Moving to Portlaoise

harrymagina · 08-01-2015 12:35am #1

Hi Guys,

Thinking of moving to Portlaois because of the house prices and apartments in Dublin. What is the Portlaois area like?

Also can anyone tell me how much is a seven day train ticket return from Dublin.

Thanks

Dubliner28 · 12-01-2015 6:12pm

Nice houses in the Portarlington area but not as busy as Portlaoise.

As for the train ticket, not sure but try irish rail...www.irishrail.ie

tastyt · 12-01-2015 6:13pm

I really wouldn't. Have a look at kilkenny or Carlow instead

Elaine29 · 13-01-2015 11:56pm

If your work place offer the tax saver ticket you can nearly half the price of the train ticket so that's definitely worth checking out...

djflawless · 14-01-2015 12:00am

tastyt wrote: »

I really wouldn't. Have a look at kilkenny or Carlow instead

Nail..head
Well said.portlaoise is a kip.every town has some problems but portlaoise has every f@#cking 1 of them

Catxscotch · 15-01-2015 4:22pm

I live in portlaise, and not from the area originally. It's not the biggest kip in the world, but Newbridge/Naas/Carlow or Kilkenny all have a better selection of shops, restaurants, gyms etc. Portlaoise is small enough

mrolaf · 15-01-2015 4:29pm

theres a lot of hookers there

athlonelad · 15-01-2015 6:37pm

mrolaf wrote: »

theres a lot of hookers there

Thats not true. The rugby club are struggling for numbers

Uncle Ben · 15-01-2015 6:42pm

mrolaf wrote: »

theres a lot of hookers there

Deal maker.

Keehar · 17-01-2015 8:38pm

Is this hyperbole or is Portlaoise really that bad?

djflawless · 18-01-2015 7:23am

I'd compare it to a slum...

Keehar · 18-01-2015 2:02pm

That's definitely hyperbole. I've been to Portlaoise several times, and if that's a slum then it's best looking slum ever.

djflawless · 18-01-2015 11:35pm

Keehar wrote: »

That's definitely hyperbole. I've been to Portlaoise several times, and if that's a slum then it's best looking slum ever.

Mind me asking what part? And what time/how long was your trip?

road_high · 19-01-2015 12:38am

Portlaoise really does have a dismal reputation for many reasons. There are very few large private sector employers (bar some retail) and in the public sector the (infamous) prison, hospital and Government offices.
The recession hit it very hard as it was/is so dependent on construction, retail and commuting to Dublin. All of which were hammered.

Never understood the attraction of the place bar the location (central) but other than the town centre is dismal with a shockingly poor choice of restaurants or bars. Not all the cheap housing in the world would attract me to live there but each to their own. Carlow or Kilkenny (bit far maybe and expensive) are far better options if any of the above are important and would also be much better bets for finding more local employment longer term.

djflawless · 19-01-2015 1:10am

Well said. Employment in laois is scarce at best.I'm currently traveling to naas, along with 5-7 others from laois who can't secure employment here

Stheno · 19-01-2015 1:16am

I grew up in Portlaoise and lived there until six years ago with a stint in between living in Dublin, so that's a total of about 30 years I lived there.

It's small, but lively, it has a theatre, a selection of indian, italian, chinese and european restaurants

Main Street is a bit dead however.

Social wise there are a fair few activities, the theatre, drama group, sports clubs, 3 gyms for a town of it's size, a well respected choir amongst others. Shopping wise it's a lidl, aldi, dunnes, tesco, homebase etc, along with a few independant green grocers and butchers. For women some of the boutiques are very good, others are rubbish

Also has a cinema, and some lovely walks with some historical sites nearby

I'm considering moving back there in the next year or two and having lived there from when I was 25 - 35, can't say that's not a recommendation

Where you live is what you make of it.

I'm considering moving back there

Hesh's Umpire · 19-01-2015 6:22pm

Lived there for a couple of years - I think a lot depends on what part of the town you live, some being a lot better than others.

Plenty of pubs but a lack of good places to eat with the best restaurants being the Indian on the Main St upstairs (can't think of its name) and Seasons over Donoghues pub in the Square.

Shopping is OK, could do with a Debenhams or M&S.

The main attraction is the very good transport links to Dublin and elsewhere.

Keehar · 19-01-2015 10:07pm

djflawless wrote: »

Mind me asking what part? And what time/how long was your trip?

Sure. I stayed in The Hermitage estate. My longest trip was for a week.

djflawless · 20-01-2015 9:34am

Well then you had a nice place to be. a few nice housing estates up that neck of the woods.but still a heroin haven only down the hill from there

Keehar · 20-01-2015 1:18pm

djflawless wrote: »

Well then you had a nice place to be. a few nice housing estates up that neck of the woods.but still a heroin haven only down the hill from there

Which part of the town are you referring to there?

djflawless · 21-01-2015 9:57pm

Would rather not say as to offend any of the people who are respectful and law abiding from the area

J_E · 22-01-2015 2:04am

djflawless wrote: »

Would rather not say as to offend any of the people who are respectful and law abiding from the area

I know many genuine, great people in Knockmay too but that doesn't mean it's not a rough area and they would attest to that - someone ran out in front of my mother's car a few months ago there and pretended to be unconscious and had her in a wreck, tried to blackmail for money after. Had car windows smashed, bins robbed by people passing by on the way there before (we live relatively close). Have had a few not so nice incidents there too, I walk around it usually. The town as a whole does not really suffer for it but it does contribute to the lack of soul, without a doubt.

Keehar · 22-01-2015 6:50pm

Is Knockmay the part you meant, djflawless?

djflawless · 22-01-2015 7:14pm

Nope knockmay had its very bad problems a few years back but a big hand to the residents as all their hard work has payed off to get the place what it is now

qo2cj1dsne8y4k · 22-01-2015 7:22pm

Lived in Portlaoise and its like the ghetto of the midlands. It's bare, miserable, and an outrageous kip. Basically the entire Mountmellick road is written off as not a nice place to live. Drugs are rampant, 2nd/3rd generation addicts, there's an estate called "the White city" it's so bad. Only New Years eve eve there was all out war in another housing estate where a member of the travelling community was made bits of on a green in that housing estate where his brother drove a car into him in some sort of feud.

It's a tacky town, cheap and cliquey. Nowhere decent to eat out, nothing decent to do, and no jobs.

J_E · 22-01-2015 8:30pm

LexieOnRale wrote: »

Lived in Portlaoise and its like the ghetto of the midlands. It's bare, miserable, and an outrageous kip. Basically the entire Mountmellick road is written off as not a nice place to live. Drugs are rampant, 2nd/3rd generation addicts, there's an estate called "the White city" it's so bad. Only New Years eve eve there was all out war in another housing estate where a member of the travelling community was made bits of on a green in that housing estate where his brother drove a car into him in some sort of feud.

It's a tacky town, cheap and cliquey. Nowhere decent to eat out, nothing decent to do, and no jobs.

Disagree on food. There are a few places exceptionally good for a small town and cafes have been competing well with each other in recent years and picking up the pace.

ChicagoIrish · 28-01-2015 7:36pm

I used to live in Portlaoise for five years. The reason it's so ****e is because they ran out of room for council housing in Dublin and they sent them all off to there. Now, it's full of scumbags.

_Kaiser_ · 17-02-2015 11:59am

Hey all,

I am thinking of moving to Portlaoise from Dublin myself but this thread is making me reconsider :eek:

I'll still be working in Dublin, but I have ties to Cork as well so I figured Portlaoise would be an ideal midpoint. I drive and can more-or-less make my own hours so not overly worried about that side of it (although any feedback on how long it takes to get to the M50 if leaving at around 7am would be great), but I don't want to be moving into trouble either!

If not Portlaoise, then any thoughts on somewhere still within reach of Dublin but with access to the M7/8 as well for no more than about €650 per month?

djflawless · 17-02-2015 9:05pm

Surely somewhere in Kildare county would be more suited to so many dubs that want out of Dublin?new bridge,Kildare etc...I know house prices in naas are fairly high but somewhere else in Kildare??

the_barfly1 · 18-02-2015 2:33pm

_Kaiser_ wrote: »

Hey all,

I am thinking of moving to Portlaoise from Dublin myself but this thread is making me reconsider :eek:

I'll still be working in Dublin, but I have ties to Cork as well so I figured Portlaoise would be an ideal midpoint. I drive and can more-or-less make my own hours so not overly worried about that side of it (although any feedback on how long it takes to get to the M50 if leaving at around 7am would be great), but I don't want to be moving into trouble either!

If not Portlaoise, then any thoughts on somewhere still within reach of Dublin but with access to the M7/8 as well for no more than about €650 per month?

Don't know what it's like now since the Newlands Cross flyover opened, but before that you'd be looking at 1hr-1hr20 ish at that time of the morning to the m50. Used to do it everyday. That's fine if you can count on it, but accidents are so regular on the M7/Naas Rd that it became too much of a lottery for me and I just moved to the city. There was many a morning it took 3hrs+ to get to Dublin because of car accidents.
As I said, I've no idea what the morning traffic is like now, maybe ask over in the commuting and transport forum

_Kaiser_ · 24-02-2015 6:15pm

Hey all,

Quick update..

So I've been down to the town and had a look around and have decided that Portlaoise will indeed work best for my needs so I've been looking at the options.
I've ruled out one beds as they're almost all too small with no storage, so the search is now on for a decent 2-bed

Parkside looks nice but I'd be concerned about the noise from the GAA pitch beside it on match days, traffic around the place etc.. Also, they are fitted with electric (I'm assuming storage) heaters which I've never
had to deal with myself but I'm told are a nightmare. Estimated BER is a D1 apparently which doesn't sound great

But is there anyone here living in one of these, or that has lived in one that can provide any feedback on the above?

Failing that, where to look for somewhere that...
- Is close to the M7
- Fairly quiet and secure
- Has decent broadband availability and TV/Sky
- Won't cost a fortune to heat
- For about 600-650 per month

Stradbrook was my initial choice but those seem very tough to get. Any other recommendations very much appreciated

Cheers!

Moving to Portlaoise

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