Where is nice to live in Kildare??

Hi,

we are from Dublin originally but now living in Celbridge (7 years). We have two small kids and my wife is at home with them. She

finds the mother and toddler group good and the schools seem to have a good reputation.There are nice walks in Castletown and a

good selection of pubs, restaurants and shops for the essentials.

The areas I would choose to live personally (in no particular order) are Celbridge(see above),Naas(plenty to do) and Maynooth (great transport links and amenities).

Hopefully we can move to a bigger house in about 18 months/two years and I reckon we will stay in Celbridge.

For a long term view(when the kids are older) the commute from Celbridge/Leixslip/Maynooth (67X/66X) to the city centre Dublin

colleges is pretty straightforward.

Nightlinks home for work nights out are handy too.

Now if only we had a swimming pool!!

The Mulk wrote: »

For a long term view(when the kids are older) the commute from Celbridge/Leixslip/Maynooth (67X/66X) to the city centre Dublin

!

dont forget train (with feeder bus) from hazelhatch to Heuston!!!


I think a lot depends on where you (or your o/h) are going to be working....if its in dublin then you will realistically need to live in north kildare...places like newbridge, naas, are a bit of a commute away if you arent working in city centre (as you will need onwards connections usually)

if you wanted to go further south
I would Advise Athy
I live in Coneyboro and the houses there are lovely,
you could get a great deal now.

train / bus to dublin
by car
25 min to portlaoise
20 min to Naas
20 min to Newbridge
15 min to Carlow
1hr to Dublin
many schools, of which most have new facilities.
new swimming pool
two lovely hotels
a few good restaurants
many pubs
thousands of take aways
a river
a canal
tri athy every year
10 min to the m9 motorway
a sunday market
shops and supermarkets
rugby, soccer, gaa, swimming, canoeing, and loads more sports and facilities,
some of the cheapest petrol and diesel in dublin and kildare

Check Monasterevan forum here and see there's not much talk of scumbagism. http://campbells.proboards.com/index.cgi

I'm in Celbridge.
3 kids (one of which in college in Maynooth). No transport problem either to Dublin or to Maynooth , both junior and secondary schools are fine.
More than enough choice in supermarkets (Aldi, Lidl, Tesco etc).
House prices not too bad.
Don't drink, so cannot comment on pubs.
Not much sign of 'scumbagism'.

The only 2 negatives for me:
- traffic congestion down main street and no sign of anything meaningful being done about it.
- Real busybody/nosy neighbours. Something that irritates the sh1t out of me as I place a premium on my privacy. Although this issue could just be limited to my particular road

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).
I've got it virtually direct from the source that the ladies in the area gather round for a cuppa and gossip about 'things'

That type of 'soapie' behaviour really ticks me off.

Joe Public wrote: »

If you want privacy you have to move to an isolated site with no other houses in sight but then there is still no guarantee you will get your privacy.

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

Athy would not be my choice.

I see you are a mod for primary/pre school forum.

Athy has three brand new primary schools.
One new community college.
A recently extended modern post primary school.

I take it your opinion is not based on educational opportunities.

airmax87 wrote: »

The three bad ones..

Bad ones?
Hopefully a tongue in cheek comment, otherwise based on what?

Smurfet - Having only stopped in the place maybe 5 times - almost every time I had hassle. Most recent of which was only a few weeks ago, so how is that based on the past? There is nothing closed minded about experiencing something, on more than one occasion, and basing an opinion on those experiences.

People who are promoting the town deserve more than to have their efforts ruined by a few people. While it might upset you, my opinions are based on recent fact. If you are tired of reading comments like mine then perhaps it's time to let the management of certain food & drink places know that you're tired of the fact they continue to serve people who are causing trouble in and around their premises.

You likely know a lot more about Athy than I or anyone else who is just passing through. And I'm sure that there are areas of beauty etc there too but for me there is no getting away from my experiences in Athy. I had no control over the incidents I witnessed, the only people who have control of what happens in an area, are the people in the area.

EDIT: So to stay on topic, OP I would recommend Naas or Kilcullen based on my own preferences. I would recommend staying away from Athy based on my own experiences and I don't know much about celbridge or leixlip but have had friends live in both places very happily.

Maxer - I'm not talking about Friday or Saturday nights. I'm sorry if you find it insulting, or if you don't believe me, but the OP asked for recommendations, and I recommend staying well away from Athy. In the last 3 years I've had 3 horrible experiences in the town, just passing through and stopping for a takeaway or similar. It may not be as bad as it was, but definitely not an area I'd consider bringing kids up in.


(BTW My husband is related to a Maxer from Naas. You're not from Naas are you?)

Clane, nicest of all those mentioned!

Steer clear of Sallins man. Try Celbridge or Maynooth.

I would strongly recommend that you consider Maynooth. Although I agree that it is slightly more expensive than the surrounding towns (Celbridge, Leixlip and particularly Kilcock) given the current economic climate there are bargains to be had.

Maynooth has everything that you are looking for, mother and child groups, fabulous public transport links to Dublin (both bus and trains), excellent schools (for when that is a consideration), a bustling town centre with good shops (Manor Mills etc), good pubs, good restaurants etc. The canal is a good leisure feature as is the playground. Good sports teams, an excellent tidy towns committee, good socieities ranging from arts darama and music, historical society, Toastmasters............

The college is a major asset, the grounds are open to the public and there is nowhere nicer for a walk on a summer's evening that through the grounds on the old campus. During the school year it brings an extra vibrancy to the town. Despite a large student population there is very little trouble and when there is the Garda do a wonderful job in limiting it.

There are numerous housing estates to suit all tastes and budgets.

And before anyone says it - no I am not a member of the Community Council, I am not even a resident of Maynooth.

Good luck with your search.

Moonbeam wrote: »

The effects of living in "the country" thinking a bus every hour is good public transport:)

.

I said Kilcullen had a good bus service to Dublin and it's not even hourly. OP when I said good I meant good for the countryside. haha.

maxer68 wrote: »

I hope you called the gardai and made a statement about it so that these people who are in atiny minority ruin the image of many towns in Ireland.

If you didn't report it to the gardai, then shame on you for allowing these thugs think they can get away with such behavior.

Every town in the country has its group of thugs / eejits who make fools of themselves. Mostly they are unemployed, poorly educated and will never have anything to look forward to in life. I pity them and ignore them and if they do try to do anything of a criminal nature, I call the local garda station. - Once these types know they are being watched, they tend to wake up to themselves.

I say I had been involved in a incident in Athy. I then further clarify and shame on me? I called about the incident at the traffic lights after I had gotten home, to be honest I was too shaken to stop and call on the way. Unfortunately I had left it too long and anybody involved would not be in the area any longer according to the woman I spoke to. She did say that they would keep an eye out in the area for people acting the maggot (not her exact words obviously). The incident in Supermacs was NOT the only one I've seen there - the place seems to be an attraction for the worse element of the town. And no I did not call the gardai, I spoke to "management" who asked what we expected them to do.

The thread is about where the OP might move to. I said I would avoid Athy and you've tried to call me out on that, now I've given 2 of the incidents and clarified that there was no drink involved on my part and that it was not somehow my fault. I hope you can see where I developed the opinion I have and that you were incorrect to think that drink was involved or that somehow I "got involved". Although by your shame on me comment you still seem intent on somehow making things a reflection on me rather than on the area.

As I said earlier in the thread, the efforts of a town should not be ruined by a few. However it is the thuggish few that give the town its reputation. Management of certain establishments need to be told by residents that they are tired of them allowing thuggish behaviour in and around their premises. If they stopped serving these people, then things would likely drastically improve. Trouble makers should not be welcome anywhere.

Apologies OP for so far off topic. People are obviously very passionate about their home towns