sueffun

Moses2013

Only you can research which benefits would make your life better and if you qualify: Free Travel Scheme for senior citizens in Ireland - Border People
While I think NI is not bad, I still prefer the Republic (live here) and County Cork really has everything. Like anywhere location is key and you'd be better off visiting before you decide. Cork has so many different areas and climate can vary, so being in the mountains, near the sea or further inland can make a big difference. This kind of sums up West Cork: An area with a somewhat exceptional climate is West Cork, where the coastal areas warmed by the Gulf Stream support a lush, almost tropical, vegetation. Temperatures tend not to get as low as they are elsewhere – snow is almost unheard of – and though it rains more than average it is also warmer than average.The effects of this warm wet micro-climate are very evident when you visit the area and see palm trees, luxuriant sub-tropical vegetation and exotic flowers growing in abundance – plants that would find it impossible to survive in other parts of Ireland.This warm micro climate has made West Cork a region where there are many beautiful gardens, none more so that the gardens on Ilnaculin or Garnish Island or at Bantry House. If you want more sunshine hours, the south east would be considered better but again it's all relative and every location will be different. For jobs there are more opportunities in the Republic and if they speak German could walk into jobs but again you will have to be closer to cities. In Ireland major cities are really Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and then a few smaller ones but in NI it's really only Belfast for international jobs.

Helen1964

Moses2013

As they say: The 1.8m people of Northern Ireland enjoy free access to the British taxpayer-funded National Health Service (nhs)
Where is the money going to come from then? https://www.irishtimes.com/news/irel...ears-1.3765874
https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/n...-37590234.html
The Mater Private Hospital’s clinic in Drogheda is currently experiencing a major increase in Orthopaedic appointments by Northern Ireland residents wishing to avail of fast-track care. https://www.materprivate.ie/news-eve...n-ireland-pat/
Up until recently, a relatively small number of residents in Northern Ireland have opted for Orthopaedic care under the EU’s Cross-Border healthcare directive, which allows them to avoid the long HSC (NI) waiting lists. However, Brexit could prevent other NI residents from also being able to avail of the directive in future, which is why many more people are now making appointments. This is especially the case with Mater Private Hospital’s Drogheda clinic, which due to its accessibility from the M1, is receiving patients from all over Ulster for appointments.

Recently Mater Private patient Myles Magowan, who had a hip operation under the Healthcare Directive, spoke about his experience, “I was in significant pain and my quality of life was deteriorating by the month when the NHS informed me that I would have to wait over two years for an operation to replace my right hip. The news left me feeling completely dejected, but through my own research I found out about the Cross-border Healthcare Directive. While the EU Directive provided me with the option of getting the operation done outside of Northern Ireland, my initial telephone call with the team at the Mater Private confirmed my decision to choose Dublin without any doubt.

To my delight, the hospital offered me a Consultation appointment the following day and one month later I travelled to Dublin from my home in Belfast for a pre-op assessment. In short, I was totally impressed with the service and could not have asked for better treatment. The staff at the hospital are wonderful and they made me feel like a VIP. The NHS let me down when I needed help the most, but I would have no hesitation in recommending the Mater Private, who went above and beyond clinical care.”


So at least in the Republic you are still in EU and money saved on higher property taxes up North can be used for better private healthcare.

Tumbling_Dice

One hears plenty of horror stories about the NHS or the ROI's system, but I also hear plenty of good stories about both. I am from Northern Ireland and my family has never had any serious issues with the NHS, and many of them have had serious issues. My brother had a serious breakdown a few years ago and the mental health care, for which the NHS is maligned, was excellent in his opinion. That is merely an example. Private healthcare provision exists but it is quite limited compared to the rest of the UK and probably likely the ROI.

One doesn't necessarily move to NI for the weather but it is not as bad as all that. What you simply don't get is a 3 month long hot summer that is only punctuated by a few days rain. You get a mild summer, with some warm spells and some bloody awful stretches. Equally, however, you can get warm sunny stretches as early as March and late as early October. It is dark in winter but the very long summer evenings make up for it. I am in Nova Scotia now and what I wouldn't give for a Northern Irish spring!!

Belfast is a great city with an increasingly good offer for serious careers for the boys. There are many spots nearby where you could retire to quaint, scenic villages with decent pubs and eateries, and quiet roads for the kitties. But, economically, Northern Ireland as a whole is miles behind the ROI and will remain so until the pathetic excuses for politicians sort themselves out and grow up. That said, NI is developing quite a film industry and seems to have put itself on the map after the Game of Thrones. Other competitive sectors include IT (especially, from what I understand, cyber security) and agriculture.

I am happy to answer any questions on the Belfast area that you may have. I wouldn't want to comment on the rest of NI, and don't know enough about the ROI other than to say Galway is the best city down there.

sueffun

Pulaski

Your sons might want to locate themselves in the vicinity of Bray, Co Wicklow, where Ardmore Studios is located.

Helen1964

Moses2013

Exactly and that's why I posted in relation to Helen1964. Every case will be different and if you want, you can find hundreds of articles and comments abouth health care in any country. I know people who have had excellent treatment in both parts of Ireland and ironically my parents complained about the treatment in Germany. I agree that Belfast has come a long way and was very impressed after a visit recently but there are still many things that would put me off. One is the pound and low wages compared to other locations and then of course being a so called part of Great Britain still means that a lot of investments go elsewhere. I suppose the advantage is that Belfast offers more cheaper housing options compared to Dublin, because in Dublin you can basically find all the big players like Google, Facebook, Ebay etc. which again means higher property prices and more competition. Then again while I felt that Belfast Centre was nice, the city itself seemed dead compared to the likes of Galway and other places that are a lot smaller. I live outside of Galway but work in the city and it has such an international feel, you have the € and you are part of Europe. The whole island has so much to offer really and even though housing prices have gone up, it's still possible to find cheaper options with plenty of land a bit outside of the cities. For younger adult sons, I still believe the Republic being in the EU (unless something changes with Brexit) offers a lot more opportunities. As Tumbling_Dice says, the long summer evenings make up for it. At least here in the West you can really notice the difference and I recently watched a PL match. It was pitch black in London but here the sky was still bright around 9:30 pm. And at the height of summer you hardly have any darkness. Of course pensioners will have different needs, so one will have to research each location but I still feel that if health is so important, why rely on public health services alone. Of course money can play a part but your health should be worth it, so you'd be better off going for a smaller property and getting a basic private hospital cover plan.

Here a great guide what to look out for: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/cons...ance-1.3352256

Tumbling_Dice

Moses2013: city centre in Belfast is like that because of the troubles when a lot of people just wanted to get out after work. That has been woven into the urban fabric somewhat so a lot of the life after 5pm still moves to the edges, eg. down the Dublin Road, up towards Queen's, the Cathedral Quarter etc. Last time I was back, I was amazed how busy the neighbourhoods were, like Ballyhackamore, Upper Ormeau, Lower Antrim Road, Lisburn Road, Stranmillis etc. Far from dead in my view - fragmented in concentrated pockets, but definitely getting better in the city centre.

Galway, like I said above, is probably my favourite city on the island. Almost moved there in the early 2000s but somehow ended up in Geordieland.

To the OP, as ever, it would be a great idea to go over there and have a good look about.

sueffun

Moses2013

Thanks for the info. It was just that we were there on a sunny Saturday and it didn't seem that busy (can also be good:-). Everything else was nice and they've done a great job of centre with signage and walking around was very easy. Even the Victoria Square shopping centre looks great. Galway is certainly a special place and although the shopping is crap, everything else makes up for it. I suppose we were lucky at the time and it was just after the crash when property was still cheap and companies were starting to grow again.

Nowhere is really that far away in Ireland and where we are outside of Galway, you could drive 2 hours and be walking along Dun Laoghaire Harbour, or drive North West and you are on Achill Island at the edge of Europe. House prices have gone up a lot in recent years and the East Coast will obviously be more expensive being closer to Dublin. But as the OP mentioned, that brings other advantages and you have many great areas around Co. Wicklow with better public transport. You have tiny picturesque villages like Avoca, the Wicklow mountains behind you and many towns along the coast. Kilkenny is not that far away either, so it just depends what one wants personally and can afford of course:-). Even getting to France by car isn't that difficult and with excellent affordable direct ferry services, nowhere is too remote.