Ireland is famous for its fondness for food and drink, scenic countryside, and vibrant cities. There’s no doubt that Ireland comes off as a perfect place to call home. But settling in a new country is a big decision.
You should always do your research and compare the pros and cons, and that’s where we come! Listed below are a few pros and cons of living in Ireland with some basic costs of living added.
Pros of Living in Ireland
1. Low Crime
There are some quite strict gun laws in Ireland. Unless you’re living on a farm, it’s illegal to own a firearm here. And even at the farmhouse, your gun has to be “farm appropriate.”
Because of all this, the rates of violent crime in Ireland are overall low. All in all, it’s a quite safe place to call home as compared to several other nations.
2. Extremely Accessible Healthcare
All permanent citizens of Ireland are authorized to receive quality healthcare. You are even entitled to receive a medical card if your earnings are less than a specific threshold, the medical card will let you have almost all of your medical services for free.
Even if you’re not qualifying for a medical card, you’ll only be paying out of pocket for certain services like doctor’s visits, but they’re still sponsored by the government, keeping the costs fairly low.
There’s also the Drugs Payment Scheme offered by Ireland, which caps the price you have to be spending on prescription medications.
In case you have a chronic or long-term condition, your costs will be covered by the Long-Term Illness Scheme. And the medical costs of having a kid are heavily funded by the Maternity and Infant Care Scheme.
3. Become a Dual-Citizen
The citizens of Ireland have a choice of becoming dual citizens with another country if the other country also considers the potentiality to hold dual citizenship.
This means being an Irish citizen doesn’t mean you have to let go of your rights in your home country.
4. Opening a Bank Account is easy
Even non-residents of Ireland are considered eligible to open a bank account in Ireland.
The only things you’ll be needing to open a bank account are a valid form of photo ID such as your passport and evidence of your address, even if your address is in a different nation. Some banks can be a bit more strict with non-residents and ask for two forms of evidence of address, or a financial record from your home country.
The only downfall is that bank accounts in Ireland mostly cannot be opened online, so you will have to wait until you’re here to complete this errand.
5. Public Transportation Take You Everywhere
The larger cities in Ireland such as Dublin, have pretty fast and trustworthy public transportation that only delays at times in the bigger systems. There are buses and trains outside the cities that will take you almost anywhere, and you’ll find cheap rental cars for the places they don’t go.
Cons of living in Ireland
1. Weather
The weather in Ireland is known to be dull and rainy almost throughout the year. It’s mostly overcast and rain might come any time even during summer. The weather here is so unpredictable that the Irish have a saying, “You can see every season in a day.”
There’s also no protection from such elements because of Ireland’s position in the Atlantic, and it is possible to witness sunny skies and a downpour of rain both on the same day.
Ireland rarely witnesses snow but that doesn’t mean it isn’t cold mostly through the year. Ireland might not be the place for you if you’re someone who prefers steady sunshine.
2. High Cost of Living
Ireland’s larger metropolitan areas have city centers where the cost of living can get quite steep. Getting away from the city centers, the rents can be much lower, but such areas don’t have as much access to public transportation.
3. Pub Culture can be Tricky
Many might be drawn to this country because of the Irish loving their pubs. But the social scene can pretty much revolve around alcohol, and you may find that the culture isn’t for you if you don’t drink.
4. Expensive Fuel
The fuel taxes in Ireland are pretty high which also spikes up the price of petrol. Ireland came as the fourth most costly place in the world to fuel up a car, at the end of 2017, as the taxes accounted for sixty percent of the price of a tank of petrol.
The cost of Petrol in Ireland is more than twice as expensive as in the US. And the option of crossing the border and reaching the UK to fill up isn’t also a good one as the fuel process is expensive too.
5. Difficult to Buy Property
It’s been tough for even the natives of Ireland to qualify for a mortgage loan in the last few years.
The ex-pats have it even harder, generally as they may need to go through some extra steps to prove they can afford the loan. Mostly, ex-pats are taken as higher-risk borrowers, so they will be given less favorable interest rates in general as compared to those who were born and raised in Ireland.
So be prepared to deal with quite much work ahead just to secure a home loan if you’re planning to purchase property instead of renting.
Costs of Living in Ireland
1. Housing Costs in Ireland
The prices of housing in Ireland are quite high when compared to the United States. Not even in the expensive cities but in an average neighborhood, the cost of a furnished one-bedroom apartment will cost you around $2,000 monthly.
Be prepared to pay prices that can be compared to living in London or New York City if you’re choosing to live in an expensive neighborhood.
2. Public Transportation Costs in Ireland
Public education in Ireland is free for everyone living within the nation’s borders, whether you’re an ex-pat or a citizen.
The students are sometimes required to pay the cost of certain expenditures such as meals, uniforms, and transportation.
According to the Irish Times, this total can be estimated to be around $450 yearly and for secondary education, it could be almost twice the amount.
3. Health Insurance Costs in Ireland
The public healthcare system in Ireland is free and subsidized, but several ex-pats take private health insurance instead.
If you manage to qualify for the subsidized healthcare system, you get to save money along with their Community Rating System.