I am planning to move to Dublin this year. I have been reading online that rent situation is crazy in Dublin, like cost of living is way more then Bay Area when adjusted with the salary. Are there any folks on blind who work out of Dublin who can share their first hand experience? And as a single person how should I go about finding a good apartment? I have heard daft.ie is the go to site for rental apartment search but I wanted wanted to get more insights from folks who might be living there. Also, would love to get more insights from the locals about the city itself and culture.
Miserable weather, even more miserable people, and not much to do except drink beer.
what a stupid thing to say. The Irish are far from miserable. We just don't fake superficial jollity...our demeanour is real, genuine and friendly. Don't spread fake news !
This is categorically untrue. Ireland has some of the most majestic hiking in Europe and it's an easy 30-45 minute ride on the DART. The Dublin restaurant and coffee scenes have exploded in the last 5 years and the opportunities for those in tech early in their careers are quite good.
I lived there for 16 months and loved it. The people are wonderful, and it's highly multicultural w all the tech companies bringing in Jr folks from around EMEA. Rent wise, it has gotten much worse over the last 2 years. Are you single? Looking for roommates or? Best apartments I found were always on our internal boards - suggest you try the same.
Yes I am single, I am probably ok with housemates :)
This cost of living story you are talking about is not true. Dublin has a better ratio hands down. What would be your base salary?
I don’t know yet. What’s average salary for a senior software engineer?
Google&FB pay around 110-120k€ per year. Don’t accept the offer for less than 100k
I work in Dublin and I’ll say this - I know 2 engineers who have gone to Seattle from Dublin in the last year and both are desperate to return already despite lower TC due to the fact that they miss the city. That says it all given neither are Irish. And yes - Daft.ie is the place to look for a rental.
These are the main things that come to my mind right now. Pros - Multicultural - You'll meet people from all corners of the Earth. Kind of makes it easier to make friends if you are a foreigner. Friendly Irish people in general. Ireland has fallen on some hard times in the past, and the Irish people are less snobby than typical Europeans. They have been humbled and are more down to Earth. - Amazing hiking spots not far away from Dublin. Lots of nice parks for an easy walk within 30-45 minutes from your home. Cons - Low TC and limited opportunities compared to the US - TC is almost 50% of what you will get in the US. (For me, that is a big one, and that is why I am moving away to the US.) - Insane rental market - You'll pay a hefty amount (comparable to Seattle rent prices) for really low quality, old apartments. The competition in general is tedious. - Constrained resources in general. Everything is expensive and has a waiting line. I had to wait a few months to get my driving license test. Heard some problems with the public health care system too. Concerts might have to be booked a year ahead sometimes. - Very bad/over-priced transportation system. Cars are expensive. Cars' insurance prices are a high-way robbery (currently being investigated for acting as a cartel). - For non-EU folks, Ireland is not part of the Schengen area, so no free movement with mainland Europe. - No proper seasons. Almost always cold (4-12 C range). Almost always raining. - You might get bored of the country faster than you think. Dublin is basically a dwelling village still making its way to become a proper city in the next 15-20 years. You generally get the feeling that not enough people has stayed long enough to do something significant.
Basically I know no-one who’s expat and it’s happy here + many locals. We are all for the good opportunities and companies otherwise Netherlands is muuuch better option. Also if you are single here it’s kinda difficult cause first the local gene pool is poor and there are not many expat singles that you may find and date so be prepared for that. Not really a place to settle, maybe for a while for the experience. As a friend says - Ireland sucks out the life from me. Good luck, Ireland is greener than everything at least! Pros - Quiet, stable, clean and safe compared to other European capitals or US. - Nice and tolerant people, both locals and expats. - Good quality of local produce and meat. - Many international companies with lots of great talent to work with and career opportunities. Cons - Rent and housing situation is INSANE. Landlord driven market, low supply with high demand and things are totally out of control. Old and humid apartments for crazy prices. - Boring af and miserable. Not much of variety in anything, you can mostly visit pubs, pubs and more pubs. Miserable mostly because of the weather and availability of activities in your leisure time. Forget about the hiking I love outdoors and the options are limited and if the weather permits. - Everything is expensive + high taxes ~50% on top of that. Employees are basically paying out the taxes that’s why companies are here and locals are acceptable and tolerant because we pay out for their junkies (knackers) on welfare. I make a lot of money but half goes to taxes, 1/3 for rent, 1/3 for transport and living and not much is left. - Slow and bureaucratic services, banks are operating in last century. ‘This is Grand’ attitude towards everything closing the eyes for the real problems.
Miserable weather