The Dublin Community Blog

As I blogged about before, my wallet was stolen a couple weeks ago.  Discovering my wallet gone started a whole series of events that mostly involved me not having access to my money.  First, I called my bank at home.  They told me that I would have the replacement card the following Tuesday (2 business days from when I reported it stolen).  Well, a week later and I still didn’t have my card.  So, I called the bank again and it hadn’t been ordered!  I complained a bit and the person I talked to put it in super fast UPS delivery and I got it the following Wednesday (Monday had been a bank holiday and I had been at work when they tried to deliver it on the Tuesday).

During this time, I still had not gotten my Irish laser card replaced.  When I called initially, I was told that it would be 5 business days to get the new card and pin.  On the third business day, I received my pin.  After 6 business days, I hadn’t gotten my card yet.  So I rang Permanent TSB and asked about it.  They said that it could take up to 7 business days!  I told them that I had gotten my pin already and they then informed me that it takes 2-3 days just to make the Laser card!  So, when I still hadn’t gotten my card as of Thursday (12 calendar days after I reported it stolen), I rang again.  The person that I talked to also said that it can take 2-3 days to make the card and then didn’t know how long the postal service would take and that it may be slowed down due to a small postal strike.  I explained that I had actually been getting my other mail.  I then asked them why it took so long and how come my bank at home could get me a card in 4 days including a bank holiday.  The person reminded me that I wasn’t at home!  The person then decided that maybe my card had gotten sent to branch.  He then checked and yes, it had been sent to the branch but he had no way of knowing if it was actually there!  I then rang the bank and they had had my card at least 2 days before mailing out that they had my card.  Well, at least that is what the person estimated because there was no date stamping or marking in anyway of when my card arrived at the bank!

This whole experience was so frustrating.  I didn’t have full access to my money and when saying this to the bank reps, their response was that I could go to the bank.  But I work.  I had to take time off of work to go to the bank.  Why does it take so long here in Ireland to print and mail a card.  Why can’t things be delivered faster, especially after someone has just had their wallet stolen?  If I wasn’t already leaving the country, I would certainly be changing banks, not that any other Irish bank would be better…

When moving to a new city, it can be a challenge to figure many thing out.  You need to learn the way the city works, the names of utility companies, where to get groceries, perhaps what banks are in the area.  Since many people have asked more about cost of living in Dublin, I am providing some information so that people can find out what they need to know themselves. 

So, grocery stores.  The main grocery stores are Tesco, Superquinn,  Dunnes stores, and Marks and Spencers.

The electric company is ESB and the gas company is  Bord Gais.

You can get cable from Sky TV or NTL or Smart Telecom if you are in their area.

Telephone: you have a lot of choices based on where you live.  The main phone company is Eircom  but you can also get phone service from Smart Telecom, NTL, or BT.

Internet: you can get your internet service with the phone service from any of the above service providers and there are many others as well.

Banks: the main ones are Halifax, Permanent TSB, Bank of Ireland, AIB, Bank of Scotland, and Ulster bank.

Just back from Paris (and our ill fated rugby match!) and I have to say we were all VERY impressed with the bicycle rental scheme that’s going on there! I had heard something about it on the news here before we left, and we were really looking forward to seeing how it will take off in Dublin.

SO how will they stop the knick-knacks sending them to a watery grave I hear you ask!

The way it works in Paris is: you go to one of the many bicycle stations (situated within a 300 meter radius of each other) pop in your credit card to lay down a deposit of €150 and then you purchase your ticket. You can purchase all manner of subscriptions to suit the length of your visit. The locals use a ‘smart’ card that you just swipe and go! Each journey is free for the first 30 mins, so what they are encouraging you do to do is use the bike to get to your destination and pop it back in the station. It keeps a majority of the bicycles in circulation for people to use.

It made getting around Paris a doddle – from the top of Rue St Denis to the Rive Gauche in jig time!

The bicycles themselves are tamper-proof, un-deflatable tyres with three gears and the essential bell to warn pedestrians of your arrival! We couldn’t find that much information about the Dublin scheme, but it seems like the same company are behind it. JC Decaux are footing the bill in exchange for a number of adverting spots around the city.

Last week, I found myself back in Dublin along with thousands of other students looking for a flat. I had been discarded by the Trinity accomodation services and was fortunate enough to have to look for a room in September, the most competitive of months in this respect. My search was crowned in success in under 4 days, but I realised along the way that it is extremely difficult to find somewhere that is both affordable and acceptable, and that prices have been steadily rising since I moved here in 2003.

Finding a place to live in Dublin is akin to a theatrical audition/beauty pageant. It is all about making a lasting first impression which will convince a landlord of your ability to pay the rent and keep a place clean. In these circumstances, being a student evidently does not help, and one is inevitably thanked for one’s interest upon delivering this news in an apologetic fashion. As if being a student wasn’t compatible with normality and responsibility, even more so for us male students who are deemed more likely to burn a house down at the end of a 4-day binge.

Initially, my search took me to public viewings along with dozens of other punters. Once I had shown interest in overpriced bedsits due to a lack of alternatives, I went through the usual rejection process whereby overwhelmed landlords rejected me based on prejudiced first impressions, choosing the most ‘respectable’ of candidates instead (ie. a young professional, a shit-for-brains accountant who likes getting ‘trolleyed’ 3 night a week, living solely for the weekend). Some use scare tactics, doubling or tripling the required deposits to narrow the field down. One memorable character took advantage of the situation and opened a bidding war: “Whoever gives me the most money gets the place.” In this world, students don’t have a chance. 

Eventually, it becomes clear that second-tier housing is the only remaining option to us low-lives. Here is proof: one letting agent, unaware of my student stigma due to my English accent (which, surprisingly, helps!), told me over the phone that he did have a 2 bedroom flat available but that he couldn’t really show it to me because it could only really be rented to students, and would I please wait for something more suitable to come up, please? So we worthless human beings are left with so-called ‘student housing’, synonymous with ’shit-rundown-cold-dreary-overpriced’. Some of the places on the market are appalling, and it is commonly thought that a student should be grateful enough to be given somewhere to live, and should accept whatever is thrown his way.

The solution, it seems, is for everyone to engage in a show of solidarity with the student population of our wonderful city, and give up all rented housing, and squat in the city centre until all accomodation is done up to standard. Then, and only then, should places be re-allocated randomly, and life can resume. Until then, I will carry on paying 650 Euros a month for the right to live in a damp, dark, dump in Dublin. Savage.         

So, last Tuesday I went to the Garda office/Immigration on the Quays to renew my work authorization since it expired on the 24th of May.  I got there at 7.30 AM expecting to be there all day and had appropriate materials with me.  Well, I got put into the garda card line and was the 11th person.  I got nervous because I thought I needed to go to the visa section as well and they only give out a certain number of visa appointments per day.

So, I got in line and waited.  I only had to wait about 20 minutes standing in line since someone started giving out tickets with numbers on them earlier than they had to!  I then waited about 30 minutes to meet with the garda card people.  My number was called and the guy asked to see my papers and he then took my picture.  A little while later, I had my passport back, a new garda card, and a stamp in it saying I was legal for the next two years.

So, if you currently have a work authorization, you are able to renew it, at least for the time being.  :)  I am not sure if most people will have to go to both offices or not (the guy who processed my paperwork said it was easier because of the country I am a citizen of) but I would recommend getting there early.  It only took me an hour and a half to get everything done so I had the rest of the day to do what I wanted.

Since I have written a couple posts about moving to Dublin, we have gotten a few comments/questions about the cost of living. Here is an attempt to clear a few things up.

Dublin is expensive. According to the 2006 Mercer study on cost of living, Dublin ranks 18th in the world. But what does that mean?

Accomodation. The two main sites that I know of to look for rental accommodation are daft and myhome.ie

1 Bedroom: expect to pay 1,000 Euro a month (or more) in pretty much any area.

2 Bedroom: a quick Daft search revealed at least 2,000 a month but I know people paying less than that.

Pint of Beer/Cider: 5 Euro

Dinner Out in City Centre: 35-50 Euro for 2 people, average place, 1 starter, shared dessert, 2 mains/entrees, generally water to drink. This is a mid place. Of course there are cheaper and a lot more expensive places.

Public Transport:

Bus: Fares range from 1-2 Euro per journey depending on how far you go. If you go outside what is considered Dublin, then the price goes up. You can get a monthly bus pass for 83 Euro per month for the Dublin area.

Train: This is a more reliable mode of public transport. Fares vary on distance travelled. You can get a monthly ticket for 85 Euro a month

Luas: This is the most reliable form of public transit. Again, fares vary on how far you travel. You can get a card that you put money onto and swipe as you get on and off the Luas.

Monthly bus and train tickets: 113 Euro per month

Monthly bus and Luas: 92 Euro

Automobile: Since I don’t have a car, I have no idea what the insurance or tax cost. I also don’t know what it costs to buy a car. I have been told that having a smaller engine means lower insurance. I do know that both insurance and tax are checked by the police twice a year. Petrol usually costs between 1.00-1.20 per litre. I also don’t know what parking costs when in city centre.

Groceries: This varies hugely on what you eat. As with anywhere else I have lived, if you want a lot of fresh fruit and veg, your bill will be higher. Note, these are city centre prices and may vary in other areas. I don’t know since I live and shop in city centre.

I usually pay about 4.99 for 4 chicken breasts. A litre of skim milk is under a Euro. Bell peppers are usually 99 cents each (for the higher quality ones). Eggs are usually about 1.79 for 6 eggs. Apples are usually about 1.69 per kilo. Our total bill is usually between 60-80 Euro per week for two people. It isn’t that much less to shop for one person.

Television Liscence: 158 Euros per year

Electricity: Lately our bills have been a bit over 100 Euro per month (one-bedroom)! However, we don’t have the
most energy effecient apartment.

Cable: We use NTL cable and pay 30 Euro a month for digital cable (we have a bit over 200 channels)

Clothing: Again, this varies on your personal style. I am not surprised when a jumper (sweater) cost 50 Euro. Same for women’s trousers.

I hope this helps people get an idea of costs of living. The difficult thing is that so much depends on how you live and what your goals are. Another big factor is your debt level (I have student loans so good chunk of my income goes to that). You can get pretty cheap flights to the rest of Europe. If you have a car, your cost of living goes up a lot. If you eat out frequently, again your cost of living soars. A few of my co-workers make about 35,000 a year. Most of them have money to travel. Most also share accomodation. Two of them live with their partners so they have dual income, no kids. Another couple I know live on 55,000 Euro a year in a 2-bedroom apartment in Dundrum and have a car. They don’t travel as much as they want to but have made 2-3 trips around Europe per year.

According to Wikipedia, Dublin has a population of 1.7 million. So, I thought that I’d never run into people I knew. Wrong. I actually bump into people on a pretty regular basis. One day, I saw one of my friends as she was on the way to the theatre. On another day, I ran into one of my coworkers twice in two different parts of the city centre but we were both shopping. I also periodically see a former coworker who now works in the city centre. We pass each other as she walks to the train and I walk away from the train heading home. I have seen clients out and about a few times.

I have now seen a coworker’s fiance twice. Each time, I recognized his face but couldn’t place him (I’ve only met him once). The first time, I was getting on the train and he was getting off the same train. He immediately knew my name and we had a brief interchange. I knew that I knew him but just couldn’t remember from where. Today, he was getting off one train and I was waiting for a different train. I was distracted and but when I saw him, I recognized him and he said hi. I was a bit thrown off because I was trying to figure out what was up with the train I needed and I am always thrown when I see people I know. When talking to my coworker today, she told me that her fiance texted her telling her about the interaction and to tell me who he was! I was slightly embarrassed. Oh well.

Anyway, what is my point? For a largeish city, Dublin is really a small town. Everyone goes to city centre still for shopping or going out and there is always a chance that you will bump into someone that you know. Dublin is a big enough city yet it has this down home, friendliness to it.

Recently, I met a woman who works for Irish immigration. While chatting, she mentioned that the work authorization scheme (which I am on), has been discontinued. In its place is a green card. So, there are now different options for the paperwork involved in working here legally. First, if you are an EU citizen, this doesn’t apply to you.

For non-EU citizens who may need to renew the ability to work in Ireland: I am not entirely sure what we do. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment site simply says this about work authorizations: “The Working Visa/Work Authorisation Scheme has ceased with effect from the 31st December 2006.

Any renewals of current Working Visa/Work Authorisation will continue to be processed by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the Department of Foreign Affairs.”

If you are new to Ireland or will be moving over soon, then there are other options. They are the Green Card scheme, work permits, spouse/dependent permit, and intra- company transfer permit. Information about these can be found on Oasis’s website.

I have started reading the pdf file on the Green Cards and there appear to be some critical changes to the system. First, under the work authorization scheme, the employee only needed a contract and wasn’t tied to an employer. From what I have read and what the woman who works in immigration told me, the Green Cards are tied to the employer to some extent. You are required to stay with the same employer for the first year of the initial 2 year Green Card. You then have to apply for a new one if you want to change employers. Hence, a lot less flexibility for employees.

The second major change I notice is the price of the permits. The work authorization only cost me about 150 USD, I think about 100 Euros was the cost quoted on the Oasis site at the time. The new green cards are 1,000 Euro for an inital and 1,500 for a subsequent one (good for an indefinate amount of time). That is a huge difference. It also says that the employee must pay this fee! I guess I had bettr start saving now since I have been told that the guarda card also costs 100 Euro now while it was free two years ago.

The third difference that I see is that the shortest amount of time for a Green Card is two years. On the work authorization, you could get it for three months or two years. Not a big deal, but a bit of a hassle and huge expense if you don’t want to work the whole two years or if you want to work only a couple months after the work authorization is up (which a friend was planning on doing).

The fourth difference is who is elligible for the Green Card. Any professional making over 60,000 Euro is elligible. If you make between 30,000-60,000 Euro, then you have to be in one of the approved lists in the appendix. From scanning it (and looking for my profession), they appear to be mostly the same professions that were covered by the Work authorization scheme.

On an aside, according to the pdf, Green Cards will not be issued to prospective employees if more than 50% of its employees are non-EU nationals.

Ok, it has been a long time since my first post about how to move to Dublin and I thought it was time to do another one. So, after you arrive in the country, you need to find a place to live. The two main websites for this are daft and my home. There are probably others but these are the two that most people I know look for. I personally prefer daft because it tells you exactly how old an advert is and I have found it updated more frequently with rental properties.

When I first looked for housing, I was very confused about all of the different types. So, here are some descriptions and general prices of housing within the Dublin area. Note, these prices vary GREATLY depending on where you are trying to live.

• Shared accomodation: pretty self explanitory. You are living with other people. However, some people share actual bedrooms in addition to rooms within a house so you would have to check if it is a room for let or a bed in a room with other people. Prices vary greatly but generally 400-600 Euros a month
• • Bedsit: this is usually one big room with a bed/couch, kitchen area. You may share a bathroom, may have a private bath. Pricing is generally 500-700 Euros a month
• • Studio: this is usually bigger than a bedsit. Most are still one large room but you would generally have a bed area, kitchen/dining area, and living area. Prices are usually 600-800 Euros a month
• • Apartment: come in different number of bedrooms, have private bath and are usually purpose built as apartments. Usually cost 850 and up
• • Flats: I am still not entirely sure what these are as people seem to use flat and apartment interchangeably. I believe that a flat is a floor of what used to be a house that has been converted to a self contained living space.

So, that is the basics on housing types. Where you want to live depends on a lot of factors such as if you have a car, how much money you are willing to spend, if you depend on public transport, how far you want to live from work, etc. If you are depending on public transport, city centre is by far the most convienent. Trying to get from one end of the metro area to the other is difficult no matter what but all public transport goes through city centre. That is how we ended up living where we do.

I have thought about posting a series of posts on how to move to Ireland from another country for a while. I am starting this series because it is fresh in my mind because I have a new coworker from another country. Also, if there are any recruiters who work with international moves reading this, PLEASE give this information to your clients. My and my coworkers’ recruiters fell very short in facilitating our international moves.

Anyway, here are few things that you should consider at BEFORE you move. They are not in any particular order.

1. What type of work visa/authorization/permit do you need? Do you need one? The Oasis website is an informational site set up by the Irish government and has information on different types of work permits.

2. Cost of living. Everyone that I know who has moved to Dublin is surprised at the cost of living. Dublin is expensive! I pay an average of 5 Euro for a pint of beer/cider and 10-15 Euro for a main (entree) at a restaurant. I also pay about 400 Euro a month for groceries for two people.

3. Cost of housing. I know that this is part of cost of living but I think that it warrants its own point. Prices of accomodation varies greatly throughout the city depending on where you are and the size/type of accomodation you rent. Daft is a good website to give you an idea of how much renting costs and you can search by area of city and price. The other part of housing: you may need a written reference. Usually when you are new the country the agency/landlord will accept a letter from your employer saying that you are employed. It would be helpful to have a letter from your current landlord saying how long you have been in your accomodation and that you pay rent on time. Not all landlords require this.

4. Banking. Getting a bank account is a pain in the arse in Ireland. It is helpful if you have bank statements from your current bank. You will get a debit (Laser) card faster this way. Having bank statements doesn’t affect your ability to get an account but they are happier if you have that information. I will talk more about the process of getting a bank account in the “when you get here” post.

5. Cost of move. Investigate transport costs (e.g. plane, train, ferry). What are the weight restrictions for your travel method? Do they allow excess baggage and if so how much does it cost? Shipping tends to be quite expensive so investigate these costs also if you are going to have boxes shipped over. Also consider the cost of the work permit/authorization/visa as well as 100 Euro for your garda card. You need the garda card to reside legally in the country if you are a non-EU citizen (not sure about EU citizens).

6. Find a job. It is helpful if you have a job before moving over because there are some work permits that you are not allowed to get while in Ireland. People that I know have had the most success with Irish Jobs. Monster is alright and Loadzajobs is also pretty good.

That is all that I can think of right now. Oh, the international move can be quite overwhelming and expensive.