Canadians In Ireland

HOUSE HUNTING 

The Hunt

First of all, don't be tempted to start sorting out your housing while still In Canada,

Moving house in Ireland is expensive and frequent. Rent is high (downright painful in comparison with Canada) in all areas of Ireland but cheap rent can be found depending on the area or number of room mates you're willing to live with. I have found that people tend to move every 3 - 6 months until they find that perfect fit. To secure a rental (letting) you need 1 full month's rent and a deposit equal to a full month's rent (2 months in total the day you move in).

The Questions

• Services: What utilities will be subscribed to, who's name accounts will be in, cost, payment frequency (bills here are often bi-monthly).
• Area: Ask the flatmates (roommate here means you share a room, if you mean roommate as in back home/you just live with them make sure you say flatmate or housemate) about the area during both day and night. It might look clean and people friendly in the light of day but you don't want to be walking past drunks, groups of unruly youths, or trying to sleep while the local pub is blasting in your windows through all hours of the night.
• Laundry: This might seem a bit odd but laundry is no simple matter here! Washing machines are generally 2-in-1 (but they produce hot steaming clothes rather than dry ones when using the dryer settings), the wash time is usually quite long and everything is air dried (don't be put off when visitng people and having a laundry rack full of undies hanging in the livingroom, it's a part of life here!). Make sure to ask if there are any restrictions as a general house rule regarding laundry, some people only use them during off peak hours to save cost, others prefer to use them during the day to avoid noise at night (they sound like a jet engine!), so if you're planning on working night and the house rule conflicts you may want to skip that place, small things can become a HUGE hassle when it comes down to daily living (can you survive without clean undies? Oh, and a small tip, always use fabric softener here, unless you like wearing carboard jeans and scratchy tshirts!).

The Nevers

• NEVER trust what you see in pictures, ALWAYS view a place first hand (pictures can be VERY deceiving or another place completely, common sense prevails!)
• NEVER consider it a done deal until the papers are signed and the ink is dry!
• NEVER hand over cash before moving in and being handed your keys!
• NEVER ever go against your gut instinct or better judgement, it may be easier to just get over it and sort things out asap in the short term but this will be your new home, you're better off putting up with your temporary accomodation that few extra nights and find the perfect fit!