Salaries

Old May 10th 2007, 1:40 am
  #1  
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
 
Joined: Feb 2006
Location: Bedford
Posts: 69
Halifax harpie will become famous soon enough
Default Salaries

What would be considered a decent salary in Ireland?
We are currently living in Canada - which we hate - although originally from UK.
My husband has just been offered a job near Galway. This has come completely out of the blue and we don't know where to start. As much as we want to move, we don't want it to be a case of jumping out of the frying pan into the fire. Weather wont be a issue as it's really bad where we are now, as well as being pretty isolated, but cost of living is a factor, especially as we will have 2 children going to university.
Any thoughts would be gratefully received.
Already found lots of useful info on this forum.
Thanks
Val
Halifax harpie is offline  
Old May 10th 2007, 8:00 am
  #2  
Forum Regular
 
chatterboxmoira's Avatar
 
Joined: Feb 2007
Location: Mallow, Co Cork
Posts: 106
chatterboxmoira has a spectacular aura aboutchatterboxmoira has a spectacular aura aboutchatterboxmoira has a spectacular aura about
Default Re: Salaries

Originally Posted by Halifax harpie
What would be considered a decent salary in Ireland?
We are currently living in Canada - which we hate - although originally from UK.
My husband has just been offered a job near Galway. This has come completely out of the blue and we don't know where to start. As much as we want to move, we don't want it to be a case of jumping out of the frying pan into the fire. Weather wont be a issue as it's really bad where we are now, as well as being pretty isolated, but cost of living is a factor, especially as we will have 2 children going to university.
Any thoughts would be gratefully received.
Already found lots of useful info on this forum.
Thanks
Val

Hi Val,

If you let us know what type of job your husband does I, or someone else can give you a better idea.

Have a look on www.unison.ie for local newspapers that have classified ads for houses, jobs, cars, etc. Go to www.myhome.ie for houses.

I don't know much about Galway- I'm in Cork, but I know people who live there and think it's lovely. They do have a major problem with contaminated water at the moment though.

It is expensive to send children to university here, but maybe it is in Canada. You'll have to look into that. The National University of Ireland is based in Galway. The website is www.nui.ie

Hope this helps a little and good luck with whatever you decide.

Moira
chatterboxmoira is offline  
Old May 10th 2007, 8:27 am
  #3  
Just Joined
 
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 14
scottie70 is an unknown quantity at this point
Default Re: Salaries

Originally Posted by Halifax harpie
What would be considered a decent salary in Ireland?
We are currently living in Canada - which we hate - although originally from UK.
My husband has just been offered a job near Galway. This has come completely out of the blue and we don't know where to start. As much as we want to move, we don't want it to be a case of jumping out of the frying pan into the fire. Weather wont be a issue as it's really bad where we are now, as well as being pretty isolated, but cost of living is a factor, especially as we will have 2 children going to university.
Any thoughts would be gratefully received.
Already found lots of useful info on this forum.
Thanks
Val
Don't come back to Ireland. Its a lovely country but it just doesn't work.Education, roads, health and water system are a mess. We have friends who are trying to get out and move to Canada, we are stuck.
Cost of living is up there with the most expensive in Europe, but so are the salaries.
I'm so sorry for being negative.

Last edited by scottie70; May 10th 2007 at 8:33 am.
scottie70 is offline  
Old May 10th 2007, 8:45 am
  #4  
Senior Moment
 
Mitzyboy's Avatar
 
Joined: Jan 2006
Location: On the edge
Posts: 20,460
Mitzyboy has a reputation beyond reputeMitzyboy has a reputation beyond reputeMitzyboy has a reputation beyond reputeMitzyboy has a reputation beyond reputeMitzyboy has a reputation beyond reputeMitzyboy has a reputation beyond reputeMitzyboy has a reputation beyond reputeMitzyboy has a reputation beyond reputeMitzyboy has a reputation beyond reputeMitzyboy has a reputation beyond reputeMitzyboy has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: Salaries

Originally Posted by scottie70
Don't come back to Ireland. Its a lovely country but it just doesn't work.Education, roads, health and water system are a mess. We have friends who are trying to get out and move to Canada, we are stuck.
Cost of living is up there with the most expensive in Europe, but so are the salaries.
I'm so sorry for being negative.
Wierd the impressions you get isn't it .... I've been touring around Ireland quite a few times, stayed in Dublin, Cork & Waterford as well as out in the sticks, and the people there all seem so relaxed and content! Makes you think "what an ideal place to live" (Apart from the rain!)
Mitzyboy is offline  
Old May 10th 2007, 9:58 am
  #5  
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
 
Joined: Feb 2006
Location: Bedford
Posts: 69
Halifax harpie will become famous soon enough
Default Re: Salaries

Originally Posted by scottie70
Don't come back to Ireland. Its a lovely country but it just doesn't work.Education, roads, health and water system are a mess. We have friends who are trying to get out and move to Canada, we are stuck.
Cost of living is up there with the most expensive in Europe, but so are the salaries.
I'm so sorry for being negative.
Hi there
thanks for the quick replies. My husband is a scientist - apparently the Irish government is putting a lot of money into the country at the moment to get scientists to move there. The salary they were talking about was 110 000 euro. I am a UK registered nurse but unless I retrain, can't work in Canada.
It's interesting reading Scottie 70's comments, because those are the main reasons we want to leave Canada!!! University fees where we are work out about 5000 GBP each child, without books etc. The health care is awful, worse than NHS. No GP's in our area are taking on new patients. Waiting lists are long for surgery, consults etc. The cost of living is much higher than we thought it would be, especially taxation. Worst of all is the sense of isolation. It is so expensive to get anywhere. The flight back to UK is only 6 hours but Air Canada have little competition from Nova Scotia, and flights are expensive.
We have lived in a number of countries over the years, but can honestly say we have never been as unhappy as we all are in Canada, which is why we are so wary of making another move to a country we don't know.
Thanks again for all your help
Val
Halifax harpie is offline  
Old May 10th 2007, 12:08 pm
  #6  
Forum Regular
 
chatterboxmoira's Avatar
 
Joined: Feb 2007
Location: Mallow, Co Cork
Posts: 106
chatterboxmoira has a spectacular aura aboutchatterboxmoira has a spectacular aura aboutchatterboxmoira has a spectacular aura about
Default Re: Salaries

Originally Posted by Halifax harpie
Hi there
thanks for the quick replies. My husband is a scientist - apparently the Irish government is putting a lot of money into the country at the moment to get scientists to move there. The salary they were talking about was 110 000 euro. I am a UK registered nurse but unless I retrain, can't work in Canada.
It's interesting reading Scottie 70's comments, because those are the main reasons we want to leave Canada!!! University fees where we are work out about 5000 GBP each child, without books etc. The health care is awful, worse than NHS. No GP's in our area are taking on new patients. Waiting lists are long for surgery, consults etc. The cost of living is much higher than we thought it would be, especially taxation. Worst of all is the sense of isolation. It is so expensive to get anywhere. The flight back to UK is only 6 hours but Air Canada have little competition from Nova Scotia, and flights are expensive.
We have lived in a number of countries over the years, but can honestly say we have never been as unhappy as we all are in Canada, which is why we are so wary of making another move to a country we don't know.
Thanks again for all your help
Val
Hi Val

Not sure if I can help with scientist salaries but I'll have a look around. Look at the Unison website for news articles that may be appropriate to him. Unfortunately firms like Pfizer are winding down there operations here to move to cheaper countries. You don't want to find your husbands firm is considering the same thing.

As a nurse you will be able to practice in Ireland, unless you've been out of it for a while. Check out An Bord Altranais (the Irish equivalent of NMC) on www.nursingboard.ie
You may have to do a refressher course, but these are few and far between and can be expensive. You may not know that there is industrial action going on at the moment. We are asking for a 35 hour week and 10% pay rise. All Irish Nursing Organisation and Psychiatric Nurses Association nurses are working to rule, and having 1-3 hour work stoppages at selected hospitals. The salary is better than I earned in the UK, and the general cost of living is cheaper compared to the UK (ie no council tax, water rates etc unless you live in a town or city). However, medical care is expensive. My sister just had an operation free as a public patient but has to pay a bill of 360 euro to cover the cost of the bed. She can afford it, many others can't. You may find that your health insurance provider in Canada has links with one of the companies here. I doubt it, but it's worth asking. Also the time that you've been with your Canadian health insurance company will be taken into account by Irish insurance firms for pre-existing conditions.

I hope you can make sense of all this.

I like living in Ireland. We came here because all my family had migrated over, and I couldn't afford to buy a house in the UK. It could have been any country that I moved to, it just happened to be Ireland. It's very laid back in rural Ireland. But you have to get used to contractors not doing work when you've agreed. If they get a better paying job, or larger job, they will think nothing of taking that and fitting you in whenever. Very frustrating.

We are looking to move to Australia soon. It's not that I hate Ireland, but we did consider Australia 5 years ago, but never had the funds to pay for the visa's, let alone the actual move. Ireland has given me the opportunity to get my foot on the property ladder, and give me enough equity in my house that we can move to Australia if we decide to.

You will have to make up your own minds.

Moira
chatterboxmoira is offline  
Old May 10th 2007, 1:22 pm
  #7  
Forum Regular
 
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 132
cbeeb is just really nicecbeeb is just really nicecbeeb is just really nicecbeeb is just really nicecbeeb is just really nicecbeeb is just really nicecbeeb is just really nicecbeeb is just really nice
Default Re: Salaries

110 000E is a good salary.THe average industrial wage is about 36000E, I would say for that you would get a pretty comfortable lifestyle. THe tax credits and allowances are not great and would end up payinf 42% tax on salaries over about 34000E. www.askaboutmoney.com has calculators for tax etc. Worth a look. I am also scottish but would not move back, the water in galway is undrinkable unless boiled(sewage in public water supply) the roads are bad in places, would not buy new high spec car. THe health service is not great but I would imagine private health care is part of his package. My kids love it here but are younger. Cost of lving is deemed high but am here 6 years and am either used to it or it is getting better as I remember shopping beo=ing more expensive at the start.
cbeeb is offline  
Old May 14th 2007, 1:01 am
  #8  
BE Enthusiast
 
Joined: Feb 2005
Location: Oak Ridges, ON
Posts: 332
snowqueen is a glorious beacon of lightsnowqueen is a glorious beacon of lightsnowqueen is a glorious beacon of lightsnowqueen is a glorious beacon of lightsnowqueen is a glorious beacon of lightsnowqueen is a glorious beacon of lightsnowqueen is a glorious beacon of lightsnowqueen is a glorious beacon of lightsnowqueen is a glorious beacon of lightsnowqueen is a glorious beacon of lightsnowqueen is a glorious beacon of light
Default Re: Salaries

I have to add my 2c worth to this. We left Ireland for Canada last year - ironic as that may seem!!

Firstly 110K euro is a GREAT salary!! No problems there, which means you probably won't mind that everything is so expensive.....

Seriously though, cost of living IS expensive in Ireland. I think more than the UK, but others here think differently cos of council tax etc. Probably not much in it.
However, on the university front, for most residents in Ireland, university education is FREE!!!! You should double check if this applies to you though, depending on the age of your kids when you move.

Secondly, compared to Canada the health and general infrastructure in Ireland is cr@*. Seriously.

If you don't like Canada, then go for it. However, don't be fooled into thinking that Ireland has the same level of infrastructure/ services as the UK. I am English and lived in Ireland for 15 years and we were constantly amazed at how poor the services were. The system is a mess and my husband has family there who are trying to deal with it (and who also work in it) so I'm not exaggerating. It also costs 70 euro just to visit your GP and then you pay for all your drugs on top of that. The NHS is great by comparison. The Canadian system is heaven by comparison!! One of the reasons we left Ireland is that we didn't fancy getting old there with their health system. Of course nowhere is perfect and I know a lot of Canadians complain about the system here (we're in Ontario) but I'm quite impressed after ireland!!

Yes, Ireland has a great pace of life outside of th capital and yes, if you are rural, it's nice. But it's not perfect, and the infrastructure gets worse the further out you go from Dublin, and its not that great there!! Galway is a buzzy city but it does rain a LOT, so be warned. If the weather is getting you down in NS, don't be thinking you don't care about the weather, because in my book, the weather really does matter.....! At least in Canada you have snow.

I wish you all the best with your decision. If you hate Canada (or at least your bit of it) then by all means try Galway if the job is right. But they probably aren't that different in some ways!! If you have time, I would seriously suggest a recce trip and then you can think more clearly about what you want. It's easy to get swept up in the excitment of a job offer, but the reality of living somewhere new (as I'm sure you know) can be quite a jolt.

All I would say is that a move to ireland will not be like a move back to England but with different accents/scenery. So it depends on what you are looking for.

All the best
Snowqueen
snowqueen is offline  
Old May 14th 2007, 5:43 pm
  #9  
Forum Regular
 
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 52
marcecie has a brilliant futuremarcecie has a brilliant futuremarcecie has a brilliant futuremarcecie has a brilliant futuremarcecie has a brilliant futuremarcecie has a brilliant futuremarcecie has a brilliant future
Default Re: Salaries

Hi, not sure where Snowqueen was attending a Doctor that cost €70 per visit but my local Gp in Mayo( 1 hour from Galway) is €40, yes you have to pay for chemist but max per month is €85 for family. Also it looks like we will be having a change of government next week and if so then the West of Ireland will hopefully improve as new leader is from Mayo.

Water in Galway is undrinkable at moment but they are working on it but Mayo water has no problems. plenty of work for nurses as we are bringing them in from abroad to meet demand. Salary you mention is hugh.

Not everyone will enjoy Ireland eg,- most of my tenants in the past were from UK and out of the 6 families I rented to only one returned to UK. From day 1 they never settled, school was not as good as UK, Tesco was not as good as UK, phone system was not as good as UK, so I think if people are prepared to accept things will not be same as where they came from it should be easier. The other 5 families are still here, 4 of them have bought houses and other family are still renting from me after 5 years.
marcecie is offline  
Old May 14th 2007, 9:44 pm
  #10  
Just Joined
 
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 8
plaincrips is an unknown quantity at this point
Default Re: Salaries

Well time for my 2 cents
Never been to Canada so cant comment but moving to Ireland is not something Ive regreted.I miss thing but I am happy to live without them
I left a very well payed job in UK to a less well paid, less 'status' job with kids just starting secondary school and love living in the country

110k is a fantastic salary and if you are going to the west coast and dont expect a busy life style youll be happy

If your kids expect cinemas, town centres and takeaways - they may be sorely disappointed. Whilst these thing are available they are no on the door step so Mums taxi can take on a whole new meaning - last Saturday I drove 300 miles ferrying kids about - that was an exceptional day its normally about 100 miles on a Saturday

Id suggest that you spend some time visting the area - then get in with both feet
plaincrips is offline  
Old May 14th 2007, 10:13 pm
  #11  
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
 
Joined: Feb 2006
Location: Bedford
Posts: 69
Halifax harpie will become famous soon enough
Default Re: Salaries

Thank you all for taking the time to reply. Your comments have been so helpful and we really appreciate them.
Hopefully we can arrange a trip over before any decisions are made, but to be honest after Nova Scotia anything has got to be better.
Health care is really bad here. Waiting times for heart surgery is up to 180 days, as opposed to 2 weeks in Toronto. Dental care is really expensive and not covered by my husbands work insurance. University fees are high, as is taxation. There is not much snow, lots of grey foggy days. The worst thing has been the feeling of isolation. Even though it is only a 6 hour flight back to UK, the cost is high it's not something you'd do that often.
I am getting really excited now and can't wait to get over and have a look around.
Thanks again
Halifax harpie is offline  
Old May 15th 2007, 9:13 pm
  #12  
Just Joined
 
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 14
scottie70 is an unknown quantity at this point
Default Re: Salaries

Originally Posted by Mitzyboy
Wierd the impressions you get isn't it .... I've been touring around Ireland quite a few times, stayed in Dublin, Cork & Waterford as well as out in the sticks, and the people there all seem so relaxed and content! Makes you think "what an ideal place to live" (Apart from the rain!)

I note from the above comment that you were on Holiday here a couple times. Its quite a difference when you live here!
scottie70 is offline  
Old Jul 18th 2007, 9:15 pm
  #13  
Forum Regular
 
Joined: Dec 2005
Location: Ireland, for the moment
Posts: 107
jenna m is just really nicejenna m is just really nicejenna m is just really nicejenna m is just really nicejenna m is just really nicejenna m is just really nicejenna m is just really nicejenna m is just really nice
Default Re: Salaries

Your husband will probably have private health insurance cover with his job?
You have 2 private hospitals in Galway.
Once you pay 85 euro any additional medicine is free,per month.
Ireland has a recipropal agreement with Canada regarding pensions.
The local airports have flights to e.g. Edinburgh, London, Bristol, Newcastle, Nantes, Malaga, Rome etc etc, so you should not feel too cut off.

My one piece of advice would be to rent/or buy a house within easy distance of your town centre where you can have easy access to pubs, clubs, sports facilities, libraries, colleges etc. You may have to pay more but I think you will have a more all round lifestyle as a result, without the need for endless commuting. I live within 1.5 miles of my local town, 40 minutes from Galway and 40 minutes from Westport in MAYO which really is the best of all worlds, as regards choice.

All the very best in making your decision.
Jenna
jenna m is offline  
Old Jul 19th 2007, 6:22 pm
  #14  
Senior Moment
 
Mitzyboy's Avatar
 
Joined: Jan 2006
Location: On the edge
Posts: 20,460
Mitzyboy has a reputation beyond reputeMitzyboy has a reputation beyond reputeMitzyboy has a reputation beyond reputeMitzyboy has a reputation beyond reputeMitzyboy has a reputation beyond reputeMitzyboy has a reputation beyond reputeMitzyboy has a reputation beyond reputeMitzyboy has a reputation beyond reputeMitzyboy has a reputation beyond reputeMitzyboy has a reputation beyond reputeMitzyboy has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: Salaries

Originally Posted by scottie70
I note from the above comment that you were on Holiday here a couple times. Its quite a difference when you live here!

Oh OK .... No I've never lived there, used to tour around in a motorhome .... everywhere is different I guess when you come to terms with the reality of living in a place
Mitzyboy is offline  
Old Jul 20th 2007, 8:08 am
  #15  
Forum Regular
 
Joined: Dec 2005
Location: Ireland, for the moment
Posts: 107
jenna m is just really nicejenna m is just really nicejenna m is just really nicejenna m is just really nicejenna m is just really nicejenna m is just really nicejenna m is just really nicejenna m is just really nice
Default Re: Salaries

Mitziboy your contributions are very welcome on this section !
Tourist impressions are very useful.
Like moving to Spain, you have to do your homework before coming to Ireland.
It is a different country from the U.K and has its own traditions and culture and has developed very rapidly in the past few years as has its population.
All the best
Jenna.
jenna m is offline  

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.