Working and Living in Ireland, Part III

Cliffs of Moher

 Hello again and welcome to the last article of the series on Ireland...more than and Island.

I have divided this article in two sections, in the first section I briefly run through the requirements and things you need to know if you move to Ireland. The second section is about life in general and some of the most interesting things I learned while living there.

Fort those moving to Ireland:

If you are a European Citizen, member of the EU, it is fairly easy to work in Ireland.  If you are an American citizen or from non-EU countries and do not have family or ties in Ireland you will need to apply for a work permit.

These are some helpful websites:

http://working.monster.ie/articles/right_papers/

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/

http://www.movetoireland.com/movepag/workperm.htm

http://www.entemp.ie/labour/workpermits/

http://www.microsoft.com/ireland/careers/workinginireland/

For tax and insurance purposes you need to get a PPS number: http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Publications/SW100/Pages/HowToGetAPPSNo.aspx

Also, be sure you get your Income Tax Registration forms in order prior to your first payroll: http://www.revenue.ie/en/index.html . If you don’t do it or your employer forgets to tell you, you will be automatically placed in the highest tax bracket, and your first pay will look very poor! “In Ireland, you will pay 20% tax on earnings up to €35,400 and 41% on any earnings over that.” If you leave Ireland, be sure to claim a tax refund: http://www.taxback.com/ie-paye-standard-worker-faq.asp. I did it and worked very well and fast!

Once you are done with all the paperwork, you are ready to enjoy your experience working in this fantastic island.

Memories from Ireland:

While living in Ireland, I went through some interesting discoveries:

The Weather Shock: Yes, it is depressing to experience this amount of rain and drizzle every day. The wind, the cloudy days…As you become paler, and your skin starts looking really yellow, the missing-the-sun symptoms will kick in.

The Food Fest: as the weather pulls or pushes you into pubs and restaurants you’ll find yourself immersed in the potato-beer world. You’ll eat great Irish breakfasts, lovely Irish coffee and typical Irish meals, which are similar to a Thanksgiving traditional meal.  Organic food and farm markets are quite popular in many villages though. Food is expensive and there is quite a competition in where to go shopping. Main supermarket chains are:  Tesco, SuperQuinn, Dunnes, LIDL, SPAR and SuperValu, among others. There are plenty of convenience stores as well.

The People:  as said in one of my previous articles, I think most of the Irish, if not all, were extremely friendly, welcoming, talkative, and helpful. I never felt like an outsider or foreigner.

Schools and Education: I found the public school systems quite good, but of course it depends on the area where you choose to live. In some areas it is very hard to find places, so if you have kids and you just moved in, probably you need to find a school and after care first before renting a place. Public schools teach religion in the school and they are catholic by default. There are many private schools of course from other religions or non-religious. For more information visit: http://www.educationireland.ie/

The Working environment: I thought it was the best. People are most of the time very courteous, and avoid arguments or aggressiveness. They work at a slower pace than in other countries though, and that’s something that many people do not understand. They like to enjoy the moment, have their coffee and breakfast in the cafeteria while reading the newspapers and talk about sports and the weather. It is an informality that might shock you at the beginning, but later on, you’ll discover it will get you far in accomplishing your goals if you learn to adapt and not criticize their ways.

Sports: it plays a big role in the everyday life. Their traditional sports: Hurling and Irish Football are very popular and it is important to understand and follow to certain extend what happens, that way you’ll not be lost in following their conversations at lunch time. Also, it will help you plan your week- ends, because every time there is a big game in one of the main cities, traffic is impossible.

Roads: there are very few highways or motorways as they say. In Ireland many things look as if they are in the Project stage, under construction. So, don’t be surprised if you are in the middle of the highway and all of a sudden it becomes a small town road.

Hospitals and Public Health: insurance is expensive, and social security is not like in other EU countries. So, French or Spaniards might find public services to be very poor in Ireland. It is different certainly and very criticized by many Irish as well. Let’s say there is large room for improvement in this area.

Property: it is very expensive indeed. So you have to think carefully before buying a house in Ireland. A good source for rental is: http://www.daft.ie/ and local newspapers.

The Island: it is wonderful just to explore the Island. Just pay attention to the means of transportations that you use as I said in my previous article. It is great to do something every week end if you can. There are many beautiful towns to see in Ireland, many historic sites, castles, the seashore, the farming counties. The places I remember the most: The Cliffs of Moher and Connemara, Galway, Cork, Trim and the Trim Castle where part of the movie Braveheart was filmed, and then the seashore north and south of Dublin.

Petrol/Oil and Cars: not a surprise of course, but the price of Petrol is something you’d want to forget…it is very expensive, and DIESEL is not as popular as in many EU countries. You need to get used to the driving on the left side and if you drive manual you have to change gears with your left hand. So, I tried to keep saying to myself LEFT, LEFT, and that’s how I got used to it. In any case it is spooky to drive in the narrow roads and be a co-pilot…you see the cars coming full speed towards you and it will freak you out!

I think this covers in a nutshell my Irish Experience. I will be doing some travelling in the next couple of weeks, and I hope to be back with other stories from other countries and places in our wonderful world.

Bye for now!