Irish 'dopers...moving too Ireland

In My Humble Opinion
1

My sister and her husband are thinking about moving too Ireland. My brother in law is a chiropractor and my sister has her degree in acupuncture and oriental medicine. They seem too be under the impression that there is a huge need for their skills in Ireland. Whether or not this is the case, their rough estimate is they will bring down somethng like 300,000-400,000 Euros/year.

My questions are: Is that sufficient for American’s living in Ireland (my understanding is they will not be moving to a big city like Dublin)?

Next…would they be able to buy a house in Ireland on that much…and as American citizens living in Ireland? I assume so, but I have no idea…I’ve only been to Ireland once and that was for work.

Next…what kind of taxes would they have too pay as American citizens in Ireland? I assume they would still have too pay US tax…but I also assume they would also have too pay Irish tax as well. Correct? If so…what kind of taxes could they expect?

Next…how high is the cost of living in Ireland these days? I know that Ireland is having something of a boom in their economy lately, so I assume the cost of living is also on the rise. What would their (aproximate) costs be for room and board?

Lastly…what kind of reception would they likely get as American’s living in Ireland? My brother in law is actually of Irish decent (though my sister is not, too say the least). Would that make any difference? What can they expect as American’s living in Ireland?

Thanks for the help!

-XT

2

Not Irish, but I’d be amazed if the figure you mention wasn’t enough for them to live comfortably and buy a house. I’m sure most Irish people live on considerably less than that.

A search of this site:

http://www.revenue.ie/

may help with tax questions.

3

I don’t know much about their respective professions ,but my instinct is that the earnings estimate sounds very optimistic. But that’s not the question.

They need to explore any issues surrounding licensing. Being licenses to practice as a medical or paramedical practitioner in a US state does not automatically carry the right to practice in Ireland, or the right to be licensed to practice. But that’s not the question either.

Leaving those points aside, three to four hundred thousand euros a year is more than sufficient to live respectably in Ireland. Yes, those earnings would support a mortgage which would buy a house, though housing is very expensive in Ireland, and they should not expect the space that they would get in most places in the US.

As American citizens, they will pay the same taxes as Irish citizens. Personal income taxes in Ireland are heavy by US standards, though not as heavy by reference to other developed economies as the Irish like to think. I can painfully attest that they are a good deal lower in Ireland than in Australia, for example.

Socially, as Americans they’ll be very welcome in Ireland, but they’ll regularly get the arse bored off them by relative strangers who want to engage in a bit of plain speaking about George Bush. If they are fans of George Bush this may pall after a while.

4

Thanks for the info! They are definitely NOT fans of GW Bush. :stuck_out_tongue:

-XT

5

3/400,000k euros is a huge income, if indeed they can make that much they’ll have a very happy time in Ireland.

6

Things are very much more expensive in Ireland than the US, but on a salary that vast, they’ll be living the life of Riley anyway.

Are you sure that’s a realistic expectation of income?

BTW, the term “chiropracter” means different things on each side of the Atlantic. IIRC, he’d be known as an “osteopath” in Ireland. And that’s up there with new-age nonsense that you don’t need to be licensed for. Probably a good idea to get insurance though.

7

I’d say the income estimates are too high by a factor of 5 to 10 for those professions. Ireland doesn’t have the HMO teat for pseudo-medical practioners to suckle at.

8

Since the OP is asking for a mixture of opinions and facts, let’s move this to IMHO, where the good folks still give factual opinions much of the time. :slight_smile:

samclem GQ moderator

9

[QUOTE=xtisme]
Whether or not this is the case, their rough estimate is they will bring down somethng like 300,000-400,000 Euros/year.

My questions are: Is that sufficient for American’s living in Ireland (my understanding is they will not be moving to a big city like Dublin)?

[/quote]

They’ll live like kings and queens if they can get in that amount of bread. I don’t know enough about the field to comment on the viability/likelihood of them taking in that amount of greenbacks though. That’s $500,000 or more a year you’re talking.

[QUOTE=xtisme]

Next…would they be able to buy a house in Ireland on that much…and as American citizens living in Ireland? I assume so, but I have no idea…I’ve only been to Ireland once and that was for work.

[/quote]

Of course they will be able to if they’re taking in that amount. Again I’m not sure and I’d err on the side of dubious that they can make that amount of money, at least initially.

[QUOTE=xtisme]

Next…what kind of taxes would they have too pay as American citizens in Ireland? I assume they would still have too pay US tax…but I also assume they would also have too pay Irish tax as well. Correct? If so…what kind of taxes could they expect?

[/quote]

Here’s
info on our tax regime.

[QUOTE=xtisme]

Next…how high is the cost of living in Ireland these days? I know that Ireland is having something of a boom in their economy lately, so I assume the cost of living is also on the rise. What would their (aproximate) costs be for room and board?

[/QUOTE]

Check out www.daft.ie for rental prices, it depends on what they want and where they want it.

[QUOTE=xtisme]

Lastly…what kind of reception would they likely get as American’s living in Ireland? My brother in law is actually of Irish decent (though my sister is not, too say the least). Would that make any difference? What can they expect as American’s living in Ireland?

[/QUOTE]

They could expect some good-natured and not so good-natured ribbing, various rants about the American government and to be able to fit right in if they have a sense of humour. Ireland is now a multicultural country. They’ll likely encounter people here from every part of the globe.