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Spring in Ireland. It’s a good thing I prefer cooler weather to broiling hot. Even though there’s heating in every room of my cottage, I’m wearing two sweaters, thick socks — and boots.  I’m writing this days after returning from our most recent Live Overseas Conference in Florida’s sunny Delray Beach. Attendees at these conferences always ask: “Why do you live in Ireland?” When I say I’m now in my 16th year of Irish living, they stare as if I’ve confessed to having serious psychological problems. I don’t think I’m crazy—and there’s nothing that forces me to live in Ireland. I have no small children, no mortgage commitments, and a job I could do almost anywhere. Being a British passport holder allows me to live and work in any EU country. I could be living the writer’s life where there’s little rain and living costs are less expensive. Spain, Greece, or the south of France, for example. Thing is, there’s nowhere else I would rather call home. Although Irish cities have become as frenetic and traffic-clogged as cities the world over, the countryside remains the same as when I moved here: quiet...peaceful...safe.

GALWAY is the capital of the West of Ireland, a thriving modern city with a University, Regional Technical College, Shipping Port and Airport. With a festival to cover everything from the traditional music to horseracing, Galway is a uniquely cosmopolitan city with something for everyone. It has also recently become an important centre for promoting the Arts and Culture. Although it has recently been classed as Europe's fasting growing city, it still manages to retain much of its old world Medieval charm. Photo: Courtesy of www.stockbyte.com

And heart-stoppingly gorgeous, too. Few other places in the world conjure up more dramatically diverse scenery. I’m only 35 miles from the Atlantic coast, but wherever you choose to live, nowhere is more than 100 miles from spectacular seascapes. Golden beaches and sheer cliffs, silvery coves and glittering necklets of islands, toy-town ports with hand-painted shop fronts and color-washed cottages. And that’s just for starters. We also have heather-covered mountains, crystal loughs (lakes), and more abbeys, castles, and ancient tombs than you would believe. And rainbows, too!

I live in Roscommon, an inland county of green fields, gray dry-stone walls, and looking-glass lakes. Overlooking Lough Key, my cottage is almost at the edge of civilization. The nearest town (population 2,500) is eight miles away. Three supermarkets, two garages, a handful of small shops. Not much opportunity to indulge in impulse buys—but who really needs them? All the necessities are here. 

Ireland may change your whole way of thinking. It’s not just about idyllic scenery—there’s as much magic in the people and their outlook on life. For example, there’s very little in the way of pretentiousness. Back in England, I was a wannabee fashionista. Now I couldn’t give a tinker’s curse about boutique clothes and status symbols—they seem pointless. Nobody here cares if I dress like a hobo and drive a 13-year-old banger. 

Music, culture, traditions, prehistoric places—these are other things that keep me anchored here. Holy wells...pilgrimage mountains...the rumored gateways to the Otherworld. Even after 16 years, exploring this ancient land sets my spine tingling. The Celtic age of enchantments always threatens to break from the bounds of storybook and legend. Anything and everything is charged with the supernatural: standing pillars, dolmens, mysterious burial mounds. All have the reputation of being “fairy places” where the doorway between past and present remains ever ajar.

So if Ireland suits me, why wouldn’t it suit you, too? As for when it rains—well, you always stay dry in the pub...

A 10-fold increase

It needs stressing that 1988 is long gone. Unfortunately, you’re not going to uncover a move-in-tomorrow cottage with an acre of land for $12,000—which is what I did. The average cost of a home in Roscommon (one of the most affordable counties in the country) now stands at around $188,000. Although properties do sell for less, even small cottages similar to mine change hands for $100,000 to $130,000. 

You’ll occasionally see listings for less than $25,000, but don’t get overly excited. Nowadays this won’t buy even the most primitive home-spun dwelling. Imagine a vaguely cottage-shaped heap of stones buried beneath a briar patch...

Can you build your own home on such a site? Yes, if some form of dwelling already exists. However, building costs average between $100 and $150 per square foot. It’s possible to construct a cottage of around 700 square feet on a small plot for less than $100,000, but at that price you’ll be inland. Location is everything. In County Galway, half-acre sites overlooking Galway Bay and the Aran Islands are fetching over $200,000. Then there’s building costs on top of that.

For most foreign buyers, moving here is a lifestyle rather than a monetary choice. In a nutshell, I think it’s because the quality of life remains unsurpassed. Old-fashioned neighborliness still exists, and people have time for one another. (Of course, business-owners often mutter “too much time”…) 

Not just fresh air that’s free

It’s not all bad news financially. There are benefits to living here—ones you may not have realized. 
I don’t pay any annual property taxes or household rates (taxes) of any kind—nor does any home-owner in this country.
If I need hospital treatment, it’s free—as it is to any resident. (It doesn’t matter what nationality you are.)
Need to visit a G.P.? Again, doctor’s visits—and they also make house calls—are free to those on low incomes. Private patients generally pay around $40.
How much does it cost to insure your home? I pay $180 annually.
Here, children leave primary school knowing how to read and write. A first-class education is free up to school-leaving age. You have only to buy uniforms and text-books.
Are you a keen golfer? Ireland has hundreds of parkland and seaside links courses—and most don’t charge break-the-bank green fees. For example, at Roscommon Golf Club, green fees are $24.60. In County Leitrim, green fees at Carrick-on-Shannon golf club are $19.70. 
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Different accents, same language
Sure, there are different accents in the 26 counties—you’ll soon notice that a Kerry accent is very different from a Dublin accent. But it is English—and not everybody wants to learn a foreign language. The fact that Ireland was an English-speaking country was one of my reasons for choosing to come here. Our daughter was then 14 years old, and we didn’t want to disrupt her education. 

Dealing with the bank...electricity office...telephone company...lawyers...doctors...even the hairdresser... Looking back, I can’t imagine how I would have coped in a country where English wasn’t widely spoken.

What of the Irish language? Well, although some people use it in pockets of the far west known as the Gaeltacht areas, you don’t need to go to the hassle of learning it. 

Four seasons

Spring—my favorite time of year—is already here. My garden is ablaze with golden daffodils. 

Now picture gamboling lambs and shaky-legged foals...blackthorn trees erupting with blossomy white veils...woods covered in bluebell carpets...tiny primroses and wild violets huddling in the shadow of stone walls. One of the best places to enjoy the spring flower-fest is along the “Green Roads” of County Clare’s rocky Burren region. Green Roads are ancient sunken trackways, formerly used by cattle drovers. They meander past a botanists’ treasure trove of orchids and other rare blooms. 

Summer means days out at unspoiled beaches in Sligo or Donegal...riverbank walks beside the river Shannon, trying to spot the turquoise flash of kingfishers or a solitary gray heron flapping towards the reed-beds...scarlet fuchsia hedgerows...music festivals and the Puck Fair in Kerry where a goat is crowned king. 

Fall is misty and mellow, the woods pungent with mushroomy smells. Blackberries spangle hedgerows, native oysters come back on the menu, and traveling people (gypsies) meet up at the Great October Fair of Ballinasloe. Held in County Galway, this is Europe’s largest horse fair with thousands of horses milling about on the Fair Green.

For me, winter kicks off with the Wexford Opera Festival—Wexford is a quirky southeast coastal town founded by the Vikings. Although December, January, and February are mostly months for snuggling indoors, you often wake up to find what locals call “a pet day.” The sky is pale blue, the sun is shining—nothing beats bundling up in thick woolens and setting off on a brisk hike on a day like that.

The safety factor
Cities harbor criminals—I wouldn’t tell you otherwise. But the streets of Ireland’s rural towns are still among the safest in the world. There is no burglar alarm fitted to my cottage—or to any of my neighbors’ homes either. And I still never lock the car when going into my local town to shop.
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Nine picks from the rural cottage crop—all less than $200,000 1. According to the agents, this bargain-priced stone-built cottage on a third of an acre plot in Clare could be a weekend retreat. Although it has only two rooms, extensions are possible. However, while structurally sound, the property has been empty for years, and you’d need to reconnect electricity. Within easy reach of the river Shannon, it’s also only a short drive from Kilrush and the coast. Price: $49,000 through Green Valley. 2. A two-bedroom refurbished cottage, along a leafy lane four miles from Boyle Town, County Roscommon. The kitchen has rustic terracotta floor tiles, solid fuel stove, pine ceiling with beams, and French doors. The sitting room has an old-style fireplace and original ceramic floor tiles. Offers in the region of $110,000 through Egans.

4. At Inagh, six miles from Lahinch and the County Clare coast, a three-bedroom single-story house ready to move into. No need to don gardening gloves—the garden is already planted with cottage-garden style flowers and shrubs. There’s also a garage/workshop. Price: $139,800 through Green Valley.
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5. Partly bordered by a stream and wooded gully, a simply renovated whitewashed cottage near Gort, County Galway. It comprises one room (320 square feet) plus two sleeping lofts and a detached bath house. On 3 acres, there are other outbuildings, a flower garden, and an organic vegetable plot. A short walk brings you into the Slieve Aughty mountains, with views over counties Clare and Galway. Galway city is 25 miles away. Price: $153,700 through Green Valley. 6. “Shepherd’s Lair” is a modernized and well-maintained traditional cottage on an acre plot less than five miles from Tipperary Town (County Tipperary). Three bedrooms, new windows, rewired, and with oil-fired central heating. Price: $160,000 through Green Valley. 7. Pretty whitewashed cottage at Causeway, County Kerry. Fully renovated and extended, on 1½-acres of land, it has two bedrooms, a kitchen/dining room, a living room, and a bathroom. The living room has a wood-burning stove, but there’s also oil-fired central heating. Price: $166,000 through European Estates.

Over the past 20 years, a number of Protestant churches have been de-consecrated by the Church of Ireland. They make unusual - and attractive - homes. At Ballintogher, County Sligo, Egan’s is listing a mid-19th-century church for $421,600. Already converted into a home, it has two bedrooms - one in the bell-tower. Features such as the original heavy church doors, pulpit, and gothic windows remain intact.

9. Fully modernized traditional thatched cottage approximately four miles from Ballybunion Golf Course in County Kerry. Comprises kitchen/living room, three bedrooms (two en-suite), and a bathroom. Price: $196,800 through European Estates.
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Realtor contacts Egan Auctioneers (Vincent Egan), Elphin Street, Boyle, Co. Roscommon; tel./fax (353)71-966-2464; website: www.vincentegan.net.  European Estate Agents, 17 The Mall, Tralee, Co. Kerry; tel. (353)66-712-3144; e-mail: info@property-ireland.com; website: www.ireland-property.com.  Green Valley Properties, Caherhurley, Bodyke, Co. Clare; tel./fax (353)61-921-498; e-mail: greenvalley@eircom.net; website: www.gvp.ie.

Our top picks Through Green Valley, $227,500 is sought for a completely restored stone-faced cottage (three bedrooms) on the Loop Head Peninsula, County Clare. On a half-acre plot, it has Atlantic views from the front and views of Kilbaha Bay at the rear. Included in the sale is a large outbuilding, also completely restored. The agents say it’s “long enough to have your own bowling alley or large studio, or it could be converted to more living accommodation.” The cottage is a short walk to the sea edge, and Kilbaha village is a mile away. Accommodation in Ireland Almara Accommodations is a free accommodation booking service specializing in the Dublin area. They can find and book B&Bs and hotels for you at no charge. Go to: www.almarabb.com for more information. More on the Emerald Isle Just published, Ireland: The Owners Manual, written by Steenie, gives you all the information you could need on living, investing, residency, tax issues, real estate, travel (and much more) on the Emerald Isle . For more details and to order your copy, contact our customer service department toll-free at: tel. (800) 643-2479.

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