The final few days of this Ireland adventure are sadly now looming ahead of me and I have settled on the notion that I’ll refer to this entire period (tongue in cheek) as “Phase One”. This label makes it sound like I will be returning sooner rather than later and I rather like that.
So, to re-cap, the goals listed below have now been accomplished and ticked off the list of “Phase One” objectives. Not bad after just four months, arriving in a camper van, knowing nobody, if I do say so myself.
Phase One
- Obtain a PPS number
- Open an Irish bank account
- Find a job to get in the tax / PAYE system (P45, tax code etc.)
- Gain an Irish home address (Achieved courtesy of Airbnb landlord).
- Form some Irish contacts
- Gauge the level of tourism in the area, make notes of what I feel on first impressions and what I expected as a tourist. These are important to note down straight away before familiarity creeps in.
- Decide whether Ireland is a place I would be happy to live and purchase a house. – It is, wholeheartedly.
- Decide on an area to settle in the future – Connemara.
Plus I have had a wealth of experiences that will stay with me forever and have hopefully become an intrinsic part of me in a positive way.
Phase Two
“Phase Two” or my return to Ireland, will depend on the following milestones (updated on 12th Jan 2015):
- Finish at the bakery – Done
- Obtain tax code and Irish P45 (reference too if possible) – All done
- Back to UK – Done
- Find a job. ANY job. Don’t worry about a career for now – Doing
- Save a bit of money.
- Complete the copywriting course.
- Get a remote working job allowing me to work from the laptop, anywhere with internet connection. Work for a UK company to be paid in pounds but transfer this to my Irish account to leverage the exchange rate.
- Move back to Ireland.
- After 6 months living in Ireland, use bank statements showing earnings and Irish address to apply for a mortgage.
- Use deposit, courtesy of the “bank of mum and dad”.
- Buy house.
- Rent out entire house or a number of rooms on Airbnb.
- Optional: Remotely manage bookings using a company such as Guesty.
- Live happily ever after, jumping between the two countries and possibly many more, expanding the property empire and meeting as many fellow travellers as I possibly can as a professional host.
Things I’ll be going home with:
- A clear head.
- No money.
- Student status. (Having newly enrolled on a distance learning copywriting course at the College of Media and Publishing.
- Weirdly, a rediscovered passion for having a bath vs a shower!
- A monstrous 61 inch flatscreen TV, Dolby Pro Logic 5.1 Surround sound amplifier with speakers. Paid €60 (£40). It’s a long story……
- 4 black sacks of Irish turf. Paid €0. Another long story……
- An absolutely amazing masterplan for Phase Two.
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Englishman in Ireland 