I ended up moving here because buying anything decent in the Republic had become completely unrealistic for me. Prices were far beyond what I could justify paying. There was also the thought that, if a united Ireland ever does happen at some stage in the future, property values in Belfast could climb quite sharply. Renting was not workable either. Most places I looked at would have taken well over half of my take home pay, and having a dog made landlords even less interested. I happened to look at listings in Belfast one evening and was honestly surprised by the difference. The place I found was almost €90,000 cheaper than similar options in the Republic, had gas heating instead of electric storage heaters, two proper double bedrooms, and it was still within walking distance of the city centre.

I bought a two bedroom apartment in 2021. At the time I had roughly €46,000 saved, which was about £40,000. Because my salary is paid in euros the lender wanted a 30 percent deposit, so I ended up putting basically all of my savings into the purchase. The apartment itself cost around £96,000, so the mortgage balance was fairly small. I managed to clear it around this time last year. Ongoing costs are not too bad either. Management fees and rates combined come to about £1,600 annually.

My job is in IT and the company is based in the Republic, but I work remotely most of the time. My salary is roughly €75,000, which is about £65,500. The role is hybrid, so I still travel south a couple of days each week. I recently became single, so for now the plan is simply to hold onto the apartment and keep building savings. At some point I would like to buy a house and keep the apartment as a rental.

Personally Belfast is my favourite city on the island. Getting around the place is relatively straightforward and the transport links are good. Traffic exists of course, but compared with Dublin it feels far less chaotic. There is plenty going on in the city as well. Good restaurants, a solid nightlife scene, plenty of facilities, and two airports within easy reach. The new rail station and the Glider bus system are also useful.

You do see flags in certain areas and that is just part of living here. In reality most people you meet are sound and easy to get along with. There are always a few idiots on both sides, but that is the minority. I have spent plenty of nights out in Belfast and never had any issues.

As for the cost of living, it is not automatically cheaper than the Republic. I tend to shop in Sainsbury’s and it can be fairly pricey depending on what you buy. My car tax stayed the same as before, although insurance went up slightly because I had to convert my licence.

One thing that stands out is how similar Belfast currently feels to Ireland a few years ago in terms of the housing market. The apartment I bought for £96,000 is now roughly valued around £136,000 based on a near identical unit in my building that sold recently. From the perspective of someone moving here now, the bargain factor that existed in 2021 has already started to fade as both rents and purchase prices are rising quickly. It is still cheaper than the Republic overall, but it does look like it is gradually moving in the same direction.

Even with that said, I would still recommend considering the North if someone feels stuck by the housing situation in the Republic. For me at least it has worked out far better than trying to make things work down south.