Living in Portlaoise

hamrog · 24-01-2006 1:13pm #1

Hi, I'm thinking of moving to Portlaoise in the next few months. Can anyone tell me what the town is like, good for shopping, any good pubs, any good restaurants? Basically is it a good town to live in? Also any advice on good estates? Was looking in Kilminchy village, but it seems quite built up? Any body got any experience, good or bad of Kilminchy?

Pokes · 25-01-2006 1:39am

Hi , Kilminchy is grand from what i have heard.Its built up but its reasonably quite.As regards shopping there is a Shopping Centre which has Tescos , Liffestyle Sports, Trax (Music Shop) , Pennys , Planet Auto and many more etc etc .Portlaoise has a good few pubs , some good some bad.Nightclubs are , Egans , Club 23 and Skyvenue (Live Music). Im living in Rossvale myself which is on the portlaoise mountmellick road for around 8months now and havent had any problems .Its grand and quite down the back where im renting. Any more questions just ask.

MrSinn · 25-01-2006 1:51am

hamrog wrote:

Hi, I'm thinking of moving to Portlaoise in the next few months. Can anyone tell me what the town is like, good for shopping, any good pubs, any good restaurants? Basically is it a good town to live in? Also any advice on good estates? Was looking in Kilminchy village, but it seems quite built up? Any body got any experience, good or bad of Kilminchy?

Kilminchy is like something that Tim Burton(movie director)desighnd,every time i go up to that place i keep a lookout for Edward Scissorshands,i know he is up there somewhere

Portlaois is ok but the shopping options are very poor,pubs are limited,niteclubs are for the kids,it depends what you are after

Danno · 25-01-2006 2:37am

Portlaoise is a badly laid out town, traffic can be crazy. Planners there have alot to answer for. The town itself looks very run-down and there is no street atmosphere or theme going on. Abbeyleix, and Mountmellick are much nicer towns.

hamrog · 25-01-2006 2:39pm

Pokes wrote:

Hi , Kilminchy is grand from what i have heard.Its built up but its reasonably quite.As regards shopping there is a Shopping Centre which has Tescos , Liffestyle Sports, Trax (Music Shop) , Pennys , Planet Auto and many more etc etc .Portlaoise has a good few pubs , some good some bad.Nightclubs are , Egans , Club 23 and Skyvenue (Live Music). Im living in Rossvale myself which is on the portlaoise mountmellick road for around 8months now and havent had any problems .Its grand and quite down the back where im renting. Any more questions just ask.

Thanks Pokes...it's good to get the view from someone who is living in the area....

hamrog · 25-01-2006 2:42pm

Danno wrote:

Portlaoise is a badly laid out town, traffic can be crazy. Planners there have alot to answer for. The town itself looks very run-down and there is no street atmosphere or theme going on. Abbeyleix, and Mountmellick are much nicer towns.

I have to agree with you Danno....when I went to Portlaoise last week it was to view a house....the house looked class and was at a very reasonable price...I decided to take a spin into the town centre to get a feel for the place and have to say I was amazed by the number of roundabouts and traffic going through the town....it kind of put me off the town a little....

hamrog · 25-01-2006 2:46pm

MrSinn wrote:

Kilminchy is like something that Tim Burton(movie director)desighnd,every time i go up to that place i keep a lookout for Edward Scissorshands,i know he is up there somewhere

Portlaois is ok but the shopping options are very poor,pubs are limited,niteclubs are for the kids,it depends what you are after

I think I know what you mean MrSinn, I have to say I'm thinking of moving down towards the Midlands and with no offence meant for anyone living in Portlaoise, I'm drawn more towards Tullamore as a town to live in....it seems to be better laid out and from my experience and what I've heard has a good social scene...nice pubs....nice restaurants etc...

Polly19 · 28-01-2006 4:07pm

hamrog wrote:

I think I know what you mean MrSinn, I have to say I'm thinking of moving down towards the Midlands and with no offence meant for anyone living in Portlaoise, I'm drawn more towards Tullamore as a town to live in....it seems to be better laid out and from my experience and what I've heard has a good social scene...nice pubs....nice restaurants etc...

You should consider Portlaoise a possibility.Its growing rapidly at the moment,has a truck load of pups,one or two good nightclubs and is near to Kilkenny/Tullamore if you wanted to spend a night out there.

Also just mention to your woman that theres possibly 5-6womens clothes shops and she will probable pack your bags for you

There's also Tesco,Lidl and Dunne's Stores for shopping and is growing with a 'mall' area after being recently built in Kilminchy

Its also in an idle location if your woman wants to go back and visit Dublin with there being numberous bus services and a train service that can get here there in 45(train)-one and a half hours(buses when theres not much traffic)or if she wanted to drive herself theres is the new motor-way streching from Portlaoise to Naas and when the Naas by-pass is finished you'll hit practically any traffic anytime of the day(until you get to the out-skirts of Dublin but even then she can park at Red Cow round-about and get the luas into city center)

Also I grew up just outside of Kilminchy(I was living there when there was nothing but fields for miles) and I dont think there are any problems at all.

There are great pubs and restaurants.You have pubs you can go to if you want somewhere quite and then others you can go to when you want somewhere with a big crowd and all the pubs(except two) have great repuatutaion.Restaurants,if you look hard enough youll see they are hidden all over the place.

In regards a good place to raise children....I myself was raised there and I have a brother who still lives there and its a fine town.I has a bad reputation for drugs and that but in relation to raising children here its a fine town.My brother and a group of his friends are currently campaigning for a skate park and have the backing of the county council and 99% of the locals.That kind of interest shows how the town listens to their youths.There is also a youth group that encourages the children to beceom involved.

One estate I can highly recommend if your looking is Hawthorn Drive.It has a reputation for being a posh place but it definally isnt.The houses are all well kept(except one or two here and there that are being rented)and it is a very neighbourly place and great to raise children.Theres never any problems as alot of the residents are local prison officers or guards(due to being near to the prison but still far away that it doesnt impact living).It is also far enough outside of the town that its easy to walk too and for,and the way is well lit as you walk up along the dublin road.It is also in a kind of quite area as you are outside of Kilminchy,but Kilminchy is still close enoguh that you can walk there if you need the shops,pub or to rent a video.The estate is not that modern as its about 16-17 years old but to look at it you wouldnt realise this.

The lay out of the town of Portlaoise.....unfortunally we are convinced the county council are nutters for putting in those twin roundabouts but whats done is done,and putting our main street as one way...again nothing we could do about it.But the lay out of the center of the town is very good as you have all the shops within walking distance of eachother

pclancy · 30-01-2006 6:01pm

Gonna add my own views to this....

Its a very badly laid out town, main street has become a dump and its currently being torn up by our fantastic council for the next three months, traffic at peak times for a small town is vicous and parking can be a pain. Life wise its not too bad, there are 24 pubs to choose from, two nightclubs (dumps) and a live venue thats pretty good. Lots of restaurants and takeaways but not many big franchise shops, tullamore has lots more of these. Its spiralling out of control IMO, new estates springing up constantly without any investment in infrastructure. Kilminchy is turning into a small town in itself. Personally from hearing from mates that live there its a nice enough estate, but the more epensive parts are supposed to be a fair cut above the cheaper units.

www.portlaoisepictures.com Have a look for yourself!

johnplayerblue · 05-02-2006 12:38am

Hey!
I've lived in various parts of the country over the years and have to say that Portlaois and some of the smaller towns around it are going backward instead of forward and anyone one who thinks otherwise is living in the past or point blank telling lies.
Tullamore or Carlow have 10 times more to offer than Portlaois could ever offer. As for the dump been a good place to bring up children! why not kit them with some drug parafanillia (A syringe would be a start) and a mobile ph from which to ring the many dealers around the place, plus its always worth €20 when there stuck. Before people point out that "Port" is not the only town with a drug problem try reading the local rag and see what judge Mary Martin has to say about portlaois having the worst heroin problem in the midlands. Also the amount of pubs is never a good reason for trying to sell a town imo, and that really is the only selling point for "Port" How sad!
Oh i nearly forgot the PRISON, can't forget the prison cos it really attracts shall we say a different class of visitor to the town!
And another very,very important thing to remember in Laois is not to get sick! for **** sake don't get sick in Laois cos there hospital will kill YOU!
Enjoy your stay!

Polly19 · 05-02-2006 5:36am

Right well theres one review with flaws in it.

So what theres a prision in town,when was the last time someone broke out of it or people had problems with it?I myself grew up in a private estate five minutes from there and we never had any problems with the prision.The prision is just there!!

The drug problem...so what theres a drug problem?My god if that influences where you live yuo might as well live in outer space.Yes Mary Martin had something to say about the drug problem but 19years living in Portlaoise I never got apprached by druggies or someone trying to sell me the stuff.Talk to the locals get their opinions

Hospital killing you?And your basing that on what....??

pclancy · 06-02-2006 3:03pm

Yeah that was a bit extreme, the drugs problem is there but its not in your face and certainly the prison doesnt worry people. There might be a slight element of people moving down to live near those "inside" but I dont see much trouble from them. The hospital isnt great but what hospital is in this country? Its certainly no worse then any of the other regionals.

Polly19 · 11-02-2006 8:43pm

At least theres not corridors lined with trolleys for people who have been there over a week looking for a bed(in the hospitals)

booth · 24-02-2006 11:51am

I live in Portlaoise. I can't compare with other regional hospitals but I recently has an elderly relative in the hospital and the treatment she got was disgraceful. She had some tests done and all of us were told the worst case scenario of these tests. She then lay in her bed for about 8/9 days waiting for more tests to be done. It turns out that it was just a false alarm but all the family were living in fear and gloom for a fortnight basically and the treatment she received was not good in my opinion.
I've had some friends with gruesome A and E stories also.

IMO there's only 1 direction a town can go in when there are thousands of houses being built and no amenities. Anybody who thinks the drugs problem is bad now should not stick around for the next 5-10 years.

Every bit of town planning smacks of over-paid "politicians", brown envelopes and general lack of common sense.

The issue is not that there is a prison in Portlaoise but every weekend the town is innundated with people who visit their relatives then head in for some easy pickings in the local shops (there are no security guards in Portlaoise)!

Sorry Portlaoise.

drdre · 24-02-2006 11:55am

guys my uncle has a restaurant on the main street, Kingfisher. you check it out has great food:D

TomTom · 24-02-2006 11:22pm

I'll give my two cents for tullamore if you wish.
It's a nice town but can be a bit rough at the weekends, but then again every town in ireland is like that now.
In it's favour it has two shopping centers and a retail park. The older of the shopping centers is being renovated at the moment.
There is a 24 hour tesco, two dunnes stores, texas department store(massive place, don't let your wife in there or she will never come out). There is a heck of a lot of shops around the town and an argos is going in in the retail park. I find it very handy as i'm building a house myself and everything from that point of view is available there. There is also the new hospital on the kilbeggen road and a private hospital going into development. Services such as broadband are readly available all over the town.
Few bus stops along the main street, plus regional buses. There is also a train station on the kilcormac side of town.

Dcully · 25-02-2006 7:25pm

Best thing about Portlaoise is indeed the Kingfisher

My wife and i love it,infact ill be travelling from Monasterevin tonight just to pick up a take away.
Their chicken balti is THE best ive ever tasted

In fairness Portlaoise has little compared to Carlow as mentioned.
Dunamaise is very nice however.

pclancy · 27-02-2006 1:33pm

yes Mr Googee does a fine balti. Probably the nicest indian ive ever been too also! For some reason Portlaoise has a massive amount of takeaways. By my count 5 chippers, 8 chinese, 2 Indian, 1 Italian, Abraheartbypassbabra and fight club (supermacs) which seems a lot for a small town. Then again with that amount of pubs you need some grease for the way home.

Sheltie · 05-03-2006 3:01pm

Polly19 wrote:

One estate I can highly recommend if your looking is Hawthorn Drive.It has a reputation for being a posh place but it definally isnt.The houses are all well kept(except one or two here and there that are being rented)and it is a very neighbourly place and great to raise children.Theres never any problems as alot of the residents are local prison officers or guards(due to being near to the prison but still far away that it doesnt impact living)

When I was looking to buy a house in Portlaoise I was looking around some of the new developments. I drove in to one and had my car stoned by kids who couldn't have been more than 10 years old. Needless to say I didn't bother viewing the house. I looked around Kilminchy and felt the houses should come with an oxygen tank as standard. It just wasn't for me. So I finally settled on a house in a mature estate which would fit the exact same description as Hawthorn Drive mentioned above. Except as soon as I moved in I became harassed by some of the neighbour's kids, some petty stuff but some not so petty which meant I had to pay a trip to the local guards, after 'dialogue' with some of the parents was futile. I've stood my ground but it's interesting that the two main culprits both come from households where one of the parents is a prison officer. There are also guards living in the estate but the Residents Association is inactive. Yet I have to say that 99% of the resident's are very good, but that carries no weight if a small minority regard themselves as untouchable, which has been my experience. So my point is that you cannot automatically equate a high presence of prison officers and guards residing in an area as leading to a trouble-free neighbourhood. Yet all too often we're very quick to point the finger at the more disadvantaged sectors of scoiety.

TipTopToe · 06-03-2006 2:32am

Dcully wrote:

Best thing about Portlaoise is indeed the Kingfisher
My wife and i love it,infact ill be travelling from Monasterevin tonight just to pick up a take away.
Their chicken balti is THE best ive ever tasted

I'll second that emotion!

drdre · 16-03-2006 2:15am

yeah guys googee is my uncle, my dad also has indian restaurant (shalimar) in south great georges street, there all in the restaurant business:D

FinoBlad · 29-03-2006 4:49pm

hamrog wrote:

Hi, I'm thinking of moving to Portlaoise in the next few months.

Some of the negative views in your thread could apply to any small town thats become included in the greater dublin commuter belt. If I was you I'd not move anywhere without booking a hotel or b+b and staying for a few days, weekdays and weekends and see how ye get on.

In the meantime you could checkout the property shops. Theres several but the best webbie is Hume and their site is http://www.hume.ie/

RSF · 31-03-2006 7:05pm

The town is full of skanger scumbags, especially our "shopping" centre, which isn't actually very good for shopping anyway. I would recommend taking a good look around before purchasing a property here.

Danno · 31-03-2006 7:23pm

What an ambassader for the county you are RSF! Pat yourself there on the back ol buddy!

RSF · 31-03-2006 7:32pm

Danno wrote:

What an ambassader for the county you are RSF! Pat yourself there on the back ol buddy!

There are quite a few nice towns in Laois, I admit that. However, Portlaoise is badly designed from the start, and yet we keep adding to it.

As for the population, don't get me started.

Sheltie · 22-04-2006 1:11pm

Hamrog, just out of interest, where did you finally settle on? If you didn't choose Portlaoise, what would have been your reasons for not doing so?

drdre · 18-06-2006 11:59pm

theres a new italian restaurant opening soon in Kilminchy,just thought id let you guys know that leave around there.:D

Lanfear · 02-08-2006 1:46pm

We moved down to Portlaoise over 5 weeks ago and love it. We are a couple of miles outside the town (west) in a peaceful rural location. I have found the people to be very friendly and shop assistants helpful and polite. I have gone to lunch a few times with visiting friends and food is tasty and reasonably priced.

Parking is easy enough and the layout of the main street means it is not too far to walk to most shops. I found a fantastic garden centre out off the old Dublin road, and have got lovely hanging baskets and window boxes for a lot cheaper than I have paid in Dublin.

We are very pleased with our decision to move to Portlaoise and look forward to many happy years here.

pclancy · 02-08-2006 2:25pm

Its lovely to hear nice stories like that! Welcome to Laois

There's also a good garden centre in Mountmellick just on the way into the town. Dont have green fingers myself but mates say its good.

Lanfear · 08-08-2006 10:40am

pclancy wrote:

Its lovely to hear nice stories like that! Welcome to Laois

There's also a good garden centre in Mountmellick just on the way into the town. Dont have green fingers myself but mates say its good.

Thanks pclancy, its a great place

Will have to have a look at that garden centre, which approach road to Mountmellick is it on do you know?

pclancy · 08-08-2006 11:54am

Just go from Portlaoise out the Mountmellick Road (under railway bridge, pass dunnes stores) and its on the left as you come into Mountmellick before the Statoil garage.

Living in Portlaoise

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