Relocating to Dublin, Ireland - any advice please? Post Reply

[supergirl]

Hello

For various personal reasons including quality of life, we have decided to relocate for good to Dublin, my husband is Irish and is family is there, at the end of the next academic year i.e. summer 2018.

I have started to research areas and schools, and as much as possible, would like to live in a very friendly family oriented area and rather international as, rightly or wrongly, we feel this is what we will miss the most coming from a place like London.

Can you please give me any pointers, recommendations, top tips and things to avoid for a move like this one? Anyone on here who has done it?

- Is there an area like here in Wandsworth?
(ideally near the sea or at least not far);
- Schools: private, non denominational and co-ed?
- Anyone knows of St. Andrew's College that goes up to 18? What is it like?
- anyone knows of a website like this one?

Many thanks for your help. Supergirl

[Northcote Baby]

Hi supergirl! I run a Facebook group called 'Irish Baby' and it has lots of useful information on topics such as these. Most of our members are based in Ireland and many have relocated as you will be. You should definitely join us and post your question there. Good luck with the move!

[star2014]

Hi supergirl,

Congrats on the move! Dublin is a great city - much smaller than London but has a real community feel to it.
In terms of location, I would go southside if I were you. In general (don't kill me fellow Irish mums!) this is where the better schools are. Areas like Blackrock, Monkstown, Dun Laoghaire and Booterstown are really nice. Close to transport links for the city and beyond, good schools, near the beach and good amenities.

Im not sure about St Andrews but theres also Blackrock College (for boys) and for primary its called Willow Park, CBS Monkstown (again for boys). Not too sure abut the girls private schools apart from Alexandra college.There are also lots of very, very good state schools but these are dependent on catchment like here. Co-ed is slowly catching on in Ireland finally but there are many more single sex schools than co-ed. If you find a good co-ed school, grab it! These are normally very popular.
If you need any more info. Ill do my best to help!
x

[Spenner]

I think you would be best to look at the south side but it totally depends on what you really like about Wandsworth and what your budget is. There are gorgeous houses in the Dublin 4/6 area where it's a bit more urban and you can get into town quickly, or you can go for Dalkey where the millionaires live! Anywhere along the coast on the south side of the city would be a nice area - Sandymount, Blackrock, Monkstown, Dun Laoghaire . . . If you're likely to need to use the airport a lot somewhere like Castleknock on the north side has great schools, big houses with big gardens. It's right beside the Phoenix Park which is bigger than Richmond Park, and it is twenty minutes from the airport one way and the city centre the other. However, it's much more suburban than Wandsworth. You get more for your money on the north side of the city and areas like Glasnevin and Drumcondra are getting better and better. They are big family areas and I know a lot of media/TV/journalists/architects/creatives live there. The schools are great but the areas would still be a bit rougher around the edges than the south side. Malahide (also on the north side) is a gorgeous seaside town, close to the airport but a bit further out from town.

It's worth remembering that Dublin is much smaller than London so you can be by the sea or in the mountains in half an hour from pretty much anywhere, if the traffic goes your way. Public transport isn't as good as in London but the Luas and the Dart are very useful.

I'd spend some time looking on myhome.ie at the properties that are available in your likely price range. The home listings usually mention nearby schools. I found it was best to call the schools rather than emailing. Finding school places was the most stressful part of organising to move, in my experience (not to put you off but it might be an idea to get the schools sorted out and then look for a property rather than the other way round).

Mumsnet has a forum called craicnet for Irish mothers; I don't hang out there much but I think it's useful!

[Ellyr]

Hi supergirl, I just moved from Clapham to Dublin last year in very similar circumstances to you! I'd be happy to talk to you about things I've learnt along the way inc schools and areas if you'd like (we've just bought in dun laoghaire) I'm not sure how to best go ahead but if you know how to private message me please feel free to do so if you think it would be helpful.

[firsttimerSW11]

I'd say Wandsworth is a bit like Mount Merrion which is nice. If I moved to Dublin I'd go to Monktown, it's lovely and on the DART. Sandymount/Donnybrook/Ballsbridge all nice. I also like Ranelagh for the buzz but that much like Nappy Valley, let's say.
Someone mentioned Drumcondra and Glasnevin on the North Side. Maybe they are getting better but they would not be the equivalent of Wandsworth.
As a very general rule, the south side is the more expensive and generally more desirable, you can tell by postcodes - even numbered are Southside so Dublin 4,6/6W,14 and 16 are generally nice. Northside is odd numbered and on that side Clontarf is nice.
If you want to move right out of town then it's worth looking at Howth and Malahide (North Co Dublin) and Dalkey/Killiney (South Co Dublin).
Dublin is quite insular, it's all about who you know, who you went to school with, Trinity/UCD etc. It's quite provincial compared to London.
Private schools are subsidised by the government so are dirt cheap compared to London. Mount Anville, Loreto on the Green, Alexandra College all very good schools for secondary girls (private). Boys include Blackrock, Belvedere, Mary's, Michaels etc (all private). Some of them have junior schools attached. Incidentally if you go to a national/junior school for primary, it in no way diminishes your changes of getting into a private secondary as most schools, while they have an entrance exam, they are generally not selective. Most national schools are run by the Catholic church but there is a new movement called Educate Together which cater for a growing number of people who don't want to have religion force on them or their children. I hear good things about the education.

Overall it's a great place to grow up, and will be nice for your children, feels very different to London and quite safe in terms of playing outdoors etc. Given your husband is Irish, hopefully you won't find it too hard to meet people.
Good luck.

[papinian]

Don't pay too much heed to the posts here saying you have to be Dublin 4 (Sandymount, Ballsbridge, Donnybrook) or South County Dublin.

Transport in Dublin is a nightmare, so the key thing is to work out where you / your husband will be working and where your children are to go to school. There are lots of perfectly lovely areas on the northside of Dublin such as Castleknock and Clontarf.

Most inner and outer suburbs of Dublin are quite family-oriented, but I'd say that the most family-oriented are in a kind of middle belt, i.e. not the suburbs nearest to the city centre (in relative terms Ballsbridge and Donnybrook are family-oriented) and not the suburbs furthest from the city centre. Areas like Terenure and Rathgar (which haven't been mentioned) are very family oriented and have good schools (and not only Catholic ones) and like most of Dublin 6 and Dublin 6W have a more SW London feel than the rest of Dublin (partly because of the late Victorian / Edwardian houses, partly because of the many tennis and hockey clubs).

I think you'll struggle to find an area that is both family-oriented AND international. Dublin is very diverse but the diversity tends to be singles/couples in 20s and 30s living in apartments in the centre and developing world immigrants living in some of the less affluent areas that haven't got a mention. Clonskeagh which is on the southside south of UCD has a campus with both the Lycee Francais and St Killian's German School so the continental families tend to live in a suburb relatively close.

You're a great contributor to this site and you have a good attitude that will serve you well in Dublin. However, I would echo what firsttimer said re Dublin being quite insular and a lot of people keep friendship groups from school, university, work and, if from the country, wherever they grew up there. Despite the reputation of Irish people as being friendly, the reality is that it can be more difficult to get to know people than it is in London.

[pepper]

I moved from Clapham to dublin too. I moved to foxrock and I love it. There is a lot of good schools around, lovely neighbourhood. The Dublin public transport is rubbish , without a car you can't survive

[supergirl]

Hi everyone

Just wanted to update on my post. We have successfully relocated to Dublin South and are very happy. It hasn't been long but we know we are going to love our new life even if the beginning is not that easy.

A belated thank you for all your messages which helped a lot. 

@Ellyr - I am going to message you.

In the end we found a fantastic relocating agent: Lesley from Local Line. She relocated her family to Dublin too from England and started her company shortly after settling in.

She has been nothing but helpful and her advice from a professional and a mum's perspective have been priceless. She made the whole process a lot easier and much less stressful.

We had already found a school but she definitively has extensive knowledge about schools for both girls and boys. She found us a great house in our favourite location which mean we will walk to school or cycle. We could drive but there is definitively no point in doing so.
She organised the inventory of the house, the exchange of keys, advised on health insurance and various camps for the children.

I highly recommend her if you are considering a move to Dublin being private or professional.

Local Line: info@locallinerelocation.com / Lesley +353 85 8063731

We used Cadogan Tate for our removal and had no issues.

 

[sloaney donkey]

Ballsbridge is the Wandsworth equivalent in Dublin.

You won't have the choice of London, but it is a nice area.

And the weather is miserable for 364 days a year.

Stick to "the brighter borough". That's what I say !

[Goodw1n]

There is not much to advise here, except to carefully think through the process of moving. You can make it fast and feel almost no difficulties if you try. Personally, I was very lucky with this and my move was very quick. For this, I thank the company www.removalslondon.co.uk who took over the entire process. Thanks to the quality of their work and flexible booking schedule, we have chosen the perfect moment for this. At first, I didn't trust them very much, but then I realized that I was dealing with professionals. They provided me with all the necessary packaging materials and a full package of services, including good and clean vans. I thought the move would take a long time, but they were able to convince me otherwise