This article is in partnership with Day Translations.

Most people, when they think about Ireland, think about Dublin but there is so much more to Ireland than the capital. For digital nomads, expanding your horizon beyond the main Irish city can bring a number of benefits, but there is also a reality check. Ireland has the potential to offer many opportunities to digital nomads and remote workers but you need to do your research to find the best option for you.

Reality Check about Living in Ireland

There are two main issue that affect the quality of life in Ireland: the cost of living in general and the scarsity of available housing.

You will need to have a solid job that pays well to be able to live and work in Ireland.

Dedicated Hubs for Digital Nomads in Ireland

Over the past few years Ireland has invested heavily in technology, from building new data centres to embracing various types of electronic payments. For example, Stripe was an Irish start up which has expanded internationally and that has now a global presence.

Some cities in Ireland are better equipped than others to cater for digital nomads and this reflects in the number of dedicated working hubs that you can find.

According to the Irish Tourist Board Ireland.com there were more than 240 dedicated digital nomads hubs in 2022 and according to ConnectedHubs, a website that helps you find the nearest digital hub in Ireland, there are almost 370 hubs in Ireland in 2024 for a total of more than 5,200 available desks.

These hubs not only provide office space for people working remotely but they also offer support for start ups and a range of networking events.

There are 11 key locations across Ireland that include major cities like Dublin, Kerry and Galway.

Prices vary according to each geographical area; for example, a desk in a digital hub in Athlone can cost as little as 15 euro a day or 220 euro a month, but in a high specification digital hub in Dublin you have to pay 40 euro per day or 350 euro per month. It must be said that one of the weaknesses of the website when searching for office space is that it does not allow you to search by budget but only by location.

The Push To Get People Working Remotely in Rural Ireland

The Irish government has created incentives for people to relocate to rural areas of Ireland and this includes attracting digital nomads and remote workers away from big cities like Dublin. The official announcement was made in 2022 and the package of incentives included 10,000 hot desks to be available free of charge for both first time users and existing users. The overall budget was 5 million euro.

The main advantage of relocating to a rural area is the cost of accommodation which, combined to financial incentives such as grants, can make the transition from urban living more seamless. If you are planning to buy a house in a rural area of Ireland you can avail from government funding of upwards of 50,000 euro towards the rebuilding of vacant properties. There are also tax incentives for remote workes who can charge some home expenses towards their tax bill.

ConnectedHubs has a section with additional information about hubs in rural areas. One thing you need to remember is that broadband availability and mobile coverage can vary across Ireland, so having office spaces that are fully equipped can be a convenient option when working remotely. This way you could theoretically enjoy the great outdoors and get reliable internet access at the same time.

However, it’s also worth noting that it may take a few years to see the results of public investments and living in rural areas can be challenging. Public transport is not widely available and you may need to rely on your car to move around, while other services such as doctors and hospitals may be located in more urban and more populated areas.

Ireland has the potential to be a great destination for digital nomads if they choose to move away from the capital and search for places with a lower cost of accommodation such as in rural areas. However, this needs to be balanced against some disadvantages of living away from populated urban areas, particularly the availability of public transport and other public services.

Picture: Ireland from above. Paola Bassanese