Moving to Ratoath

duffalosoldier · 21-04-2014 10:16pm #1

Hi,

Did post similar message on a much older thread but advised to start a new one so sorry for any repetition....

We're considering relocating from Dublin to Ratoath and have our eye on the Steeplechase estate specifically. Would be keen to get peoples opinions and comments on the important considerations such as public transport, schools and kids facilities. Particularly keen to find out more about the latter. I cant get any information on nearby parks, playgrounds and general kids activities etc. which would be an important consideration for us. Has there been much recent improvements in recent years on things like supermarkets, pubs etc or has it stayed pretty much the same and what are peoples opions on the area and people itself?

Lastly, as we are not familiar with the area, Is the Steeplechase estate a nice place to raise kids? Seems to be little else available in Ratoath.

Hammer Archer · 21-04-2014 11:54pm

Howdy.

I've lived in Ratoath pretty much all my life so I'll try to answer your points as best I can.
I'm going on my own local knowledge so some parts may not be 100% correct and apologies if this is the case.

I'll go straight to stuff for kids to do as that was your most important concern. The most recent development in this regard was the BMX track on the Fairyhouse Road. This has been a great success by the looks of it and most weekends, especially during the summer, it is absolutely jammed. Away from that, you have the soccer club located right next to Steeplechase on the Skryne Road, the GAA club on the other side of Steeplechase on the Dunshaughlin Road and the Rugby club just a two minute drive away on the Curraha Road. Then you have the Athletics club, Beavers/Cubs/Scouts etc., Tennis Club and Pitch and Putt. There's probably more that I'm not thinking of.
Nearby you have Tayto Park (<10 minute drive). I know a good few friends and relatives who have yearly membership to Tayto Park as it's constantly changing and a good day out for kids. As for playgrounds, I'm not sure. There may be one in Steeplechase but I don't know. I know there's one in both Ashbourne and Dunboyne nearby.

There's one secondary school in the area which seems to have done quite well since it opened. Then you have Ratoath Junior and Senior NS, St. Paul's NS and the Gaelscoil.

Public transport is OK, I suppose. There's a reliable enough bus service to and from Dublin and the Blanchardstown Centre. I don't use it often, but when I have, it is usually on time (or not too late) at morning rush hour anyway. However, if you've ever complained about Dublin Bus, I'd say you're in for a big shock with Bus Éireann. It's extremely expensive to get in and out of Dublin. About a 10 minute drive away is the M3 Parkway train station. Again, quite expensive, and you have to get off at Clonsilla to get a train into Connolly, but almost always on time.

There's been no new supermarkets in the area. There's a Super Valu in the village centre which is OK. Then there's a Spar on the Fairyhouse Road, a Centra in the village centre and a small Tesco shop as well. In Ashbourne you have Tesco, Lidl and Aldi. I'd usually go there for the weekly shop.
Pubs are the same. You've a choice of the Auld Stand, Ryans, Ratoath Inn or the bar in the GAA club. Though I've noticed Ryans has gotten a lot more popular over the last few years after being very quiet for a long time.

As for the area itself, I don't have first hand experience of Steeplechase, but I've never heard anything bad about it. It was built not long before the crash so a lot of people bought houses as "investments" and are now renting them out which is probably why there are so many available.

I like the village. Despite the massive increase in population since the mid/late 1990s (I think it's the third biggest town in Meath now) it still has a small community feel to it, unlike Ashbourne in my opinion. You do have some problems with anti social behaviour and house burglaries, but overall it's nothing you wouldn't expect in any village or town.
Someone else can probably expand on my views, but if you've any other questions about the area, don't hesitate to ask.

Obrieski · 28-04-2014 11:12pm

There is a playground in the Steeplechase estate alright, besides that I think you covered the majority of the points Hammer. New 4 star pizza opened up last weekend for the days you're too tired to cook

There's also a bosing club in the town centre which does classes and stuff for all ages and the Venue theatre in the community centre has shows on regularly and comedians etc. They also do karate, tae kwon do etc etc here too.

Great GAA facilities and soccer and rugby big part of the town now too. Tennis club has 4 lovely courts down on the avenue to the secondary school and the athletics club has its own grass track which is very good too

KERSPLAT! · 29-04-2014 7:32pm

Hammer Archer summed it up pretty well.

There's also Pulse which is a youth cafe beside the community centre with PCs, Xboxes, PS3s, Table tennis, Pool, etc for teenagers. New boxing club opened a few months ago and seems to be doing well.

Although it doesn't have the big shops like Aldi, Lidl or a proper Tesco, they're all really close. Ashbourne is a 5 minute drive, Blanch about 10 minutes.

Public transport isn't great but not too bad. There's a bus to City centre at least every hour which passes through Blanch. Then there's another service that goes through Ashbourne, Finglas and on to City centre. They're usually on time or there abouts, though the odd time they go missing and it's very frustrating. It's €9 day return to City centre and takes about 45mins to an hour defending on time of day, traffic, etc

You do get some youth hanging around but for all the walking around I've done, I've never had a problem really and it's not like they're everywhere, just the usual teens hanging outside a shop or whatever

Great place to live IMO

AC_Dublin12 · 14-05-2014 2:14pm

Related query re: moving to Ratoath

We are considering moving to the Woodlands estate in Ratoath. Does anyone know where I can find out what if any maintenance fees / lawn cutting fees or residence committee fees apply to houses in this estate?

The estate agent claims he does not know if any apply to the estate.

graceannac · 19-05-2014 9:13pm

Hi there,
Myself and boyfriend are in a similar situation to duffalosoldier. We're thinking about moving out to Ratoath from Castleknock. We are renting at the moment and hoping to buy but so pricey in castleknock , so we're thinking about house hunting out towards Dunboyne or Ratoath direction.Anyone out there made a similar move recently???.Can anyone give us any general info about the areas.. any info on the usual traffic in morning/ evening from Ratoath out on to M50??
Also any info on social clubs would be great to get.... running/ walking clubs, Pubs good craic???

Thanks any info would be great

KERSPLAT! · 19-05-2014 9:23pm

graceannac wrote: »

Hi there,
Myself and boyfriend are in a similar situation to duffalosoldier. We're thinking about moving out to Ratoath from Castleknock. We are renting at the moment and hoping to buy but so pricey in castleknock , so we're thinking about house hunting out towards Dunboyne or Ratoath direction.Anyone out there made a similar move recently???.Can anyone give us any general info about the areas.. any info on the usual traffic in morning/ evening from Ratoath out on to M50??
Also any info on social clubs would be great to get.... running/ walking clubs, Pubs good craic???

Thanks any info would be great

Hammer Archer has covered pretty much everything.

Ratoath to the M50 would take about 15 mins via N2 or N3

There's an athletics club, tennis, Rugby, GAA, soccer and plenty more I'm sure

Pubs in Ratoath aren't great. Ratoath Inn isn't up to much, Ryans has gotten busier with music on most Fridays and Saturdays and drink deals. The Auld Stand is decent but no music and fairly small. Great smoking area if you're a smoker.

There's a few decent restaurants here too if that's your thing. La Bucca, Bella Sora and Massimos being three Italians. Asian mix and schezwan bistro both really nice and both have an all you can eat. A few cafés/coffee shops and take aways too

The best thing about Ratoath IMO is, you're close go everything! nice and close to town (50 mins on the bus), 15 mins from blanch, 8 minutes from Ashbourne. It's a small enough town but is so close to everything!

Sun in Capri · 31-05-2014 6:57pm

AC_Dublin12 wrote: »

Related query re: moving to Ratoath

We are considering moving to the Woodlands estate in Ratoath. Does anyone know where I can find out what if any maintenance fees / lawn cutting fees or residence committee fees apply to houses in this estate?

The estate agent claims he does not know if any apply to the estate.

Amazing that the estate agent does not know this!

diannesaloe · 17-06-2014 2:04am

you couldnt go wrong living in ratoath,prefer it to ashbourne as it has a community feel to it and asbourne is only a couple minutes drive away

Thekopkid · 28-06-2014 9:32pm

We took the decision in 2007 to move to ratoath from santry,we now have 4 kids from 12 to 2 years old and it's a fantastic place to live,my advice would be to visit diff estates at diff times of the day on diff days of the week till you find the level of activity that your happy with I say that because we liked a house in another estate but after the random visits it was like a ghost estate and with having a small family it was not for us.we have the right amount of everything and anything else is 10 min away ,we have lovely neighbours and have made some really great friends and the only thing we will do when the kids leave the nest is downsize but will remain in ratoath .the schools are fantastic and the clubs for both adults and kids are aplenty.

duffalosoldier · 05-07-2014 10:03pm

Sun in Capri wrote: »

Amazing that the estate agent does not know this!

Might be too late to reply to this but I believe its a voluntary contribution of about €150 per annum.

duffalosoldier · 05-07-2014 10:09pm

Sun in Capri wrote: »

Amazing that the estate agent does not know this!

Might be too late to reply to this but I believe its a voluntary contribution of about €150 per annum.

duffalosoldier · 05-09-2014 10:17pm

Well we settled on Ratoath in the end! Contracts signed and hoping to move in at the end of the month. Thanks to everybody for the comments and words of wisdom, which were helpful in making our decision. Looking forward to the move.

martin101 · 05-09-2014 10:24pm

I've made the move from dublin to ratoath. I'm only here 2 weeks, but so far so good. If you want any advise il do my best to help. So far though I'm loving it. I work in dublin city centre but it's actually pretty easy to get in and out from there.

ChuckProphet · 08-09-2014 2:50pm

what's the story with the chap in ratoath walks round with the hi-viz jacket all the time? in his 50's I'd say

b318isp · 08-09-2014 2:58pm

It might be Nick Killian, a very active councillor for the area.

He has a beard: http://nickkillian.ie/

martin101 · 08-09-2014 4:52pm

What's the best take away place or restaurant in ratoath? Only there two weeks and only have tried macari's so far

KERSPLAT! · 08-09-2014 5:00pm

martin101 wrote: »

What's the best take away place or restaurant in ratoath? Only there two weeks and only have tried macari's so far

The Chinese at Apache is really nice and the Indian at Ratoath Inn is great.

There's 3 restaurants that I can think of and all 3 are really good. Massimos on the main street beside the post office, Bella Sora above the Auld Stand and La Bucca around the corner from Centra

martin101 · 08-09-2014 5:08pm

KERSPLAT! wrote: »

The Chinese at Apache is really nice and the Indian at Ratoath Inn is great.

There's 3 restaurants that I can think of and all 3 are really good. Massimos on the main street beside the post office, Bella Sora above the Auld Stand and La Bucca around the corner from Centra

Thanks for the quick reply. Il check them all out very soon

duffalosoldier · 09-09-2014 9:44pm

martin101 wrote: »

I've made the move from dublin to ratoath. I'm only here 2 weeks, but so far so good. If you want any advise il do my best to help. So far though I'm loving it. I work in dublin city centre but it's actually pretty easy to get in and out from there.

Thanks Martin, sounds like were in the same boat !! How you finding the commute?? Are you driving or taking the bus? Im working in Ballsbridge and considering both. Think the drive is best part of an hour so may opt for the bus. Looking forward to moving in the coming weeks - look out for one man and his van !!!

Chiorino · 10-09-2014 10:45am

ChuckProphet wrote: »

what's the story with the chap in ratoath walks round with the hi-viz jacket all the time? in his 50's I'd say

Definately not Nick Killian, he's just an old guy who lives on the Fairyhouse Road. He's a bit odd alright but harmless enough.

martin101 · 10-09-2014 10:52am

duffalosoldier wrote: »

Thanks Martin, sounds like were in the same boat !! How you finding the commute?? Are you driving or taking the bus? Im working in Ballsbridge and considering both. Think the drive is best part of an hour so may opt for the bus. Looking forward to moving in the coming weeks - look out for one man and his van !!!

Have to say the commute isn't too bad, I don't drive but it doesn't really bother me, I get a lift to work in the morning from my girlfriend and coming home I get the bus. Usually it's an hour on the bus but I don't mind that, I was living in castleknock before I moved and it was taking me just as long some days to get home. Loving ratoath so far I have to say. Delighted we made the move out.

Hammer Archer · 10-09-2014 3:30pm

ChuckProphet wrote: »

what's the story with the chap in ratoath walks round with the hi-viz jacket all the time? in his 50's I'd say

He has a mental disability and is an alcoholic but is harmless and a nice man (saved my mother from a holdup 20 years ago in the shop she works).

KERSPLAT! · 10-09-2014 3:34pm

Hammer Archer wrote: »

He has a mental disability and is an alcoholic but is harmless and a nice man (saved my mother from a holdup 20 years ago in the shop she works).

Not sure where you're getting the alcoholic part from. I've often seen him in the pub but have never seen him have more than 2 pints at a time, usually just the one and then he heads off

Anyway, like you said, he's a nice man and harmless.

Han534 · 10-09-2014 3:35pm

Love the town

KERSPLAT! · 10-09-2014 3:36pm

Big street festival on this weekend with live music, food stalls, raffles, bouncy castles and loads of other stuff

duffalosoldier · 13-09-2014 9:30pm

duffalosoldier wrote: »

Thanks Martin, sounds like were in the same boat !! How you finding the commute?? Are you driving or taking the bus? Im working in Ballsbridge and considering both. Think the drive is best part of an hour so may opt for the bus. Looking forward to moving in the coming weeks - look out for one man and his van !!!

Ah right. Gonna give driving a go before I try the bus isuppose.

Celtic Runner · 16-09-2014 8:03am

My wife and I are considering making the move as well. We have been down for drives around different estates over the last few weeks to get a feel for the village and like it a lot. I work in the IFSC in Dublin City Centre and I'm going to give the after work commute a go this evening. Going to the get the train to the M3 Parkway and drive from there to the village. Could someone advise which station to get on at when leaving Dublin ? Cheers.

Obrieski · 16-09-2014 6:13pm

Celtic Runner wrote: »

My wife and I are considering making the move as well. We have been down for drives around different estates over the last few weeks to get a feel for the village and like it a lot. I work in the IFSC in Dublin City Centre and I'm going to give the after work commute a go this evening. Going to the get the train to the M3 Parkway and drive from there to the village. Could someone advise which station to get on at when leaving Dublin ? Cheers.

Sorry for the late response to you Celtic, the best bet is to get to the Docklands station as the M3 train goes direct from there everyday. Alternatively, considering you work in the IFSC, going from Connolly on any Manynooth bound service, if you get off at Clonsilla or a station along there (I think, open to correction on this) and wait for the M3 train, it should come along fairly regularly after that. The timetable on the Irish Rail website will help with sorting out times that suit.

To go with bus, the bus home goes from Beresford Place which is only a short walk from IFSC and goes very regularly to Ratoath. The 7.45am from the Auld Stand goes through Ashbourne and will more often than not get you into O'Connell Street for around 8.45...obviously very traffic dependent.

Celtic Runner · 16-09-2014 6:29pm

Cheers Obrieski, have arranged a house viewing for later in the week so will use that as a dummy run to gauge the commute

Baggies · 13-01-2015 2:21pm

Sorry for the thread revival, just looking for an update from those who moved down recently to see how they are getting on and those who were thinking of moving, did you go in the end?

We are very close to selling our house in south Dublin and making the move but we are just a bit cautious of the difference between the schools, I started a new thread about it in this section (Can't post the link as new user)

b318isp · 13-01-2015 2:26pm

Baggies wrote: »

Sorry for the thread revival, just looking for an update from those who moved down recently to see how they are getting on and those who were thinking of moving, did you go in the end?

We are very close to selling our house in south Dublin and making the move but we are just a bit cautious of the difference between the schools, I started a new thread about it in this section (Can't post the link as new user)

Not sure what you are specifically asking. There are 2 primary schools and one secondary school.

IMO, they are generally good - I'm particularly impressed with the secondary school (Ratoath College).

How they compare to schools you have used before is hard to say!

Baggies · 13-01-2015 3:58pm

Thanks for the reply, just looking for people's opinions on the primary schools?

b318isp · 14-01-2015 9:57am

Baggies wrote: »

Thanks for the reply, just looking for people's opinions on the primary schools?

There is the original Ratoath National School - now divided into a junior and senior school. These are both on the same grounds but effectively run independently. I'm not impressed by the head-mistress of the junior school, but the teachers are good. The senior school is run better IMO.

There is also St. Paul's - a relatively new school. I have no direct experience of it, but haven't really heard anything significantly bad (other than parking and access difficulties).

Like any school, the catch often comes down to particular teachers. Some are better than others. We have had 4 children go through the National School - and I'd say that only one teacher would have been poor.

I hope that helps.

Baggies · 14-01-2015 10:10am

b318isp wrote: »

There is the original Ratoath National School - now divided into a junior and senior school. These are both on the same grounds but effectively run independently. I'm not impressed by the head-mistress of the junior school, but the teachers are good. The senior school is run better IMO.

There is also St. Paul's - a relatively new school. I have no direct experience of it, but haven't really heard anything significantly bad (other than parking and access difficulties).

Like any school, the catch often comes down to particular teachers. Some are better than others. We have had 4 children go through the National School - and I'd say that only one teacher would have been poor.

I hope that helps.

It does greatly, thank you for that.
You are correct, its down to the teachers but I feel that you need a strong head of school also but often its hard to get both and its the teachers that deal with the kids every day so thats the most important.

Popmart97 · 16-01-2015 4:04pm

Like previous posters, me my girlfriend and our little girl are considering a move to Ratoath. I really like the place and its ideal considering we both work on the north side of the city.

We really like the look of Steeplechase, although it seems so built-up! Are there estates you could recommend or indeed any we should avoid?

Thanks!

beetlebailey · 17-01-2015 8:59pm

I'd avoid Somerville estate... I'm living there nearly 10years........houses are very poorly built, suffers with limescale in the water, rubbish boiler, no insulation so always freezing cold. Alot of the residents don't seem to like kids playing in the estate either?!
Avoid!!

Popmart97 · 17-01-2015 9:46pm

Wow, some of the houses in there are quite nice too. Yeah the neighbours complaining about kids playing seems to be a common issue, not just in Ratoath. Bizarre. Well thanks for the advice, much appreciated!!

tony1980 · 10-02-2015 1:25pm

Hi all, may as well post in here instead of creating another moving to Ratoath thread.

I was just offered a job in Dublin, will be in the office in Merchants Quay about once a week and the rest of the time visiting clients around the greater Dublin area. My wife has some family friends living in Ratoath who have recommended we check it out. We have two young kids, 3 and 1 so places in a school would be a very important part of our decision. Has anyone who moved there recently in this thread have much information in regards to how they got on with schools?

Also, we are moving from Limerick so at the moment, all I have access to is daft.ie and I can't see many houses for rent in Ratoath on daft. Are there a lot more available through local auctioneers, etc and if so, Could someone recommend any auctioneers I could contact?

What are the average rental prices for a 3 bedroomed house in a nice estate in Ratoath?

Cheers :-)

KERSPLAT! · 10-02-2015 1:33pm

Haven't a clue about schools but with regards to the rest, there are 2 auctioneers that I know of. John Fitzgerald and Ronald Duff though I think what's on Daft is pretty much it unfortunately. Google them. For a decent size 3 bed in Ratoath I would say €1,200 at a minimum, probably closer to €1,300/1,400p/m

tony1980 · 10-02-2015 2:02pm

Cheers Kersplat!

I rang both auctioneers just there but unfortunately, there is nothing available at the moment. I left them my name and number so hopefully something might pop up!

KERSPLAT! · 10-02-2015 2:08pm

The rental market is crazy in the area..

Good luck anyway, Ratoath is a great place to live IMO

ferry17 · 10-02-2015 8:06pm

Dont hold your breath with regards to the estate agents. Keep a close eye on daft as this is your best option. Im in my second rented house in Ratoath at the moment. It took me six weeks to find rented accommodation the first time and we moved there before Christmas and it took us nearly eight weeks to find decent affordable accommodation. Three bed houses are between 1,100 and €1,400. As for the area itself, so far so good, people are friendly and plenty of small shops and sporting clubs.

martin101 · 14-07-2015 10:46am

Hi I just wanted to ask a question here and I hope someone can help. I'm now living in ratoath a very short while. But I hope i don't live to regret it.talking to a neighbour last night and he told me of all the break ins that happen in the area on a regular basis. In his words he said "yeah it's pretty bad around here" he also said the estate behind our estate is fairly dodgy too with a few "heads" there. I actually thought he was joking but he was dead serious. I hope I haven't made a huge mistake on moving out here. I asked him "well do you like living here"? And he said it does me for now. Has anyone else had a bad experience of living in ratoath? It kind of shocked me to hear that from him as I thought it was a lovely area and village

KERSPLAT! · 14-07-2015 11:45am

I think it's a great village but I'm from here. There has been a rise in breakins recently from what I see on FB but be vigilant, use your alarm, etc and hopefully you won't have any issues.

26 years here and I've yet go have anyone even try to break in, thank God.

With regards to the 'heads' you get that in most places and considering the amount of people now in Ratoath it was bound to happen but I don't see the issue, dont go looking for trouble and you'll be grand.

Overall a great place to live IMO.

What estate are you in or what general area are you in, might be able to advise further then. You can PM if you don't want it out in the open

Baggies · 14-07-2015 5:24pm

Well I moved in just over a week ago and I have to say we are delighted with our house and our estate. I cannot get over how welcoming and friendly everyone is!!!

Criminals are everywhere, they get around so nowhere is safe.
I left an "affluent" area in South Dublin located beside a Garda station and we had 4 attempted break ins over a 7 year period.

As said, be vigilant and use the alarm.

martin101 · 14-07-2015 5:33pm

Thanks all. I think I was worried over nothing. The guy I was talking to was trying to get a rise out of me I think but I was just confused at some of his comments as ive never had any problems. I'm going to go by my own experience and enjoy my life in ratoath. Thanks again guys. Yous have put my mind at ease

Obrieski · 15-07-2015 11:29am

Welcome to our wonderful village Martin and baggies. I've lived here my whole life and love it. I still call it it a village but of course it's more of a town these days. Any questions you may have throw us a line, there are many local amenities for people of all ages and I'd definitely advise getting involved as the local people here are great...even all the Dubs

martin101 · 15-07-2015 1:40pm

Thanks obrieski
It's great to get some positive feedback from you guys on here. You have all put my mind at ease. I'm loving living here I must say.

Baggies · 15-07-2015 1:49pm

Obrieski wrote: »

Welcome to our wonderful village Martin and baggies. I've lived here my whole life and love it. I still call it it a village but of course it's more of a town these days. Any questions you may have throw us a line, there are many local amenities for people of all ages and I'd definitely advise getting involved as the local people here are great...even all the Dubs

Aw thanks!
Its been a very long a stressful road to get here since we fell in love with the place about a year ago but now that we are sorted it was completely worth it.

There is so much going on for all ages. Incredible!

dialemma · 28-07-2015 1:14pm

Baggies wrote: »

Aw thanks!
Its been a very long a stressful road to get here since we fell in love with the place about a year ago but now that we are sorted it was completely worth it.

There is so much going on for all ages. Incredible!

Hi Baggies

Did you say your children are 1 and 3? Mine too, well almost 2 and 4. We moved out over a year ago and hope to buy here soon but if you want any tips on child-care etc send me a pm

Emma

Moving to Ratoath

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