Annbel

Please can you advise me....I have the chance to live in Ireland.

How does the cost of living vary between the UK and Ireland...food ...petrol...Is there council tax...vehicle tax..Insurance. etc
Interst rates in banks

We are retired and have pensions.

I am grateful for your help

Cuthbert Rizla

Too many broad questions to answer individually.
Have a read through these links first to get a general idea then perhaps some specific questions would be more useful.
Generally things are much the same as the UK in terns of infrastructure and how you pay for it and where it isn't ( council tax,water rates etc ) these are gradually being brought into line with the rest of Europe.
Eating out and socialising is definitely more expensive in Ireland although foreign supermarket chains such as Lidl,Aldi,Tesco are finally bringing consumer prices down after home brands spent years ripping off their own customers.
As coffin-dodgers perhaps the most important thing to bear in mind is that the Irish medical system is poor compared to the NHS - you must have private medical insurance ( which is expensive ) otherwise you have to take your chances with a creaking health service that's Third World in many areas.
All of my local hospitals have patients sleeping on trolleys in Emergency Units every night of the year and waits of up to 8 hours are not uncommon for non-emergency procedures in Out-Patients.



www.irishlinks.co.uk

www.moneyguideireland.com

Annbel

Thank you for your help very kind....think maybe the rizla bit aids your terminology "coffin Dodgers". perhaps the liberated from hard work might be more appropriate. Or the last hard working generation.

Cuthbert Rizla

You're welcome.
I dunno about the last hard-working generation - every generation of pensioners say that but I reckon most parents today are working just as hard as they ever did and certainly in Ireland the days of an easy ride during the Celtic Tiger are long gone.
I've got teenage kids who are facing a very difficult time ahead getting into a shrinking jobs market but fortunately I've instilled in them the same work ethic that enabled me to retire at 50 and enjoy the good life.
Wahaay !

Annbel

Well Cuthbert old chap...coffin dodgers is verbals depicting Lack of respect. "not nice".

Cuthbert Rizla

Lighten up old girl.
I could have called them old codgers.
Or Twirlies*
Or dobbers. ( Old people who always like to inform you " We've Done Our Bit. " )





*Pensioners wanting free bus travel which is only available after 9am and who always arrive about that time and say to the bus diver " Am I too early ? "

sickntired

Coffins and funerals in general are more expensive in Southern Ireland.

However, Bowler hats and drums can be picked up cheap down here. Bought a nice Bowler hat just last week for my marching holiday up North in the UK.

Cuthbert Rizla

Sometimes I think you just don't take this forum seriously enough

sickntired

It may have started off as britishexpats.com but half the time it's more like plasticpaddy.com. So no I don't take it too seriously Cuthbert old chap. Tootle pip, must dash.

nolanger

Petrol is €1.50 a litre.

sickntired

€1.63 where I live.

sickntired

Sorry it's gone down in the last week or two. www.pumps.ie
have all the prices you need.

Joe-Soap

In order to compare living costs one would have to specify towns or cities.
The cost of living in Birmingham and London are quite different, as are the cost of living in Galway and Dublin.
Generally speaking the cost of living in Ireland is 15-20% higher in the UK.
Food, alcohol, and car tax are noticeably more expensive in Ireland.

Martinw02

Hi Anabel.

I asked a similar question, but answers tend to be somewhat varied. Like you I want to move to Ireland (semi-rural) and was hoping to get by on about 2,300e per month after tax (wife, 5-year-old and no mortgage). In fact I thought it would be a breeze, but one person suggested 3k as a minimum. I'd be interested to know what you think would be a realistic monthly budget for yourselves.

sickntired

You'd also get child allowance as well - check Social Welfare site for current rates.