MamaG2319

Hi there!
Was wondering if anybody could provide some advice. My husband, children and I are seriously considering a move to Ireland, probably Wicklow. Given that the economy is pretty bad just now, is it fair to think that employers are tending to employ local people over folk from abroad, (we are from Scotland and hubbie is a Mental Health Officer), or is it just down to best candidate for the job? Also do you have to have been living in Ireland for so many months before you can get a mortgage, and if so how long?

Any help would be appreciated and thanks for reading this!

Take care!

Londonuck

I live in Wicklow Mama, tis a lovely place to live. Employers arent even taking on Irish people let alone foreigners!

I dont know about the mortgage thing.

snoopycat

Hi there,
we were in the same position as yourselves in 1991 when we moved from England to Ireland. The economy was at rock bottom and unemployment was sky high.

The problem in those days was that jobs were filled by word of mouth rather than being advertised, which tended to exclude immigrants. As your husband is a health service professional, I would presume that any post he applied for would have to be advertised.

In the 17 years we were in Ireland my husband was sucessful in a number of job applications and he never felt that being a 'foreigner' had disadvantaged him.

As regards the mortgage, open an Irish bank account as soon as poss. and start to build up a relationship with the bank. Rather than how long you have lived in Ireland, I should think it would be more important how long your husband has been working for the Irish employer. Possibly a post within the Irish healthcare system might stand him in good stead. Best of luck.

MamaG2319

Thanks for your info on that, very helpful. Just wondered snoopycat do you still live there? Do you find it a good place to bring up kids, quality of life etc. Sorry to bug you, but hubby and I are trying to do as much research as possible from as many areas as we can.

Take care!

Ally

Londonuck

You should see the kids playing out here, it's like when i was a kid. The Irish really seem to enjoy their children rather than them being a bit of pain in the arse. I drive a cab and i cant tell you how decent people are.

snoopycat

hello there,
In answer to your question we moved from Ireland to the South of France 2 years ago purely for the sun as my husband suffers from rheumatism.

We moved to Ireland in 1991 for a number of reasons. We had a daughter of 9 and the possibility to buy an inexpensive house with a decent amount of land. In those days Ireland was an excellent place to bring up young children.
Like everywhere else, things have changed, but I would still regard Ireland as a better place to bring up children than the U.K.

They certainly appear to have a better education system. Our daughter went through the Irish school system and then had little difficulty in gaining a place at Manchester University. In fact as an Irish resident all her university fees were paid by the education department.

The only downside would be doubts we had about the Irish healthcare Service, compared with the U.K. Basically it is essential to have private health insurance as the National system is very limited.

We lived outside of Cork and the weather was variable. Wicklow definitely has a warmer, dryer climate.

snoopy

canadaeh

I agree with what others have said, also I don’t think you’d ever be considered a foreigner in Ireland, people from the UK are usually seen as the same, and never foreign.

If you’re eastern European or African, then it might be a different story. But Scottish, you’re practically a local.

You will have no problem with a mortgage, as the other poster said, it’s more important you have a stable job and good relationship with your bank.

Good luck.

MamaG2319

Just wanted to say thanks to everybody who responded I really appreciate it and fingers crossed, it all works out eventually!! Time will tell and all that!

Take care!

Ally

canadaeh

Good luck on your new adventure, by the sounds of your positive attitude you will be able to make it work.

Best of luck.

snoopycat

Good luck from me too, you are doing all the right things, asking questions before you go. Don't hesitate to ask away if you need any more info.

snoopy

chatterboxmoira

Hi
I wrote a psot on here a couple of years ago about healthcare in Ireland. Click on my name for posts and you should see it.
I am an HSE (irish NHS) nurse. The HSE is doing very little recruiting at present. There has been an embargo on new recruitment for between one and two years, but if posts become available they are usually advertised on http://www.hse.ie/eng/staff/jobs/
The mental health system in Ireland is fairly poor, but you're husband may be lucky.
A lot of Irish people are giving up private health insurance because of the cost. Not much difference between uk and ireland, although sometimes you have to travel much further for specialists. Waiting times are comparable with NHS waiting times of 5-10 years ago for public patients.
Hope this helps.

waffington

If your husband is a health service professional, you should consider Australia or New Zealand. These countries are in better shape economically and health professionals are always in demand.

Afro-Saxon

Surprisingly, I've had no problems in Ireland despite being Black, British, English and Protestant! Some Irish have an affinity with Blacks because in the (not so distrant) past we've both been treated with derision e.g. "No blacks, No Irish, No dogs etc." Furthermore as a Thin Lizzy/Phil Lynott fan, I have been treated with the upmost hospitality.
The Garda leave me alone and so do the police in Scotland and Wales. It's just my fellow English police who seem to give me a hard time.

Good luck with your move to Ireland. I'm sure you'll love it!

michaleen oge

not surprising you don't have any trouble mate. the irish seem to have retained most of the basics,honesty,goodness,gentleness,a willingness to embrace and welcome strangers. gawd knows what has happened to the uk and the english,and i speak as a long-serving anglo-phile. though being irish-born, i have lived most of my life in england.
i am not seeing ireland through rose-coloured specs,i know she has faults aplenty,but when you see the mean-spirited actions of the english government,the blinkered and malicious actions of the so-called social services and civil services,the stupidity and bias of the police forces,well ireland fares well in comparison.
so cead mile failte,have a guinness on me,and enjoy every day.

Afro-Saxon

Sláinte!