Choosing a place to live - Youghal or Skibbereen?

Rodrigues wrote: »

Any opinions on Bandon anyone?

Prone to flooding but works in progress to remedy situation

Bantry is by no means the middle of nowhere, not a bad place at all, probably make more friends and have more fun than in other areas.

I don't live in Bantry and olny go through at most once a year but I know a lot of people love it, I like a quieter life lol.

outfox wrote: »

We moved to near Bantry a few years ago, from Cork. It's a good town. Slightly less buzzy than Skibb., but its a nice size and is lively in summer. I dont know how much travelling you will need to do eg. to Cork or whatever. If you will be driving regularly, I'd stay away from Skibb as the N71 is a messy drive IMO. Bantry is much easier to get to/from, as there is a fast road with no bottlenecks all the way to Cork. Kenmare is also worth a look. Bandon is depressing.
If you really want cheap, and dont mind being very far away, you could look at Castletownbere. Maybe some of the villages would suit, such as Schull, Ballydehob or Durrus. All are next to water. The two pieces of advice I would give:
1. West Cork is waaayyyyy nicer than East Cork. Hafl the populations are hippies, alternatives, etc. whihc makes it colourful and friendly.
2.I suggest rent in your chosen town first for a few months. This will give you a flavour of the area. Also, you'll get clued in to the local property market, and might find something in your budget that you could otherwise miss.
One other point worth noting: far west Cork has very few sandy beaches, unlike east Cork and south Cork.
Best of luck.

Not so sure about your statement of Castletownbere being cheaper than Bantry, but the area is fantastic and lovely people, and not too many hairies thankfully, well not as many as Bantry - Skibbereen!

Schull, Ballydehob and Durrus are overrated imho and still overpriced.

mordeith wrote: »

That's your opinion which your entitled to, but that doesn't make it fact. West Cork has some lovely coastal scenery but it can be a harsh place in the winter.

Not particularly harsh seeing as West Cork has some of the highest average winter temperatures.

very rare to see snow too, frosts that are inland very rarely touch the area.

Yes it can be breezy at times but it all blows through quite quickly too.

Rodrigues wrote: »

Oops. That last post was directed at Outfox, so I was referring to Bantry. Also, Monkeynuz, I didn't mean to imply that Bantry was the middle of nowhere - I was talking about most of the decent houses I've looked at which are around 15km from the nearest town. Too isolated, particularly when we know nobody and have two small kids. Bantry is looking good. That's if that house does what is says on the tin. Already getting sick of ads for houses that look great until you scratch the surface and realise that the sitting room is 6m2 or the roof is about to cave in or it's on a national road etc etc etc. Bleurgh.

If you have children and move to West Cork even the remote bits, you will have a full phonebook by the end of the first week!

Everybody pretty much knows everybody.

You can choose to be as isolated or as integrated as you want to round here.

Being 15+ kms from the nearest TOWN round here isn't a problem for most people, some see it as a bonus, and if you saw the way the locals drive to make up for the distance!

Seriously though, the distance can get to some people, others don't find it a problem.

Also a great place for children growing up, you can pretty much let them roam wild, I often see little groups of youngish children going off on their bicycles in the summer, not much to worry about round here, you can still leave your car running while you pop into the post office too.

OP don't think you've mentioned the kind of work you & your other half will be looking for....

Might help in deciding areas.
For one thing will you need to commute to Cork?

OP, I dont know much about Reenrour estate, except that its a nice short walk into town. It isn't exactly exclusive, although some of the houses there have the best views in Bantry.
Regarding beaches, the nearest swimming point is a small pier a 5 min drive away where the Council put out sand each summer to make a beach. Kids love it. The nearest proper beach is probably Barleycove, which is the best part of an hour's drive. It's worth it though, as it is a fantastic beach, one of the nicest in the country. Frash has provided a photo above. While you can access the water at other areas nearer Bantry, I think they are generally stones/pebbles.
If you like the Bantry area, you should check out Glengarriff (which I have a soft spot for), Kealkil and Ballylickey/Pearson's Bridge. All of them have small residential estates where you might pick up something in your budget. Maybe you could email the local auctioneers and ask them to keep an eye out for you.
Mordeith - sorry, I didn't mean to be down on east Cork. The beaches are certainly superb, and the weather is probably better. I've never lived there, so I guess I'm biased.

outfox wrote: »

Mordeith - sorry, I didn't mean to be down on east Cork. The beaches are certainly superb, and the weather is probably better. I've never lived there, so I guess I'm biased.

Sound

i live in west cork, bantry is the nearest town but saying that its a good 25 mins drive, i get decent internet from http://www.digitalforge.ie/
they have a coverage map on their site so if you decide to move down this way you can see what areas get coverage from them.
my personal advice would if you can have a good drive around west cork if you can, explore the area and you might find somewhere you wouldnt of thought of.
If i had to pick Youghal or skibbereen id honestly pick skibb but i prefer living a bit more out in the sticks than living in a town.

I bought a house in Youghal a few years ago and I'm quite happy with my decision to move here. I'm also self-employed but I need to do a lot of travelling. I wanted a place by the sea within easy access to a main road and Youghal fits the bill perfectly. There are very nice beaches nearby (my favourite is Whiting Bay near Ardmore). The problem with this place is that too many houses were built in the boom years for a series of failed businesses, and there's virtually nothing going on in the town outside of the summer months so you have to go to Midleton or Dungarvan to do your shopping. But I've never felt like an outsider here, and I'm not Irish either.
If you need any more information about Youghal let me know, I hope I can help you online or in person if you decide to come and check the area.

Originally from Midleton but now living in Youghal! As previous posters have said, Youghal has its good and bad points. Yes you do have your usual scumbags and boy racers but what town doesn't have them!

At first, i wasn't to happy about moving down here cause i knew nobody but the wife is an only child and has lived here all her life so not much option really, but having lived here for the past 7 years, its not that bad

Good points
Plenty of beaches to go for a walk, also woodland about 15 mins away
Midleton and Dungarvan are only about 20 mins drive - Cork and Waterford about an hour
Excellent gym/pool
Rugby and soccer clubs
Gaelscoil - my son started there last year
Broadband - i have imagine BB and im on 10 meg line so am quiet happy
As far as I know, there are at least 2 French families living in the town, well the hubbies are from France. 1 is a coach with the local soccer team and 1 runs a bakery in the town so at least you have a chance of making some friends! lol
Ardmore open farm or Fota wildlife park for the kids
Midleton distillery, drive thru cinema in carrigtwohill (10 mins from Midleton)
There are soccer camps on during the summer for the younger kids
Mackerel/Medievil/Queen of the sea/Youghaloween festivals every year - all free
There is a food market in the town but its only ok, Midleton farmers market is better
Mahon point shopping centre and Dungarvan shopping centre are close
For the most part, people are friendly
Bus service every hour to Cork or Waterford

Bad points
Very little employment in the area
Nothing to do at night for teenagers - which leads to antisocial behaviour
LOTS of hills!
Prone to flooding in the town
No train service - although there is one in Midleton


Both of the following are quiet areas of the town (up the same hill as me!)

http://www.daft.ie/searchsale.daft?id=731431

http://www.daft.ie/searchsale.daft?id=730048

Anyway, if ya need to know more, dont hesitate to PM me with any questions!

Good luck in what ever choice you make aswell

I have lived in Skibb for close to 20 years - this place is not at all welcoming to "foreigners"! I have found it very cliquie and this has been extended to my child. I find the mentality of many of the locals quite narrow, almost backwards. Many can be quite intrusive about your background. This has been my personal experience and speaking frankly to some other "blow-ins" I am not alone.

There is nothing here for older children and if you find you need to take your child to the hospital you have the most of 2 hours to drive (unless they can be treated in Bantry). As someone else said, it also far from any third level schools which should be taken into consideration.

I don't know what Clon natives are like but it is that bit closer to the city and seems a much nicer town.....and they even have a cinema!