‘It’s nice to have an opportunity to be sociable at home’

Julia Wilks is a recent arrival to Dublin who found it tricky to navigate the Dublin rental scene. “I started working here in April and I was lucky in that my employer put me up in a hotel for the first few months while I found somewhere to live. I was still commuting backwards and forwards to London for the first while,” she explains.

“I suppose I started looking actively in May. I found it very difficult. I’d lived in London, Paris and New York before and each city has its own way of doing things. You have to learn the system and in those cities it’s very broker-led, whereas here you really have to do it for yourself. I tried looking on my own for a while — I was trying to find something in Stoneybatter which is very up and coming — and I never got a call back!

“The best bit of advice that I got was to tell everyone you know that you are looking for somewhere, so I did that and eventually I got an introduction through friends of friends to a lovely apartment share in Belgrave Square in Dublin 6. I had to wait for another six weeks until the person who was planning to move out had actually left, but I consider myself very lucky as it’s important to share with nice people. I’d much prefer to be in a share like this as it’s nice to have an opportunity to be sociable at home and I think it helps with integration when you’re moving from abroad.”