Dublin

Name three things that you wish you had brought and three you wish you had left at home.

Wish I'd brought; Bike (traffic circulation is horrendous), sewing fabric (hard to find nice stuff), antiques (excrutiatingly overpriced) Wish I'd left behind; bathing suit ;-), sunscreen ;-), anything else sun related :-(

What advice would you give someone preparing to move to your area about the actual move, choosing a neighborhood and finding a home?

Renters only have to give one months notice so potential homes won't come onto the market till they are ready (or nearly ready) to be leased. Find out what the different types of houses are like; terraced, semi detached etc. Think about your lifestyle, would you like to be near the beach, a park, the DART (Dublin's main transport system, your office, kids school etc.... Know that Dublin's traffic jams are are really bad and getting worse, a 15 minute journey on a sunday morning can take an hour and a half during the week!The bus system is hopeless, the Dart is more reliable. It's always worth investing time and money on a reconnaissance trip before moving.

We rent a house with garden. This is typical for expat families, flats are more common for single people.

How did you choose your neighborhood and find your home or apartment?

We came to Ireland on a pre-move visit to get a 'feel' for the different areas in and around Dublin. In the months previous to our move we scoured the homes for rent list on www.daft.ie which is THE website for real estate on which virtually all real estate agents and prive landlords advertise their properties. We eventually found our home via an estate agent

Are your housing costs higher or lower than they were in your home country? What is the average cost of housing there?

Much higher!! a nice 4 bed house would be at least 3000 euros per month.