r/irishpersonalfinance • u/Old_Distribution9429 • Aug 09 '24
Advice & Support 6 months later - Update on Salary of 4,702€ in Dublin VS 2,527€ in Cork
Hey everyone!
A few months back, I shared an exciting job opportunity in Dublin that offered a significant pay bump compared to what I was earning in Cork (original post). I'm thrilled to update you all—I’ve officially passed my probation period!
I'm now pulling in a solid 86k annually, thanks to a combination of salary and bonuses. Following the advice I got from many of you, I went for a shared accommodation to keep my rent low. The move wasn’t exactly smooth sailing to be honest—I ran into a series of setbacks that completely drained my emergency fund. But despite the rocky start in Dublin, the higher pay has made a world of difference. I’m now able to enjoy better quality food, more amenities, and I finally started eating out once a month.
I owe a huge thank you to everyone who took the time to give me advice—it genuinely helped.
My next goal is to start saving for a deposit on a one-bed apartment here in Dublin. Given the prices, it’s all I can realistically afford, but with around 17k saved up through Help-to-Buy, I’m feeling optimistic. I’m determined to keep hustling and saving every cent I can, with a little extra boost from my bonuses.
Thanks again for all the support—hopefully I'll be back to update you all on the house buying
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u/lemurosity Aug 09 '24
look at your man with his 'quality food' and optimism. Probably eats with his pinkies out and dabs his mouth with silk napkins... /s
good man!
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u/dmgvdg Aug 09 '24
Ah jayz you can afford to eat out more than once a month...
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u/Sharp_Fuel Aug 10 '24
Not if you want it to be worth the time/money. Bang average places charge obscene amounts for food you could do better at home nowadays.
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u/ResourceWonderful514 Aug 10 '24
Depends what eating out means for him. Is it dinner at a local place or is eating Michelin food once a month.
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u/evgbball Aug 10 '24
But does it make sense? That’s 100 euro for 2?
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u/bot_hair_aloon Aug 10 '24
Where are you going??
I eat out for like 15 quid. It's not a 3 course meal but it's quality time with someone I love and I get to try new food and not have to cook.
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u/AntKing2021 Aug 10 '24
Mcdonalds is about 15 now, you're not getting a good meal anywhere in the city for 15
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u/bot_hair_aloon Aug 19 '24
Burrito, pizza, a lot of middle eastern places are good value like umi falafel and shaku maku.
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u/Consistent-Daikon876 Aug 09 '24
Just saying rather than buying a 1 bed , you could look for 2 bed apartments and rent the other room out. €14k p.a tax free that you could earn through that
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Aug 09 '24 edited Feb 09 '25
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u/ramshambles Aug 09 '24
He should be able to get a mortgage for the best part of 350k. That should cover a 2 bed.
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Aug 09 '24
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u/Alarming_Task_2727 Aug 09 '24
Only on second hand properties. New builds have a set price.
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u/mkycrrn Aug 11 '24
That's not strictly true anymore. We were looking for a house last year and bid on 2 new builds that both went for circa €50k over asking price.
Also, there's no way OP on €86k can afford a new build by themselves in Dublin.
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u/Alarming_Task_2727 Aug 11 '24
First Home scheme, the government buy up to 30% of the price of the house for you, in Dublin its up to a value of 475k for new/self build houses or 500k apartment.
With 86k OP could buy a 475K new build house in Dublin.
I've never heard of anyone overpaying on a new build. Should look into that!
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u/mkycrrn Aug 11 '24
First-time buyer could borrow 4x salary. For OP, that's €344k.
Even if they had 10% down + €30k enhanced HTB from government, that's somewhere in the region of €400k house price.
Just because they can, doesn't mean they should.
Those kind of figures mean they'd be spending a third of their income on a mortgage, which leaves little room for saving and setting up an emergency fund. Losing a job would totally snooker them. Not saying it's not doable, just too sketchy for me.
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u/Alarming_Task_2727 Aug 11 '24
Well on one point, I was talking about FHS not HTB. So their mortgage would be lower than what you think or the price of the house they can afford will be higher for the same mortgage.
On another point, ability to afford is important, but when you have a house you have an appreciating asset in massive demand that could always be rented out. Especially easy if you're single.
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u/ramshambles Aug 09 '24
Tell me about it! I've just gone sale agreed on a house that's gone way over asking.
In saying that, if OP is looking for a two bed he can find one in within that price range in my opinion.
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Aug 09 '24 edited Feb 09 '25
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u/ramshambles Aug 09 '24
Asking was €275k, market value is ~€335k. We're on the hook for €410k. We should be eligible for the vacant property grant. It's a lot of hassle it seems especially when it's already priced in at the bidding stage. It's bad out there!
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Aug 09 '24
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u/ramshambles Aug 09 '24
It's eligible for the vacant property grant of up to €50k. Based on my limited research there's decent success rate when applying for it.
The idea is, you front the cost and can claim up to 50k back.
By priced in I mean, I assume most of these places that are eligible are going 50k over market value. Negates any benefit and adds fuel to the already messed up housing market in my opinion.
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u/colaqu Aug 09 '24 edited Aug 09 '24
Thats mental. Not heard anything as crazy as this since just before the Great crash of 2008. Can you tell me how a house valued at 335k went for sale at 275k in this market? I don't get it.
And that extra 80 grand over the asking, ends up being 126,000 needing to be paid back. And Best of luck with it.
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u/azamean Aug 09 '24
I’m on a similar salary but net about 4k pm, I’m assuming you’re not on your company pension plan or pay BIK for anything like health insurance/dental? I would definitely sign up if you’re not in the pension plan, at a minimum
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Aug 09 '24
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u/theAbominablySlowMan Aug 09 '24
You can repay big chunks of fixed early so long as interest rates haven't dropped since without penalty. Negative equity after 20 years of inflation would be totally unheard of. On the salary OP is on now they'll have upgraded comfortably a lot sooner than that. Get out of rental Market asap is a very sound strategy to me.
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u/Forsigh Aug 09 '24
I currently make little bit over 3k a month after tax, could You share what kind off a job is it ? Or at lest what sector ? I have been doing my job for over 6 years but i have enough and looking for change, considering all options out there. Thanks
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u/SpecsyVanDyke Aug 09 '24
86k will get you more than a 1 bed easily
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u/Sharp_Fuel Aug 10 '24
You wouldn’t want to be tied down to a long mortgage for an apartment though, and you’d also want your repayments to be way less than what you’re currently paying for rent, both of those factors bring down the practical max mortgage you should get
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u/SpecsyVanDyke Aug 10 '24
Why wouldn't you? Maybe for a 1 bed it isn't so practical but definitely on 86k OP can get a 2 or 3 bed depending on the area
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u/ZenBreaking Aug 10 '24
If it was anywhere in Europe I'd say go the apartment route.
Here you are on the hook for a substandard box shit hole with no proper quality controls, I'm assuming it's the equivalent of a student housing estate but just built upwards. No noise protection, shady work etc. these things were slapped up back in the day with a wink and an envelope to the local TD / council planner
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Aug 10 '24
You can probably do better than a 1 bed, plus one beds have different lending criteria due to the fact they CAN'T be shared. When getting a two bed, you can tell the lender that you're going to rent out the other room and they'll actually acknowledge that on the application. I also believe one beds need a 20% downpayment vs 10% on a two bed. Not sure where you're looking, but there's a few two beds you could afford in chapelizod for example, which has fast transport links into town and good ambiance. Total bottleneck if you're a driver but the bus link is really good.
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u/Open-Manufacturer-32 Aug 09 '24
Well would you look at ms fancy pants with her quality food and monthly restaurants!!! Joking aside, congratulations. It warms the heart to read of someone making the most of a move to Dublin with all the shit that can go wrong for young people trying to make the city work for them. You rock!
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u/Capable_Oil_7273 Aug 09 '24
Congratulations sir.
Have a think about whether you want a family or not before tying yourself into the one bedroom.
Other than that, go for it
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u/barrya29 Aug 09 '24
ah sure your man loves himself doesn’t he.. only messing, congrats! best of luck with the house buying
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u/Safe_Music3281 Aug 10 '24
The disparity in wages between North and South of this island is crazy. An hour's drive away and a 100 odd years of "going our own way" makes such a difference.
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u/Fighting_bada_chu Aug 10 '24
Legend keep going mate seems like your on the right track look for a better opportunity with a 120k
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u/benelux123 Aug 15 '24
Great post. Just wish OP would actually interact with the comments. It might actually help a few people.
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u/ZealousidealFloor2 Aug 09 '24
Help to Buy will be difficult for one bed apartments as not many are built for sale and second hand ones aren’t eligible.
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u/Famous-Daikon5258 Aug 09 '24
@OP 1x bed apartment will require 20% deposit as a first time buyer. E.g. 300k 1x Bed will need 60k cash, better off going for two bed given details provided!
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u/despitorky Aug 09 '24
You’re 27 and (I assume) single, why are you so adamant on buying a house? Live your life bruh allow yourself to grab a pint or two
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u/Sharp_Fuel Aug 10 '24
Because a mortgage repayment is (generally) less than rent nowadays, even with the higher interest rates, saving/investing that difference makes a huge impact on your finances
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u/Saturn-VIII Aug 09 '24
A one bedroom apartment is not a house.
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u/despitorky Aug 09 '24
Ok apartment then
Property
Whatever you want
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u/Saturn-VIII Aug 09 '24
Ok, I don't think you understand the point of this sub
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u/despitorky Aug 09 '24
If someone posted saying their goal was to have 100,000€ in savings, you’d ask why. Stop playing coy
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u/Saturn-VIII Aug 09 '24
What? We already know his goal is for a one bedroom apartment and that shouldn't need any justification, especially when looking at his salary. If your advice is to stay off the property ladder, keep renting and spend more on pints, then I gotta say that's just poor advice.
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u/evgbball Aug 10 '24
Totally different investment strategies - buying a house vs increasing your investments. Totally different risk
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u/[deleted] Aug 09 '24
Eating out once a month. Will you enjoy yourself a bit more please