[geeks] Working in Ireland and the U.K. (us immigrant with Irish citizenship)

[geeks at sunhelp.org]

On Tue, Mar 13, 2001 at 10:57:44PM -0800, Christopher Byrne wrote:
> Due to the wonderful policies of the Department of Defense, I have lost my
> big defense contract, and find myself again looking for work. Thankfully the
> sector I work in (security) is still very hot, so theres no shortage of job
> opportunities, but I have a chance to do seomthign interesting.

Hmm, "may you live in intresting times" indeed.

> Earlier today a recruiter specializing in getting U.S. techs to go to
> Ireland and the UK borught up some VERY interesting ppositions and
> opportunities.

Big shortage of security folk over here alright. 

> One company in Ireland for example is offering the equivalent of 120k US +
> 35k sign on bonus, + full relocation + housing allowance and car allowance,
> and they'll even help you buy a house.

Can't say I'm familiar with typical relocation clauses, but that looks like a
competitive salary.

> This looks like a very interesting position, and there are many others
> available (mostly in the UK, somewhere near London usually).

Dublin's a good bit smaller than London, which is a good thing. Less
culturally diverse, and not quite as much to do though. Better Guinness.
A lot cheaper cost of living wise (though we're getting there. But Sterling is
very strong at the moment (The U.K. ain't in the Euro).

> What I'm wondering is, what're the working and living conditions lke. What's
> the tax situation like, cost of living, ease of finding housing etc...

Hmm. Tax wise: http://www.revenue.ie/faqs/employe2.htm
Housing is a problem in Ireland at the moment: We're going through a economic
and demographic bump at the moment. Everybody's got money, and Irish people
like owning houses. Inflation in the property sector has been rife over the
last few years, though is definitely slowing down (We've had a high inflation
rate over the last two years, thanks to the weak Euro, taxation on cigarettes
and drink going up lots, rise in housing costs and in general a booming
economy, I think it was 6% or so last year, but salaries have generally gone
up by a lot more in computing). Sometimes renting conditions aren't the best -
Some property owners just aren't fair, though this is generally in less
expensive housing. Renting is becoming more popular over here.

> Just as an indication of my current cost of living, my wife and I live in a
> 2 bedroom condo for which we pay appx 3k a month when you include utilities,
> and other 1k a month in car payments, 2k in assorted other bills (insurance,
> magazine subscriptions, services etc...) and 2k in general living expenses
> (food, clothing, entertainment, gas, tolls, etc.. etc...)

Right, well I just went to myhome.ie and searched for a nice 2 bedroom apt. in
the nicest area of the city. 1200 ($1600?) for a 2 bedroomed apt. with parking,
walkable to the city centre (well, say 30 minutes from Trinity College). 
Don't so southside and you can do betterm though the website whose URL is at
the bottom of this mail reckons prices are from 900-2000. 

> The traffic here is murder, the working environments are pretty brutal (100+
> hour weeks are not uncommon) loyalty is nil, local politics are pretty awful
> etc...

Hah. I don't think you'd be expected to work those hours here. Standard of
living in those respects are pretty good. Irish people like to goto the pub
every so often. You can't goto the pub while in work. 

> On the plus side it's one of the worlds best climates 9 months a year, and
> there's plenty to do here. Plus you do tend to make a lot more money than
> most other places, which s nice.

Weather is shitty here. :)
Not much else to say about it. There's in no way as much stuff to do over
here, though there are a lot more pubs.

> I have been to Ireland and the UK several times before, and I knwo a little
> of what to expect, but what I'm really looking for is a real feel for what
> it's like to live and work there.

Some IT workplaces are very American (free Coke, fussball, that kind of
stuff), and I hear Americans base their lives around their jobs rather than
vice-versa.

Home internet connections are generally 56k modems or ISDN lines, no real sign
of ADSL yet (Actually, I heard that our main telco. are slowing down the
rollout. Bah.)

I don't know too much about comparing cost of living or that really, because
I've only ever lived in Ireland. There's a website specifically for this kind
of information, http://www.emigrant.ie

Hope this helps, if you have any questions you could think I can answer, fire
away. :)

-- 
Brian Scanlan, Systems Administrator.
Irish Times New Media - http://www.ireland.com