Inside Dublin

Dear International Living Reader,

Jack, 4, needed to see a dentist. The two pediatric dentists in Ireland both practice in Dublin, so we made a trip of it--a little business...some family time...and Jack's teeth taken care of.

Though it would have been more convenient had we been able to find a dentist for Jack in Waterford, I couldn't complain about the cost of the visit: 100 euro ($125) for an exam, cleaning, and full x-rays.

The cost of everything else, on the other hand, was so high I found myself constantly asking for confirmation:

"Excuse me...did you say a cheeseburger from room service is 19 euro?"...

"I must have misunderstood...you said the taxi ride from the airport to the city is 28 euro? Last time I took a cab to town (admittedly, five years ago), the ride cost half that much"...

Dublin is not the most expensive city in the EU. It's the third most expensive, after London and Copenhagen. But you can find the odd bargain if you work at it. The 4-star Morrison Hotel, for example, a trendy place on Ormond Quay in Dublin 1, with advertised rates as much as 400 euro a night, can be booked online (we were told by a friend traveling with us) for as little as 100 euro a night (the rate he was paying).

Dublin insiders, we also learned, rank Roly's, in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, down the street from the U.S. Embassy, as the top lunch spot in the city. No argument here. The service was the best I've enjoyed in any restaurant in Ireland in five years living here.

I'd wager that there's more money in Dublin today than at any time in this city's history. One of the things Dubliners seem keenest to spend their disposable euro on is foreign real estate. There's boom spending on beachside villas and condos on the coasts of Spain and France, Portugal and Malta...and, increasingly, the sun spots of Eastern Europe, as well. As a result, you can find in Dublin agents for property developments in all those places. That's where our business came in: We'd arranged to meet with a representative from a proposed development on a small island off the coast of Croatia.

I've never been to Croatia (am hoping to make my first trip later this year), but I've seen pictures. This little country with a turbulent past has everything the tourist could hope for: beautiful coasts, historic cities, World Heritage Organization-protected architecture...plus beaches to rival those of Spain's Costa del Sol and the French Riviera...without the high-rise monstrosities or other trappings of decades of unchecked development...and, I'm told, the best waters for sailing in all the Med (well, technically, you'd be sailing the Adriatic Sea). This is the country to watch in Eastern Europe. It's too late for Hungary and the Czech Republic...Romania and Bulgaria have less to offer.

Croatia has few resources and little industry. It's hoping to build an economy based on tourism. The woman we met with represented a group of investors positioning themselves to profit should the country's projections for tourist growth pan out. My husband, Lief Simon, is researching the opportunity further and will report back to members of his Global Real Estate Investor service.

Kathleen Peddicord
Publisher, International Living

P.S. In Dublin this week, we also met with friend and new European Investment Editor for International Living, Sven Lorenz, who told us about the one Euro-investment that has got his full attention right now. He's preparing a full report. Watch this space.

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