What is Midleton like to live in?

Tonio

Am thinking of relocating from Navan to Midleton. Have been down a few times looking at the area and we like it alot. It has alot going for it - good road links, close to Cork, plenty of decent sized companies, close to airport, railway opening soon etc.

We have put a booking deposit on a place in Maple Woods Ballinacurra. Before we commit I was wondering if anyone could give me the good and bad points of living in the area? We have a 2 year old - what are the schools like? Is there a shortage of places like there is in other parts of the country that have new housing developments?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Tony.

Blitzkrieger

A friend of mine has a house in Maple Woods and he loves it there. But then, he's from Midleton and has a bizarre love of the place. I've always been put off by the fact that up to recently it was the suicide capital of the world.

But guess where I end up most Saturday nights?

I don't know much about the schools these days but I doubt if it's as bad as other parts of the country. Midleton always had large schools. There was talk of closing one of the primary schools for a while but now that the population has swelled that's no longer an issue. A lot of the people buying the new homes around there are first time buyers - mostly young couples with no kids.

Good points :

* Close to Cork. Dual carraigeway goes directly to the tunnel and the South Ring as well as the North Ring. Rail link will eventually bring you to Kent Station and there's regular busses to the city.
* Market town. Midleton is a focal point for a large number of surrounding towns so you have far more shops and facilities than Midleton itself could support.

There's probaly more good points but without knowing exactly what you're looking for I don't know what to mention.

Bad points :

* Dull. The only night club in the town was closed years ago due to complaints from locals. There's supposed to be a new one opening up but we've heard that before. There's never any life in the pubs. I was in a pub once when a girl got up on the bar and started dancing. I thought that people would be cheering and clapping until the boucers threw her out. People just looked up, laughed, then turned back to what they were doing. The girl just got embarrassed and got down.
* Busy. Traffic crawls down the main street. It crawls around the back streets (all two of them) too. There's no disc parking system in effect but bizarrely if you park on the main street for more than an hour you get a ticket. I've never actually seen the warden do this, but then I never park on the main street. There's a car park around the back of the town that's within walking distance of everything and if that's full, Lidl offer a handy over flow car park accross the street.

Daveyhaha

I went to secondary school in Midleton, and I have to say i found it a really nice town, although that was before it became developed. I left secondary school in 1998. The CBS down there tends to be in the top schools thing they publish every year.

As regards night clubs, that is a bit of a bother, the nearest would probably be eiother youghal or cobh, neither of which are very close. Would be an expensive taxi ride anyway. If that doesnt concern you though i dont see a problem.

With the new railway coming in, id expect to see the cost of houses rise quite a bit, as it will mean easy acess to the city. Yopu could keep your fingers crossed for a late night train or bus service to appear but i wouldnt hold my breath on that one. Overall i'd say its one of the best choices in east cork to live in at the moment.

Dave

Judes

I live in Cobh and work in Cork city centre Mon-Fri but do most of my shopping in Midleton.

I think it's a lovely friendly town - still has a village feel about it - which is lovely, i.e. staff in shops chatty and friendly. I love going there on a Saturday - it's very buzzy, walking down the Main Street. The Farmgate Restaurant is always packed, fabulous place to sit down and eat or just buy their produce. Finin's pub on the Main Street, also a great place to eat. A nice Italian Pizza place, a new Thai restaurant and many other restaurants too. Also, there a loads of boutiques in Midleton - every time you turn a corner, or find another nook and cranny - you discover another boutique! Or nice little gift/kitchen shops with unusual things.

Grocery Shopping - you've got a choice of a large Supervalue and a fab new 24 hour Tesco. The Tesco is part of a new shopping Centre development, next to a Multi-Screen Cinema Complex. Then there's the Sat morning market which is small but if you get there early, you'll get the good stuff.

I'm not sure where the Maples is - but anyone I know living in Midleton loves the place. One of the best Secondary Schools in Cork County is based there CBS! As pointed out you're not far from the city - but even better, you're close to the beautiful East Cork coastal area, just a short drive to places like Rostellan, just park your car there and there's a beautiful walkway and lots of ducks to feed. Whitebay beach, fabulous for swimming, Roches Point Lighthouse, Ballycotton, Ballymaloe, Garryvoe. Surfing at Inch! All close driving distance. Then of course there's Fota Wildlife Park, Cobh and I almost forgot Trabolgan (near Whitegate) so lots of places to keep a child happy! And plenty to keep parents entertained too.

I think Midleton is the kind of place you can walk down the Main Street and you may recognise an old face and stop for a chat - and there are very few places where that occurs now, as everyone's busy racing around.

Best of Luck with the move and welcome to East Cork!!! I'm sure you'll be very happy there. Judes

Judes

............ And to continue with Supermarkets - I forgot to mention LIDL!!! How could I forget them. So you have Supervalue, Tesco and Lidl in one town- that alone would be a good reason to move to Midleton. J

Stugots

Don't live in Midleton - born and raised in Youghal and always hated Midleton because they beat us at everything! Lost an East Cork football final U14, U16, U18....

However, I've gotten over that now and I appreciate it as a vibrant town. Restaurant scene is good - just ate in the new Thai last week, planning to go to the Farm Gate next week. Farmers market is popular on Saturdays. Ballycotton seafood has an outlet on the main street. Hurley's supervalue is probably the only place in East Cork that can compete with Tesco - and beats it in my opinion. Schools are good - I know of several families who choose to drive their kids from Youghal area to Midleton for secondary school.

Club scene probably suffers because of the short distance to Cork - but if you have a two year old, you've given up on that by now .

There's a very good playground just a couple of hundred yards off the main street. Midleton Park hotel has a pool, but the town probably needs a good municipal pool (county councilors called for it this week, so maybe it will happen in the foreseeable future).

Nice beaches are a short drive away - 20 mins to Youghal, less to Garryvoe.

Go for it!

Tonio

Thanks to all of you for your replies. Just what I wanted to hear. These replies confirm our own impressions of Midleton from our recent trips there. Decision made - Midleton it is!. Now I wish the builders would get a move on...:rolleyes:

Aspiration

lol! Reading all yer replies made me realise how much i love living in and being from Midleton. Midleton is growing so fast at the moment - my godmother was saying by 2020 the population will probably grow to about 15,000. :eek:

But yeah, I can't really add anything else to what the other posters have said. Really good points- both positive and negative.

I hope you like Midleton!

MrsA

Hope you are very happy there. I grew up near to Midleton and went to Secondary School there. I think it has changed a lot and it does seem to be for the better. There is a village feel, but, I suppose my only issue is the suicide problem, God forbid it would ever darken any of our doors, but, there were/are a huge amount of men (young and older) who take their own lives there.
I do also feel that it is a bit small - but, that depends on whether you like small or not, and some people prefer it.
Nobody in Midleton will ever consider you are from Midleton however because you are living in Ballinacurra, which is its own little village, has its own GAA team and all the rivlarly that goes with that.
There are good and bad things everywhere - it is not utopia but, then I cannot think of anywhere that is!!

MrsA.