Moving to Dublin

[Melsie]

Hello All - There doesn't seem to be a lot of traffic on this thread but I know that some good mama will come through. :) My husband is considering a postdoc at University College Dublin. Being a librarian, I have to research everything to death so I already have a few questions.

1. Housing - I already looked at the thread that talked about how expensive Dublin is. We are coming from the rather inexpensive midwest so I am sure that will be a real shock. We will be renting and the university is in Dublin 4. We would like a two bedroom. I have been looking at daft.ie but if anyone can provide some good practical info about rentals, I would appreciate it. Anywhere that we should avoid?

2. I am sure that there will be a lot to do in Dublin but this will be my first chance to be a SAHM. Can any SAHM clue me into what is fun to do?

3. Expats - What sort of things do you wish you would have brought with you from the states?

Thanks so much - Melsie

[Bethbyrne]

hi melsie

Dublin 4 is the most expensive part of Dublin. There is public transport and you can get to D4 easily enough (LUAS(tram system), Train and Bus).
A lot of people commute from North County Kildare where a 3 bedroomed semi-detatched house would be around €1000 per month.
Have a look at www.let.ie and www.remax-ireland.com that will give you some ideasof costs. You can always email me and ask about a particular area, some are better than others.

Winter here is a challenge as it gets dark early enough. There are parks around and about, heritage centres and indoor play areas.
Most parish centres hold mother and toddler groups weekly which is a great way to get to know people in the area.
Not a huge amount of AP but there is an API group in Celbridge.

Most things you can get here although the car seats aren't as good as USA ones!
Hope this helps
Kate

[TracyD]

Have a look at magicmum.com - there's a section on expat mums.

Dublin is a great city - and as you are finding out - not cheap !

Where are you coming from ?

Tracy