1. Ireland is not for everyone. Especially if you are a sunshine person.
The weather takes some adjustment. The countryside is different, and you need to find its beauty for yourself. You are the beholder.
This is not a tropical island.
You are mistaken if you think you are moving here for a warm and temperate climate. She is seasonal. She gives you very long, mild late-summer nights, and stormy, wet, windy, long winter nights. If you are not into that, the Bahamas are lovely this time of year.
She will not pretend to be what she is not. You have to meet her where she is.
2. The Irish people are different.
And by that I mean, they are not South African.
They do not know what we have lived through. Everything is new for you. The sense of humour is different. The culture is different. You are the foreigner.
They are welcoming, warm, soulful people. They will ask you how you are when you are standing in a queue at the supermarket, and they are genuinely interested. They have a thousand different accents for just five million people. They have culture going back millennia and music to prove it.
They have seen hard times. Heavy times. Ask them about their history, and you will be told family tales, and politics, and about Mary down the road, and the myths and legends. The gift of the gab is real.
But they are intensely proud people. They fought, and fought hard, for this land. These are heart-felt people who care deeply and honour humanity, not status.
We come from a politically charged country too, and often we carry bitterness and anger in that. Don’t bring it with you. Irish people do not understand people who are not fiercely patriotic of their own land. Your SA anger is complicated, and your tears are very difficult for them to explain or receive.
Go gently with the stories of violence and crime. Instead, tell them about our soil. Our animals. Our incredible mountains. Our wonderful beaches and our big blue sky. We are different. But we are the same.
Share a pint. Laugh. Sing.
3. This is hard work.
No one is coming to meet you at the airport with confetti, rainbows, a pot of gold, an Irish passport and a welcome mat.
You have to do it. It is not easy. But you have all the skills and ability in your hands. Your attitude is everything.
Go out there and meet people. Make friends. You can sit in expat land and expect Ireland to come to you. Or you can go to the pub, meet parents on the school yard, make chit-chat, take up your neighbour’s invitation for a cuppa, join a club. Get out there. The loneliness only lasts as long as your pride does.
Things in Ireland happen in Irish time, in Irish ways. Don’t compare. Your experience is one of arriving in a brand new country, where nothing is done the way, at the speed, or in the manner you are used to. Sit. Relax. Breathe. Accept that it will get done. Provide all the evidence and proof for any process you want moving forward.
The only consistency in Ireland is the inconsistency.
How your friend, or the person you saw on Facebook, got it done does not mean it will be the same for you.
4. Watch your finances.
You are earning euro. But you are also spending euro.
You have to adjust quickly. When you see €10 on a price tag, do not think in rand. Think in euro. You have to know what you are spending. Keep a little diary for the first few months so you can keep tabs on your expenses.
Please make sure you come with enough money to cover at least three to six months of expenses.
You cannot see into the future. You do not know what accidents or incidents might make working impossible, or what surprises are waiting. That might mean months in a B&B. It might mean going back to SA.
Our admin inboxes have stories to tell of people running out of money. Please, please, do not ignore this warning.
And keep a stash of “oh fok” money. You never know when your “oh fok” moment is coming. Most of us have one at some point in that first year. And pay, you will.
5. Have fun.
Go on. Get out there. Take a drive or catch a train, just for fun. If you do not reward your hard work with some joy, what are you even doing this for?
Put on some wellies and take a walk in the woods, or along the beach.
Enjoy the wind. She is your new hairdresser. Enjoy the rain. She is your new shower. Laugh when you see the sun. That is a rare moment to savour.
Sit on a bench and watch people. Ireland is worth watching.
6. Let go of Africa. A little.
You have to let this place sink into your blood. And that may not be immediate. You may need a good two years before you truly feel settled.
The African soil is embedded deeply in all of us. It is in our blood.
If you do not let go of Africa to some degree, you will never have space for Ireland.
(I am not saying let go of her completely. Just… give her a break. Some time out. Let her see other people for a while.)
7. Have a plan for the first month.
Know where you are staying. Book temporary accommodation for at least two to four weeks before you fly, from SA.
Over and over, admin have had messages from people in trouble because they were staying with friends (even family), or with random people they had met on these groups, and situations became very messy very quickly. Many of us have opened our homes to people, only to have to evict unwanted chaos. And that is a problem, because tenancy agreements don’t allow sub-letting, so you cannot even get the authorities involved.
Winging it with kids and pets in tow is highly problematic, can be expensive, and is emotionally traumatic.
Do not do it.
Be prepared for your plan to fall apart. It may not happen the way, or in the time, you wish. Breathe.
See point 4 again. Watch your finances.
8. Trust no one.
My mother had a saying: “Love many. Trust few. Always paddle your own canoe.”
People can easily take advantage of you. Keep your eyes and ears open at all times. There are many scammers in the world, and sadly, some of them are South Africans.
Don’t even trust everything said on the group by admin. Read and research for yourself. We provide files, documents, guidance, and most importantly, the links to the actual sources. Go read them. We may come here on the same passport, but our experiences can be vastly different.
We are just traffic wardens directing the flow. You are the one driving. Go check your maps.
Be very careful who you offer your money to. Be careful what you pay for blindly.
9. Be willing to do anything to pay the bills.
(Barring something illegal.)
Do not expect to walk into your dream job. They do not hand them out at the airport.
SA passport holders who need work permits: make sure everything is lined up properly with your sponsoring company before you arrive. Research. Read every line of every contract.
EU and Irish passport holders: you have two hands. They can wash dishes in a restaurant if they need to. Do not be too proud. Your family needs you.
There is no shame in any honest work here. There is only shame in letting your family go hungry because you thought you were too good for it.
10. Know your immigration route.
You must understand the ins and outs of your specific process.
EU Treaty Self-Sufficient is vastly different from EU Treaty Employed. Critical Skills Permit is vastly different from General Work Permit. Stamp 4 EU Fam is different from Stamp 1. Each has its own rules, timelines, and pitfalls.
Please don’t arrive here wondering what you are supposed to do next. We are here to help guide you, but this page is not legal support, and we are not professional immigration specialists. We can help you find the information. You must read it fully.
People do get deported because they have not followed the process correctly.
Before you bring those family members along, are you certain they can be here?
We regularly receive inboxes with heartbreaking stories of failure or trouble because people were not fully prepared or informed. Do not listen to anyone who says “It’s easy, bru. Just pull in.”
It is not like that. People can only give advice based on their experience, not yours. Yours will be different.
A final note from me
Ireland is my home. I love her intensely. She has given me, and many like me, a thousand blessings. She has given me friends who have become family.
But she is not perfect. She is not some Utopian ideal land. Ireland has its own problems and its own issues.
Read the media. Listen to the talk radio. See the issues the Irish people are facing as a whole.
Don’t even contemplate the move until you are prepared. Moving to Ireland can be a blessing to you and yours. But only if you do the work.
Find your sheeple. Do your homework. Pack your patience. And come with your eyes wide open.
A new version of this Blog has been written Christmas 2025: I’m fine … I’m just figuring out Irish currents
