Now then, before you get fully settled in to your new Irish life, you should know a bit more about the details of everyday Ireland. No, not how to put on an Irish accent or what beer to order at the pub (that will come later), but the more practical aspects of your future life in Ireland. You'll probably want to know about what sort of everyday prices you can expect, what's the best way to keep in touch with friends and family, or even how the Irish government system runs. This step in your move to Ireland should be less stressful than the previous ones and give you a greater picture of what to expect from the Emerald Isle.

Prices

There's some good news and some bad news. First off, some of the prices you'll find for everyday items are much higher than in the U.S., and with the current strength of the euro, your saved dollars might not go as far as you'd like. Groceries, cosmetics, and toiletry items are all higher priced here. For example, a bottle of shampoo of the same brand might cost $1.99 in the states, while costing over 3 euro here. A night out here, as well, can put a big hole in your pocket. Average prices for a pint of beer are between 3 and 4 euro, a simple vodka and coke can be over 6 euro, and entry fees for a club can be upwards of 10 to 15 euro. Oil prices at the moment are even more depressing; with gas costing over 4 euro a gallon, owning a car here is a huge investment. But there is some good news; as I've mentioned earlier in my accommodation section, you can find rent prices that are much cheaper than in places like NYC. Also, if you like to read, prices of books are very reasonable, and if you are a girl and like to shop, there are plenty of great shops with trendy clothes at reasonable prices, Penneys and Dunnes, for instance.

Telephones

Phones are probably the next piece of important information you'll need to know about when coming to Ireland. Just like Britain, Ireland has become a nation of mobile phones and texting. Most people here don't have a monthly plan like in the States, but rather opt for a "pay as you go" plan. The advantages of this are you only pay for the amount of minutes you use on your phone, and you don't have to pay any monthly charges; you can just go into a shop at any time and add the amount of your choice onto your phone. However, mobile phone calls tend to be very high priced here, and you'll probably end up texting like everyone else, since texts are only about 11 cents per message. A monthly plan might give you better call rates though, if you think you'll use your phone more, but that's for you to decide. The three major mobile phone companies in Ireland are O2, meteor, and vodafone, and www.movetoireland.com has some good info on all the phone companies and mobile phones in general. You can also just check out each of the companies' websites and find the phone plan right for you.

You may be asking, though, how will I keep in touch with friends and family from back home? This is another important question. Mobile phones aren't the best way to go when calling back home; the charges are astronomical, and you are even charged when using a phone card. So, this leaves two options: calling from a pay phone or calling from a land line. Pay phones can often be expensive, as well as inconvenient, but installing a landline can also be very expensive. Eircom is the major company in Ireland for landlines, and you can check out prices and plans at www.eircom.ie. But the best way to go might be to find someone with a landline you can use, or go into an internet café to use their phones with your own phone card. I would recommend Link Calling Card as one of the best rates for calling home to the states. Another way to go, which I prefer, is to buy a phone card for your friends and family to call you. The rates are much cheaper when calling Ireland from the states, and you can find some really great cards on the net, www.speedypin.com in particular. You can purchase the cards off the internet, then give the card info to your friends and family from home and arrange times for them to call you.

Healthcare

Switching gears completely, health care in Ireland is another important thing to know about. The Irish health care system is very different from the American one. Everyone resident in Ireland is entitled to free healthcare, but free means long-waiting lists and not being ensured a hospital bed. Private insurance should definitely be looked into before you come here. The major insurance providers in Ireland are VHI, Bupa, and Vivas. But before you purchase a private insurance policy you should check if your current health insurance would cover your medical expenses here, especially if you are staying for a short period, studying, or doing an internship. You could even look into a travel health insurance policy, which will cover you in case of medical emergencies for a short-term trip abroad. But if you are planning on staying here long term, you should look into one of the major private insurance companies to find a plan to meet your needs, because, unfortunately, Irish employers don't provide insurance policies for their employees. If you don't want to be left in the hands of the strained public health system, the researching and the paying are all up to you.

Government

On a brighter note, learning about the Irish government is completely free. It's a good thing to know how Irish government works and how it's different from the American system. The website www.irlgov.ie has tons of information all about the Irish offices. But in short, there is a President, who is elected by the people, and acts as a representative of Ireland, more of a figurehead you might say. The president has no executive or policy powers. These powers are reserved for the Taoiseach (pronounced Tee-shock), who is the prime minister of Ireland. He is the head of state, and a member of the party in control the House of Oireachtas (Or-ee-ock-tas), or the Irish Parliament. The current President of Ireland is Mary McAleese, and the current Taoiseach is Bertie Ahern from the Fianna Fail party (Fee-na Fall).

Cars

And last but not least, for those of you who like to drive and own cars, your road will be a bit harder in Ireland, literally and figuratively. First, the roads in Ireland are much narrower and rougher in many areas than in the states. That combined with left side driving is going to make for a completely new driving experience. And you'd want to be extremely careful, as well, because Ireland has one of the highest rates of road accidents in Europe. But with a bit of practice and patience, anyone can get used to it. The problem is only a certain number of countries are allowed to transfer their existing driver's licence into an Irish one, and the U.S. isn't one of them. If you are residing in Ireland, you may use your current U.S. licence for up to 6 months. After that, you will need to apply for a driver's test. This is a long process. You'll have to take a driver theory test, apply for a provisional licence, take eye exams, and then apply for an actual driver's test, which has a current waiting period of 33 weeks, and to top it off, all tests are done on a manual transmission car. Not only this, but once you are able to drive, car insurance costs can sometimes be through the roof, due to your gender or age. Young male drivers are charged the most, due to higher accident rates in this demographic. Car tax can also be a major expense; all cars are taxed based on the size of the engine. My recommendation would be to forgo the car, unless you absolutely need it. If you are living in any city, like Dublin, Cork, or Galway, the public transportation system, cabs, or your own legs are usually sufficient enough to get around.

These are the little things you should have basic information on before you head across the Atlantic. There's lots of info out there on the net, and I've given you a start with many of the websites below. Many of these details, however, can be researched only through the experience of living and working in Ireland, such as the everyday prices, the Irish government, mobile phones, and phone cards. Cars and health insurance, if you are planning to purchase either, will need to be thought about a little more in advance. Like any country, Ireland has its quirks in the way the system is run. It will be different from what you're used to, but it will become more familiar and easier to deal with over time. Now all that's left to think about is "having the craic!" as the Irish say. My final article will deal with pubs, travel, and all the rich personality of Irish culture that you'll soon experience firsthand.