Where is nice to live in Kildare??

Mink · 09-02-2012 2:24pm

No reviews for Kilcock?

I moved to Kilcock from Dublin about 2yrs ago. It's a sleepy town but still has a bit of a country feel to it, the people & shop owners are very friendly. There is a good community spirit with clean-up's, fundraisers - this is something that was important to us to be able to join in on and contribute to the area. They are sport mad between canoe club on the canal, GAA, athletics club etc.

There ain't much night life or restaurants nearby but that doesn't bother me as I don't go out much. If I do it'd be in Dublin anyway & then get a night link to Maynooth & either get picked up from there or taxi. We go further afield for live music gigs etc.

Maynooth is only 10 mins drive & has 24hr Tescos, Lidls, Aldi, Dunnes, Super Value, clubs, pubs, restaurants. I get the train to Dublin everyday, I drive to Maynooth & park the car.

People ask why we didn't move to Maynooth, well we wanted to be in a quieter town (some parts of Maynooth are student-digs areas & can be noisy) but also the rent & house prices in Kilcock are a lot cheaper.

Don't have kids but one on the way

Schools seem nice here & I have to say that the kids & teens all seem really well behaved. I feel very safe walking around Kilcock in the evenings.

Clane is also a lovely little town, more upmarket than Kilcock but not much transport to speak of.

n97 mini · 14-02-2012 3:44pm

Naas is probably the best all round town in the county.

However if access to Dublin is a priority it would be Leixlip, Maynooth, Celbridge in that order as all are on the Dublin Bus and Dublin Commuter rail service. The Dublin Commuter rail prices are far cheaper than the services is Newbridge etc.

Celbridge only really has the 67 bus. Hazelhatch station is a bit too far outside the town for regular use unless you drive to it, and to make it worse the train only goes to Heuston.

Maynooth has the 66 (and the 67, but it takes too long to get to the city centre to be usable), and a proper train service in to Connolly.

Leixlip has by far the most comprehensive bus service with the 66, 66A and 66B. It is also the only town in the county with a decent Nitelink service: every half hour on Fri/Sat nights, and the whole town is covered. Leixlip also has two train stations, again directly into Connolly.

A comparison of return rail fares:
Maynooth to Connolly: €6.00 (Leap or IE smartcard)
Sallins to Heuston: €14.40

Pottler · 19-02-2012 12:19am

If considering moving from S.Dublin to Kildare, the best area to consider would probably be somwhere in S.Dublin.
1.Its irreversible, the move that is, unless you are very wealthy. Property values etc.
2.You wont like it.
3.You will wish you stayed where you are.
Why do I say this? I'm from S.Dublin. I live in Kildare now. I like it.Most of the other Dublin people don't. Out of the other 7 houses in the estate beside us, 5 Dublin couples have split up. Why? Because he heads off to work and she is stuck at home all day, lonely and missing Dublin. Think long and hard OP. Oh, and if you must, Naas. Or Allenwood/Robertstown. I love Kildare, felt at home from the start, but it is a culture shock for a lot of Dublin People. I'm 20 years here now, and we are still "new to the area"!

muletide · 19-02-2012 12:49am

Pottler wrote: »

If considering moving from S.Dublin to Kildare, the best area to consider would probably be somwhere in S.Dublin.
1.Its irreversible, the move that is, unless you are very wealthy. Property values etc.
2.You wont like it.
3.You will wish you stayed where you are.
Why do I say this? I'm from S.Dublin. I live in Kildare now. I like it.Most of the other Dublin people don't. Out of the other 7 houses in the estate beside us, 5 Dublin couples have split up. Why? Because he heads off to work and she is stuck at home all day, lonely and missing Dublin. Think long and hard OP. Oh, and if you must, Naas. Or Allenwood/Robertstown. I love Kildare, felt at home from the start, but it is a culture shock for a lot of Dublin People. I'm 20 years here now, and we are still "new to the area"!

Jaysus - that is a miserable outlook on life - I am here 7 years and think it is a great county and have many friends here.

I suppose the secret to my happiness is that even though I work in Dublin every day, my wife's live does not revolve around me and she does not need me to socialise in her own circles.

Apologies but the 5 couples who split because the husband went 25km to work everyday sound like they had underlying problems - either that or you are talking shi..............

Joe Public · 19-02-2012 8:14pm

Pottler wrote: »

If considering moving from S.Dublin to Kildare, the best area to consider would probably be somwhere in S.Dublin.
1.Its irreversible, the move that is, unless you are very wealthy. Property values etc.
2.You wont like it.
3.You will wish you stayed where you are.
Why do I say this? I'm from S.Dublin. I live in Kildare now. I like it.Most of the other Dublin people don't. Out of the other 7 houses in the estate beside us, 5 Dublin couples have split up. Why? Because he heads off to work and she is stuck at home all day, lonely and missing Dublin. Think long and hard OP. Oh, and if you must, Naas. Or Allenwood/Robertstown. I love Kildare, felt at home from the start, but it is a culture shock for a lot of Dublin People. I'm 20 years here now, and we are still "new to the area"!

Re. 3. - That can happen if people don't try to integrate in the area in which they are living. I have come across couples moving from Dublin and end up doing all their socialising back in Dublin which is quite understandable but not a long term solution. Travelling back to Dublin can be too convenient from the closer counties and unless people make the effort to make friends in their new town or area it just won't happen for them.

Pottler · 20-02-2012 10:58pm

muletide wrote: »

Jaysus - that is a miserable outlook on life - I am here 7 years and think it is a great county and have many friends here.

I suppose the secret to my happiness is that even though I work in Dublin every day, my wife's live does not revolve around me and she does not need me to socialise in her own circles.

Apologies but the 5 couples who split because the husband went 25km to work everyday sound like they had underlying problems - either that or you are talking shi..............

Really don't think you read even one word I wrote.:rolleyes:

Eire sun · 20-02-2012 11:17pm

It really hinges on what your needs/likes are. If commuting is an issue then Naas/Newbridge would be good options. Everyone will give opinions on their prefered areas as it may fill the needs that they have personally. I don't think areas like Allenwood or Kilmeague would be good options as it would be a major shock to the system and don't offer much outside of the home. It really would be best to spend a little time in a few areas and get a feel for them to see if they fit the bill for you.

Patser · 20-02-2012 11:40pm

Anyone have anything to say about Kill?

Looking to move out of Clondalkin but wife works there and I'm based in Dublin City centre - so current areas we're lloking at are Maynooth, Celbridge and my preference Kill.

Corruptedmorals · 21-02-2012 2:39am

Have you thought about Leixlip and Kilcock as well? Leixlip has the best bus and train services out of all of them, it's also the closest and it has loads of facilities without having the studenty/noisy estates reputation that Maynooth does. Kilcock is quieter of course, really nice town and cheaper prices. I don't know much about Kill.

Celbridge would be one to look into- it doesn't have a university or HP/Intel to drive prices up but it's not suffering from being further out. Still has fairly poor public transport links though. Why don't you drive out to the area and drive through all of these towns during rush hour and see what you think of the commute? Rush hour into Maynooth can be really bad if you have to drive through the village. Leixlip can back up as well but it shifts quickly. I've lived in it all my life, I think it's a great place to live/grow up in etc.

Admittedly there is no supermarket, but there is a Lidl, Eurospar and Supervalu and several Spars etc. Lucan has a Superquinn, Tesco and probably an Aldi..not sure..Celbridge has a Tesco and an Aldi...Maynooth has a Dunnes and Tesco extra (huge one). So you still have a great selection close by. 5 primary schools- 4 national and one Gaelscoil, 2 secondary schools, NUIM a stone's throw away and an easy commute to all colleges in Dublin (in fact some 66X's go to UCD). Two GAA clubs, one sports club, loads of great walks. Manor Mills is not a bustling shopping centre by any stretch of the imagination but you are close to Liffey Valley on the N4 and Blanchardstown by a backroad. Very handy. It also has the head Garda station for Kildare..admittedly it used to have a tiny shed of a thing with very few opening hours but the new one is a great improvement. 4 busses an hour, not sure about the frequency of the trains. A normal journey is 40 minutes on either, off-peak busses can be as little as 25 minutes on a Sunday inbound- I used to get these a lot. The 66X's take about 50 minutes, a 66 at peak time will take considerably longer as it has to negotiate the horror that is Lucan. A taxi costs about €28-32. The bus fare is €2.65 (€2.40 on leap).

The Mulk · 21-02-2012 9:55am

The train from Hazelhatch(Celbridge) stops in Clondalkin, although you would have to drive from Celbridge to Hazelhatch, it's a bit of a walk.
I live in Celbridge so would have a bias to be in favour of it and I know people of all stages in life who have moved to the three areas you have listed and the majority of them love it.
One thing about Kill is there are no secondary schools at the moment so it would be buses or lifts for the kids everyday. Don't no whether this is something you need to consider but it would be for me.
I commute into the city center every day, 67X, it takes 50-60 mins. and costs €19 with a ten journe pass. I don't miss driving at all.

Patser · 21-02-2012 10:57am

My wife's from Celbridge and seh has family in Maynooth, so we know well about them.

But Kill appeals to me as it seems a lovely small village with a perfect traffic set-up since it was by-passed (Perfect as in no traffic through it but in 1 minute you're onto the N7 and flying). I also know that the 126 bus service goes through it roughly every 30 mins during day-time, and since it's the last stop before Dublin, you're into the city in about 40 minutes. The question's I have about it are - is it too quiet? Or possibly too rowdy (the Dew Drop Inn has a late night bar/venue - and I'm thinking that if it attracts large crowds into a small village centre will that lead to messing)

Joe Public · 21-02-2012 11:41am

Patser wrote: »

My wife's from Celbridge and seh has family in Maynooth, so we know well about them.

But Kill appeals to me as it seems a lovely small village with a perfect traffic set-up since it was by-passed (Perfect as in no traffic through it but in 1 minute you're onto the N7 and flying). I also know that the 126 bus service goes through it roughly every 30 mins during day-time, and since it's the last stop before Dublin, you're into the city in about 40 minutes. The question's I have about it are - is it too quiet? Or possibly too rowdy (the Dew Drop Inn has a late night bar/venue - and I'm thinking that if it attracts large crowds into a small village centre will that lead to messing)

The Dew Drop Inn is in Kilteel which is about 2 miles from Kill.

Kill is a lovely village with a very active Tidy Towns and is always very well presented.

The Mulk · 21-02-2012 1:01pm

Joe Public wrote: »

The Dew Drop Inn is in Kilteel which is about 2 miles from Kill.

Kill is a lovely village with a very active Tidy Towns and is always very well presented.

The dew drop is right next door to the spar in Kill.
It might be a quiet town but some people generally like it, I love dropping down to my friends/family for a few pints in the old house, a great pub.
But I don't think I'd like to live there, i've a feeling i'd spend my time driving everywhere to get anything done.
Although that could be just my view and you'd love it.
Best of luck with the choice Patser

Joe Public · 21-02-2012 2:49pm

The Mulk wrote: »

The dew drop is right next door to the spar in Kill.
It might be a quiet town but some people generally like it, I love dropping down to my friends/family for a few pints in the old house, a great pub.
But I don't think I'd like to live there, i've a feeling i'd spend my time driving everywhere to get anything done.
Although that could be just my view and you'd love it.
Best of luck with the choice Patser

Sorry, a slight mix up on my part with The Kilteel Inn.
Yes, the Dew Drop is in the heart of Kill.

2ndcoming · 24-02-2012 12:29am

n97 mini wrote: »

Naas is probably the best all round town in the county.

However if access to Dublin is a priority it would be Leixlip, Maynooth, Celbridge in that order as all are on the Dublin Bus and Dublin Commuter rail service. The Dublin Commuter rail prices are far cheaper than the services is Newbridge etc.

Celbridge only really has the 67 bus. Hazelhatch station is a bit too far outside the town for regular use unless you drive to it, and to make it worse the train only goes to Heuston.

Maynooth has the 66 (and the 67, but it takes too long to get to the city centre to be usable), and a proper train service in to Connolly.

Leixlip has by far the most comprehensive bus service with the 66, 66A and 66B. It is also the only town in the county with a decent Nitelink service: every half hour on Fri/Sat nights, and the whole town is covered. Leixlip also has two train stations, again directly into Connolly.

A comparison of return rail fares:
Maynooth to Connolly: €6.00 (Leap or IE smartcard)
Sallins to Heuston: €14.40

I'd have to say you're out a bit there on the travel difference between Celbridge and Maynooth. Celbridge has the 120 Bus Eireann which takes 30 mins approx at rush hour and the 67x which covers 2 routes thru the town, along with the ordinary 67.

The train from Hazelhatch - Heuston takes 20 mins and costs €2.40, the Luas or bus will have you in the city centre then in 10-15 mins. That Maynooth train is a bit of a Mumbai express and takes a good 50 minutes. €6 with little chance of getting a seat doesn't sound great to me!

penana · 19-12-2012 12:19am

Italia wrote: »

True, but what I'm referring to is constant peeping from behind closed curtains (the old hag would have been a perfect candidate to work for the KGB) anytime someone comes to visit or sticking your head over the wall to have a gander (yes I mow the lawn weekly and no, I don't have a scrap yard in the back).

Any chance she's just lonely? If, as you indicate, she's an older person, perhaps her family have all died or moved away or are just too busy to have time for her. The plight of lone elderly people in general - and women, in particular - is a sad one throughout the world. Living by oneself isn't fun.

Why not ask her over for a cup of tea some afternoon?

Just a thought.:)

janus83 · 18-10-2013 11:43am

Patser wrote: »

Anyone have anything to say about Kill?

Looking to move out of Clondalkin but wife works there and I'm based in Dublin City centre - so current areas we're lloking at are Maynooth, Celbridge and my preference Kill.

Did you end up moving to Kill in the end? considering the same and wondering how you found it or wherever you ended up commuting from?

Patser · 24-10-2013 7:48pm

janus83 wrote: »

Did you end up moving to Kill in the end? considering the same and wondering how you found it or wherever you ended up commuting from?

Nope, in the end we settled on Maynooth but then a strange thing happened - all the good houses in Maynooth seemed to disappear and the few that we had offers on were withdrawn due to issues with banks. Even now looking at Maynooth there are less than 70ish properties up on Daft in comparison to last year when we were looking at there was over 120.

And of those a fair few are over in Moyglare - which we decided was not ideal as away from village and wrong sode traffic wise.

Also notice that in comparison to when we were looking, Kill is way down on houses for sale too.

My feeling, especially regards Maynooth, is that house prices rocketed so high there during the boom that people are trapped there by negative equity. Houses that were up at €700K 6 years ago had asking prices of €300k ish last year when we were looking.

claytonie · 26-10-2013 2:48pm

qwzas

Wordless · 23-11-2013 9:53am

Patser wrote: »

Nope, in the end we settled on Maynooth but then a strange thing happened - all the good houses in Maynooth seemed to disappear and the few that we had offers on were withdrawn due to issues with banks. Even now looking at Maynooth there are less than 70ish properties up on Daft in comparison to last year when we were looking at there was over 120.

And of those a fair few are over in Moyglare - which we decided was not ideal as away from village and wrong sode traffic wise.

Also notice that in comparison to when we were looking, Kill is way down on houses for sale too.

My feeling, especially regards Maynooth, is that house prices rocketed so high there during the boom that people are trapped there by negative equity. Houses that were up at €700K 6 years ago had asking prices of €300k ish last year when we were looking.

I would agree!

Wordless · 23-11-2013 10:23am

Where is nice to live is, of course, a subjective opinion!

Puzzle35 · 29-01-2014 8:05pm

Where can I get the 120 bus from maynooth to the city centre? Does it stop near the strafan an road at all? Thanks.

L1011 · 29-01-2014 8:10pm

Puzzle35 wrote: »

Where can I get the 120 bus from maynooth to the city centre? Does it stop near the strafan an road at all? Thanks.

You can't get Bus Eireann buses to the city centre from Maynooth. Only the Airport or westbound destinations.

Additionally the 120 doesn't even run through Maynooth.

Moonbeam · 29-01-2014 8:32pm

I did not know that,I always presumed they did:)

sawdoubters · 29-01-2014 8:45pm

if the person working has to get to Dublin sallins is not the place
the train from maynooth is half the price of sallins,
also there is constant traffic from clane all day,sallins was half built,when the celtic tiger died,when it starts again it will double in size with no inferstructure,no secondry school few shops ,housing estates like the waterways get flooded when theres a flood,supervalues there,i don't see that on the brocure,
a lot of the newer houses were built with Pyrite in the foundations,you have to replace whole foundation and some retaining walls,
if your moving out of Dublin the commute from kildare is an hour or hour and a half to Dublin,

sadie06 · 30-01-2014 11:24am

sawdoubters wrote: »

if the person working has to get to Dublin sallins is not the place
the train from maynooth is half the price of sallins,
also there is constant traffic from clane all day,sallins was half built,when the celtic tiger died,when it starts again it will double in size with no inferstructure,no secondry school few shops ,housing estates like the waterways get flooded when theres a flood,supervalues there,i don't see that on the brocure,
a lot of the newer houses were built with Pyrite in the foundations,you have to replace whole foundation and some retaining walls,
if your moving out of Dublin the commute from kildare is an hour or hour and a half to Dublin,

Jesus, that's a lot of wrong information thrown out in one post!

I fully agree on the cost of rail travel. It makes no sense that Sallins is twice as expensive into Heuston as Maynooth is into Connolly, as there is very little in the difference distance wise, so if OP works in the city, Maynooth is the better option.

The issue in The Waterways with flooding was a once off occurrence, and has been dealt with.

The ring road route has been decided and will be going ahead soon, which should improve traffic congestion, which IMO, isn't that bad really.

There is no pyrite issue in any of the housing estates in Sallins as far as I am aware. We get regular bulletins through the letterbox from all of our local representatives and no such issue has ever been mentioned.

Sallins has a Supervalu (and an excellent one at that, run by a very community orientated guy) a Lidl, a Tesco extra less than a 5 min drive away, a post office, 2 cafes, 3, maybe 4 pubs, a few takeaways, 2 hair salons, a florist, a butchers, a petrol station, 2 beauty salons, a dentist, 2 doctors surgeries, 2 pharmacies, a couple of creches, a couple of play schools, and fabulous walks to avail of.

The local primary school is excellent by all accounts. As regards a secondary school, the new school approved for Naas and beginning enrolments next September (in temporary accommodation) will be in its permanent building in Millennium Park by September 2015. http://www.labour.ie/emmetstagg/news/13866771855265243.html

This is within biking distance of Sallins (far closer to Sallins than Naas) and will add to the choice given to Sallins pupils, most of whom bus to Naas to the single sex schools (St. Mary's and CBS), mixed school (Piper's Hill) and the Gael Choláiste . My own children bus to Naas for primary school, it's no big deal!

I will give you the 'half-finished' look of The Waterways, which was just an insane idea to begin with. I remember reading the brochure which had snappy lines telling of the wonderful art gallery and two story restaurant it was going to house, and thinking it was never, ever going to fly, and that was during the boom! I sincerely hope the Kerry Group development makes the empty hotel a viable resource somehow, but it's starting to look rough as hell, and I feel very sorry for Mr. Supervalu and those that bought above the empty units as it all starts to crumble around them.

Lastly, I don't see Sallins doubling in size, and really only see it improving. It has its faults, you just didn't happen to mention many of them. :-) All of this from a person that would move back to Dublin tomorrow if she won the lotto, but that's for another thread.

coffeepls · 01-02-2014 10:10pm

Well said, Sadie06

Puzzle35 · 03-02-2014 10:14am

MYOB wrote: »

You can't get Bus Eireann buses to the city centre from Maynooth. Only the Airport or westbound destinations.

Additionally the 120 doesn't even run through Maynooth.

Well someone's been driving it down the straffan road lately as I've seen it several times. Maybe it's just passing through!

L1011 · 03-02-2014 11:15am

Puzzle35 wrote: »

Well someone's been driving it down the straffan road lately as I've seen it several times. Maybe it's just passing through!

The 115 and the 20 serve Maynooth. The 120 is meant to go from Barberstown to Celbridge and not through Maynooth at all.

Mrs Fox · 03-02-2014 11:19am

Puzzle35 wrote: »

Well someone's been driving it down the straffan road lately as I've seen it several times. Maybe it's just passing through!

120 will only pass through Straffan Rd via Celbridge-Maynooth link if there's a road closure between Barberstown Roundabout and Celbridge's Clane Rd. It'll continue the usual route from that roundabout down to Clane. This is very very rare , and takes a good 20 min extra both ways. So no, it doesn't go through Maynooth on regular basis (and I don't believe it does any stops/pick up either).

Where is nice to live in Kildare??

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