31 year old American moving to Cork for 1 year masters in August 2016

Hi everyone!

I am a 31 year old professional female currently in Seattle, Washington and I am moving on my own to Cork in a few months to start a one year masters program at UCC. I'm looking for any advice on finding accommodation as I have been told it is a very tight rental market and that if I wait until I arrive to find a place I might have a hard time.

Some of my questions are, if I arrive early in August, do you think that would be okay for finding a room before classes start in September?

Also, if I have a hard time finding an affordable place in the city center, are there any areas a little outside the center that might be more affordable, but where I could still easily access the city using public transport?

And if that isn't asking too much, are there any areas outside of the city centre that might have more people my age? I just don't want to lose the ability to make friends by living too far out of the city. Not sure if it is the same there or not, but in the states it is the families that move outside the city, and the younger or single crowd stay more in the city ..

Last thing, as a student I will be able to work 20 hours a week, but I am a little nervous about being able to find a part time job as I have heard work can be hard to find as well. Any thoughts on this? Any areas you think would be better to look in?

Thanks so much for any thoughts you can offer, it is much appreciated!

Kristin