6 Reasons Not to Move to Ireland

Exactly how the Emerald Isle disappoints

I’ve lived in Ireland for quite some time now. Although moving during the pandemic wasn’t easy regardless of where you moved from or where you were moving to, Ireland has not lived up to my expectations.

I’ve lived in the US, Spain, and Germany, and I’ve spent a good amount of time traveling around mainland Europe. All that to say, this isn’t my first rodeo. It wasn’t my first international move, and it won’t be my last.

I moved to Ireland for work in the middle of the pandemic, and though my employer determined the location, I was cautiously optimistic. I associated Ireland with leprechauns, cute sayings, and stunning nature. While some of that held true, the realities of living in Dublin, Ireland were far from ideal.

Let me fill you in on the drawbacks of living in Ireland that you should consider before moving here.

1. Poor Quality of Infrastructure

If you’ve been to central Europe, you know how to appreciate good infrastructure. Roads, hospitals, office buildings, residential buildings, public transportation systems — all of these are crucial aspects of a country’s infrastructure. Each of these has the power to significantly influence the quality of life of the residents.

Roads

I bike to and from the office. On top of the obvious lack of bike lanes all around Dublin, the quality of the pavement on the street and particularly in the bike lanes is horrendous. Potholes abound all around the country. They can get so bad that they’ll toss the entire contents of your bike’s basket onto the road if you’re not slowly and carefully navigating so as to avoid the potholes.

If you’re traveling anywhere outside of Dublin, get ready for insanely narrow two-way streets. You can easily expect there to be stone walls closely bordering the road. On top of that, buses still drive through these country lanes, meaning you are forced to suck it all in and hope for the best while oncoming traffic whizzes by you at 80 km/h.

Buildings

If you’ve ever lived in Spain or Germany, you know how much they value high-quality windows. Ireland is much more similar to the UK when it comes to windows. You can expect a lot of sound, moisture, and cold air to get through all of the windows in your home. If they’re double-paned, consider yourself blessed. You should also be prepared for carpet in your kitchen and bathroom.

Public Transport

I live in the center of Dublin. Thankfully, I can walk almost everywhere I need to go. However, if I’m ever required to go somewhere using public transport, my day falls apart. Taking a bus through the city center can be as painful as pulling teeth. More than once I’ve been on a bus that traveled one kilometer in 20 minutes, meaning it would have been faster for me to walk from A to B than to step into the vehicle.

There are two street tram lines and one light-rail line. If you want to go anywhere besides up and down the coast or directly up the river, you’ll be on a bus.

2. Have to fly to anywhere else in Europe

As an American living in Europe, I am a sucker for trains. Train travel is very comfortable. A city’s main train station is usually near the city center, there’s a lot less overhead time in getting to the station, checking in, security, etc. A lot of times, traveling by train is faster door-to-door than flying. Alternatively, taking a bus or driving can also be much faster than flying when it comes to the total time involved.

Even if you don’t like driving or you like the stomach-dropping experience of turbulence, it’s generally better to have options when it comes to long-distance transportation. Depending on your travel plans, having more options generally leads to finding one that better fits your timeline.

On top of that, the Dublin airport is rather inaccessible. There is only one public bus that goes from the city center to the airport, and it takes over an hour, even though it is only about 10 kilometers away. Recently, the usually well-managed Dublin Airport has had a lot of issues hiring staff and has become riddled with issues that cause long wait times at check-in, security, and boarding.

3. Heavy drinking culture

The Irish sure do love their beer and whiskey. I’m a social drinker myself, and I like going out to bars and even the occasional club once in a while. However, the general lack of things to do in Dublin and around Ireland leads to a narrow choice of social plans. Unless you want to invite your friends over to your place, your social plans have a high chance of involving alcohol.

Ireland has the ninth-highest rate of alcohol consumption in the world. The average Irish person drinks the equivalent of 40 bottles of vodka, 113 bottles of wine, or 436 pints of beer in a year.

It can get quite repetitive and unpleasant in my opinion, and I think it makes it harder to build up deep, long-lasting friendships.

4. No car = no fun

Ireland is not a huge country, but even so, unless you are looking to get around within Dublin or maybe within Cork city, you’re going to need a car. All of the best hikes, castles, picturesque valleys and lakes are only accessible by car. Keep in mind that you have to drive on the left too.

Outdoor activities are probably Ireland’s biggest draw. Wild camping is generally allowed, and there’s a lot of pretty corners around the island. Given you can drive all the way around the Republic in less than 20 hours, you can pack a lot into an Irish road trip.

5. Eating out is expensive

The median income of an Irish household was €43,552 in 2019. Most of my friends earn around €27,000 for the first few years out of university. With rent prices among the highest in the world, where the average cost of renting a one-bedroom apartment costs €1,643, there isn’t that much money left over at the end of the month.

Regardless, it is seriously challenging to find an entrée in a Dublin restaurant for less than €14, even at lunchtime. Even when you head out to the smaller towns scattered across the country, you’ll find similar prices in tiny towns like Arklow, Clifden, and other small destinations.

You might think you’ll be able to find a cheap chipper or döner place to get some student food. I have yet to find a döner, personal pizza, or sandwich for less than €8 in Ireland.

6. High turnover of residents

Making friends is always a big challenge and concern when you move to a new city or country. I’ve moved around a lot in my life, to different continents and countries. Speaking the local language is a big help in making friendships that will last, so I thought I wouldn’t have any problems since I’m a native English speaker.

Although it was quite easy to make friends pretty quickly after moving here, the biggest challenge in Ireland is making friends that don’t move away. I’ve been here just a year and already half of the friends I made in the first six months moved away, and half of my team at work moved away too.

Why Ireland shouldn’t be your #1 country to move to

The fact that it is English-speaking makes Ireland quite accessible to non-Europeans. Due to its favorable corporate tax rates, a lot of tech companies create plenty of job opportunities here for skilled workers, and getting a work visa isn’t too difficult. It is relatively easy to get sponsored by an employer for a work visa if you’re looking to work towards an EU citizenship.

However, the quality of life in Ireland is significantly lower than in central Europe. A very high cost of living and not a commensurably high rate of income means your budget in Ireland will definitely be tighter than in other European countries. It can also feel isolating, since after investing time and energy into building up friendships, a lot of people, both Irish and other expats move away.

I moved here on a whim for work, but I wouldn’t recommend it to others.

Open for freelance writing and ghostwriting work: [email protected]. I focus on frontend programming, data science, and the international lifestyle.