We did not move to Ireland for the money, however, we expected it to be much harder than it is.

In discussions with others at my firm who had completed rotations abroad, they often mentioned that the pay did not compare well to America. Knowing this, and knowing that it may discourage us from a unique and amazing life adventure, I intentionally waited as long as possible to find out how bad it would be - and I am glad that I did.

Variables

I will start by breaking down a few key variables relevant to our financial situation.

Compensation

When considering our finances, the most obvious variable to compare is compensation. Our top line income dropped by roughly half when we moved, with my cut being the larger share of our reduction. Unlike some corporate rotation programs, the secondment program I have in most ways treats me like a local Irish employee, in this case leading to a significantly reduced pay package.

This does seem to generally match the market in Dublin, where compensation is generally much lower than the US with the possible exception of the large American tech companies with Irish headquarters (Google, Apple, Meta, and more).

Taxes

While European countries are renowned for quality of life and generous social programs, they are also infamous for the mechanism that funds those programs: taxes. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that income rates in Ireland are not particularly high, and are actually quite comparable to American rates (starting at 20% and increasing to 40% over a certain threshold). The major difference, however, is social taxes. The combined rate of Pay-Related Social Insurance (PRSI) and the Universal Social Charge (USC) in Ireland can be 12% or higher depending on income level, where US social security and medicare taxes top out at ~7.5%.

While Ireland does have tax treaties with the US that prevent double taxation, they do not have quite the benefit of countries like the Netherlands, which (for now) provides a 30% tax break to highly skilled expatriates working there.

While we do not love paying taxes in either country, we love that Ireland has a system called “Pay as You Earn” - similar to tax withholdings in America, except that the tax system is set up in such a way that the amount is actually correct, and many people in Ireland have no need to file a tax return. Tax credits can be claimed through a separate process and are paid out directly.

Cost of Living

Depending on the source you reference, comparative cost numbers do not show a large difference in prices between Portland, Oregon and Dublin, Ireland. This source shows Dublin as about 10% more expensive (with incomes much higher in Portland), while this site shows Portland as about 10% more expensive until you include rent, which brings it down to 2% (as of this post).

The numbers look about right - rent in Dublin feels quite high (and housing options limited), but groceries are very affordable. One factor that may be missed in this comparison is the fastest growing tax in America: tips. In Ireland and much of Europe, tips are optional and often rather small. In America, it is increasingly common to tip 20% or more on any food or service purchase, which notably increases overall costs.

Lifestyle

In Ireland we make way less money, pay a bit more in tax and do not save a lot comparatively on regular expenses, but we have not felt squeezed or unable to spend on experience and travel. Most of it is because of our transition from living as American suburban homeowners to European city dwellers.

Accomodation

Dublin is currently experiencing a housing crisis - quality, affordable accomodation is very hard to find, especially near the city centre. In our first few weeks we toured nearly a dozen apartments, often with groups of other interested parties, and felt most of them were not nearly worth the asking price. Luckily we managed to find a lovely apartment in a neighbourhood outside the city for a quite reasonable price, with rent control to guarantee it does not jump on us anytime soon. Rent for an urban apartment is (for us, anyway) more affordable than our mortgage back home, and also comes with much lower utility costs.

Transportation

Like any good suburban American couple, we each had a car parked at our house outside Portland and would hop inside for any trip even a mile down the road. Now we walk, cycle and use public transport for a fraction of the cost of the fuel, maintenance and insurance we paid on our cars. While it is certainly less convenient and may take longer, we have really enjoyed the transition.

Is it Worth It?

We are taught early in our lives the importance of saving our money and preparing for retirement from work at some old-ish age. There is value to this approach, but I have at times found myself focusing more on saving for some future uncertainty than investing in life experiences while we are young, independent and able.

Our decision when we chose to move to Ireland was that even if we saved no money and had to make a financial investment in the years we spend living abroad, we would happily work another few years later in life to make up for it. We feel blessed that we have not felt stretched or limited by our situation, and further encouraged that we made the right decision in moving abroad.

It is easy to get caught up thinking about the cost of living, and forget about the cost of life sacrificed to working too hard and being unwilling to enjoy the present and take advantage of opportunities for new adventures and experiences.