Was it a mistake to move to Ireland or not? You be the judge

I wish i could write something different but i am going to write my experience in here as and how it happened. For so many in here there have been positive and negative stories but mine is something that has put a doubt in mind..And I am asking myself was it really worth it??

I had amazing job with a 6 figure salary, living above comfortable life in Sydney, however with the way the life  was it was hard work, more commuting and spending lot more time on travelling and with that comes costs..For Example, Tolls, Petrol, Food, etc etc..And then the property prices was sky rocketing in Sydney, it is getting busier and all this effort that you put in, you ask yourself is it worth living in Sydney? The answer was to move to Europe, there could still be a life, yes the salaries could be less than Australia but with the similar hard work you will still have a life for that matter anywhere in Europe.. UK was always a first choice, yes brexit vote happened (process will be completed March 2019) but in my opinion there will better chances due to larger Population which equates to more jobs and the cost of living for sure is less than Sydney and better than Dublin.However for personal reasons dublin turned out to be the choice. So Long story short, arrived in Dublin end of April 2018, even though i knew about the housing situation, it was still a shock to see the prices of apartments within a commuting distance of 30 to 35 minutes to the city..It is HORRIBLE!!!!!!! If you want to Iive in a decent area with less crime, and access to pretty much everything you have to pay between 2500 to 3000 euros per month easily, if you're lucky you will pay around 2000 but it is such a struggle to fit things in, remember all this will effect they way you see this place if not it does influence, these are meant to be things that has to be routine..Dublin apartments are small, smaller than UK ..Getting somewhere to rent is like winning a lotto, in my case i was lucky but then the struggle starts from there..

Even if you can afford to buy a new car, you cannot because of the car insurance, some won't insure you and some will but you are looking at anywhere between 1900 to 3000 euros premium per year with an excess of atleast 2500.. If you're lucky and if you convert your Australian DL to the European DL the premium might come down by a couple of hundred Euros..The Process of converting your Australian DL, thats a whole another story..Then comes the PPS number and applying for the Work rights, Stamp 4..without these 2 you cannot do anything, you cannot open a bank account without the PPS number, if you don't have a local address then forget approaching any bank..GFC has made things worse here..Every step is regulated , so heavily that common sense doesn't prevail..Its a chicken and egg situation..

Now lets say you got all this sorted, then comes looking for jobs, if your non technical or NON IT then expect to start from the bottom which means for a person like me sacrificing nearly 60% of my pay and going to the bottom of the pile..Gift of the Gab and an amazing CV and with excellent experience and references and knowing your subject well could be treated as a threat to the others at the work place..There is so much i could write here, luck and networking alone won't work..

I am seriously thinking to move to UK inspite of all the brexit doubts and people being negative about brexit, the houses are still cheaper then Ireland, renting is easy, opening a bank account is easy, more jobs, yes there could be a little struggle but the day to day factors can fixed and it is for sure better than ireland and once this is done..You can concentrate on getting a job..Most importantly if you want a mortgage UK takes into account your Australian Credit History as for Ireland its a absolute NO NO..You have to wait it out for atleast a year and then there is still no guarantee you will be given 3.5 % of your salary, by the way that is max mortgage that is given if you're lucky and that too if you and your partner are working..If you're partner is not working forget about it..

Eating out...Thats another topic all together...I'm also part of a FB group which has over 700 members who have moved to Ireland, everyday there are posts about issues with the bank, mortgages, jobs, visa issues, work opportunities, Insurance (health and car), accommodation and the list goes on..I still consider i'm little luck than a few but i wouldn't recommend this place to everyone..

Is this place right for a person like me who lived in Australia for a very long time who had an amazing job?? Not sure..So people who want to move here, think hard, think straight and use your practical mind..If you don't have exceptional savings in the bank or don't have a secure job here before you move,..DONT MOVE!!!

Irish people are friendly but the real picture is very different...