My husband and I moved to Dublin from Bangalore, India around 5
years ago and made this place our home since. Dublin is green, wet and
for most parts quiet, oh wait, I’m talking about the city this was 5
years ago. It is still green and definitely wet, but now not so quiet
anymore. You know you are a true Dubliner if or rather when you find
yourself complaining about the the weather!
Everyday living
Dublin has good infrastructure, well most of it is. It’s clean and the city has a friendly vibe, even a complete stranger says ‘hello’ with a smile. It is multi-cultural with expats from different parts of the world living and working here.
It’s a great city to walk, especially along the Liffey river, from Hueston to The Point, with the city center in the middle, crossing the ‘impossible to miss’ 120 m high Spire, a towering symbol of the Celtic Tiger days, iconic Ha’Pennny Bridge and the beautiful Harp Bridge on the way. It also has great parks, like Stephens Green, Phoenix Park, Irish War Memorial and beautiful Literary parks.
Rent and Housing
Since the bailout and recovery, the rents have steadily sky-rocketed and in some area, if there is a house available buying the property and paying the monthly payments is significantly cheaper than renting the house! I recently moved houses and found that the average rent in the city is anywhere between €1,000 to €1,500 for a single bedroom apartment.
My challenges
I came here on a Dependent Visa. Although Dependents/Spouses cannot work without a permit. My toughest challenge has been finding a job suited for my qualifications. Dublin is a tech-haven with giants like Amazon, Facebook, Google, Dell and Hooli to name a few. OK, there is no Hooli here but it is still a little Silicon Valley of its own. If you are looking for a job outside the IT, ITES, customer support or medical field, it can be tough as the option are few. It is always best to look for a job before coming here rather than after.
Healthcare
It can be a challenge as private care it is expensive and the public healthcare struggles to keep up with the rising demand. The waiting time in an Emergency Unit could be up to 10 hours as a result of inadequate staffing and over crowding. A few years ago I injured my back and it took a full year to get an appointment to see the Spine Specialist through the Public system.
Of course, as always, things seem to be changing now with some private hospitals having next day appointments with specialists.
In spite of a few challenges and set backs, Ireland is my home, for now. This is a relatively safe place. As an Indian-origin woman in Ireland, I’d be lying if I said that in my five years here I have never been at the receiving end hurtful racist remarks but they are mostly rare instances and definitely not the norm here. Most people are educated and seem friendly.
The Irish way…
Generally people seem to have a work-life balance. On a rare sunny day, the atmosphere on the streets turns festive.
Restaurants and Pubs here are amazing! Restaurateurs and the wait-staff are accommodating and care a great deal about the customers here, especially if you are a ‘regular’.
While the Irish people might be know for their ‘happy-go-lucky’ attitude, they also know how to introspect and are able or at least try to keep up with changing times. The Equal Marriage Act of 2015 that supports the same-sex marriage shows that Ireland is not a state with parochial values anymore.
Everyday living
Dublin has good infrastructure, well most of it is. It’s clean and the city has a friendly vibe, even a complete stranger says ‘hello’ with a smile. It is multi-cultural with expats from different parts of the world living and working here.
It’s a great city to walk, especially along the Liffey river, from Hueston to The Point, with the city center in the middle, crossing the ‘impossible to miss’ 120 m high Spire, a towering symbol of the Celtic Tiger days, iconic Ha’Pennny Bridge and the beautiful Harp Bridge on the way. It also has great parks, like Stephens Green, Phoenix Park, Irish War Memorial and beautiful Literary parks.
Rent and Housing
Since the bailout and recovery, the rents have steadily sky-rocketed and in some area, if there is a house available buying the property and paying the monthly payments is significantly cheaper than renting the house! I recently moved houses and found that the average rent in the city is anywhere between €1,000 to €1,500 for a single bedroom apartment.
My challenges
I came here on a Dependent Visa. Although Dependents/Spouses cannot work without a permit. My toughest challenge has been finding a job suited for my qualifications. Dublin is a tech-haven with giants like Amazon, Facebook, Google, Dell and Hooli to name a few. OK, there is no Hooli here but it is still a little Silicon Valley of its own. If you are looking for a job outside the IT, ITES, customer support or medical field, it can be tough as the option are few. It is always best to look for a job before coming here rather than after.
Healthcare
It can be a challenge as private care it is expensive and the public healthcare struggles to keep up with the rising demand. The waiting time in an Emergency Unit could be up to 10 hours as a result of inadequate staffing and over crowding. A few years ago I injured my back and it took a full year to get an appointment to see the Spine Specialist through the Public system.
Of course, as always, things seem to be changing now with some private hospitals having next day appointments with specialists.
In spite of a few challenges and set backs, Ireland is my home, for now. This is a relatively safe place. As an Indian-origin woman in Ireland, I’d be lying if I said that in my five years here I have never been at the receiving end hurtful racist remarks but they are mostly rare instances and definitely not the norm here. Most people are educated and seem friendly.
The Irish way…
Generally people seem to have a work-life balance. On a rare sunny day, the atmosphere on the streets turns festive.
Restaurants and Pubs here are amazing! Restaurateurs and the wait-staff are accommodating and care a great deal about the customers here, especially if you are a ‘regular’.
While the Irish people might be know for their ‘happy-go-lucky’ attitude, they also know how to introspect and are able or at least try to keep up with changing times. The Equal Marriage Act of 2015 that supports the same-sex marriage shows that Ireland is not a state with parochial values anymore.
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