ChewChew

Hi, I hope somebody can help. I am hoping to move to Cork within the year and would like some, hopefully, constructive advice.

If anybody can help with the following, or even suggest considerations that I have not thought of, I would really appreciate it.

1. Is Cork, or ROI in general, single parent friendly? I am a hard worker and have no intention of milking the state. Right now, in England, I am working part time and I receive help with living and childcare costs via tax credits as my wages wouldn't cover all of these.

2. What is the job market like? I have mainly office based experience, am computer literate and organised, etc... Are jobs such as these easy to come by, and if so what would be the average wage be for an office job?

3. Does anyone have advice in regards to finding suitable private rented accommodation? What are reasonably priced districts that are child friendly and have easy access to the centre of town?

4. If I needed childcare for outside of school hours for my son, is this easy to find and what kind of costs could I expect?

I really hope somebody can help me with this query as I would like to prepare myself as much as possible before taking the plunge.

Many thanks,

ChewChew.

Kerrymasarati

Hi
I'm not going to be a useful reply I'm afraid. Just wanted to say I'm a mum of two boys, leaving UK for co cork in august. I've been looking on property ie and rent looks a lot cheaper than that in Essex (where I'm from)
Any how, just saying hi, and if you find yourself in co cork maybe you'd like to meet for a coffee ?
Good luck , Kerry

JAJ

Is there a particular reason why you wish to move to to the Republic of Ireland in general, and Cork in particular? Employment, family ties, or just a general desire to live in a different country?

Kerrymasarati

I was in ireland for a bit about 15 years ago, I lived it. Family are from there originally but I have no relatives there now. It's purely because it's beautiful, the people are genuine and friendly and I want to bring my kids up in that environment

ChewChew

Hi JAJ,

My family is mostly Irish, although not from Cork. The main reason I want to move though is because I am not particularly close to anyone in my family and feel like I want to be away from them without being too far. Due to my family ties, and other Irish people I have been close to and who have had a huge and positive influence on me I have always wanted to go to Ireland, my English family have always been disparaging towards my Irish family too, and me for being "mixed" so I've never really felt like I belonged in England anyway. A key reason for me wanting to move away also is that I feel like the mistakes I've made are never far away from me. People don't seem to want to let me move on from them and they always get brought up as if I only deserve to be judged by my weaknesses and not my strengths. I need a fresh start and a positive change in mine and my son's life.

Sorry if this seems like a negative message. I try hard to be a positive person and think the best of any situation but I really feel that I've come to the end of my resources in England and that the only way I can move my life in the direction I want it, without other people dragging me down with them, is to go somewhere and start afresh.

Thank you for your response JAJ, I hope you or someone else can help me to have the information I need to make a decent life for myself and my son in Cork.

Kerry,

Have you actually 100% decided to go? Is it just you and your two boys? With how strict some of my family are in regards to religion I was a bit worried about how me being a single parent might negatively affect how people judge my son. He is my main priority obviously. How old are your boys? Mine is 5.

ChewChew

By the way thanks for recommending property.ie, much more useful than daft.ie which I had been looking at before.

JAJ

Let's get a few things straight. You've told us you are working part-time, in a clerical occupation, and reliant on state benefits (or special tax credits, which are the same thing) to look after your son. You're asking about moving to a different country, which doesn't have the NHS or the same kind of benefit system as the U.K. Where jobs, especially unskilled jobs, are not plentiful and the cost of living is probably higher than the U.K.

Whatever problems you have in England, it's not clear how moving to Ireland could help you and it could simply push you into poverty.

Also you say you are a single parent, so where is the father of this child and does he have parental responsibility? Not only should he be paying child support, but (depending on the circumstances) he may have a say in whether the child is removed from the United Kingdom to another country.

Moses2013

I wouldn't recommend coming if you don't have a job and especially if you're a single mother. If you lost your job in the UK today, how easy would it be to get another one with decent pay? It's not harder to get a job in Ireland if you live close to the cities and have certain skills, but no country beats the UK when it comes to benefits. If you really want to come to Ireland, I'd wait until you can send the child to school, as child care will be expensive compared to the UK.

ChewChew

JAJ, thanks for your reply. In regards to my son's father he lives not far from me but refused to sign the birth certificate and works cash in hand so he doesn't have to pay support. He is the main mistake that I wish to get away from to be honest. We broke up when he was unfaithful but he didn't want to know our son even though we planned his conception. Obviously that is nobodies fault but my own as I made the choice to be with him.

I am working part time now around my son's school hours and in the school holidays he goes to a childminder. If there are afterschool clubs and school holiday clubs then this will improve my options for work hours as I won't have to arrange extra child care. There are afterschool clubs and holiday clubs here but for some reason they give preference to children of non-working parents as they are "disadvantaged" - I wondered if the issue would be the same in Ireland.

Believe me I'm not expecting Ireland's streets to be paved with gold and I am not one of these that wants the newest model mobile phone, TV, clothes etc. I don't want to live in a mansion, a small 2 bed house or flat will be fine. I just want to live a modest, happy life with my son and give him a decent upbringing.

Thanks,
ChewChew.

ChewChew

I have emailed a few Cork based employment agencies asking about the possibility of temping for a while if I came to Cork and didn't have a contracted job right away. That was yesterday so hopefully I'll have some replies next week. If not I'll have to give them a call.

I understand what you are saying about if I lost my job and UKs benefits being better but, much as it's important to be realistic, I have never had a problem keeping hold of a job, and luckily seem to have been able to get a job when I needed quickly. Mind you this is in UK and the situation in Ireland may be different, that's why I just want to gather as much information as possible so I can prepare myself for any difficulties that may arise.

My son is 5 and in school in UK, somebody told me full-time school starts the same age in Ireland so it's only afterschool clubs and holiday clubs that I would need to fit around work hours.

Thanks for your reply.

Moses2013

Well if your son is 5 he can go to school (like UK) and you don't have to worry about creche. Ireland has had a lot of negative press due to the recession, but in my opinion the UK has been in a recession for the past 10 years and Ireland isn't worse off. If you can manage to get a job and are a hard worker there are a lot of benefits living here. Ireland isn't as overcrowded as England and it's more affordable when it comes to housing. When it comes to shopping, prices can be more expensive, however it's not always the case and we do have Euros (not pounds). Aldi offers Super 6 Fruit & Veg: In the UK it's 39p & here it's 39c, so actually cheaper here.

ChewChew

Thanks for your help Moses, I've got a lot to consider and any help/advice is appreciated.

Kind regards,
ChewChew.

blueeyes

Hi Chew Chew,

I can't offer you any advice, I am also considering moving to Ireland but am not a mother so different circumstances to you. I think it's important that you weigh up all the pros and cons of staying in the UK (i.e. easier to find work, easier to attain benefits), via relocating to Ireland. However, it seems that you have very modest expectations for your new life, and it is also obvious that are very much trying to give your son a better life. For what it's worth, back when I was trying to have children, I planned to move to Ireland and my family as I felt it would be a much better environment than here in the UK. I really wish you all the best with your plans, and hope you can build a great life for yourself and your little boy, wherever you go. Blue Eyesx

chaoclive

What about moving to Northern Ireland? You can still benefit from UK benefits and you will probably find it easier to find a job. The people (like me) aren't that bad and the environment is generally ok - apart from part of the crazy month of july where they all try to beat the &$it out of each other. Haha.

ChewChew

Hi Blueeyes,

I thought I'd already answered you. Thank you for your message.

I am planning on popping over to Cork in August and will make face to face enquiries. My main concerns are child care availability and costs, the details are a bit sketchy on the internet. I am also a bit worried about the fact that if things go pear shaped in the first two years I will have no safety net.

I am making savings so hopefully will get the information I need and find out roughly how much I need for the move.

Do you know where you'll be heading?