Tips to literally live by - weird and wonderful advice by people just like you!

ireland immigration, immigration to ireland, south african immigration to ireland, immigration to ireland from south africa, ireland immigration process, south african want to work in ireland, work in ireland from south africa, can south africans work in ireland, work in ireland, how to get out of south africa, south africa emigrate, countries to emigrate to from south africa, how to emigrate from south africa, emigrate to ireland from south africa, leave south africa south africa to ireland, immigration lawyer, immigration agent, immigration and naturalization, immigration website, immigration laws, immigration questions, immigration facts, visit ireland, ireland travel, visa free travel, ireland tourism, dublin ireland, ireland information, how many immigrated to ireland, how much does immigration cost ireland, how to get ireland immigration, what is ireland's immigration policy, ireland immigration work permit, members, passports, family, african, south, irish, british, move, admin, immigration, information, passport, immigration, disclaimer, read, facebook, find, entry, South Africa, immigrating, Ireland, travel, passports, EU Treaty, work permits, visa, permit, republic of Ireland, travel, holiday, information, assistance, schooling, medical, de facto relationships, extended family, family reunification, pps, banking, medical in Ireland, British and non-eu, British and south africa, eu and south africa, eu and non-eu, irish and south African, irish, sa, RSA, common travel area, DFA, register foreign birth ireland, INIS, citizens information

A compilation of ideas to make your life easier, from people just like you! When you arrive in Ireland, I think one of the most daunting things is the fact that unless you have traveled abroad, there are so many small things that just work differently to how they do in South Africa. You would be surprised by how many people who make this move had to apply for their first ever passport in order to make that flight to a new life, and what follows here are some advice by members on the South Africans Moving to Ireland - and South Africans In Ireland Facebook pages. Specifically to help you out with those little things.

 Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you would like to add anything that makes your life in Ireland easier

Supermarket Shopping

Trolleys need money! and you buy shopping bags!!!

Purchase bags. Good ones. The better the bags the longer they last. All supermarkets offer the platic options or canvas bags. Your choice. Always keep a bag in your bag or car. If you don't you will accumulate these bags at an alarming rate!

You can buy trolley bags. They are made to fit into your trolley, so your trolley as such becomes a pre-bagged area. You simply put your shopping back in the trolley, and essentially they are bagged. This doesn't work well for the shallow trolleys, but seems effective in the deep trolleys.

Open your regular bags so they are at the ready in your trolley, and grab and drop!

  https://www.trolleybags.com

When we came over, I remember having a moan with my sister in law (who was following in moving here 3 months after we came), that I refuse to pay Eur2 every time I wanted to use a trolley. Back then it was the equivalent of R34 EVERY TIME I wanted to use a trolley!! Not this woman, thank you! So I would cart around my over full basket to great discomfort, but felt well chuffed at saving our Rands! (what a plonker I was!)

I was not so chuffed when I realized the purpose is to take your trolley back to the trolley station. You click in the trolley before and then voila! The coin pops out. So there you go. No need for you to carry around an over full basket. You pay for the trolley, but you get your money back!!!!

I now use a trollkey!!!

  How to get a coin locked trolley

 * Always carry a Eur 1 and Eur 2 coin in your bag and or car.

Now, on occasion, you may end up spending the coins, but fear not! Tip nr 2 is that you can actually purchase tokens, that you attach to your key chain. The ones below don't fit all trolleys but do fit most.

If the trolley style is like this:

  Trolley token

 

  Trolley token supporting guide dogs

If the trolley style is like this:

You will need a trolley key like this style

Which you can buy from charities like this one HERE

Sometimes 20c coin works instead of a Eur 1 and a good old R2 works for the Eur 2 at Aldi

Great. Now you are ready to go. Trolley in hand and confidently walking into the shop feeling very proud of having not looked like you are doing this for the 1st time! Well done you!


LIDL AND ALDI CHECKOUT

After going through the isles at Aldi, feeling like your mind is blown by the 15c noodles and 69c jar of olives in the trolley, you get to the front, smiling at the person at the till, showing some proper Saffa friendliness, and what does he do? He starts throwing your shopping at you with the skill of a Gold Olympic Medalist!

You will try to get your shopping into the bags as he throws it at you.

You will not succeed.

The point of Aldi and Lidl is speed. They have few staff within the store and it's strategy is to get customers in, spend loads of money on those middle aisles, and then get you out as soon as possible (probably before you change your mind on those fuffy slippers, toolbox and 3 great vegetable planters you had no idea you needed until you went to the supermarket and realised your life was not full until you bought them).

You unload shopping on to the conveyor, and then once its come though the cashier you pack straight into the trolley again. Pay. Then move away from the cashier to a side counter (usually next to the glass window) where you can at leisure pack your groceries into your bags. In time, with practice you can learn to sort and throw into bags in time at the cashier and may even find you doing the chasier challenge with a wry grin trying to out-do their speed!

Key to shopping at Aldi or Lidl is you have to decide in advance which of the following strategies you will use.


SELF-SCAN TILLS

Most supermarkets have self-scan tills (usually for just a basket of about 15 items) where you place your shopping on one side, and scan the items through the till point, and they get weighed on the other side. This takes some getting used to. You cannot scan the next item until the item just scanned has been placed on the scale. You tap your debit card and its all done. I found myself looking around waiting to be checked. 

OH! another comment made often... no one checks your till slips. Nope, this is not Makro SA... they trust you have paid here! Handing someone who happens to be at the exit of the supermarket will result in some extremely confused looks or a comment showing you where the bin is for your paper to throw away!

 

Tesco Self-scan

At Tesco you have a few options. You can pay as per normal at the cashier. So you do your shopping, placing items in your trolley as you're used to doing in SA and put each item one by one through the cashier and pack yourself into your bags as it gets scanned and pay at the end.

BUT

Tesco has some other technology now.

But TESCO, has started a new system called Scan as you shop! You need to have a club card to do this. So register with them and when you have the card, you can collect your empty trolley and put your bags into the trolley and scan your card and get a scanner

As you go around the supermarket, you scan each item and place it directly into your bags. There is a balance on the screen so you know exactly what you're spending. You can add and remove items you choose to put back on the shelf.

Once complete, you can go to a Self-scan cashier with your scanner and items that haven't scanned and you pay and go without taking out a single item on to the conveyor belt.

In the last few months, there are now self-pay self-scan. So there is no cashier, you go to a machine, download your scanner and pay.

The trust factor on this, for us South Africans in MIND-BLOWING?!!!

Yes, they trust you to scan every item you take off the shelves AND they trust you to pay for it on your own!

They do random checks every few shops, so it's not like if you plan to rob them that you'll get away with it... well this is madness, right?? This can take a good chunk off your shopping time and helps where families who want to shop within a budget can do so extremely accurately!

It seems in time, more and more of the bigger supermarkets will take on this model, particularly with Covid and reducing risk within the supermarkets.

Most Supermarkets also have delivery option and click and collect- look for your local supermarket online and see what they offer.

   Resources for this topic- Shopping related - Links to shops and online sites of various types

 


Heating

*If you have kerosene heating, you can attach a measuring tape to a broomstick to measure the oil. This way you will notice when it's running low and can order more before you run out.

 * You can buy a 20L oil bottle (similar to a Jerry can) and fill it up with Kerosene at most filling stations (not calling them "garages" should be it's own tip really). Works the same as the fuel pump, so you can buy however many liters you need. That way, you can buy a bottle per week and add to your drum during the summer months. Thus not having to out lay a large amount in the beginning of Winter to fill up the drum. (The pump is usually to one side and not where the fuel pumps are, similar to how Sasol pumps were separate to the other pumps in SA)

For how to use your Boiler and Immersion system and WHAT THE HECK is a hot press??

   Utility Bills: Proof of Address, Pre-pay bills vs monthly, Types of heating and power and setting them up, Refuse collection, TV, Internet & Mobiles

 


 For the rain

Mac in a sac. That's all. Click on the link. You will have an "Ah ha"- moment

  What is Mac in a Sac

 * Don't go out with wet hair or ears

* Umbrellas are only effective SOME of the time. MOST of the time, they will fold inside out in the wind.

 


 Public Transport

* If you need to use a bus, make sure you understand the time table.

  This is helpful when planning a bus trip

   Public Transport - Buses, Trains and Taxis in Ireland

 


 Winter

* For car windows you can either keep an ice scraper or de-icer in the car. You never know when the temp might drop below freezing and you're stuck somewhere with a frozen windscreen... or doors

* Put your clothing dry racks upstairs if you live in a multi level house, heat rises, so upstairs is much warmer.

  Getting Winter Ready

 


 Little kids

* If you are buying a stroller (called a buggy in Ireland) just before you leave to come, make sure to buy one that has a solid rubber wheel, as opposed to the plastic with the rubber on the outer side. We had one of these, and you do a lot more walking here, and they simply don't last and come straight off.

* If you have more than one child, a Buggy board or similar will save your life while getting around without a car!

 


 

 Bed Sizes

Before you pack your bedding to bring over, just be aware that not all sizes are the same.

Irish Bed sizes:

 

South African Bed size:

 

Irish Bedding (duvets) sizes:

South African Bedding (duvets) size:


 

Electric plugs

 

 Great tip: If you bring appliances over from SA, You can bring a multi plug with. Then you simply change the plug of the multi plug!!

 

or get a travel adaprtor for the end


Moisture, mould and condensation

 

Ireland is green! VERY green! Why? Because of it's high rainfall and low temperatures. As a result, you may find yourself fighting moisture, mould and condensation. This will be more prevalent the older the house. But both indoors and out, moss, mould and moisture gathers often and everywhere.

  • On most double-glased windows there should be little vents (sometimes called a trickle vent) which should stay open to keep the windows from getting condensation.

 

  • Leave windows open each day, for a short time, in certain rooms to allow flow of fresh air and help to remove the moist wet stale air.
  • Make sure your windows are open especially where you are (or after) cooking (specifically boiling water), after a shower or hot bath and drying clothes. That steam can sit and cause mould.Avoid if you can leaving wet washing on radiators- this will add more moisture to the air.
  • Look and see what type of tumble drier your have- vented, condenser or a heat pump dryer.
  •    Vented models pump out the hot and damp air from the drum through a flexible hose to the outside. Sometimes they are actually fitted with a hole going outdoors through the wall. Make sure this is clean and dry at all times so the humid air doesnt stay inside the house or the machine.
  •    Condenser models work by condensing the steam inside the machine and turning it into water. This is collected in a removable container or reservoir. The containers easily pull out and can be emptied into the sink when full.
  •    Heat pumps dryers are the newest types of dryers. The heat-pump operated models use clever technology to dry your laundry by using hot air to extract water from the load, which then evaporates in a tank. These tend to be the most expensive models with the most sophisticated features.
  • Fill socks (tied at the end) with cat litter (the silicone can if you can) and leave in cupboards or in places where water does gather indoors. It helpd to absorb moisture out of the air. This works in your car too.
  • Buy a de-humidifier for the particularly bad rooms in your house where water needs to be extracted form the room
  • Ask your landlord to install extrators fans in bathrooms
  • add weather stripping to the windows (rubber seal on the inside of your windows if you open them. Most modern windows have it, and yours might be worn or old. Check with your landlord before stripping out old ones and replacing them.
  • Buy a moisture absorber for cupboards- these come in various sizes and types

  • Outdoors you may see the walls, paint, paving stones, decks often get a build up of green mould/mildew/lichen and/or moss. In summer tackle these jobs. Your landlord may hire a pressure washing company to come spray down these surfaces every year or two for you, as it is their property. However, you may want to do your part just taking care of the home and cleaning these surfaces down. They can become very slippery to walk on. You can also go to your local hardware store and find products to clean with.

 


Traffic Lights in Ireland (no, not "Robots"... say huh, what you on about?)

I bet if you asked many South Africans who live in Ireland they dont know why these markings are important!

Often diamond shaped in Ireland, these are found just in front of the stop lines at traffic lights.

These monitor and control the flow of the traffic based on the number of cars, on or have driven over them, and control the light changes accordingly. You may find in some areas there will be a series of these a few metres part up a busy road that is not always busy.

At some traffic lights, the lights will never change to a left or right unless activated by the presence of your car.

These may be on a road that experiences almost no traffic until you come along.

Sometimes they control how many cars will be let through until it stops and switches, particularly at peak hours.

These may be on right turning lanes at traffic lights... if you have ever sat at a set of lights waiting to turn right and the right arrow on the light never comes on... look down where you are stopped... you have either over-shot the mark and are sitting on the pedestrian crossing (reverse if you can safely) or you are so far back from the pedestrian/painted lines/ stopping area, that it has not recognised you are there.

Often cyclists and motobikes completely miss them and can sit there for days without it changing haha! A cyclist may not trigger the sensor in there due to the weight or whatever sets off the sensor... and a motorcyclist may have missed the sensor completely... move your bike back if you can safely and stop on the lines or over the sensors.

But some of you know this already and like me, have sat behind someone at a traffic light trying to use mind-bending telepathy to get the driver ahead of you to move on to the lines...

And some of you are right now face-palming going "doh" thats why I always miss the right turn at the lights at the end of the road.

And some of you are going to be well informed by the time you get to Ireland.

And on that note... have you even looked at the Irish road rules?

The Rules of the Road regarding traffic lights:

  1. A red light means STOP.  If the traffic lights is red as you approach it you must not go beyond the accompanying stop line.
  2. When the light is green, you may proceed but only with caution.
  3. When the light is amber you cannot go beyond the traffic light stop line or light itself in the absence of a line. ONLY if you are so close to the line/traffic light when the light in question turns amber that it would be unsafe to bring your vehicle to a stop can you continue through an amber light.
  4. A green filter light (arrow) means you are permitted to follow the direction of the arrow provided it is safe and clear to do so.
  5. If turning right at traffic lights where there is a right facing arrow, you can drive into the junction when the traffic lights turn green, making sure not to obstruct the flow of oncoming traffic. When it is safe to do so, complete your right hand turn. You are not obliged to wait for the green filter arrow to appear provided you get a safe opportunity to turn right before it appears.
  6. When you see a flashing, left pointing amber arrow leading into a junction you may proceed to the left provided you give way to traffic already driving through the junction on the road you are entering.

Road Rules Ireland

Oh, And while we discussing Road rules... while you're driving... if there is a human being anywhere close to standing/walking near one of these... YOU STOP!

 

And while you're searching road rules--- please go read on TRAFFIC CIRCLES!

Number 1 reason for naturalisation to be declined is "good character" of which traffic offences are the bulk! Time to drive like your Grandma. Don't be getting speeding fines!!

    Permanent Residence and Naturalisation - How this works and how to prepare yourself from day 1 for five years time

 


Blockout Curtains or Blinds

With the sun setting in summer around 10pm at Summer Solstice (20th June) but it may only be actually dark around 10.30-11pm, particularly kids, it can be hard going to sleep with the daylight in the room. And then sunrise at around 5am, but it starts getting light around 4-4.30am you could be up literally at sparrows fart. You may want to look at blockout curtains for bedrooms. Now this only resolves the problem of kids already in bed and making their room dark, but certainly getting them to bed when the house is bright is another story all together... that and during summer hoildays when all the kids are playing outside until 11pm... good luck parents!!! Fight or relent!

So when it comes to curtains and blinds- will depend completely on the landlord and whether they are ok with you drilling into their walls for permanent blinds, or attaching to the exisiting curtains or if you go with a suction cup style which fits to the window.

But there will be loads of options and sizes and prices, so you will have to investgate the best option for you and your landlord

Permanent Blockout Blinds

Attachable linings for Blockout curtains

Suction cup Blockout Blinds


So there you go for now!

We will keep adding to this as we receive more hints from you that you would like to share! Thank you to everyone who submitted these tips!

 

Important links: 

 

  #MapMyMove- Our coaching Services - Confused or lost and need some direction, book a session with us to help untangle the confusion and work out your route of immigration

   Checklist of things to do before you move 

   What should I or can I bring with me to Ireland? (and sending goods back to SA) - A guide on shipping goods to Ireland and what you should brin gor leave, and on Customs when you fly into Ireland and what you can or can't bring with you

If you have a story to share please email us a blog at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

X

Right Click

No right click