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11. Moving to Dublin

Dublin at a Glance

Transportation and Relocation in Dublin

The Dublin airport is the first sight to greet many expatriates.

As Dublin is a coastal town in an island nation, it can be reached via sea route. But obviously you will not plan your move to Dublin by way of cruise ship (although that might be quite a festive start to your new expat life). As with every other modern metropolis today, the prime choice for expats and visitors from around the world is air travel.

If you have already read our other articles on the city, you will have noticed the focal importance of Dublin for Ireland. It will not come as a surprise, then, to learn that Dublin Airport is the busiest airport on the island, with over 18.4 million passengers served in 2010. Three of the four Irish airlines have their headquarters at the airport’s premises; the remaining one, City Jet, has its headquarters in the nearby suburb of Swords.

The Airport

The airport is located north of Dublin proper. It is served by numerous bus and coach services, linking the airport to Dublin and its suburbs, as well as the remainder of Ireland. A railway connection is currently in the planning phase. Please see our article on Living in Dublin for further details on public transport.

Speaking of planning, one part or the other of the airport has been under construction for going on 20 years now. The largest addition has probably been the second terminal, which saw its official opening in November 2010. Terminal 2 is now the center of operations for most long-haul carriers and has effectively doubled the capacity of the airport. This, in turn, has relaxed the situation in the once congested Terminal 1, which is now being used for short-haul and domestic connections.

A whopping 40 flights to all five London airports are being offered daily, as are connections to all major European airports. Flights to other parts of the globe are obviously not as frequent, but still offered in reasonable frequencies. Direct, non-stop long-distance flights to many destinations are added every now and again. Seeing as Dublin is a highly globalized city, it should not be long until a direct flight to your home country (or even home town) is offered!

Assistance with Relocation Issues

Obviously different people will react in different ways to the challenges of expat life and relocating to an area they often barely know. With the global focus of Dublin today, several relocation companies such as Interdean commit themselves to helping expats make their transition into their new life as comfortable and smooth as possible. If you are interested in assistance, those companies might be a valuable source of help. Your employer might even bear part or all of the expenses, so you should make sure to address this in time!