I can't believe you moved there without visiitng first, although a short visit doesn't really tell you much about a country. You would have known that alcohol was expensive and that Ireland is nothing like Europe ( apart from the euro). You probably wouldn't have known about the housing situation. As an Australian, everywhere is cheap compared to here - apart from Iceland and Norway which are on a par I think. Your story is a warning to others. I think Gabe faced the same housing issues when he arrived in Dublin.