Its now Saturday evening, we are in a stone cottage on the banks of Carlingford Lough just outside Dundalk. We arrived here yesterday afternoon for a 2 night stay and we really are liking it, though the cottage is very cold.
Its a authentic Irish cottage, built from stone maybe hundreds of years ago. It has central heating but it does not seem to do much to heat the place up. The views are beautiful though and we really like the location, though we are not that impressed with Dundalk itself which is about 10 miles away.
We looked around for houses for rent in this area, a couple have to-let signs and phone numbers that just go to answerphone, and a nice one is with an agent who does not give a phone number and has yet to answer my email from yesterday.
We have a house to go look at in Co.Cavan on Monday, so I booked another Airbnb stay as close as I can to the house, though its about 15 miles away in Ballinamore. With Airbnb it seems much cheaper to stay in a whole house than just a room in a hotel, and I have seen that with Airbnb I could if I wanted to rent a whole house for months on Airbnb with nobody questioning my employment or asking to check references. Its an attractive option, but for our immigration purposes we will need a proper lease agreement within 3 months and Airbnb does not offer that.
Nonetheless I am incredibly impressed with Airbnb, and our accommodation for now is much less expensive than our first few days in Dublin.
So, tonight we are keeping warm in front of an open fire in a stone cottage as we complete our first whole week in Ireland.
Saturday, December 10, 2016
Thursday, December 8, 2016
The Futile Search for a Home to Rent in Dublin
I spent all of yesterday searching online for flats in Dublin and emailing or calling advertisers.
I sent about 25 emails and called about 5 numbers, so far I have spoke to one landlord and have a flat to go and see in Dunshaughlin. This one flat stands out as being very cheap at 1200 euros per month and still being within commuter distance to Dublin city.
later...
We went to see the flat in Dunshaughlin, it seems like the development that its in is mostly occupied by retired people and the bedrooms are tiny. The living room and the dining room/kitchen are OK, but the bedrooms both have single beds in and neither room appear to have space to put in a bigger bed. This came as a surprise because it was advertised as 2 double bedrooms!
We decide to keep looking.
I have had a couple of agents flatly refuse to show us properties because we are not both working, I explained to one of those agents that if I liked the property I could pay a years rent up front, he still said it was too much of a risk to take on a tenant who was not working!
I spoke to a private landlord and he said that because rents are so high in Dublin that they only rent to working couples on the basis that if one loses a job the other can still often continue to pay the rent. I explained that as I was of indepandant financial means I was less of a risk and that I could pay a year up front and he agreed for me to go see the flat and talk to him. However, after researching the building that the flat was in and considering that the flat was 1550 euros a month, I decided that I must be able to do better.
I widened my search online and noticed immediately that other areas outside of Dublin can be a lot cheaper for rent and that we could afford to rent a nice house with a garden if we looked further away.
I have decided now that we will check out of the hotel tomorrow morning and head up to Dundalk which is next to the NI border and see how we like the area. There are properties advertised there that are much less than the prices of Dublin. I have booked us for 2 nights into a cottage on Airbnb that is located just outside of Dundalk.
I got a reply from a house that we saw that looked exceptional in a place called Cavan. I have made an appointment to view the house on Monday morning at 9.30, its an agent and they did not ask about employment status yet. So my plan is to go to Dundalk for Friday and Saturday nights and then spend Sunday night in a hotel near Cavan so we can see the house there on Monday morning.
I sent about 25 emails and called about 5 numbers, so far I have spoke to one landlord and have a flat to go and see in Dunshaughlin. This one flat stands out as being very cheap at 1200 euros per month and still being within commuter distance to Dublin city.
later...
We went to see the flat in Dunshaughlin, it seems like the development that its in is mostly occupied by retired people and the bedrooms are tiny. The living room and the dining room/kitchen are OK, but the bedrooms both have single beds in and neither room appear to have space to put in a bigger bed. This came as a surprise because it was advertised as 2 double bedrooms!
We decide to keep looking.
I have had a couple of agents flatly refuse to show us properties because we are not both working, I explained to one of those agents that if I liked the property I could pay a years rent up front, he still said it was too much of a risk to take on a tenant who was not working!
I spoke to a private landlord and he said that because rents are so high in Dublin that they only rent to working couples on the basis that if one loses a job the other can still often continue to pay the rent. I explained that as I was of indepandant financial means I was less of a risk and that I could pay a year up front and he agreed for me to go see the flat and talk to him. However, after researching the building that the flat was in and considering that the flat was 1550 euros a month, I decided that I must be able to do better.
I widened my search online and noticed immediately that other areas outside of Dublin can be a lot cheaper for rent and that we could afford to rent a nice house with a garden if we looked further away.
I have decided now that we will check out of the hotel tomorrow morning and head up to Dundalk which is next to the NI border and see how we like the area. There are properties advertised there that are much less than the prices of Dublin. I have booked us for 2 nights into a cottage on Airbnb that is located just outside of Dundalk.
I got a reply from a house that we saw that looked exceptional in a place called Cavan. I have made an appointment to view the house on Monday morning at 9.30, its an agent and they did not ask about employment status yet. So my plan is to go to Dundalk for Friday and Saturday nights and then spend Sunday night in a hotel near Cavan so we can see the house there on Monday morning.
Wednesday, December 7, 2016
Bought a Car, The Search for Accommodation Begins.
Its now Wednesday morning 7th December. We have been in Ireland 3 days now. I extended our stay here in the hotel by another 3 nights and that cost over 500 euros but I need some time to plan our next step.
The last 2 days have been good. On Monday morning less than 24 hours after our arrival in Dublin I went and picked up a rental car from the Europcar depot here in Dublin. We rented the car for 24 hours, and I paid the extra fee so that we could take it into Northern Ireland if I needed to.
Renting a car here is expensive, and an unexpected issue when collecting the car was that the car rental firm needed confirmation that I have a reservation for a flight out of Ireland. That seems odd, but they said its required for non-irish with an overseas address. Lucky I had details of the return portion of our flight, which I do not intend to use. Good thing we booked that return.
The rental car was basic, a Skoda. We collected the car and I had already looked for car dealers online with cars that looked suitable, se we headed to one that was north of Dublin. In the end, I realised that it was going to be difficult to register or insure an Irish car, so I drove to a dealer in Portadown, Northern Ireland because I can easy insure and register a NI car using my UK address and drivers licence.
We went to look at a 2008 Citroen C4 Picasso Diesel, it was in great condition and I could not really fault it in any way. I agreed to buy it, and I realised that I only had Euros with me. The garage owner offered to take me to the bank to change the Euros to UK Points and thats what I did. The price of 2800 pounds was agreed and I changed the Euros and paid for the car. I agreed to come back the next day to collect it, giving me time to Insure and tax the car.
Yesterday (Tuesday) I went to Portadown on the train and collected the car. I called my UK insurance company and got the car insured, but in order to tax the car (at a post office) I had to show proof of insurance. I went to the library in Portadown and printed the insurance certificate that the insurance company had emailed to me, that was OK.
Driving the car back from Portadown to Dublin was OK, I am still getting used to the car but it seems very comfortable and very spacious, which is good as we need to put all our luggage in it when we check out from our hotel on Friday morning.
Now that we have the car sorted I am looking at flats and houses to rent in Dublin. Many of the ones advertised are with agents and they all seem to want email contact rather than phone calls, which is annoying as I really wanted to speak to someone.
A couple of the ones I contacted have sent me a form requesting details of my employer and asking for previous landlords references.. this is before I have even seen the property, which seems a bit odd.
I am starting to suspect that getting a home to rent will be our biggest challenge yet.
The last 2 days have been good. On Monday morning less than 24 hours after our arrival in Dublin I went and picked up a rental car from the Europcar depot here in Dublin. We rented the car for 24 hours, and I paid the extra fee so that we could take it into Northern Ireland if I needed to.
Renting a car here is expensive, and an unexpected issue when collecting the car was that the car rental firm needed confirmation that I have a reservation for a flight out of Ireland. That seems odd, but they said its required for non-irish with an overseas address. Lucky I had details of the return portion of our flight, which I do not intend to use. Good thing we booked that return.
The rental car was basic, a Skoda. We collected the car and I had already looked for car dealers online with cars that looked suitable, se we headed to one that was north of Dublin. In the end, I realised that it was going to be difficult to register or insure an Irish car, so I drove to a dealer in Portadown, Northern Ireland because I can easy insure and register a NI car using my UK address and drivers licence.
We went to look at a 2008 Citroen C4 Picasso Diesel, it was in great condition and I could not really fault it in any way. I agreed to buy it, and I realised that I only had Euros with me. The garage owner offered to take me to the bank to change the Euros to UK Points and thats what I did. The price of 2800 pounds was agreed and I changed the Euros and paid for the car. I agreed to come back the next day to collect it, giving me time to Insure and tax the car.
Yesterday (Tuesday) I went to Portadown on the train and collected the car. I called my UK insurance company and got the car insured, but in order to tax the car (at a post office) I had to show proof of insurance. I went to the library in Portadown and printed the insurance certificate that the insurance company had emailed to me, that was OK.
Driving the car back from Portadown to Dublin was OK, I am still getting used to the car but it seems very comfortable and very spacious, which is good as we need to put all our luggage in it when we check out from our hotel on Friday morning.
Now that we have the car sorted I am looking at flats and houses to rent in Dublin. Many of the ones advertised are with agents and they all seem to want email contact rather than phone calls, which is annoying as I really wanted to speak to someone.
A couple of the ones I contacted have sent me a form requesting details of my employer and asking for previous landlords references.. this is before I have even seen the property, which seems a bit odd.
I am starting to suspect that getting a home to rent will be our biggest challenge yet.
Sunday, December 4, 2016
Arrived in Dublin. What an Adventure
We arrived in Dublin this morning at 10.30. Its now 11.00 at night and it's been a long day.
The flight from Bangkok via Turkey was very comfortable and the stop in Ankera was perfect as it was short but not rushed, we had time to stretch our legs, get something to eat and drink and stroll to the gate for the second leg of our flight.
We had to show our marriage certificate to the immigration officer, but she was very polite and kind, at no point did we feel we were being interrogated. The immigration officer confirmed that we should apply for a residence card (Form EU1) for my wife and son if we intended to stay beyond 3 months, and she warned us that the processing time for that residence card is currently up to 8 months. That came as a surprise, but at least me know in advance.
I had to find customs and submit a cash declaration as I was carrying more than 10,000 euros in cash. I showed my bank book that showed the withdrawal in my Thailand bank and another receipt that showed that I changed the money from Thai Baht to Euros in a licensed money exchange in Thailand. I was given a copy of the declaration which was duly stamped without so much as a raised eyebrow, which is good as I was a bit concerned by the need to declare cash.
Walking into the arrivals hall at Dublin airport was a great feeling. I stopped and we opened our bags to get out some warm jackets and we started looking for the Taxi rank so we could get a taxi to our hotel in Dublin.
The taxi ride was uneventful, Dublin looks very nice but as its a Sunday morning the streets are almost deserted and the contrast to Bangkok is stark. The taxi driver knows our hotel, and we get there very quickly. The fare is 20 euros and in my head I calculate that in Bangkok the same journey would be no more than 2 euros..
We are too early to check-in to the hotel, the official check-in time is not until 3pm, but the girl at the desk told us we can leave our luggage in some lockers downstairs which is OK with us, so we left our luggage and went for a walk in Dublin.
The hotel is right next to the river Liffey, we head towards a shopping area as we do need some more warm clothes. We did find it a bit cold, but that's to be expected. I assume that after we have been here a while we should adapt a bit.
We walked around Dublin for a couple of hours and then wandered back to the Hotel.
I am a bit disappointed with the central area of Dublin, it seems a bit grim in some parts close to the hotel, maybe thats just because the shutters are down on a Sunday. Other parts seem very nice, but I am reminded immediately that I am not really a city person and I am wondering how we will adapt to city life if we do stay in Dublin.
After we checked into the hotel and we cleaned up, I looked on google maps and I can see a Lidl store that looks like 10 mins walk from the hotel. We walk there and Kitty is absolutely amazed at the low price of foods that are considered as luxury foods in Thailand.
We are both pleasantly surprised by the low cost of grocery in Lidl. I have been to Lidl in the UK, but this a new experience for Kitty and she loves it. She bought wine, salami, cheese, salmon, and other stuff that is very expensive in Thailand but very cheap here.
We came back to the hotel, had some wine, bread and cheese and now I am writing this blog entry.
The hotel room is actually an apartment style with 2 bedrooms and a living room. We were upgraded for free as we only booked a single bedroom with I large bed and a bed/sofa but we are very happy to have 2 bedrooms with very comfortable beds.
I know of course that we have just 2 nights booked, I have a lot to do in the coming days and hotel accommodation is very expensive in Dublin, my priority is to buy a car and get somewhere to live. I am going to rent a car tomorrow so we can go look for a car to buy and get our bearings around Dublin... but for now I need a good nights sleep.
The flight from Bangkok via Turkey was very comfortable and the stop in Ankera was perfect as it was short but not rushed, we had time to stretch our legs, get something to eat and drink and stroll to the gate for the second leg of our flight.
We had to show our marriage certificate to the immigration officer, but she was very polite and kind, at no point did we feel we were being interrogated. The immigration officer confirmed that we should apply for a residence card (Form EU1) for my wife and son if we intended to stay beyond 3 months, and she warned us that the processing time for that residence card is currently up to 8 months. That came as a surprise, but at least me know in advance.
I had to find customs and submit a cash declaration as I was carrying more than 10,000 euros in cash. I showed my bank book that showed the withdrawal in my Thailand bank and another receipt that showed that I changed the money from Thai Baht to Euros in a licensed money exchange in Thailand. I was given a copy of the declaration which was duly stamped without so much as a raised eyebrow, which is good as I was a bit concerned by the need to declare cash.
Walking into the arrivals hall at Dublin airport was a great feeling. I stopped and we opened our bags to get out some warm jackets and we started looking for the Taxi rank so we could get a taxi to our hotel in Dublin.
The taxi ride was uneventful, Dublin looks very nice but as its a Sunday morning the streets are almost deserted and the contrast to Bangkok is stark. The taxi driver knows our hotel, and we get there very quickly. The fare is 20 euros and in my head I calculate that in Bangkok the same journey would be no more than 2 euros..
We are too early to check-in to the hotel, the official check-in time is not until 3pm, but the girl at the desk told us we can leave our luggage in some lockers downstairs which is OK with us, so we left our luggage and went for a walk in Dublin.
The hotel is right next to the river Liffey, we head towards a shopping area as we do need some more warm clothes. We did find it a bit cold, but that's to be expected. I assume that after we have been here a while we should adapt a bit.
We walked around Dublin for a couple of hours and then wandered back to the Hotel.
I am a bit disappointed with the central area of Dublin, it seems a bit grim in some parts close to the hotel, maybe thats just because the shutters are down on a Sunday. Other parts seem very nice, but I am reminded immediately that I am not really a city person and I am wondering how we will adapt to city life if we do stay in Dublin.
After we checked into the hotel and we cleaned up, I looked on google maps and I can see a Lidl store that looks like 10 mins walk from the hotel. We walk there and Kitty is absolutely amazed at the low price of foods that are considered as luxury foods in Thailand.
We are both pleasantly surprised by the low cost of grocery in Lidl. I have been to Lidl in the UK, but this a new experience for Kitty and she loves it. She bought wine, salami, cheese, salmon, and other stuff that is very expensive in Thailand but very cheap here.
We came back to the hotel, had some wine, bread and cheese and now I am writing this blog entry.
The hotel room is actually an apartment style with 2 bedrooms and a living room. We were upgraded for free as we only booked a single bedroom with I large bed and a bed/sofa but we are very happy to have 2 bedrooms with very comfortable beds.
I know of course that we have just 2 nights booked, I have a lot to do in the coming days and hotel accommodation is very expensive in Dublin, my priority is to buy a car and get somewhere to live. I am going to rent a car tomorrow so we can go look for a car to buy and get our bearings around Dublin... but for now I need a good nights sleep.
Saturday, December 3, 2016
At last, We Are Flying From Thailand to Ireland
Its now the Afternoon of the 3rd of December, our flight it tonight and we are shortly getting a taxi from our hotel here in Bangkok to the airport for our check-in.
The last week has been hectic. We vacated our house in Chiang Mai and drove 1010 km to my wife's family home near Ubon Ratchatanee with our dog in the car. Our dog is going to live with my wife's family on a farm, which we are guessing should be very good for her.
There is a interesting story to our Dog, Oreo is her name. We found her abandoned more than 10 years ago when we lived in San Khampheng district of Chiang Mai. She had been abandoned by the side of the road, and she was very hungry and scared. I took her home and fed her, and we knew immediately that she would stay with us. She is a very good natured dog, as good a dog as anyone could wish for. We did not know how old she was, but she was not a puppy, we guessed that she was about 2 or 3 years old. That was more then 10 years ago.
With Oreo safely at my wifes family home we went to Bangkok and stayed last night in a hotel that is fairly central and next to a skytrain.
We left our car (a 2002 Isuzu Vega Diesel SUV) in Ubon with my wifes family. Its been a great vehicle for us in the 5 years since I bought it. We have done a lot of miles in it. I paid a 385,000 baht for it 5 years ago (yes, well over 10,000 dollars for what was a 10 year old car). But used car values are not as strong as they were in Thailand and given that its now a 15 years old vehicle we decided that we are better off to just keep it rather than try and sell it.
So here we are. We have 4 main cases that we are checking-in and 2 rucksacks that we are taking as hand luggage. Everything else is in safe storage in Chiang Mai. Our house is let to a very nice Danish man, and he will move in next week. Our lives are about to undergo massive change, but for now we have a ticket and 2 nights booked in a hotel in Dublin. Nothing more.
I am going to switch off my computer and we are going to the airport to catch our flight.
The last week has been hectic. We vacated our house in Chiang Mai and drove 1010 km to my wife's family home near Ubon Ratchatanee with our dog in the car. Our dog is going to live with my wife's family on a farm, which we are guessing should be very good for her.
There is a interesting story to our Dog, Oreo is her name. We found her abandoned more than 10 years ago when we lived in San Khampheng district of Chiang Mai. She had been abandoned by the side of the road, and she was very hungry and scared. I took her home and fed her, and we knew immediately that she would stay with us. She is a very good natured dog, as good a dog as anyone could wish for. We did not know how old she was, but she was not a puppy, we guessed that she was about 2 or 3 years old. That was more then 10 years ago.
With Oreo safely at my wifes family home we went to Bangkok and stayed last night in a hotel that is fairly central and next to a skytrain.
We left our car (a 2002 Isuzu Vega Diesel SUV) in Ubon with my wifes family. Its been a great vehicle for us in the 5 years since I bought it. We have done a lot of miles in it. I paid a 385,000 baht for it 5 years ago (yes, well over 10,000 dollars for what was a 10 year old car). But used car values are not as strong as they were in Thailand and given that its now a 15 years old vehicle we decided that we are better off to just keep it rather than try and sell it.
So here we are. We have 4 main cases that we are checking-in and 2 rucksacks that we are taking as hand luggage. Everything else is in safe storage in Chiang Mai. Our house is let to a very nice Danish man, and he will move in next week. Our lives are about to undergo massive change, but for now we have a ticket and 2 nights booked in a hotel in Dublin. Nothing more.
I am going to switch off my computer and we are going to the airport to catch our flight.
Saturday, November 26, 2016
Tickets Booked, Getting Ready to leave Thailand
Today I booked the flight for next week for the three of us to fly to Dublin, from Bangkok via Turkey. The flight was quite cheap compared to others, has a very short stop in Turkey, and arrives in Dublin at 10.30 in the morning. Perfect.
I chose to pay with my Bangkok Bank debit card, only to discover that the Bangkok Bank verified by visa thing was not working. Waited 1 hour, tried again and it was OK.
US$1850 for 3 return flights is a good deal, I chose return flights because its only slightly more expensive than single and avoids problems at the check-in desk in Thailand because I know from experience that they give Thai people a hard time if they try and travel on a one-way ticket. Also, if it really does not work for us at least we have the option to just return to Thailand.
We have been working hard to get our house ready for our tenant who is renting the house from us while we are away, we have a lot of preparation to do and only a week to do it all before we fly.. talk about leaving it all till the last minute.
I chose to pay with my Bangkok Bank debit card, only to discover that the Bangkok Bank verified by visa thing was not working. Waited 1 hour, tried again and it was OK.
US$1850 for 3 return flights is a good deal, I chose return flights because its only slightly more expensive than single and avoids problems at the check-in desk in Thailand because I know from experience that they give Thai people a hard time if they try and travel on a one-way ticket. Also, if it really does not work for us at least we have the option to just return to Thailand.
We have been working hard to get our house ready for our tenant who is renting the house from us while we are away, we have a lot of preparation to do and only a week to do it all before we fly.. talk about leaving it all till the last minute.
Friday, November 25, 2016
Ireland Visa Approved, Time to Buy an Airline Ticket
Today, exactly 13 days after we handed in my wife's visa application, the embassy called to tell us the visa was ready for collection.
Kitty (my wife) was elated, she had been concerned that it may be denied because we declined to submit any documents except marriage certificate and translation (as the certificate is in Thai), but under EU rules we are not required to provide any other documents. We included a polite letter to explain why we were not providing stuff like proof of accommodation, bank statements, etc.
So now we have to book our flight and I am looking for airlines that fly direct from Bangkok to Dublin, but there are none. Next best option seems to be an airline that stops about half way, so I compared prices and now I find that the cheapest by far is Turkish Airlines.
Turkish airlines has another benefit, Thai's do not need a visa to fly to Turkey (since Feb 2016) so there can be no question over transit visas, we decide to book Turkish Airways.
Kitty (my wife) was elated, she had been concerned that it may be denied because we declined to submit any documents except marriage certificate and translation (as the certificate is in Thai), but under EU rules we are not required to provide any other documents. We included a polite letter to explain why we were not providing stuff like proof of accommodation, bank statements, etc.
So now we have to book our flight and I am looking for airlines that fly direct from Bangkok to Dublin, but there are none. Next best option seems to be an airline that stops about half way, so I compared prices and now I find that the cheapest by far is Turkish Airlines.
Turkish airlines has another benefit, Thai's do not need a visa to fly to Turkey (since Feb 2016) so there can be no question over transit visas, we decide to book Turkish Airways.
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