Study Ireland – Stories & Guides from International Students

Ireland is the land of weather. Intense showers, blustery gales, and dazzling sunshine are common and may happen all in the same day. When packing for Ireland, many travel blogs recommended “dressing in layers” and having a high-quality rain jacket. I whole-heartedly agree with these recommendations and have three other packing suggestions: 

1. An unusual but sound piece of advice I read online was to purchase a windproof umbrella. While it’s almost impossible to not know about the rainy conditions in Ireland, the wind was a factor I didn’t fully appreciate until I got here and am very thankful for my sturdy umbrella now. On at least three occasions, I’ve seen the combination of wind and rain invert people’s normal umbrellas. There is nothing worse than having your umbrella turn inside out during a heavy downpour.  

2. Heavier layers! I come from a northern state in the United States, so I thought I was used to cold weather. I packed t-shirts, light long-sleeved shirts, and some lighter sweaters thinking the milder temperatures would feel much warmer than they’ve felt in reality. Because of the humidity, the cold is a “damp cold” that really chills you to your bones some days. I wish I would have packed heavier sweaters and fewer warm weather clothes I thought I could layer effectively. I also purchased an insulated rain jacket for the actual winter here, which I hear is a lot of sleet and single digit (Celsius) temperatures. 

3. Leather or equivalent shoes. I’m used to wearing knit, mesh, breathable running shoes or slip-ons most days and thought bringing a pair of rain boots for rainy days would be sufficient. I was wrong. It rains on and off throughout the day and is rarely predictable (in that, it’s a given that it will rain at some point during the day, you just never know when). Rain boots are lovely, but I find them not the most comfortable to wear all day every day, so I did buy full leather shoes as daily footwear rather than my runners to keep the rain out. 

In addition to the weather, there were a few things I didn’t fully anticipate and would recommend considering to help in your transition: 

1. I’m a millennial and still have two-step authentication that calls my cell phone for verification of some accounts. If this is also you and you won’t have access to your primary cell phone number, even temporarily, it would be wise to either use passkeys or temporarily update your verification phone number to a Google number or one you can access overseas. Do this while you’re still at home and can access and update any important accounts rather than having to turn on an international phone plan after arriving.  

2. If you’re planning to use credit cards, double-check if they have foreign transaction fees. Specifically for American travelers planning to use an American Express to avoid additional fees, AmEx isn’t accepted at many businesses in Ireland and is not a feasible strategy (ha).  

3. Adjusting to a new country can be unpredictable. Plan to get sick at some point early on in your studies, especially if you’re not used to the humidity in combination with colder temperatures. I would recommend going to a local pharmacy when you get here to purchase a couple over-the-counter cough and cold medications/supplements before you need them (for me, cough drops and zinc were essential – not official medical advice). It’s never a good day to try to navigate your way to a pharmacy while feeling ill. It also helps to be familiar beforehand with what is and is not available in Ireland versus what you may be used to at home.  

4. Completely unrelated, I have very sensitive skin and use fragrance-free laundry detergent. This was very challenging to locate in any stores here (I went to every grocery store and pharmacy), and I ended up purchasing fragrance-free laundry detergent sheets online. Obviously, flying with a heavy bottle of laundry detergent wouldn’t have been practical even had I known, but it was one surprising thing I couldn’t easily find. I’ve been told that Health Stores like the ones in the Castletroy shopping centre sell fragrance-free detergent. 

Just remember: it’s impossible to be completely prepared for a move across the globe, so have patience and don’t fret about things you could have done differently. It helped me to think through my entire day, start to finish, and identify essential items that might be hard to purchase in Ireland or that I wanted my home version of while making my packing list. Either way, whether you have the perfect rain attire or not, you’re going to love it here J