Forget about "couch surfing", might be ok for a few nights but that's it. For long term accommodation you'd need a flat or a houseshare (room in a house) Best place to look for that is http://daft.ie Most landlords require a months rent in advance and a months security deposit which you get back when you leave. Another option would be to stay in a hostel but that wouldn't be great longer term, rates from about €50 or €60 a week (no bills of course but no privacy) Check out http://hotelscombined.com for prices. Best cities to live in would be either Cork or Galway but being from Cork I am slightly biased : ) You would need about at least €1,000 per month to cover your living expenses such as food, bills, transport, accommodation etc and that would be a basic lifestyle. You could have problems staying more than 90 days in Ireland if you're not an EU national. Edit: You wouldn't need €23,000+ per year as someone else mentioned. Lets break it down. Rent: houseshare (depending where you live) €200/€250 pm Food (depending on your ability to "value shop") €200/€250 pm. Bills: electricity, maybe gas, maybe tv, maybe internet, maybe phone, lets say €100 pm. Public transport costs (depending where you live maybe even zero) €60/€80 pm. Miscellaneous: it's often up to you, based on the figures I've given and allowing €1,000 a month, you could have at least €400+ per month. You could have a basic lifestyle for €12,000 per year.

Figure out how you will get around when here - if you are under a certain age, renting a car will be very difficult. However, there are public transport options: Trains: www.irishrail.ie Buses: www.buseireann.ie and private coach services: www.jjkavanagh.ie The best hotels are usually the most expensive. This is basic economics. However, you could look into budget accommodation available, which could be B&Bs, hostels, apartments, etc. and are available on www.hostelworld.com. Summer is high season so prices will go up accordingly, as happens the world over. With regard to where you should visit, that depends. If ancient monuments bore the socks off you, then obviously you're not going to be keen on Newgrange. If you want the flashy city nightlife, it's there in the cities. If you want that in combination with Irish music, go to Galway. If you want hiking, google hiking tours in Ireland, and understand that if it recommended that you go with a guide to certain areas, there's usually a good reason for this. Be prepared for all kinds of weather, you will probably not get constant sunshine, there's a reason why Ireland is so green - the regular rain. Dress in layers, wear a light scarf and rainproof jacket and shoes, and you'll have a much more pleasant holiday.

I'd suggest you have the flute play tested by a flute teacher. Even if you don't take private lessons yourself you should be able to find one that would be willing to meet with you and evaluate your instrument. Some teachers may do this for you for free but others will charge you the cost of a lesson. Even if they do charge you, this is a good investment. It's important to get advice from an expert when making a big purchase like a new flute. I have not heard anything bad about the Galway Spirit. As far as I know it's a good value for the price. But I am not a flute teacher and I don't have any experience with it. It's possible that the problems you describe are things you will overcome once you've gotten used to the flute. It's also possible that this brand is simply the wrong one for you. Every flute player is different. Some flutes work out great for some players and not for others. A private teacher can be invaluable in helping you work that out, even if it's only for one or two lessons. Check with a local music store or ask your fellow flute players for the names of some local teachers. Good luck

Depends what you are paying for really. Are you just paying for food, toiletries, mobile phone, internet access, public transport & entertaining yourself or do you have to pay for your accommodation & bills too? Perhaps edit & add a bit more info on what exactly you have to pay for during your stay & how long you are staying, 1 month or 3 months? If you have to travel a fair way on the bus each day & enjoy a few drinks in a pub with friends at the weekend then you will need far more money than someone who stays in all the time & just eats noodles. For food & toiletries you are looking at about €30-35 per week (shop at Aldi or Lidl great quality low priced food).

In the 6 counties were at 1:34/1:35 sterling per litre of unleaded, diesel is 1:44/1:45. It would be more cost effective to buy a classic ferguson massey

NUIG has its own student campus Corrib Village and there are a number of other off site campus accommodation that you would find information about through their student services http://www.nuigalway.ie/student_services/accommodation_office/index.html major bulk of apartments are in the Salthill area and on the docks in city centre with others scattered around generally and with other student villages catering for GMIT on the opposite side of the city. Utilities would not be included if you were privately renting - I think the norm in campus accommodation is that it is charged and built into the price. But outside of college accommodation if you rented a place privately it would not be included in the rent. Some landlords like to have it in their name and ensure it gets paid others it's up to the tenants to set up the account. If you were moving into a place on your own you may have to arrange all that yourself. On housemates private rentals - generally is the case most landlords will leave getting in tenants to you.... it's better in the sense if you are a group of friends or students that know eachother moving in or an established house share where it's usually easier for other tenants to find someone (like other friends and people they know or friend of a friend) as its the tenants who in the end have to live with them. The areas of Newcastle and Salthill would be in easy access to NUIG and Galway city. To get the get the most of college you might want to be within easy commute of friends and college. NUIG itself is only a few minutes walk to the centre (depending on which side of the campus you are on that is). Galway is fairly traffic congested so anything outside the city boundary will meet lots of traffic at peak times (8/9am school and work run, 4-6 evenings) and on the East side of the city Dublin road is usually as bad. SO you wouldn't really want to be living out too far and completely reliant on pubic transport because there will always be traffic to contend with. The Galway Advertiser has accommodation listings (the paper itself is free and out on Thursdays but the accommodation section online updates midnight Thursday) but also on boards.ie there's a few sections that you might find helpful and useful One generally for Galway city with local folk http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=475 One for NUIG general - might be helpful for accommodation and people looking for new housemates http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=569 And a general 3rd level thread for accommodation - I don't know how reliable or credible so use common sense http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=975# Citizens Information has detailed information about Renting in general http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/housing/renting_a_home/

Galway is in the Republic of Ireland, it may well be "Europe" postage you would have to check with the Royal Mail to be sure, it may well be cheaper than Italy or Spain for example, depends on the weight of the package I suspect. I live in Ireland & a large package to the UK is often cheaper postage than to the rest of Europe for example. I don't know the UK mail rates off hand & it seems the royalmail website is down at the moment so I can't advise further. You could simply go to your local post office on Monday & have them tell you how much it costs to post the package to Ireland. Another time weigh the item (in its packaging) & clearly set out your postage costs to the various countries/continents & state them in the postage section of the auction. That way no confusion will arise & someone bidding in Ireland can see immediately how much postage they have to pay. You cannot rely on overseas buyers messaging you for postage costs (some might not have brilliant English) you however have the simple option to list precise postage prices. Remember to factor in the cost of packaging & your time & effort to post the packaging etc it is not just the price the Post Office quote that you put on your invoice (for instance I live 3 miles from the nearest post office so I add 50 cents to the P&P on each auction to cover this). If you did clearly state on this auction that buyers from outside the UK must message you for postage costs then simply find out the price as mentioned above & send the appropriate invoice as soon as possible. Until you send the correct invoice the buyer cannot pay the correct postage based on their country (Ireland) because presumably you stated UK postage costs only? To amend the invoice you will need to use the + symbol on the invoice to add the extra postage. A small tip here, use the "Preview invoice" button before you send it to make sure it is right as once you send it you cannot amend it OK

The aul boy,I'll scratch your back network is international.I think the smaller the country the more ingrained it is.

Please be careful about having your children here as there is no guarantee they will immeditately granted irish citizenship just because they are born here. If you can look into your family history and find any connection to Ireland then it will be easier. Like a grandfather/great grandfather. Secondly, you will need IRISH passports not UK (first wowrd of advice, learn this before you get here because you will get a short shirft from us Irish for not knowing this and some people go overboard) Galway is a fabulous city, more like a very large town, and you couldn't be going to a better place honestly. I'm glad you are used to the rain because Galway gets it's fair share, and over the last few years is prone to a good bit of snow at winter. That been said, it is a very unique city/county, very irish, very friendly, you should not worry about feeling welcome, plenty of things for you to do once you get here. Private schools here are few and far between, especially in the west, but I don't imagine they are like the US, nobody has the money to send their kids to them and nobody really cares, but the public schooling system is more popular. It's how everyone is schooled and I imagine it will be different to what you are used to, but it is quite good/well structure and very highly rated around the world. Your children will have to wear school uniforms and not their own clothes every day, but outside of books and uniforms etc it is free. Also remember most schools here do not provide lunches etc and you have to bring your own. I have never met anyone who is home schooled, it's not common here and you do not want to deprive your kids of this experience. They will get to know loads more kids if they go to schoo. We start with primary school here and not your elementary. Starting with junior infants, then on to senior infant and then first class, and so on to sixth class. I would recommend you start your research as soon as you get here so your kids can get a place in school. It's not a case of turning up on the day and hoping there will be room, sometimes there isn't. You can also think about sending them to an irish school, where there speak Irish instead of English. Most kids start school at five here but some start off in playschool a year earlier which might help your kids adjust more quickly. Usually it's only for three hours a day, which would be great for you to get out and get to know people, joing some groups etc. I don't know if you are planning on working yourself, but you do not want to come here and get stuck at home and miss all there is to see. The house/homes here are usually all alike. Most people either live in the city in flats, or in clusters of houses called estates, or in one off houses further into the country, these tend to be bigger, but you will see very little difference to where you are from, so no worries there. If you have further question you can email, it think its will my profile pic, but best of luck and do be excited.you are going to have a great time, but do check about having your children here. You can of course, but whether or not they are granted Irish passports is a different matter Please ignore the other comments on the page where people give out that you don't realise that galway is a city and not a town etc, we irish like to think we are the center of the world and find it hard that outsiders don't know these things and please do not take them as the sampling of people you will meet when you get here. Honest, we're lovely.

In the grocery store it costs about 40c to 50c, but if you order one in a bar, expect to pay €2 to €2.50 for it in a glass. Depends on what you want to do, but if you are eating lunch or dinner out and visiting bars/ clubs most nights, then you will have no change from €100 per day.