Doubling up to Dublin!

AS YOU wing into Dublin's international airport, you will get what is probably your first sight of Ireland. First sight because a thick cloud would have obscured the view all the way there, no matter which part of the year you travel! It rains pretty much all the time so it's not surprising that it's called the Emerald Isle!

Having reached the airport, its not such a great distance to the centre of the city, which is just about 10 kilometres away. It will take about half an hour to an hour to reach by bus, depending on the type of bus, express or ordinary. Taxis will set you back by about euro-18along with charges for all sorts of things like extra baggage, waiting time and late night/early morning travel etc! You can also come by ferry from France and Britain which rather more picturesque if slower and damper!

And why Ireland? I mean, who in their right minds would like to go there? Actually of recent years, there has been an influx of expatriates who have come to Ireland to take part and contribute to the boom that the country is experiencing! In the whole of Europe, Ireland is poised to make the highest growth, and its reputation as a friendly, vibrant place makes it a career destination of choice for the English-speaking people of the world!

People

With a population of 4 million, the country has less people than a large district town in India. Dublin itself accommodates a quarter of the country's population making the countryside pretty deserted. When I first visited, a traffic jam consisted of a herd of sheep blocking a road, today there is so much traffic that you can spend hours in a car covering a distance you could have walked to faster! The Irish have traditionally been very welcoming and friendly. The only complaint a purist might have is their national pastime of using expletive language rather more than anywhere else in the world (except possibly Punjab! Though even this is a close run thing!) Don't be worried, what you heard is not generally what they mean, and an outright curse is merely punctuational and means nothing personal! Dublin is just waking up to the fact that they are no more a provincial town, but have become an important, cosmopolitan city of Europe. Old cobbled streets and houses that lean against each other wearily have given way to modern multi-plexes and an aluminium/glass culture has replaced brick and mortar! Most of the young people (anybody below 50 is young!) have taken to these hip hop changes with pleasure, though there are a few who shake their heads in despair and gloom into their Guinness!

Livin' and Breathin'

The costs are no different from those at other European cities. Actually, its property that's expensive, otherwise the costs are really not very much more than Delhi. If you work in Dublin it may be a good idea to find a place to share with a friend or a colleague. A small flat will set you back about euro-380-500. A furnished apartment in Booterstown would cost about euro-500-800 while Ballsbridge, Dame Street and Lucan, where it's a little up market will encourage you to pay anything up to euro-800-1000. You might like to be a little careful in the poorer parts of town, because like boom towns everywhere, the rich/poor divide is very marked and the incidence of crime, violence and drug-abuse is high. Otherwise, food cooked at home will cost you about 30% more than Delhi, you'll actually pay less for your bad habits like smoking and drinking, domestic supplies and personal care items are a mere 12% more than at home (about the same as Mumbai actually). Electricity, water and telephones are actually about 38% cheaper while clothing, footwear and entertainment is about the same. Do not even consider domestic help! If you do, you'll need to be the CEO of a major company. It costs about 80% more than it does back home!

More about People

How friendly the people are can be judged by their incredible bonhomous extrovertism! If you are considering a job in Ireland and arrive unattached, your friends (of whom you'll have legions in no time at all!) will make it a point of prestige to ensure that you don't remain single for long. Also, keep in mind the fact that over 50% of the population of Ireland is below 28 years, and since most of them are in Dublin, there are a huge number of nightspots that encourage social hyperactivity! If you are the type that likes to crawl back into your shell at the end of the day, you might consider employment elsewhere! For those of you, not in the first flush of youth, look out for the Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival, which lasts five weeks and has a hitch-up rate of 70%! Considering that it caters only to those over forty, there must be a latent demand for the service!

Doublin' Dublin

The city is divided by the river Liffey; the north side has traditionally been poorer and the south wealthier. Ergo, it should be cheaper to live northside. Trinity College, the University of Dublin, is just south of the river and has a really beautiful campus. It was established in 1592 by the good Queen Bess, with the idea of preventing aspiring scholars from being influenced by the Roman Catholic Church when they went to study in Europe. Needless to say, it didn't work since Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion! Getting from place to place in Dublin is not easy. Since teleportation hasn't become common as yet, the busses, trains and taxis wheeze around adding to the confusion. Try to trust your feet more and move around on them as far as possible! I say this because feet are things that aren't easily stolen. Bicycles disappear while you take time off to blink and car thieves are attempting to solve Dublin's traffic problem by removing cars off the road, but with all the economic boom, highly paid expats (and their insurance companies) replace them with frightening rapidity! If you've come in from India via London (the most likely route) be warned that the big red busses you see in London (and Mumbai) give way to the big green busses in Ireland. The major difference is that they move about a lot slower!

Blowing Cold

Dublin is an island paradise but there its resemblance to Barbados or Trinidad ends! The mean temperature in January hovers between 4 and 7 degrees Celsius. The hot, sunny days of summer may push the mean temperature as high as 14 to 16 degrees Celsius! In short, take along warm clothes for both seasons! In May and June, you might enjoy as many as five to seven hours of sunshine! That's of course when its not raining as it often is!

Getting in Right!

Post-graduate students coming to Ireland to conduct research or practice do not generally require work permits. There is also an exception made for an expat employee posted on an intra-corporate transfer/secondment for a maximum period of four years to a company in Ireland, provided the group is international in nature. Similarly, if an Irish company anywhere in the world employs you, you can come to Eire for three years on secondment. If none of these apply to you, your Irish employer needs to make the application and has to show that efforts have been made to fill the vacancy with local or EEC labour. A new scheme has been introduced to help the quick recruitment of suitably qualified people in the information & computing technologies, professionals and technicians, architects, construction engineers, quantity and building surveyors, town planners and registered nurses. People with job offers in these areas can get a work permit from the Irish Embassy or consulate before arriving in Dublin. Indians also require an entry visa! Work permits, allow you to work in Ireland, not enter it!

You Need to Make:

To be comfortable you would need to accept jobs at the middle management level in the IT and electronics industry that offer anything between euro-28600 and euro-59000 per annum. Newly qualified professionals or those with three years or less in terms of experience should expect euro-18-22000 per annum. Nurses from India should expect anything between euro-14-28000 per annum. The latter will, of course, be provided with accommodation and some or all meals.

When you can see it (through the fog and rain!) Ireland is lovely, verdant and fresh. Working here is quite easily the best in Europe as the people are friendly and forthcoming. The living is easy, and vegetarians will be happy to know that the favourite vegetable is the ubiquitous potato, available everywhere, all the time! If you can stand the climate, even heaven would have a hard time matching the conditions!

S.RAMANUJACHARYA

professor1@sify.com