Hi, I'm trying to get a gauge on the job market for professionals who aren't looking for jobs with the huge tech and pharma companies. Are are a decent number of professional jobs outside these industries or is it basically just bar and retail work or working at these huge companies?
I'm a sales-marketing-brand management professional and I prefer working for small (but successful) to mid-size companies. My boyfriend has received an employment offer in Cork, but the salary is such that we would not both be able to live on it and therefore we are quite nervous about how long it might take me to find employment. Particularly since we don't have a car. And since the cost of living seems so high there(since we'd have to live in the center in order to be most likely to be close to wherever I get a job....)
any-all advice would be helpful. We are at the point where we have to refuse the offer if we don't see some more concrete and confidence boosting info online about Cork (so far we have just seen high cost of living, not easy without car, center is super expensive, nice areas are super far from center... etc)
Brooke
The Job Market for Non-Corporate professionals
Hi Brooke
You will never know until you go there, why don't your boyfriend go ahead so long and setup life for you guys until you are able to join him.
You can still look for housing out side of cork, yes you will prob need a car and can easily get a nice workable second hand one for under €500, what about public transport?
We have lived in Ireland before and you guys will regret if you pass up this great opportunity, just remember why you are moving to begin with.
Ireland is a beautiful country and it will be scary and tough in the beginning but it will all work out.
Best of luck to you guys.
HI Katespade-
unfortunately we had to turn the offer down. We are both currently in Spain and only he has a job (I can't get a professional job here without Spanish I only stayed because it was the only way we could legally be together since I'm European and American but he's only European so he couldn't go to US with me). We made a deal to go to an English speaking country as soon as possible ( I was living on the last of my lifetime savings after taking a career break and extended my 'break' now by 8 months so we could stay together) so I could get a job but Cork was just too many unknown variables. We wouldn't have been able to buy a car, we couldn't have paid for both our cost of living until I found a job and we had no idea what the job market was like based on any advice we got on any forum (literally no one is on these forums).
We'll be moving back to my home of California together now (applying for a marriage Visa)! 
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