Great! Thanks Liam, you've been very helpful!

Hi glad I found this website! I'm moving to Dublin on October 8th so I've been doing all of my planning to get over there. I'm a tax consultant and I'm moving to Dublin for work. I have my work permit, sold all my belongings, I'll be showing up with a few suitcases and one or two boxes. 

Things that "keep me up at night" which I will be searching the forum for discussions of (if anyone wants to link me to good threads feel free!):

- I've been looking for studios or roommates on rent.ie and daft.ie but won't really be able to get to much into it until I arrive. I am having my two cats flown out to me (using a pet relocator) after I've secured an apartment. Wondering how much trouble I will have finding pet friendly apartments? Lots of these website don't even have a search filter for "pet friendly".

- Airlines - I'm a big fan of accumulating miles on a preferred airline. I have Southwest and American Airlines programs I am loyal to in the U.S. Am I likely to find / establish any similar "key airline relationship" to start picking up miles? I intend to travel all over Europe in my free time (husband free and child free). Wondering if I'll really just have mileage programs with a million airlines and never make progress with any one of them specifically?

- Credit Cards - I have been doing a lot of research into this hoping I could get a good credit card (which I pay off every month) to accumulate miles on an airline or some other good rewards program (see previous bullet about traveling a lot). However the google results are dismal. I am not seeing any benefits of charging a credit card and paying it off every month. Anyone have a different experience?

- Banking - I want to keep my fees to a minimum. I don't intend to buy a house. Maybe one day I'll get a car loan. I'd like good savings interest percentages. My main priority is that I want to travel around Europe without paying for access to my money at an ATM or by charging expenses to my card (I am a cashless person by preference). Anyone have a specific bank they love that keeps costs down in this respect? I have a U.S. bank with Charles Schwab where I don't pay any ATM fees anywhere in the world, ever. If the other bank charges me a fee, Schwab refunds it to me. Researching and comparing fees between the banks is a nightmare but so far AIB seems attractive in terms of daily costs (keeping them down) and good interest rate on savings.

- Credit Files - Does Ireland have a similar process to the U.S. in terms of processes related to "obtaining credit"? In Ireland do you have a credit profile that follows you (through Welfare or PPS)? Said differently, does the concept of "building credit" exist in Ireland or do banks lend you money and apartments rent to you by physical evidence / proof (copies of bank statements, letters of reference etc) rather than doing a "credit profile check" like the U.S.?

Hey Jessalyn,

Welcome to the site 🙂 It's good to have you here. 

Great list of questions. I'll offer some of my own insight, and suggestions. Hopefully others will too.

Pet friendly accomm - this may prove difficult. Many rentals are fully furnished, and I think this plays a part in Irish people being reluctant to have pets in the house. Also, it just traditionally has not been a 'thing'. The 'pet friendly' option on the home sites is often a little hidden. Dig for it, and/or use keywords to help with your search.

Loyalty programs - you won't find many options here for CC's or airlines. Ireland (maybe the EU too) just hasn't caught on to it the same way as it is done in the US. However, you will find the likes of Ryanair, who offer very low-cost (no frills) travel from around Ireland to multiple destinations. And for CC's I'd recommend you check out  https://www.ccpc.ie/consumers/ There you will find impartial advice on banking, housing, services, etc. It's really helpful.

Credit rating system - it's nowhere like it is in the US, where everything you ever do almost is tied to your credit profile and score. There is no score, and a lot of places operate totally independently of any kind of credit rating. However the banks are all (or nearly all?) linked, so getting in the red with one, will affect you for all. Lending/renting will be done by you digging out your financial history and providing proof. Being able to prove a good US credit history/score was something I was able to use in my favor when looking for a loan in Ireland.

I hope this helps. Start new threads as you need to. I hope to hear more from you as your move draws closer

Liam. 

Hey everyone! My name is Mary, and I am moving to Dublin, Ireland! It feels so exciting and terrifying to say! I graduated from college in the US December of 2016, so I'm in the process of getting a temporary work visa for 12 months.

I graduated with a degree in journalism, but have interests working in any communications related field. I'm mostly nervous to try and get a job in Dublin. I have a few Irish native friends who will most likely live there when I move (thinking May 2018), so hopefully I will have some help as to not feel so helpless.

Right now I'm trying to SAVE SAVE SAVE best I can before I go. I would love any feedback anyone has. I'm most curious about resources to find a job and a place to live in Dublin, finding a good and inexpensive insurance that my visa would allow, and honestly any tips for young Americans moving to Dublin. 

I lived in London twice within the past few years, both a semester at a time, (Boo England, I know I know...) so I am not totally new to living abroad. In fact, I love it! Still I am nervous, and excited of course because Dublin is a whole other beast.

My husband and I visited Ireland this past summer and fell in love with the beauty of both the land and the Irish people. We are approaching retirement age and are looking to downsize our home in the USA. We'd like to also purchase a cottage in Ireland so we can split our time between home, where our children and grandchildren are, and Ireland, a place we connected with so strongly.  I have several questions that I'm hoping someone can help me with.

1. How long can we stay in Ireland during a visit?

2. Can we bring our dogs with us for our longer visits?

3. Do you have any suggestions on getting in touch with and building a working relationship with a realtor?

4. Any suggestions on the best area to purchase a cottage? We would probably consider renting it to vacationers when we aren't visiting, so we would probably also need info about a property management company.

5. We would like to purchase a car while there. Is there anything we should know when looking into making the purchase or the car and/or car insurance? We rented a car for almost 2 weeks when we visited this past summer, and we noticed the rental car insurance was very high. I am wondering if car insurance would be high on a car that we own.

6. Any other words of wisdom? I feel like there's so much we don't know!

Thank you so much for any information you can give me. I was very excited when I found this forum and thank you helping people like me to find our way!

Hi Patty, and welcome to the site 🙂 I can help answer some of your questions.

1. the max stay as a visitor is 90 days in one visit

2. yes you can bring your dogs. There's a bunch of hoops to jump through, and it can be quite costly, but you absolutely can bring them. The requirements for going back to the US at some point are not as stringent, but something you should research ahead of time also.

3. Buyer representation isn't very prevalent in the Irish property scene, however a number of realtors, or buyers agents as they appear to be referred to in Ireland, are popping up. I'd recommend getting in touch with a few, looking for references, finding out if they operate in your desired area etc. Typically they charge a percentage of the home purchase price, so plan accordingly.

4. where to buy is primarily a personal decision. Are you looking for amenities, scenery, large/small place, beaches, towns etc? It is really dependent on what you want. If you wish to rent it out part time, you could either avail of a service such as Air BnB, or find a property manager in the area you buy. With Air BnB, you would need to employ someone to take care of the cleaning etc after people check out. 

5. Car rental insurance in Ireland is notoriously high. You will find a far better rate with a car of your own, however you will need to shop around quite a bit. Irish insurers rely heavily on what is called a 'no claims bonus' for deciding your rate. Basically it's a good driver discount. However, not all insurance companies will recognize the driving history of overseas drivers. You will find some that do though, so be sure to ask for a letter of record from your US insurer. If it can document a minimum of 5 years good driving, then you will get the best deal.

6. I have a ton of wisdom to share 🙂 3+ years of running this website has blessed me with that. Thanks to people like you for asking questions, and for helping others out with answers, has seen me amass a wealth of info on almost every topic related to moving to Ireland. If you want to give me a call some time to discuss any particular topic, you can do so via my Let's Talk! service.

Looking forward to seeing more of you on here.

Liam 

Thank you so much, Liam!

Hi Patty! I recommend using a pet relocation service to bring your dogs back and forth. It is very expensive, but I would hate to make mistakes along the way because I missed something. I live in California and am using a a pet relocation service based out of Colorado (a referral from a friend). I'm relocating two cats and it is about $4,000 total for me to move them. That's inclusive of their flights, relocation service fees, and customs fees. I've spent another $400 on brand new airline approved crates and vet visits. My situation is particularly expensive because I relocated them first from San Francisco to Austin Texas so I can arrive in Dublin and get a pet friendly apartment first (which could take ages). After I'm settled into Dublin apartment, then my two cats will finish the journey from Austin to Dublin. If I knocked off the cost of the SF to AUS trip, that's $1,000 right there. Then if I was flying out of a bigger city (like Dallas or something on the east coast) my costs would come down too because flights would just be cheaper. I would also note that my cats are flying in cargo rather than on the plane, cargo being more expensive than flying in the cabin with you.

Happy to give a recommendation to my relocation service if you'd like the assistance. Even if the pet flies in cabin with you, the service makes sure you have all your i's dotted and t's crossed.

Thanks so much for the info, Jessalyn! We will be traveling back and forth probable going to Ireland a couple of times a year for extended (2-3 month) stays, so I'm not sure that we will be able to have the dogs travel with us. We might just get a live-in pet sitter while we are in Ireland.  By the way, we are in Austin!

Hello everyone, I am Kathryn Murphy. I am an avid traveller. And I am fond of Ireland and its culture, its beauty and everything.