Advice Moving Abroad?

[Galway Eagle]

Hi all, moving to Ireland for grad school and trying to figure out living arrangements, what to bring etc. Figured I'd ask if any of you have any experience.

Specifically when to sign a lease, do you suggest being in a hotel a couple weeks looking at places? signing a month or two before I head there and paying my chicago place and Irish place?

Also looking for advice on what to bring vs buy. Dishes, utensils, grill? Things like that.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Hi all, moving to Ireland for grad school and trying to figure out living arrangements, what to bring etc. Figured I'd ask if any of you have any experience.

Specifically when to sign a lease, do you suggest being in a hotel a couple weeks looking at places? signing a month or two before I head there and paying my chicago place and Irish place?

Also looking for advice on what to bring vs buy. Dishes, utensils, grill? Things like that.

I did all of the searching for houses months before I left, it was one less stressor I had to worry about among all other things when I got there all I had to do was pick up my keys. Also highly suggest looking for roommates first, since they usually live in the country already, which also makes the renting process 100x easier.

Try to find pre furnished flats. Getting there and looking for a bed is the last thing you want to do when you're jet lagged, cranky and overwhelemed with the situation you just got yourself into.

Finally, don't bring any kitchen items, save all of your luggage for clothes. Finding cheap plates, utensils etc. are easy enough to find.

[4everwarriors]

Yeah, dat gender kan bee difficult ta relocate, hey?

[ZiggysFryBoy]

call house hunters international, a'ina?

Bagpiping Chicago boy returning to his Irish roots.  Boom, TV show.

[Benny B]

TCD or NUI?

In any event, it would probably be best to check with the school to see if they have an "International Student Help Desk."  Strictly based on supply, you might get away with finding a place last-minute in Dublin just fine, but maybe not so much in Cork (or vice versa).

Based on an experience my mom had when she was on a contract nursing assignment in USVI, my suggestion would be to take ChiTown's advice and have something lined up before you land, but with one caveat... go month-to-month to start.  If you end up in a shiite-hole, no worries, you've got 29 days to get your bearings and find something else.  But if you do like the place and your roommates, then you sign a lease for the rest of the year.

[Galway Eagle]

TCD or NUI?

In any event, it would probably be best to check with the school to see if they have an "International Student Help Desk."  Strictly based on supply, you might get away with finding a place last-minute in Dublin just fine, but maybe not so much in Cork (or vice versa).

Based on an experience my mom had when she was on a contract nursing assignment in USVI, my suggestion would be to take ChiTown's advice and have something lined up before you land, but with one caveat... go month-to-month to start.  If you end up in a shiite-hole, no worries, you've got 29 days to get your bearings and find something else.  But if you do like the place and your roommates, then you sign a lease for the rest of the year.

NUI Galway.

I like the month to month idea, much better than finding out that the apartment leaks or something.

I did all of the searching for houses months before I left, it was one less stressor I had to worry about among all other things when I got there all I had to do was pick up my keys. Also highly suggest looking for roommates first, since they usually live in the country already, which also makes the renting process 100x easier.

Try to find pre furnished flats. Getting there and looking for a bed is the last thing you want to do when you're jet lagged, cranky and overwhelemed with the situation you just got yourself into.

Finally, don't bring any kitchen items, save all of your luggage for clothes. Finding cheap plates, utensils etc. are easy enough to find.

Solid plan on the pre furnished places, I always forget that's a thing out there.

[Benny B]

NUI Galway.

I like the month to month idea, much better than finding out that the apartment leaks or something.

Solid plan on the pre furnished places, I always forget that's a thing out there.

Galway was my favorite part of the Ireland tour I did with my mother and grandmother about 15 years ago... probably much to do with the fact it was the only place we went where I was surrounded by people my own age. 

I'm presuming much has changed, but FWIW, we stayed at a B&B just east of the city center off St. Bridgets for something like 40Eur a night PP (keep in mind that was 15 years ago, likely much more today), and there were a bunch of B&B's and hostels in the neighborhood.  It might put you on the wrong side of the river, but a B&B or hostel might be another option if you can't find a MTM arrangement in advance.  Either would also be advantageous from the standpoint of having something of a "concierge" during your search, i.e. your host might "know someone who knows someone looking for a roommate," or at least might suggest places to call (or even make some calls for you on your behalf)... no need to play up your ancestral connection to the mother isle or anything.



I'm green with envy (no pun intended).  I so badly wanted to do graduate school at TCD, but just couldn't pull the trigger.  Live it up , brother and enjoy every minute of it!

[MU82]

I usually find that poetry is one way to move a broad.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

Jaybee once moved abroad. She dumped him right after he returned da U-Haul.

But seriously, enjoy your time in Galway.  Great city.

PS- A hooker is a type of boat so don't get your hopes up when you here about the annual hooker fest.

[WarriorFan]

Take with you enough clothes for your first week.  You'll find it's enough for your first year.  Don't take anything else.  Don't be one of those Americans that brings a suitcase full of crunchy peanut butter, pancake mix and your favorite breakfast cereal.  Ireland has been there a long time, they have all the stuff you need to survive. 

2nd the idea on month to month for the first lease.
Some of the universities have housing which rents just like normal apartments.  Might be better than trying your luck on the open market. 

you will need to buy a couple things:
Power adaptors for UK plugs, possibly different power supply for computer, or different ends for your mac/iphone charge cable.  Can get most everything in the airport or if you want to buy in advance try:
http://www.eastwestintl.com/showprod.asp?subid=254&catid=224
Outside of international airports this stuff is hard to find. 

Good luck!

[Sir Lawrence]

I lived there for a year in the 70's (UC-Cork).  Been back a few times, as recently as August of '16 when it poured sideways for five straight days.  As such:

Bring the best rain gear you can afford.  Cabellas/REI quality light weight rain gear, as well as good water proof walking/hiking shoes and a water proof back pack. 

Agree with the rest of the advice, like get your kitchen stuff at a resale shop.  Try Beamish stout if you see it on tap.  Sláinte!

[TSmith34, Inc.]

I lived in the UK for three years, so while not Ireland it should be reasonably similar.

I agree with other posters re household goods.  Presuming that you have to pay shipping costs yourself, you're going to want to minimize--shipping heavy things like plates and grills back and forth will be pretty expensive.

Take advantage of local market days (i.e., what we'd call farmer's markets) -- fresh, cheap produce and often you can find household goods as well.

Are you going to have a car?  Petrol is expensive and we found the public transportation could get us about everywhere we needed to go, albeit slightly less conveniently.  Buses, trains, and tons of healthy walking.

Do you know your laundry situation?  This might sound weird, but the single best purchase we made was a clothes dryer with a self contained water collector (since their was no exterior vent in the flat).  Things might have changed, but our flat had a combo clothes washer/dryer that could hold about four pieces of laundry at a time and took about 3 hours to run.  Most people just hung their laundry in a "drying room" which nothing other than the space near the heater.  Really a pain.

Take advantage of the ultra-cheap discount airlines and travel your ass off.  London to Moscow is closer than NY to SF.  Iceland is only slightly further.  No need to even really book a hotel in advance if you aren't too picky, and gives you a lot more flexibility to go wherever the situation.  In three years we only got caught out once when there was a convention going on in wherever town we landed in and we had to take a late night train to the next large town to find a hotel.  Sign up for the "last minute travel deals" notifications from the airlines and travel outfitters and you'll end up going places you never would have thought off.

I'd highly recommend hitting Edinburgh for one of its festivals (Tattoo, Fringe, Hogmanay, etc.), Belgium for the best beer in the world direct from the source, Oktoberfest in Munich, everywhere in Northern Italy...

You'll have an awesome time.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Do you know your laundry situation?  This might sound weird, but the single best purchase we made was a clothes dryer with a self contained water collector (since their was no exterior vent in the flat).  Things might have changed, but our flat had a combo clothes washer/dryer that could hold about four pieces of laundry at a time and took about 3 hours to run.  Most people just hung their laundry in a "drying room" which nothing other than the space near the heater.  Really a pain.

This is actually quite important. Again I was in the UK not in Ireland so I couldn't tell you specifics but our flat had one pretty small washing machine and no dryer. Three flat mates trying to do laundry at the same time while fighting over the drying rack was a pain.

Bring the best rain gear you can afford.  Cabellas/REI quality light weight rain gear, as well as good water proof walking/hiking shoes and a water proof back pack. 

Maybe Cork is different but we actually didn't get a ton of rain in London for the year.

Think someone mentioned this already as well but adapters are key. Get them before you leave because you will need them.

In regards to phone plans and sim cards, I recommend getting plans with heavy data and as little minutes as you can. For whatever reason, Europeans in general love to use WhatsApp way more than your standard iMessage and phone calls. You can make calls on WhatsApp and it's counted as data, not minutes.

[Galway Eagle]

Thanks for the heads up on the laundry situation, I'll be sure to remember that when checking out places.

No car just going to buy a bike. Galway's so small no point in having a car unless I wanted more convienent trips to my family

Chitown that's great advice on cell plans. I definitely would've done minutes if you hadn't told me that.

Regarding adapters, am I not able to just switch my MacBook charger with a European one? And same with my iPhone charger? I have two adapters from all the visits I've done but I feel like it might just be more convienent to buy the euro chargers

[Sir Lawrence]

Maybe Cork is different but we actually didn't get a ton of rain in London for the year.

London averages 23.3 inches of rain/year.
Galway averages 49.7 inches of rain/year.  And it's worse in other areas, so think of your travels too.   There's no bad weather, just bad gear.

And I agree on your assessment regarding cell phones and WhatsApp.  I hosted a couple of young German's last fall, and both indicated that WhatsApp is used a lot, vs. our habit of text messaging.

[Jay Bee]

I'd go to the bar and meet a hot rich chick, then shack up with her for a bit. -

[WarriorFan]

Regarding adapters, am I not able to just switch my MacBook charger with a European one? And same with my iPhone charger? I have two adapters from all the visits I've done but I feel like it might just be more convienent to buy the euro chargers

Yes, that works.  You can slide the US one out and the UK one in because the power supply is 110-230v.  I've found these on Amazon.  remember that Europe is different plugs than UK, so best to buy both if you plan to travel.

[D'Lo Brown]

NUI Galway.

I like the month to month idea, much better than finding out that the apartment leaks or something.

Solid plan on the pre furnished places, I always forget that's a thing out there.

If you are leaning towards month-to-month, I would strongly recommend considering an airbnb instead, especially if you are not moving there with all the pots/pans/towels etc. You can live as simply or lavishly as you want and there is a long-term stay/monthly discount. Might as well consider the options around your new school. You can probably get a nicer place for around the same price and no worries about paying the electric/wifi/etc.

I travel for work and have switched completely to using airbnb. I normally stay in the exact same place, but in your case it might be interesting to even bounce around to a few different areas, see what you like and dislike.

From the limited I know about Ireland and real estate, I have to imagine there are a ton of airbnb's available.

[Galway Eagle]

If you are leaning towards month-to-month, I would strongly recommend considering an airbnb instead, especially if you are not moving there with all the pots/pans/towels etc. You can live as simply or lavishly as you want and there is a long-term stay/monthly discount. Might as well consider the options around your new school. You can probably get a nicer place for around the same price and no worries about paying the electric/wifi/etc.

I travel for work and have switched completely to using airbnb. I normally stay in the exact same place, but in your case it might be interesting to even bounce around to a few different areas, see what you like and dislike.

From the limited I know about Ireland and real estate, I have to imagine there are a ton of airbnb's available.

Interesting I'll look into that. No experience with Airbnb do they have to provide cooking utensils and such or is that something they normally have?

[JWags85]

And I agree on your assessment regarding cell phones and WhatsApp.  I hosted a couple of young German's last fall, and both indicated that WhatsApp is used a lot, vs. our habit of text messaging.

Not only that, but you can also wifi call on WhatsApp, so even less data or minutes usage.  I travel to India and HK 2-3 times a year each, as well as Europe, and my clients/friends in those places use it almost exclusively.  Moved into one of the prime 4 spots of my app bottom bar within 3 months of beginning travel.

[D'Lo Brown]

Interesting I'll look into that. No experience with Airbnb do they have to provide cooking utensils and such or is that something they normally have?

Yep. Coffee pot, utensils, pots/pans. Depending on the place there is usually some array of the basic cooking ingredients too, like salt/pepper/spics/olive oil/ground coffee, that kind of stuff.

If I were in your position, I would just book an airbnb at some point in advance, say for a stay of two weeks or so. Head out there and then get a hold on things. Then you can extend your stay at any point (very simple to do) or try a different place, or head into a month-to-month apartment, do whatever. IMO you'll save a bit of money by cooking and probably end up not having to make a decision in haste.

Good luck in your travels!

[rocket surgeon]

hey bags-may the sun always shine where it's sposed to and the wind always be broken, well... downwind- eyn'a? 

  saying adios to stericycle?  just bought some of their stock and they must have heard you were jumping ship cuz it ain't done real well since, but then again...what has?

    all the good luck on ya!!

 

[Galway Eagle]

hey bags-may the sun always shine where it's sposed to and the wind always be broken, well... downwind- eyn'a? 

  saying adios to stericycle?  just bought some of their stock and they must have heard you were jumping ship cuz it ain't done real well since, but then again...what has?

    all the good luck on ya!!

 

Yeah let's just say my manager wasn't thrilled about me leaving the company in a few months and decided to make it sooner. Their fault for letting go of the no6 sales person 5 months before he leaves 🤗

Happy to say I'm no longer sending PMs to let people know they're eligible for money because my unethical company is stealing!

[jsglow]

Interesting I'll look into that. No experience with Airbnb do they have to provide cooking utensils and such or is that something they normally have?

Yep.  It's a great way to go for medium term living especially.  Our son is in San Juan for what looks to be a 4 month deployment.  He's been there a week now and is currently hoteling but will probably start his airbnb search this weekend.  The ability to call someplace 'home' is worth a lot in my mind.

[Jay Bee]

Moving to a new country can be tough. I remember a few years back when ZFB got a mail order bride from Cambodia, things went south quickly. 

Sure, there were some things common living with him compared to back home - bathroom was an outhouse, lots of insects in the bedroom, bathing in a stream - but also lots of changes. Less walking, lots of rollin in his 86 Peugeot.

Good luck