Cost of living in Ireland

sent by woda57 in Nov 2007

Hello All,

I live in Cork City Ireland:

ACCOMMODATION PRICES:
I live on my own in the outskirts of town and I pay 550€ a month for a one double bedroom flat in a house that also offers garden and parking space. This is considered fairly cheap given that brand new flat would easily be rented at around 700- 750€ a month without charges. Everything in the flat is mostly electrical and I usually pay around 50€ for 2 months.


PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION (tube, bus etc ...)
I don't use them as I have car now. But here buses are like a total nightmare as they are never on time or they sometimes don't  even stop. Buying a car is dear and getting it insured is even mor expensive. I bought a 2002 Yaris earlier this year and paid 9500€ with 21100 miles on it and i pay about 800€ a year for a full comprehensive insurance (1 year bonus).

FOOD PRICES
per week, I would easily spend 100€ between groceries shopping (Tesco), meat at the butcher and fish at the market. For quality food, you have to pay the price.

HEALTH PRICES
I usually avoid going to the doctor. They are very dear (50€ a visit) and they mostly are not good. I usually have a checkup whenever I go back to France.

RESTAURANT/ PUB
Again if you wanna enjoy a good night in a nice restaurant, you have to pay the price for it. I guess you can easily spend between 30- 50€ for a full course menu (starter/ main dish/ wine and dessert). Otherwise, you can spend about 10- 15€ for  pub food.

TRAVEL
Traveling from Ireland is probably the worst thing here. It is really hard to find direct flights or you have to stick unaccommodating schedule.


Warda

would love to know how to obtain a newspaper for further info,  any ideas\/

Hello ,

I just moved back to Ireland, have to say that prices are pretty steep - especialy in Dublin where I'm based. The silver cloud in a very nasty recession is that some costs are coming down. I do a ' moving stuff' post every week on my blog , you might find some useful information there !
http://writeronthewayhome.blogspot.com

I havent covered every topic on your long list yet , but I can say that rents here have gone down by at least 12% , electricity and gas are dropping monthly right now. This article from the Irish Independent a few weeks ago has a good summary:
http://www.independent.ie/business/pers … 71609.html

Ireland is expensive, although I suppose it depends on the part of the country you live in.

accommodation prices (how much does it cost to rent or to buy an accommodation in Ireland?) A great place to get ideas of rent and sale prices is: daft.ie

> public transportation fares (tube, bus etc ...)
Again it depends on where you are, the village where I live only has one bus a week to the main town and that is 5 euro return.
The train from Sligo to Dublin is 32 euro return.

> food prices(per month, how much does it cost you?)
It varies from month to month.
Two litres of milk (cheapest is 1.49) (dearest is 2.89), bread cheapest is 60 cent right up to 2 euro.

> health prices (for those who need medical insurance)Doctors fees are between 30-40 euro per visit

> eduction prices (if you need to pay) Education is supposidly free but books/uniforms aren't. It cost me 285 euro for my daughters secondary books last year, 20 euro for each school jumper, 45 for a school skirt.

> energy prices (oil, electricity) at the moment oil is 240 for 500 litres, electricity varies my last bill was 151 euro for six weeks.

> common bills (Internet, television, telephone, mobile phone) Some places still can't get broadband, so again it depends on the area. You can get mobiles phones pay as you go, tv is mainly sky (around 30 per month), in some places cable, no idea of cost.

> prices of a good menu in a traditional restaurant
Main courses from around 15 euro plus, starters 5 euro upwards.

> prices of a beer or a coffee in a regular pub
I don't go into pubs so don't know, but it's around 2.20 for a cup of coffee in a cafe.

Hi
I am considering moving to Cork Ireland. Does anyone know how I can get a Cork phone book sent to me. I currently live in Olympia, WA.
Joannacashman

goldenpages.ie/

this is what you are looking for

Hi, both myself and my partner used to live and work in Ireland and our long term plan is to shift back there. Just been studying costs and things.
Just wondering about car insurance, car prices, petrol ect.

In New Zealand, we have the highest food prices in the world behind south korea!
Here's a list for those of you who might be interested in moving down here:( all prices in NZ$ which is half the euro)

Milk 2-3ltr= $4-5 and up
Bread= $2-4.50
eggs= $7 doz
Cheese= $11-12 kg
Petrol= $1.80-1.95 per ltr
Diesel= $1.10 ltr
GST (sales tax)= 12.5% but going up to 15% SOON

Hello, hmmm I wish we couldn't compete but we can! I think those prices are pretty similar to here. Course there are huge differences here depending on which supermarket you hit. Aldi and Lidl are cheapo cheapo but they're not in every area. Then you can go up to the Artisan supermarkets where everything is hand reared by elves and costs a fortune.

I live in a small town about one hour north of Dublin, called Drogheda. Here's my take so far:

ACCOMODATION:
I just moved here from Los Angeles, so I find the rent here to be much cheaper than back home. I have a very modern 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment that came furnished with the basics (couch, dining room set, beds, etc.), and it's half the price of my one bedroom back in LA. The other benefit is that I only needed to pay a deposit (one month rent) plus first month rent, no credit checks required. All you need is an Irish bank account as they will insist on direct debit for rent payments.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT:
The only public transpo I have taken is taxi, which can be steep. To go about 10 miles, it will cost about 25 Euro, or roughly $34. But now I own a car so I'm no longer taking cabs. I bought a very good, used car for 3850 Euro, or about $5000, and am allowed to drive it with my American license. However, my insurance is quite high as the Irish gov only recognizes it as a provional license, and to make matters more frustrating, there is a one-year wait list to test for the Irish license. My car insurance, based on my previous US insurance (good driver, over 25 years, old, etc.) is $145 US per month.

FOOD PRICES:
It's safe to say that everything here is more expensive than in the US when it comes to food. My average weekly grocery bill is about $80 US, and that's just for one person. The farmer's markets are pricey also, but the produce is much better. Restaurants are more expensive as well, especially Chinese eat-ins. They are typically quite nice and charge about $20 US per entree. Even chips (fries) and chicken nuggets at a fast-food takeout will cost you about $10 US.

HEALTH:
I am a resident here for a year (I have a special crafts writer's visa) so I enjoy the benefits of national health care. Each doctor's visit is 50 Euro, or $68, and your prescriptions are covered under that payment. Private health insurance is relatively new here, so you can get it for quite cheap, about $55 US per month for basics.

ENERGY PRICES:
I live in an electric-only apartment, whereas many places here have gas and electric. Electricity here is VERY pricey, so I am very careful with my heaters. I've yet to get my first bill but I have to say I am nervous, as it's been cold here recently and I've been using the heater most nights. My neighbor got her two-month bill at the end of winter and it was 496 Euro for two months, that's $675 US!!! She did admit to running the heater a lot, but still - it's just so ridiculous. I will update this when I get my first electricity bill.

BILLS - Phone, etc.
My mobile phone is about the same as back home. I have unlimited texts, plus 6 hours of call time and 250MB of internet useage for 55 Euro per month, or $75. My landline is 34 Euro per month, which gives me 100 minutes to the US any time, per month. Cable depends on how big of a package you get; basic starts around $50 per month. And joining a decent gym will cost you about $65 per month.

RESTAURANTS:
Always pricier than back in the U.S., even the fast food stuff. At a nice restaurant, dinner for two (with drinks) will cost you about $100 US, probably a bit more. And you can expect to wait for your food, as service here is slow.

BARS:
Drinks are about the same, except there are no happy hour specials here. Beers are $6-8, cocktails a bit more. But there are no free pours here; cocktails have 2 ounces exactly of hard liquor. If you want more, you will pay double.

Remember, I live in a small town, so I imagine Dublin would be much, much more!

Hope this helps!

Hello Friends,

This is Savita from delhi,Presently I am working as asst mgr mkt here. I wish to get employed in Ireland, Kindly give me some guidence for the same.

Regards,

Savita

Need help,I am an Irish citizen living in California and for my wife to become Irish we were told we must move to Ireland for her to get her citizenship,does anyone have an idea of what we must do?Thank you

Hi, is there anybody can help me to acquire a Tourist VISA...im planning to suprise visit my GF in dublin FOR THE FIRST TIME proving to her mom that I could go miles to meet her ...But it just hard to get VISA here in Bahrain and Im hoping if any body can sponsor me from there and dont worry...if this thing happen I will pay you not that much though.

I already have the requirements here and for the amount of the money is the problem...its not im going to stay there for 3 months, only for 5-7 days maximum and I have to go back right away because I have contract here in Bahrain.

So, if anybody would understand my situation and WOULD sponsor me and I could make as reference I would be VERY treasure it for life.

If anybody wants to here my story, I would be more than willing to tell you.

Joven,
[email protected]

Guys need help I'm a South African and i need a working holiday visa, how do I go about?

Expat.com wrote:

Hi everybody,

It would be very interesting and useful to exchange informations about the cost of living in Ireland. The idea is to help those who would like to live in Ireland.
Don't forget to mention where you are living

Let's compare the:

> accommodation prices (how much does it cost to rent or to buy an accommodation in Ireland?)

> public transportation fares (tube, bus etc ...)

> food prices(per month, how much does it cost you?)

> health prices (for those who need medical insurance)

> eduction prices (if you need to pay)

> energy prices (oil, electricity)

> common bills (Internet, television, telephone, mobile phone)

> prices of a good menu in a traditional restaurant

> prices of a beer or a coffee in a regular pub

Thanks in advance for your participation!

thanks for the details

I agree that Ireland is expensive in certain aspects of life. Examples: Restaurants, Petrol cost, visit to a consultant doctor.

Things are slow in this country especially government services like work permits for non-EU nationals etc.

I got an offer for Ireland 8000 euro per month ,,

How is this offer--can i have savings?

Molefi wrote:

Guys need help I'm a South African and i need a working holiday visa, how do I go about?

Hey south africans don't need a visa to ireland. Once you get to ireland you present all required info to the immigration officer and then you register at the GNIB, garda (police) amd they will give you the visa working holiday visa

home-brewed-hottie wrote:

Molefi wrote:

Guys need help I'm a South African and i need a working holiday visa, how do I go about?

Hey south africans don't need a visa to ireland. Once you get to ireland you present all required info to the immigration officer and then you register at the GNIB, garda (police) amd they will give you the visa working holiday visa

The term Working Holiday Visa ?

i've been speaking to a couple of immigration specialists in SA who charge an Arm and a leg - for the info you guys have provided me with - THANKS

However, work restrictions on visas for South Africans at point of entry is apparently "non-existant" can you please clarify.

Also most questions we ask are as follow.

So i've been a sales Exec for 10 years, and my wife for 4. Do we go over AS visitors ?

Whilst were there apply for a job ? Get an offer ? take it to the embassy and apply for a work permit ?

Hope I got that right ? Can the permit lead to indefinite permission to remain in IRE ?

Or do I start at the bottom of the barrel like an General labourer ?

Sorry if the questions seems silly - but the person with the similar perspective would see were i'm coming from. I look foreword to your reply ?

Sorry guys, I know it's off the topic, i just responded to the above post.

Can anyone give me an Idea of what the going rate is for a business development exec ?

Mabe in the recruitment industry or even Property management ?

Hi and welcome on board Boerworscurtain!

Maybe you should start a new thread on the Ireland forum for better visibility and increasing your chances of obtaining responses.

Good luck
Armand

Hi Everybody,
            I need some helpful information if you pls!! I am thinking to move in Ireland and my profession had been of a seamstress on interior decorating for almost 30 years now!! Will i easily get a job or start a self employed business with this trade!? Thank you

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/comparison.jsp

HI, guys!!! I found this threat very interesting Keep it up!!

This article may help you in budgeting for accommodation:
Best of luck!
Jessica

I'm working on moving over to Ireland and am in talks with potential employers; I'm trying to get an idea of total gross income I would need to secure for a house hold of 5. I know there isn't a lot of information in my post but here are some details. Any information or links to tax calculators, COL index etc. would be great.

I have a family of 5 being me and my wife with 3 kids. I'm a software engineer and will need to live in or near Dublin most likely we will be limited to public transportation at least for a bit. From my own research I have found 3 bed 2 bath apartments for rent around the 900 euro mark but haven't found much in the way of information on utilities, food, transportation, and so on.

JamesMcGhee wrote:

I'm working on moving over to Ireland and am in talks with potential employers; I'm trying to get an idea of total gross income I would need to secure for a house hold of 5. I know there isn't a lot of information in my post but here are some details. Any information or links to tax calculators, COL index etc. would be great.

I have a family of 5 being me and my wife with 3 kids. I'm a software engineer and will need to live in or near Dublin most likely we will be limited to public transportation at least for a bit. From my own research I have found 3 bed 2 bath apartments for rent around the 900 euro mark but haven't found much in the way of information on utilities, food, transportation, and so on.

citizensinformation.ie/en/
revenue.ie/en/index.html
dublinbus.ie/
fitthebill.ie/

At the moment I am living in South Dublin paying 400 euro p.m for a room in a 4 bedroom house sharing with 3 others.  Bills would be approx. 50 euro p.m including, electricity, NTL - cable and bin charges.   Train fares have gone up since Jan. 2012 and are now roughly 5-8% more expensive, e.g, dart from Connolly to Lansdowne return used to cost 2.90 euro, now it costs 3.10 euro. 

Food in grocery stores can be expensive, I would spend usually 60-70 euro p.w. on myself alone.  A G.P. (doctor) will cost approx. 60-70 euros, A&E visit will set you back 100 euro (if you don't have private insurance or a medical card). 

Work is becoming increasingly difficult to find and from next year there will be a property tax, water charges and a broadcast fee which is suppose to replace the TV licence.

Excellent question--as someone who plans to retire in Ireland and hasn't been there in 14 years, I'm very interested to hear these answers.

Hey Guys !

Thanks for all the info !
It occurred to me that it might be a good idea to share a place with other South African (Expats) rather than renting on my own.
I'm planning on booking a flight to Dublin on 11 March 2012.
Where would I be able to search for Sharing Accommodations?
And what would a month cost me (All incl.) ?

You guys have been great !
Cheers !

Hi Khal-El,

Concerning your accommodation, i would suggest you to start a new topic on the Ireland forum. Thank you.

Cost of Living in Ireland - http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/co … ry=Ireland

what is, Cork city, average costs of living, rent, food, pub, restaurants prizes etc etc??? Is it lowwer than in Dublin?

Hello,

I know Dublin as an Irish/American and don't find it that costly, but I am from New York City.

[Moderated: No need to be rude]

Me and my husband live in usa Kentucky and we are very interested in makeing a hugh move to ireland and would love to know what it is like over there and how the living expenses are diffrent and what we would have to do to be able to make the move if anyone could help me with this i would greatly appericate it thank you so much

Here's a link I found with specific costs for items that I posted today on a members site who is considering moving here: http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/co … ry=Ireland

Think you'll find it helpful.

The two dailies are on the net:
http://www.irishtimes.com/http://www.independent.ie/