LisaE.

Hi,

I'll give it a little background about myself, I'm 32, widowed with 2 kids. They're now 7 and 11. The eldest is due to start high school in September 2020.

I am in part time work at a school, completed a level 3 in supporting and teaching in primary education.

I would love to live close to Cork, house prices seem steep though.

I have family an hour away, but I'm on a discovery of myself as its been over 3 years since I became suddenly widowed. I want change. I moved a year and half ago from my married life town and its not what I want. UK is hard to live in as a young widow it just feels empty, its haunted more or less.

Im planning a solo trip in October to Cork and again with the kids for a few days at Christmas.

We need a buzz and we need tranquility, a complete change of scenery.

On top of that we need a home, schools and work. I've worked in offices most of my employment life in admin, is work hard to come by in that role?

My children are not christened or baptised, would that affect school application?

Am I best to do short term rent or can I buy outright with being new to the country?

Whats the best way a single mum can meet new people over there and make friends?

As I am on low income, but own my home, I'm on basic benefits to help my wages as I'm part time and then the other element is child benefit as they're in full time education still. Would this apply to me over there being from the UK?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, its friendship groups and settling for the children as like moving where I have, I started from scratch and knew no one, got myself work and a home yet I'm falling in love with Cork over posts and forums, the downsides must be there, every place has them.

But we lack culture and friendliness and homely, in my opinion.

Thanks for reading
Lisa

jonboy

Oh Lisa!
It is very quiet on this part of the group. I know a little of the Cork area but not enough to help you. Have you previously spent much time there to get an idea of what makes the place tick? Ireland has never much struck me as a place I would head to to make a good living. Having said that many east Europeans seem to see it as a place to offer them hope. Historically it was the case that very many Irish people left there homes to live and work in the UK rather than inward migration. I have no idea of your circumstances so it might be a better place for you and the children to be than where you are now. It will become rapidly apparent to you if it is not.

Good luck

Jonboy

scot47

Work ? What will you do for your daily bread ?

jonboy

Now, now Language!

Moses2013

Jonboy, you must still be living in different times. It would be like saying that many Germans left Germany due to war. I hope you are aware that it's 2020 and people from all over the world live in different countries today. You'll also find Americans, French, Germans and many Spanish working in cities like Galway, Cork and even British can be found.

jonboy

In my defence, I did say "Historically".

Moses2013

That's true

OrangeMango

I wouldn't quite put it that way, however it's close to the reality. There are also pharmaceutical companies and IT business which offer highly paid jobs and attract investment.

Don't know if this is still the case, but 3 years ago, Dublin and many parts of Ireland had a massive housing crisis. Renting was nearly impossible, viewings were with 40 or 50 different punters at the same time. Don't know if this has changed or simply gone under in the Covid 19 crisis.

jenny-laurel

Hi Lisa, I moved to Ireland from UK 4 years ago. It's a lovely, ( mostly ) friendly country, frustrating if you want to get anything done in a hurry the Irish aren't known for their punctuality or reliability, and I find, very laid back compared to the UK people.

You can move from UK ( I did ) and I have no relatives here.

Can't help with the children's situation I'm afraid as don't have any, but I have friends over here that have children in school that aren't baptised, so not sure if that matters.

Daily living ( bills etc ) so much cheaper than UK. Food about the same price.

Much quieter & less stressful!

Whatever you decide to do, I hope you and your children will be happy ☺

Probably not much help, but a lot of negative comments on here, ignore them and do what you think is right. This is a wonderful country.
Jenny.

Moses2013

You are right and after a short visit to the North recently, I was glad to be back in the Republic and I realised how lucky we are. Although I enjoyed the trip, the whole Brexit thing just seems to be the main topic and many seem to live in the past. Ireland (Republic) is a lot more relaxed and there are so many Brits who have no idea. Just coming down to the lakes around Lough Derg felt like you were in Switzerland this weekend. People are friendly and always try to help, although as you say a bit more relaxed. If you want to work there is always work and we certainly manage to save a lot more. But all people are different, so one is always better off coming over for a few weekends to get a feel.

OrangeMango

Nice observation. Mine was that the Irish are a lot more uncomplicated and forward and flexible than in the UK. However the unreliability and lack of punctuality can be a challenge.... In the end, one adapts to that.

The only difference I find are the prices for food. Ireland seems more expensive to me on that one than the UK. However that experience is over 4 years old to me.

Islander7

LIsa? How did the trips go?

mikelincs

LIsa only made that one post in 2020, so it's highly unlikely she will see your question, it's not really a good idea to reply in threads that have not had any posts for a year as they are usually dead threads.