Behind the basics of getting a job sorted out, there have been a whole load of logistical considerations to get sorted out before we move over in just ten days time. Hence, I hopped on a flight over to Dublin on Wednesday (Lana has been out there for a few days more) to get some of them arranged.

The primary goal was to get a PPS number. This is the equivalent of the UK National Insurance number and is required before I can register to receive the tax credits I’ll be entitled to, as well as acting as the key for all sorts of other services. In order to try and avoid paying too much in emergency tax I was keen to get the PPS number sorted out before I start work. This leads to a kind of catch-22 situation in which I was not yet living over there, but yet still needed proof of residence. The usual form of prrof is a bank statement/utility bill. After checking contradictory statements on the web, I phoned them up and was advised that a letter from Lana’s parents stating that we will be staying with them initially would suffice, if accompanied by one of their utility bills. This was easy to arrange, so along with my passport I had all that I needed. The actual process involved going to the Social Welfare office in Tallaght (you can’t go to just any one in Dublin, but the one for the area you are either living in or working in.) and filling in a form. The number should be sent to me (in Ireland of course) in 3-5 days.

Once I have the number I can fill in a form 12a to claim my tax credits. The income tax system does not work on an allowance basis as in the UK, but simply on a variety of tax credits. For instance I’ll be eligible for a single person, and PAYE credit to begin with. Seen as we will be renting as well I may get a rent tax credit available to people renting private accommodation. Of course, come the end of August when we get married this will all change as well.

So, with the PPS number and tax credits on the way to being sorted, I’d need a bank account into which IBM will be able to pay me. From reading up on the web, this looked like it would be the most difficult thing to get sorted in advance of the move. AIB and Bank of Ireland both require two proof of address bills/statements which of course I don’t have. This is mainly to comply with anti-money laundering legislation. Ringing up branches of both gave inconsistent answers so I went prepared with as much paperwork as I could muster, including the stuff I’d given to the PPS people, and even a final UK water bill which we’d had sent to Lana’s parents’ address.

My favoured bank was AIB due to the fact that they have better facilities for transferring money internationally (i.e. back to the UK) however, they would only get around the proof of address issue if I produced a letter from IBM stating my employment, and then only if IBM itself was an AIB customer. Seen as the welcome pack from IBM contained a Bank of Ireland account application form I decided however to go with them. This was influenced by the fact that the money laundering section of the form was stamped over with “Exception MLRO” which gave me hope that maybe the form would relax some of the constraints on the process. We chose to try the nearest branch to the IBM location and it all started out well. I showed them my contract of employment, the letter and bills from Lana’s parents and the completed application form. The lady went away and then came back stating that they would need to see a confirmation letter from IBM HR before they would open the account. Helpfully she suggested that we pop up the road to pick one up. I smiled back and mentioned that the letter would most likely have to be produced by the centralised HR department in Hungary so given the branch was 15 minutes from closing that was unlikely to happen. This appeared to put us in an impasse in which it looked like I’d have to get such a letter sorted out and bring it in once I started work. Not good.

However, just as we were about to leave disappointed, she pointed out that I’d have to get a PPS number as well. Er, well we just did, the letter will be on it’s way to Lana’s parents in a few days. On receipt of this news she smiled and said that if Lana’s mum bought the letter in that would be fine. So, we ended up in the slightly ridiculous situation in which the bank would be perfectly satisfied by a letter from a government department to whom I’d produced exactly the same proof of identity and residence asa I presented to the bank. Still, it means that I’ll have the account set up sometime next week, at least hopefully.

On top of all this, there are a whole load of other things on the to-do list. I’m taking my car over so I’ll have to get it registered, taxed, tested and insured, though I’ll have about a month after we arrive to get this sorted. There’s health insurance and pension decisions to make, as well as the small matter of finding us both somewhere a bit more permanent to live. No doubt I’ll cover much of this in other posts.

From the UK side all our stuff gets picked up for shipment on Tuesday, and next Friday is the last day of work for both of us before we head off over there for good on the 3rd June.

I received the call from IBM HR today to say confirm the contract offer from Dublin, and to say that it was being Fedex’d to me and should be here on Friday. This has finally enabled me to confirm the end date in Hursley and start date in Dublin. My last day in Hursley will be on Friday 1st June, though I’ll be using a couple of days of holiday to take me up to an official end date of Tuesday 5th. The UK IBMers amongst my readers will know why that date is especially significant, as we get paid on the 6th of the month.

Talking of pay, my friend Rich reminded me that one of Gordon Brown’s last acts as chancellor will be to offer me a lovely tax rebate seen as I’ll have received just two months salary in the current tax year whilst paying tax on my expected yearly earnings.

Lana has been very busy packing up all non-essential stuff, to the point where the flat is now full of Staples boxes. Our original plan was to hire a van and book a ferry over to Dublin for the weekend before we go for good. This was all booked up and although it would be a long, long slog over a 48 hour period, it was the cheapest and least hassle way of doing it.

All that may have changed however as I was also told that I can claim up to €3000 in relocation expenses, including personal effects transport. The appointed relocation agents have already been in contact with me, and I’ve asked them for a quote to get our stuff over and store it until needed. This will make things easier all round and will also save us from taking up too much space at Lana’s parents place. Fortunately the ferry and van are fully refundable, bar £30.

As for housing over there, we will be staying with Lana’s folks for a few weeks whilst we find a place to rent. I’ve been busy looking at places on the ‘net at http://www.daft.ie but you really need to be there to see places.

It’s getting closer and closer, and I can’t wait.

I’ve alluded to some of the reasons why we are moving to Dublin, but I guess it is worth going into a bit more detail.

The first and probably most obvious reason is that Lana was brought up there. I’ve always said to her that we would give it a go at some point, and now seems like the right time. I’ve been down in Southampton for over eight years, and save for a single year so has Lana. We’ve been together for four years, and living together in the same place for the past three. We have reached the point where we either settle down for good in Southampton, or we move on somewhere else. Now there are many good things about Southampton and the surrounding area, but it has never truly felt like home to either of us. Friends aside, we’ve simply become a bit bored of it.

The first thought when considering where we might relocate to was to accommodate my job. Lana’s nursing makes her a lot more flexible than me, so we thought about where we might like to buy a house. We knew we probably didn’t want to to this in Southampton, and therefore we looked further afield. There was little point in looking to somewhere like Basingstoke, Reading or the likes as we’d be too far away from friends and would have to start afresh. The only other option would be to move up back towards Watford/Luton where I grew up and where we both know a fair amount of people. The problem there was that it would make commuting to Hursley impossible, meaning I’d have to look at moving into a different job role within IBM. Leaving the world of development for a services type role wasn’t something I was keen on doing.

So if we were going to relocate somewhere then it might as well be to Dublin where Lana has her family and friends, I have relatives, and what’s more, I could find a job which kept me in a development role without having to consider looking outside of IBM.

I guess the second reason is that I’m intrigued to experience living in somewhere other than England. Whilst I’ll admit that Ireland isn’t exactly a huge way away, I am looking forward to what will hopefully be a distinctly different way of life. I’ll freely admit that it has been increasingly depressing to watch the slow but systematic erosion of values which has happened over the past few years in England. I’m pretty fed up of seeing governmental cock-up after cock-up with regards to how the country is run, and have looked on in envy as I’ve either seen friends leave or read about people who have not looked back after doing so. Don’t get me wrong, I am truly proud of my place of birth, but I’m just not that keen on the way it is going. Whether Ireland is any better I don’t know, but it will be refreshing to experience. Of course, one can read all sorts of similar arguments about the Irish political and social situation, especially with the forthcoming election, but there is something about the Irish nature which seems to be more relaxed and dare I say liberal about such matters. Of course, it helps that the papers are not full of news about a phoney war on a daily basis either. Another thing I am genuinely looking forward to is sampling the famous history of begrudgery in the Irish nature, primarily as a nice antidote to the horrific cult of celebrity which is now pervasive through life on these shores.

To sum it up, I’ll refer to a passage from Joe Laredo’s Living and Working in Ireland, which I picked up in Borders yesterday. It pretty much says it all about why I am looking forward to moving there:

When it is all said and done, Ireland is one of the most open, liberal, stable and tolerant societies in the world. It has a strong economy, political stability, a good education system, a skilled workforce, a high standard of living, excellent health care services and a wealth of natural beauty. But perhaps above all, the Irish are renowned for their relaxed way of life. “When God made time, he made plenty of it” is a popular saying – and the Irish certainly seem to know how to make the most of it. Put simply, Ireland is a great place in which to live, work and raise a family.

You can’t hope for much more than that!