Subject: The daunting tribulations of hunting for a home in Dublin – A personal account
Dear Editor,
I am a 28-year-old professional who commenced my employment in Dublin in September 2022 after obtaining postgraduate qualifications from Trinity College Dublin and acquiring a work permit. I currently employ my skills in a technical company, holding the position of a marketing manager.
Although I experience an array of privileges granted to an urban professional, the extreme state of Ireland’s housing situation leaves me contemplating the possibility of ceasing my residency in this nation.
I lack the personal experiences that would allow me to fathom the plight of society’s marginalized individuals adequately, and therefore will refrain from portraying their ordeal.
However, I find it necessary to recount my own experience with this peculiar issue. To illustrate my daily struggles in hunting for rented residences, let me delineate an ordinary day for me.
I initiate my mornings rigidly by checking the property website Daft, swiftly answering any correspondence that aligns with my set criteria. Prioritising speed in responding to newly posted property listings is my relentless strategy, which requires me to remain constantly attuned to my electronic device.
If fortune befalls me and I get a reply, attending a property viewing demands the very best of me. It becomes a heated competition between me and four or five other prospective tenants who are given a brief window of time to impress the property owner or the real estate agent.
The onset of a housing search in Dublin infiltrates your daily life entirely, transforming it into a cyclical routine filled with lingering nervousness. Regardless of the fact that I can afford to pay several months’ rent in advance or even craft the most compelling email, my search remains ceaseless.
At some point, the relentless pursuit for shelter will cease. Eventually, I’ll secure a home due to my resources and resilience, but the memory of this taxing search will remain indelible.
Dublin can often be compared to San Francisco in the United States, being a city where incredible affluence and poverty coexist. The high costs of renting a place in Dublin make life difficult for those merely scraping by, leading to despair. It’s a location where professionals in the corporate sector tussle to secure a spot to live and those less fortunate are often pushed into homelessness. Whenever planning approval is either cancelled in Milltown or withheld in Drumcondra, Dublin’s similarities to San Francisco become even more pronounced. Even though Dublin is in Europe, it strikes a chord with memories of my homeland. However, I don’t see a future for me in this city. Best regards, Connor Holbert, Dublin 6.