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The City Jewel in Ireland’s crown, Dublin is famed as an historical, intellectual and romantic place to visit, study or, if your lucky, to live and work in. Its rich culture and friendly Irish welcome make it an ideal place to seek that new job and reside in. The much loved capital city Dublin is the commercial, industrial, educational and cultural centre of Ireland.

Geography
An Island on the western fringe of Europe, The Irish coastline borders the Irish Sea, St George’s Channel and the Atlantic Ocean. Since an official declaration in 1921, Ireland has been administratively divided into two parts, The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The East and south of Ireland concentrates the commercial and industrial areas whilst the West boasts miles of rugged and unspoiled land, from beaches to bogland and is famed for its natural beauty. The city occupies a generally flat site, which is bisected in an eastern and western direction by the Liffey. The river is spanned by ten bridges, notably O'Connell's Bridge, which links the main thoroughfares of the city. Except in its southwestern portion, where the streets are narrow and crooked, Dublin is well laid out, with broad avenues and spacious squares. These are especially numerous in the south-eastern and north-eastern quarters, which also contain many stately old mansions. Circular Drive, a boulevard about 14 km (about 9 mi) long, extends along what was the periphery of the city at the end of the 19th century. Since then, the city limits have been considerably extended. The port area, confined to the lower reaches of the Liffey, has quays and basins open to larger vessels. Two canals, the Royal and the Grand provide connections between the port area and the northern and southern branches of the Shannon River.

Climate
Ireland isn’t the place to relocate to if you are after fun in the sun. Not to say you don’t ‘see the seasons’ though, usually all four in one day! I kid you not, Dublin is one of the driest counties in Ireland, but on average, you can still expect rain on average 185 days of the year. Temperatures range from 2.5 degrees in January to 18/19 degrees in July. The lush green environment makes up for the fact that you might not be going home with a tan!, and at least the air is as fresh as it gets.

Currency
Ireland was one of the fist countries to adopt the Euro as currency back in 2002. Most major International banks are represented in Dublin, with a very wide network of ATM’s at your disposal.

Living in Dublin
Upon a first time visit, the attractions to living in Dublin are easy to appreciate. Very few people arrive without falling in love with the history steeped atmosphere that reeks of culture and Irish charm. Parking is in short supply and petrol is expensive. It is perfectly possible to navigate the city on foot and public transport is relatively hassle free. If you have to have your own car, however, you need to ensure that your accommodation comes with its own space, as supply is generally spare as in any central inner city, and this could be a big factor in where you choose to reside.

Accommodation
The Irish themselves have a significant culture of getting on the property ladder as early as possible and owning their own homes. It is perfectly possible and legal to buy your own home, but eve if a recent economic downturn that has seen European house prices plummet, you will still pay the location premium for property in such a desirable place. Flat or house sharing is common amongst young professionals, and, being a major University town, students.
A studio or small one bedroom flat could start at approximate 500-600 EURO pcm up to 850-900 EURO on the outskirts, right to the top of the market at 2000 EURO somewhere like St Stephen’s Green whilst sharing can cost anything between 300 to 800 EURO pcm depending on location and spec. Rental prices aren’t cheap considering, but Europe is notoriously expensive at this time and prices compare to major Capital Cities across the continent.
If the property monthly rental is over 1600 EURO per month, the lease has to be stamped by the governments’ revenue committee and a stamp duty of 1% of the annual rent has to be paid by the tenant.

Working in Dublin
The good news is that Ireland did not impose any restrictions on immigrants from other EU states after the EU enlarged itself in 2004. Predominantly a commercial city, Dublin is also the principal port and trading centre of Ireland. Chief industrial establishments include breweries, distilleries, and plants producing electrical and electronic equipment, footwear, glass, pharmaceuticals, and processed foods. Some shipbuilding is carried on, and a number of foundries and automobile assembly plants are located here. Livestock, agricultural products, and local industrial manufactures constitute the principal exports.

Brewing
Historically, brewing has probably been the industry most often associated with the city Guinness has been brewed at the St. James's Gate Brewery since 1759. As well as distilling is the company headquarters employing executives in Logistics, Marketing & sales.

Technology
Dublin has been at the centre of Ireland's phenomenal economic growth and subsequent current economic contraction over the last 10–15 years, a period (often of double-digit growth) Microsoft, Google, Amazon, eBay, PayPal, Yahoo!, Facebook and now have European headquarters and/or operational bases in the city and its suburbs whilst Intel and Hewlett-Packard have large manufacturing plants in Leixlip, County Kildare, 15 km (9 mi) to the west.

Finance
Banking, finance and commerce are also important in the city - the IFSC alone handles over €1 trillion a year. Many international finance houses have established major headquarters in the city (eg. Citibank, Commerzbank). Also located in Dublin is the Irish Stock Exchange (ISEQ),Internet Neutral Exchange (INEX) and Irish Enterprise Exchange (IEX).

Construction
Construction companies continue to be a major employer in the region as redevelopment is taking place in large projects such as Dublin Docklands, Spencer Dock and others, transforming once run-down industrial areas in the city centre. Dublin City Council seems to now have loosened the former restrictions on "high-rise" structures. The tallest building, Liberty Hall, is only 59.4 m (194.9 ft) tall; already under construction in the city is Heuston Gate, a 117 m (384 ft) building (134 m including spire). The 120 m (394 ft)Britain Quay Tower and the 120 m (394 ft) Point Village Watchtower have been approved. Construction has started on the latter. Also the U2 Tower will be the tallest building on the Island of Ireland when it is finished. In 2005, around 800,000 people were employed in the Greater Dublin Area, of whom around 600,000 were employed in the services sector and 200,000 in the industrial sector.

Healthcare
Healthcare in Ireland is divided into public and private sectors. Individuals and families on low incomes, and those over 70 years of age are entitled to a government medical card, which provides them with free healthcare and medication However, the majority of Irish residents don’t fall into these categories, so many choose to take out private health insurance Non-medical card holders are entitled to some free public hospital care although this usually only covers essential or basic services and patients can still incur substantial costs for inpatient hospital care.

Your family doctor or general practitioner (GP) will see to most of your healthcare needs and is your first point of call for almost every illness, Most doctors’ surgeries keep regular business hours so it is a good idea to find somewhere convenient to your home or workplace. Unless you have a medical card, you will have to pay for GP visits. Consultations range from €40 to €60 per visit. It’s a good idea to check the cost before you make an appointment.

Finding a good dentist is a similar procedure, ask around or keep trying different ones out until you find one you’re happy with. Ideally, you should have a check up every six to 12 months. See p.138 for a listing of dentists in your area. Maternity care in Ireland is free and of relatively good standard.