Best Places to Live in Ireland

Best Places to Live in Ireland: Dublin, Cork, or Belfast? 

What are the best places to live in Ireland for 2021? Here is. You have just made your decision and Ireland wins: you have just decided to come and live in Ireland. Now, choosing which city you want to settle in is a whole other matter, and that’s what I’m writing this article for!

Choosing to emigrate is no easy task. Once you have found the host country, you will have to choose the city and from one country to another, you will have many choices. If you have decided to come and live in Ireland, then you are probably going to hesitate between the three main big cities; Dublin, Cork, and Belfast in Northern Ireland.

In this article, we will talk a little about each city, the advantages, and disadvantages of living in it.  By the way, if you also live in Ireland and want to add your opinion, feel free to do so in the comments, any advice is good for those in the process of making the decision.

3Best places to live in Ireland for 2022

 Choose to live in Dublin

If you are wondering about the best places to live in Ireland, Dublin will be the first city you think of, this beloved Irish capital catches the eye of many Americans and foreigners.

The advantages of living in Dublin

Dublin is beautiful, it is attractive, it is lively – a student city for sure. It is the capital so inevitably, there is almost everything: an international airport, large concert halls, a charming city center, full of pubs (well that’s everywhere in Ireland), full of restaurants, universities and cool job offers for various companies (including giant Google).

In addition, it is a beautiful city, it must be said what is, the city center is charming, the architecture interesting and authentic. Nothing to say, Dublin is cool.

From Dublin, you have easy access to pretty seaside villages like Howth, Swords, Malahide, Bray, or even the beautiful Wicklow Mountains National Park with great hiking possibilities.

The disadvantages of living in Dublin

Dublin is super touristy, especially in recent years when tourism has surged. The capital is therefore constantly armored with tourists. And who says tourism says… constantly rising prices. Not to mention the housing crisis that has been raging for some time: finding accommodation at the right price is almost a miracle.

Choosing to live in Cork

Cork is still one of the best places to live in Ireland, Still, Cork has changed a lot in recent years. The city was quiet and was starting to attract a few ex-pats because of the call centers in which it was then “easy” to find a job.

The benefits of living in Cork

Cork is a pretty town in the south of Ireland, just 3 hours from Dublin by bus. It’s also a small town that is easily walkable from end to end, or a ten-minute bus ride, which has its advantages. It is also a very lively city with quite a few good pubs and pretty surroundings.

There are also many call centers there and therefore a profusion of job offers for English speakers. What I think you will love most about Cork is the cozy atmosphere of the city, you quickly feel at home!

From Cork, we have easy access to the whole West Cork region which is magnificent and still wild, but also to the pretty village of Kinsale and its colorful houses or even to Cobh, the last port that the famous Titanic left before sinking.

The disadvantages of living in Cork

Cork has grown tremendously over the past three years and call centers have sprung up like little flowers. This attracted a lot of foreigners which led to higher rental prices, eventually living in Cork became as expensive as Dublin.

Choose to live in Belfast

Deciding to move to Belfast also means deciding to go to the UK. If you decide to come and settle there, you will therefore benefit from the

advantages of the United Kingdom with

the bonus of a country where the cost of living is – still – very decent.

 The advantages of living in Belfast

Belfast is a very interesting capital. She was still in the midst of conflict 20 years ago However, this city will always make you feel safe. The city is very rich culturally speaking and each year we see the changes: new restaurants, new hotels, more and more companies coming to settle … etc.

Belfast is a very beautiful capital, It will always charm you with its beautiful architecture. There is an airport with several lines to Europe 35 minutes away by bus, an opera house, a theater and two large spaces for concerts/sports matches. There are also more and more job openings for call centers but also good qualified jobs.

From Belfast, you have relatively quick and easy access to pretty seaside villages like Whitehead, or even Helen’s Bay. There is also direct access to the Causeway Coastal Route which leads to Derry via superb panoramas. Finally, in 45 minutes you are in the heart of the Morne Mountains in County Down, and in 1 hour 40 minutes, you are in Dublin by motorway.

Belfast is starting to attract a good number of visitors but it is still very tolerable and the students are not as numerous as in Dublin. Certain areas are certainly to be avoided, like everywhere in the big cities, but Belfast is quite safe and very pleasant to live in.

The disadvantages of living in Belfast

As I mentioned earlier, it’s hard to make long-term plans with Brexit. However, we will see what happens in the future.

The cost of living in these 3 cities

After we saw the best places to live in Ireland, It’s time to talk about the cost of living in each city

Cork has become as expensive as Dublin, which has become as expensive as a major European capital. To give you an idea, you will have to easily pay between 800 and 1200 euros (or more) for an apartment in Dublin, not even in the city center—or then you are really lucky -, and the same amount in Cork for accommodation in the city center.

You can also decide to opt for a shared apartment, which is the most done, and then you will need a budget of around 400 to 700 euros on average for decent accommodation, that is to say not necessarily a house with 6 roommates and 2 bathrooms. However, if the idea of ​​a shared room with lots of other young people your age – or not – appeals to you, then you will easily find what you are looking for.

The cost of living in Northern Ireland is much lower. There are also many more offers of apartments/houses to settle in and above all, the prices will panic you less than in the Republic of Ireland (in Belfast, you can find a 1 or 2 bedroom apartment between £ 300 and £ 600 in the city center, or a nice shared apartment between £ 250 and £ 400 per room for example).

Ireland, however, still has many great destinations to settle in. For example, there are many vacancies on the Limerick side or in Galway (beware, Galway is also expensive and accommodation difficult to find). Also, look towards Kilkenny or Dundalk.

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