Chandan is one of our International Student Ambassadors. In this blog, he provides great tips on which bus apps to download, which Taxi service to use, and how to rent a car, as well as other hints! This is Chandan’s ‘Seven Months So Far in Limerick’

Hi My name is Chandan, I am pursuing Masters in Software Engineering at University of Limerick & I am going to give you some techie tips to save money and find your way around Limerick!

Today I am going to give you a few important takeaways from my journey here in Limerick and UL.

So, let’s start with the most important stuff: Coursework – The first and foremost goal is to know your class schedules, timings and the way to study. The coursework here is entirely different, and it is totally based on the Realtime-Industry practices. In the initial few days, try to get acquainted with the pattern of assignments, projects, midterms, and end of semester exams. Have a goal to finish your assignments and projects on time. As a student, your first priority is to get the coursework done successfully.

Now let’s move to other interesting and important stuffs which might be useful when you are here in Limerick that you might not know about.

1. Part time Job – If you consider yourself a responsible person and know how to manage your time efficiently, try getting a part time job – it could be on campus or off campus. According to my experience good thing about doing this is obviously some extra pocket money to help you with finances, but, nevertheless it also helps you organize your time so efficiently. Believe me, when I started working, I was able to organize my study schedules more efficiently than when I was not at work. It really helps you learn time management. Find the link where you can apply for part time jobs in the city – https://ie.indeed.com/part-time-jobs-in-Limerick Just remember to make sure to check if you can work in Ireland, it depends on your VISA.

• Bank Account – There are many banks where you can opt to have a bank account but just to let you know there is KBC bank which gives you a free one time 50 Euro for all the full time third level students who wish to have their bank account with KBC Bank. Find more details at – http://bit.ly/3cGR2Ci

• A Mobile App which is very useful if you are staying off campus – Imagine you have to get to the bus stop but you don’t know in how much time a bus is going to arrive at the bus stop, it helps you locate the nearest bus stop and shows in how many minutes the bus is going to arrive at that bus stop- 80 percent of the times it shows correct information if there is no impact of traffic or changes in the buses schedules for that particular day. You may use it to track your bus. Link to download the app- http://bit.ly/38APF4U

• Leap Card Recharge – Every student should get a leap card – it saves on travel! BUT I want to bring to your attention, the features that card has which was unrevealed for me for few months! So, it not only gives you a discount on each travel in bus but it also entitles you to have unlimited free rides for 24 hrs, 7 days and 30 days duration from a buy ticket option in the mobile app. Link to download the app – http://bit.ly/2W4tscO

Types of Pass	Cost of Pass	Recharge Options	Important Note
24 Hours Pass	4 Euro	NFC Enabled Mobile App, Centra, Spar.	24 hrs mean round the clock. Example – If you recharge with 4 euro at 12 PM on the day, you can avail free ride till 12 PM the next day.
7 days Pass	16.80 Euro	NFC Enabled Mobile App, Centra, Spar.	It is valid round the week from the day you start.
30 days Pass	59.50 Euro	Centra, Spar only	30 days are calculated for a calendar month, so to utilize the full benefit out of this, make sure to recharge on 1st of every month because whatever day you recharge it will expire on the last day of the calendar month.

Rate Card for Limerick – Bus Eirrean.

• Freenow – We all know Freenow is one of the service provider of cabs in Limerick, Ireland. But did you know that you can get a discount of 10 Euro off your first ride?? So it’s a quick tip. If you are a first time user of Free now app and want to save money on your first ride – Use code “9292ED” and add it through add promo section of the app. Just to let you know It works only when you pay via debit/credit card in the app, doesn’t work with mode of cash payment. Try it now and thank me later!

• GoCar – If you know driving and want to self-drive a car in Ireland, try getting a International driving permit issued by your home country and valid driving licence to get started with it. Use my code 5x8g46 to join GoCar and you’ll get €25 off your first trip! Sign up here: http://tinyurl.com/y4oxhkoc . But before you do this don’t forget to learn the traffic rules and road signs in Ireland, there are many YouTube tutorials available to learn traffic rules before you drive in Ireland. Believe me it’s the best way to explore different, small counties nearby. I went to Killaloe and had a great experience. Link to download the App – http://bit.ly/38HLgx7

• Online Shopping – If you love shopping online and want to get good deals on brands like Zara and H&M, try shopping online from their official app. They sometimes have offers of 10%, 15% off. A tip according to my experience is – Try shopping in the Month of January & February, you will find crazy discounts like 70 to 80 % off and clothing under 10 Euros.

• If you are a drone lover like me, and want to fly drones in Ireland. Learn to know the flying zones and adhere to the guidelines given by IAA. Use the link below to find out the places where you can fly drone and at what height learning about controlled and uncontrolled airspaces – https://www.uaai.ie/airspace.html

For more information and advices – Follow me on Instagram “ckcvlogs” 

See you again !