etc etc?) - i am not talking about fridges etc etc. - garden tools powered by battery...saws/edge clippers/shrub clippers type thing...anyone any experience of bringing those things to ireland and being able to charge them whilst there? thanks for any advice anyone can offer.. Kieran

... or small as others around. Some of the villages are very tiny and inclusive so as an outsider may be difficult to make close friends. However, it all comes down to becoming involved in the local community. If you are social and WAnt to get involved you should have no problem making friends. The house we are renting is a holiday home on a golf course, so there is a mix of permanent residents and hotel guests. The upside is that there is a playground on the grounds as well as tennis courts, swimming pools, and other rec facilities which our kids already love ...

... need to blow through our house within the next week or so to see what exactly we are bringing. A lot of the items will just be cheaper to buy in Ireland, rather than ship. We are fortunate that the house we are renting comes furnished, so the only purchases that will need to be made are linens, tableware, small Kitchen appliances (coffee maker, toaster), which will be one major trip to IKEA for us the day we arrive. The reviews with the shipping company I have mentioned are mixed - half are wonderful and half are terrible. The terrible ones seem to revolv ...

I would add, IKEA has been our go-to with both of our expat moves (we lived in Australia for two years... we did not ship anything for that move, all WAs left behind in storage). It is cheap enough and surprisingly easy to unload at the end of your stay, as well. Also in Ireland, most rental properties are furnished. This is really important to keep in mind. Had I to do it over - my bookworm daughters would have been forced to travel with a Kindle only... myself, as well, as I'm sure the cookbooks shipped could have been purchased digitally, as well. I ...

Have you been to any of the Home Store and More shops in Dublin? There one in Cork, and it's almost a completely clone of Bed Bath & Beyond in the US. It's either a ripoff of it, or a rebranded version for Ireland. Anyway... They do have online shipping, and they do have Kitchen goods. I've never bought there, but just checked the site, and they'll deliver to all 32 counties, though not for free.

Dying to hear what others have to say... I've not had much luck with Amazon.co.uk either (and WAs an Amazon addict Stateside). I haaaaaaate getting all the WAy through checkout only to find they won't deliver a particular item to Ireland. Not cool, Amazon UK, not cool! My in-laws are asking where to shop for the little ones for birthdays and holidays. We attempted to use Hamley's only to find out their online shop appears to be UK only. And while Smyth's Toys DO ship, their prices are rather high and their selection is just "meh". I'd really like ...