BootsnAll Travel Community

Hiya, I am from Oz and moving to Galway (July) with a 12 month working visa. Just wondering if anyone would have any suggestions/comments to offer me.

Like where are some good social places to meet people. How would I go about setting up a bank account etc. Ohh and where I can find some good temping agencies (probably need to start making money in order to enjoy the social setting

Any thoughts would be much appreciated :-)

- Find a job before moving out of the hostel. I tried to move to Galway in 2004, and getting a place first meant two mistakes. First, it tied me to Galway, which restricts your options (Galway's great, but there's lots of other great places in Ireland, too). Also, the centre of Galway is walking distance from almost everywhere, but if, like me, you find a place to live further out, it limits the employment options even within the city.

- Setting up an account shouldn't be too hard. I was told by the bank that I just needed proof of an address in Ireland, such as the letter that brought me my PPS number.

- Employment agencies are easy enough to find. I didn't find them very helpful, but depending on your experience, your mileage may vary. Of the people I met doing the working holiday thing, the agencies really only seemed to work for the ones who stayed in Dublin. Count on finding your own job.

- Aran Islands. Go there. Rent a bike. They're awesome.

- Don't get too caught up in the craic until you're employed. I love Ireland, and one of my greatest regrets is that I didn't apply myself to the job search early enough in my stay (I kind of half-assed looked until my funds started running low...in the end I got a job offer while I was bussing to the airport to go home, already committed to that path.)