@tony2phones @cfinegan @mcrose any advice?

@nessylink @travelshep any comments?

1. Research, research, research what is needed for your particular immigration visa prior to your move. In our case, we were provided with misinformation leading us to believe our children could utilize national primary schools. We found out only once at the immigration office that due to our student visa, we would need to enroll the kids in private primary schools. Not only 40,000 euro more than we'd planned on while here, but also a task to locate a school with available spaces. It was a disaster. Know the ins and outs of your visa and know what to bring along to INIS to obtain your GNIB card (the GNIB process is a special something).

2. Join as many online expat groups as possible and gather info there. They are often happy to answer any and all questions having been through the process themselves. I have used both Liam's forum here and a group on Facebook (Americans Living in Ireland). Often these folks have meet-ups in person, as well, giving you an instant source of community.

3. Have a game plan for finding a home and research your utility options. We used daft.ie to locate a home (and were fortunate enough to find one day 2 of our arrival in Dublin). We struggled a bit with utilities as we assumed it was as easy as switching the previous tenant's over to our name. It wasn't. I have a couple posts on my blog regarding both utilities ( http://deserttodublin.blogspot.ie/2016/02/costs-of-living-dublin-vs-us.html ) and finding a rental ( http://deserttodublin.blogspot.ie/2016/01/our-experience-locating-home-rental.html ).

So, essentially, where we failed was we had the basic info and felt that was enough. If I had it to do over, I'd have managed the above three and tucked all info away in a file folder for our arrival.

Seeing as everyone else is going to probably state technical advice, I will state some human ones.

1. Get out and go places. The move is difficult and time consuming. If you don't get out and go places, you will get culture shock and depression no matter where you move. If Ireland is best in one area, it's the amount of stuff to do and places to visit. Even if you have the worst luck in the world during your move, you won't care, as long as you get to see what you're gaining and remind yourself of it regularly.

2. Write a letter to yourself now, stating your determination and love for the move. When (not if) things get difficult, take a look at your note. It's easy to forget the positives later when things get difficult.

3. Stay positive! There is plenty of people about to judge and make negative comments. It's your life. You ARE making the right choice. You know what's best for you and if you are positive in Ireland, there is no better place to be! On the same note. Write down the worst case scenarios for each of the elements of your move. Laugh at them all, realise that if they do happen, they are adventures and something to tell friends over a pint in 5 years time. Positivity!

It's an adventure! Enjoy it. Some of it you will enjoy looking back on although it will suck at the time. But without adventure, life would be so dull!

Make sure the house you plan to leave is Sold and paid for
Make sure the house you are moving to has everything you need
Make sure your medical needs can be met.

Fact is that we had done the research before we moved. We made the effort to integrate from day one.

Points if you are moving to rural Ireland, Introduce yourself at the post office that handles your mail, invest in a small generator before the winter (power cuts can happen and could take some time to fix), be sensible/practical about car choice. Remember your neighbours know the area better than you and have lists of maintenance/repair and get things done folk that will take you a long time to generate. Never be afraid to ask what seems like a stupid question it probably isn't.

1. Be patient and understanding with your non-Irish spouse. Fitting back in to Irish society is pretty easy for people who grew up in Ireland. There are a lot of cultural differences that make it difficult for non-Irish.

2. It's no secret that Irish people put up with things even though they don't make sense and if changed could make life so much easier. Be prepared for unnecessary red-tape attached to many of life's encounters. It can get irritating.

3. Life goes on. Bills, work, family issues, fun, etc.... Yes these all exist in Ireland too 🙂

Thanks for all this great advice.
@mcrose I will check the immigration procedure for my US husband based on your wisdom. I thought it would be very straightforward but I've come across a bit of conflicting information about how long his application will take to process - from same day, to 8 weeks, to up to 12 months.
Thanks, too, for links to your own blog.
@cfinegan Your human advices are so important and so easy to let slip, I might have to print this one out!
@tony2phones Yes, medical needs is a big one and we spent last summer in Ireland, during which time we got to try out some of the healthcare services. Even going private with no insurance is way cheaper than in US, so that's a plus.
thanks @Liam - I hope your spouse is settling in and happy (at least most of the time!)

Anyone feel free to chime in with more advice...

@mairead the process is very different if you are Irish with an EU spouse, or if you are foreign, here on a temp visa. I'm Irish. On our first attempt to move, we got the visa same day in mullingar. This time, we applied on Longford and then moved. The gnib card was available within 10 weeks and was mailed to the Garda station. We had moved though and it took some months to get it mailed to our new location. It depends on the Garda station you use.

Regarding health. Just visit a doctor. My wife uses the public doctor for €50 a pop, and they even referred her to the public system for her personal needs. Many of which are free. Some of which cost a bit, but compared to the U.S., are still much cheaper.