http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/ is a good source to use for information on Ireland.
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/money_and_tax/tax/duties_and_vat/value_added_tax.html According to this, yes if you exceed 430, but I've never been checked/had to pay this (lucky?/normal? perhaps). I have heard of something like this happening via mail being sent from outside Ireland to Ireland and the package was randomly checked/customs applied.
You'll see the signs for EU and non EU. Non-EU is on your right, at least it was for the year I was traveling in and out, if that helps. No stories really
except for the time there was an American guy in front of me with an EU passport and his wife with an American passport. He was arguing with Garda on how both of them should be allowed into the EU line. Garda was a bit exasperated with him and after he left there was a
from Garda with the whole 'dumb Americans' look on his face. Don't be that guy. Seriously - don't be that guy. Your life is going to be way harder if you do that.
Not sure about this one. I know you want to take your life savings with you but may I recommend rolling bags?
On a serious note, if you are planning on bringing a lot of stuff, you'll probably want to take a cab over, though it will cost you a pretty penny esp if the taxi driver takes you on a little tour/detour for extra $. I'd say be prepared for 50 easily. You're a Canadian it sounds like, so you might want to see if any of your fellow Cannucks/N. Americans are on the same flight as you and want to split a cab. The reason I say this is because it's roughly a ten minute walk with a lot of crap from outside of campus gates where the aircoach drops you off to Merville check in.
<10,000 if you don't want to declare. According to this same info, 6,348.69 or more can cause Garda to seize and detain it if they suspect you're a drug dealer/etc. May I recommend not carrying this much cash? I'd say if you're paying for everything with cash, 1,000 max is going to be plenty for a couple of weeks, assuming you're living in dorms/have rent paid for. I think I took out around 400 for a couple weeks and still had enough.
Oh delivery/food - justeat.ie and eatcity.ie is what a lot of us North Americans used. Pizza - they have dominos, it's just like what you get over here. If you wanted a more Irish experience - Credo is really good. I tend not to get it often cause it's a lot more expensive than domino's. Apache is also popular but it seems mediocre to me. Since you're living outside of campus, I hope you live in Rathmines/Donnybrook/a little bit outside of campus cause a lot of times delivery places won't deliver to the college campus. At least it seemed like that to me when I was trying to get decent food
. You can use the websites I mentioned and find out which ones do. Hm I think Diep was good Thai - I think that was the one, can't remember for sure.
Be prepared to spend ~15 for delivery unless you get it from a cheap place (Ho Ho's - chinese or dominos). Tip is not expected for delivery but I've always felt weird not giving anything. Usually what most people do here is say it cost 18.50, they give a 20 and let them keep the change.
Well, I'm still alive and I have done both
- drinking from the tap in the kitchen/bathroom sink. I read the same thing you did. I'd stick with kitchen and not drink from the bathroom sink. Also, you can get a Brita filter/its equivalent over there, so I'd recommend that and you're good to go.
Yes to that from what I've found apartment hunting. Though not water. I don't have to pay for water at my apartment, and I was told by a fellow American that Irish actually don't pay for water at all, and it's unusual to do so.
I do find it weird that there is a trash charge (though this is common - usually you pay for it, but sometimes your landlord does/includes it in the rent, which is the case for me). I'm being charged ~50-70 per month for electricity, and then a little less for gas iirc. It's basically double what I expect to pay in the States. They're currently pro-rating me based on what the single lady before me used in the same apartment. So either she ran Christmas lights 24-7 or it's just a lot more expensive in Ireland. Pretty sure it's the latter
.
Those of you in the dorms don't have to worry about any of these charges.
Yes, still a credit card. Aha! That's the term I was looking for - chip card. Definitely no tapping that I've seen. You insert and enter your pin.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_%28debit_card%29
Yes, Irish don't really do the swipe card thing. But YOU CAN still bring your Visa/MasterCard/etc cards (I would check if I were you if they charge those pesky little international fees if you use it overseas). It's just a pain if you're at the grocery store and cashier is trying to figure out how to swipe it. Some know, some don't. You'll just hold up the line for a couple minutes while they figure it out. Rarely, there are places that don't have swipe functions, but this is not the norm. Dublin is very touristy. Very.
See answer to question 7. You'll get a laser card once your bank account is set up.
Uh not that I've seen.... Now you're making me want to check my bank statement
. I haven't had it hit me yet, but it hasn't been a full year.
Ok, I went and checked, it looks like 2.50 a year for my Laser card. Also, I believe you get charged for using ATMs even if they're within network here. I.e. using AIB ATM when having AIB account. It's only like 0.30 though. But better way to avoid the charge is to just ask for cash back when you're using your Laser card.
Which reminds me - you'll need to get a mobile phone when you're over there - Meteor or O2 are the usual places to get one. Pay as you go are pretty common and what I'd recommend unless you talk a lot.
This is personal preference. I like AIB cause there's a branch on campus. Bank of Ireland is just a short walk off campus. They usually have bonuses/freebies for signing up the first couple weeks of the school year aimed at students. AIB gave the whole student travelcard thing (basically discount on your bus pass) for a year. I think Bank of Ireland had something similar.
Ah lovely VAT. It's a lot, but usually it's baked into whatever I'm buying so I don't see it as a separate thing on my receipt. If you're planning on buying booze to take back to friends/family you can buy it at the airport duty free iirc. You CAN I believe get a VAT refund if you buy it from somewhere else and get charged VAT, but are taking the booze out of the country, but I'd say stick to buying it at the airport or someplace where you know it's cheaper than airport. I was surprised, but I paid more outside the airport for whiskey than I did at the airport (where I assumed everything was way more expensive). I did go to a touristy place to buy it though in Dublin.
Not that I know of. And that's nice
. Canadians seem to get a lot of perks. In the States I don't get anything back if I don't work, and I don't have to file if I don't work in the States.
Yw. Hope that helps.
