Dublin Comes in Last for Quality of Life

Expats moving to Dublin can look forward to increased career opportunities but have to contend with the worst-performing housing market in our survey.

A Great Job Market but Less than Stellar Compensation
Friendly Locals Yet a Middling Social Life
A Nightmare Housing Search
Lackluster Quality of Life Can’t Explain the High Living Costs
Further Reading

Dublin exits the bottom 10 to rank 37th out of 53 cities in the 2024 Expat City Ranking — returning to 2022 form (37th). The good news is, the Working Abroad Index enters the top 10 in 8th place. The bad news? Personal Finance (50th) and Quality of Life (53rd) remain in the bottom 5. Overall, expats’ happiness with their life abroad moves up from 45th place to rank 38th.

A Great Job Market but Less than Stellar Compensation

In 2022, Working Abroad in Dublin was ranked 2nd out of 50 cities. After slipping to 15th place the following year, it regains some ground by ranking 8th in 2024.

Interestingly, all four of the index’s subcategories were in the top 10 two years ago; in 2024, only two perform as strongly: Career Prospects (6th) and Work Culture & Satisfaction (8th). Meanwhile, Salary & Job Security improves from last year’s 23rd place in 2023 to rank 15th, and Work & Leisure drops 11 places to 33rd.

Expats appreciate the local job market (10th) and their personal career opportunities (8th), with 73% agreeing that moving to Dublin improved their career prospects (vs. 56% globally). The city also lands in 1st place for job security: 74% of respondents are satisfied with this factor (vs. 56%). Nevertheless, a third (33%) don’t agree they’re paid fairly for their work (vs. 22%), ranking this factor 42nd.

And although the local business culture supports flexibility (8th), expats find their working hours (33rd) and work–life balance (32nd) to be less than stellar. In fact, they work longer than the average expat per week (43.7 h vs. 42.5 h full-time, respectively).

Friendly Locals Yet a Middling Social Life

Dublin ranks 18th is the Ease of Settling In Index. Expats have praise for the friendliness of locals in general (10th) and towards foreign residents (13th), landing Dublin in 12th place in the Local Friendliness Subcategory.

“The social cohesion here is commendable. The Irish are a mostly warm people.” – Nigerian expat

The Finding Friends (28th) and Culture & Welcome (25th) Subcategories are more average — in part due to a higher share of expats than the global average not feeling at home in Dublin (33% vs. 23%) or unhappy with their social life (38% vs. 29%).

Getting used to the local culture (27th) and making local friends (27th) isn’t particularly easy nor difficult, with nearly half of expats (48%) describing their friends and acquaintances as a mixed group of expats and local residents.

A Nightmare Housing Search

Dublin’s performance falters with the Expat Essentials Index (39th). This ranking is pulled down by the Housing Subcategory in last place (53rd) — the same as in 2023. Over four in five expats rate the affordability (82% vs. 47% globally) and availability (83% vs. 34%) of housing negatively. It appears that expats’ fears were well founded: more than half (56%) cited housing as their biggest concern (vs. 19%) before relocating to Dublin.

“The terrible public transportation and a significant housing crisis are major detractors.” – US American expat

Admin Topics is at least in 19th place. It’s relatively easy to deal with the local authorities and bureaucracy: 47% of respondents say as much, 11 percentage points higher than the global average of 36%. Getting a visa to move to Dublin also doesn’t pose an issue (13th).

When it comes to Digital Life (26th), the offering tends to be average. Expats can pay without cash (20th), have good unrestricted access to online services like social media (23rd), and find a decent availability of government services online (26th).

Lackluster Quality of Life Can’t Explain the High Living Costs

Dublin’s first index in the bottom 5 is Personal Finance (50th). Nearly three in four expats (73%) rate the general cost of living negatively (vs. 39% globally), with 39% saying that their disposable household income isn’t enough to lead a comfortable life (vs. 30%).

The second index to grace the bottom 5 is Quality of Life, in last place (53rd). Three of its subcategories can be found in the bottom 10: Healthcare (53rd), Travel & Transit (52nd), and Leisure Options (47th).

“It can be boring for those that don’t drink alcohol or follow sports. It lacks culture and sophistication for such an expensive city and country.” – Mexican expat

There’s no silver lining for the Healthcare and Travel & Transit Subcategories, as all of their underlying factors are also in the bottom 10. Healthcare is neither affordable (50th) nor available (53rd), and expats are dissatisfied with its quality (53rd) and the ability to get equal access to medical services (53rd). Public transportation also doesn’t impress with its affordability (49th) and availability (50th). And more than double the global average of expats rate the infrastructure for cars negatively (30% vs. 14%).

Safety & Security comes in 32nd place, playing a balancing act between personal safety in the bottom 10 (46th) and the ability to openly express oneself and one’s opinions in the top 10 (8th).

Not all is bad for Quality of Life, as the Environment & Climate is in average 27th place. Dublin’s air quality (15th) and natural environment (20th) can be appreciated, and more than three in four expats (76%) agree that the government supports policies to protect the environment (vs. 61% globally).