Considering relocating to Cork, Ireland from N. California Bay area for career opportunity?

Question

hi - considering a job opportunity (relocating from northern california bay area to cork, ireland). would love input as follows:

1) your 2 cents on benefits of working abroad

2) cost of living differences

3) cork life styles

4) relocation considerations (in particular, moving with a pet cat and figuring a way to avoid quarrantine)

5) was thinking about negotiating 3 yrs -- is this a good term (i.e. long enough to get a feel for Ireland -- too short a time? too long?)

thanks much!

Answer 1

Living and working abroad is for sure a great experience. It opens your mind like nothing else and helps you understand who you are and where you're coming from (it sounds corny but it's true!).

Cork in particular is becoming a very multicultural city (although it's still pretty small for USA standards!) and foreigners are welcome, especially if native English speakers. I'm a foreigner myself and had no problem finding a very good job (in an American company - and English is not my first language).

Cost of living in Ireland is quite high, but wages match it - you won't go hungry! An average entry level salary would be of about 1,400 euro a month and you can rent a room in an apartment (sharing with others) for about 350-400 a month. Rent for a 2 bedroom apartment (if you like comfort!) would be about 1,000 a month.

Cork is a very lively city and there's plenty of choice for pubs, bars and activities. County Cork is beautiful and diverse and from Cork Airport you can fly cheap to Dublin and other destinations in Ireland, plus London, Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, Amsterdam and other European cities.

Not sure about pets but the you can check with the Department of Agriculture. As far as I know they're quite strict when it comes to animals.

3 years in Ireland is a perfect term to get to know Ireland and the Irish (I'm here 2 years and have almost become Irish myself!), and at the same time not too long if you realize you don't want to live here! The weather is unpredictable and can be depressing, winters are usually long dark and wet and if you're from California... you do the maths. People are great, if you share an apartment you'll make loads of friends and won't feel lonely. Food is good enough too and there's plenty of choice of foreign foods too.

Answer 2

Corks cool, fairly cheap, laid back, best weather in ireland 2

Answer 3

Did much the same myself - moved from SF to Cork 5 years ago (originially from Cork). Would highly reccomend the move - travelling is great but there's nothing like spending a few years in a place - you get under the tourist radar, make local friends etc.

Living abroad is a wonderful idea and something very few people live to regret - quite  a few never come back! That's the one warning I'd give - once you've lived abroad it can be hard to settle back in to home. You always want the best bits of all places.

Cost of living differences are a factor - renting an apartment will be cheaper than San Francisco certainly and likely to be cheaper than most of the bay area for that matter. Other costs will be higher - gas, car insurance ( can be a stinker) , utility bills will be a bit more than in the US. Overall it should balance out to be much the same lifestyle on 40K euro as on 40K $.

I'd suggest renting a room in a shared house for a while until you find your feet - plus it's a good way to meet a few people. Try www.daft.ie to get some ideas.

You should be able to bring in your cat - they've relaxed the restrictions in that last few years on pets. You'll have to get the cat microchipped (no big deal my dog had it done and it hardly bothered her at all). See http://www.citizensinformation.ie/catego... for more info. In fact www.citizensinformation.ie has a moving to ireland section that you'd probably find helpful.

For more info on the cat contact

Department of Agriculture in Dublin

Dept.:Special Projects Unit

Floor 4 Centre

Agriculture House

Kildare Street

DUBLIN 2

Tel:+ 353 1 607 2827

Homepage:www.agriculture.gov.ie/pets

Email:[e-mail]

3 years would be about right in my mind - 1 year is way too short and 2 would be okay too.

Cork is a much more cosmopolitan place than it was 12 years ago (sorry previous poster) as there's been a significant influx of imigrants in the last 4-5 years mostly from eastern europe but there's a good scattering of Americans among others.

Hard to answer you on life styles without some context - I guess it'd be up to you what you want to do. The variety of options is there, from loads of outdoorsy stuff to cultural groups, some great food choices, decent pubs etc. Generally speaking Irish people (and Cork people in particular if I may say so) are welcoming and open to pretty much anything. There's a vibrant well established local g*y scene for example.  

The food is excellent as well with good local markets not just the supermarket fare. The food is much better than the US generally though perhaps not quite as good as the bay area  when it comes to fruit and veg. Still miss the pears from the farmers market on the Embarcadero

Answer 4

Wow, I did the reverse about 12 years ago.  Travel is always good education.  My estimate on cost of living is that your euros and dollars will be about equivalent.  So what might be $40 will be about 40 euros.  The housing should be a bit cheaper but depends on the area too.  County Cork has a pretty wide spectrum of lifestye.  West Cork is nice, touristy and a strong boating culture, Cork city was below average 12 years ago.  I don't think alot has changed.  I would be very surprised if you could get around quarantine.  My expectation would be that traveling with your cat will be treated as a luxury and will cost you.  In dealing with officials you will probably find you'll catch more flies with honey rather than vinegar but watch out for someone "pulling a fast one".  Us Irish can be a bit ornery when the humour take us.  Weather will be a bit different.  You'll get a fair bit of cold and wet that feels miserable not like a trip to tahoe :)  A good day will probably be equivalent to winter in Sunnyvale.  The long term impact will be cultural.  While Irish are still pretty friendly there is no mistaken that you are an outsider.  Irish are sociable but unfortunately it can permeate into work life too.  This can be good or bad.  You might find that getting along inside and outside of work can be just as improtant as getting your work done.  Cork is a distinct culture inside Ireland too.  You may find it hard to understand some conversations especially informal or in a pub.  Just be patient and be sure and say you don't understand.  You might want to check on your tax options.  If I remember rightly there was an option of claiming back taxes if you left the country after two years.  A nice bonus if you can swing it.  On the business end of things be careful.  The Celtic tiger is on thin ice.  Ireland is no longer the poor member in Europe and with Europe trying to level the playing field large companies working in Ireland can just as easily pull out.  Good luck, have fun and don't work too hard.