Living in Dublin

Speedway

Hey everyone,

my first time posting on this section of boards. I am graduating from college in Cork this year and I am going to be starting a job in Dublin in the IFSC in August/September. I will be moving from Cork to Dublin for this job and I am just wondering where would be the best place to look for somewhere to live

I am not great on my Dublin Geography but I can find my way about ok. I won't have a car initially but I hope to get one within a couple of months cause I have my full licence. By budget would be based on a salary of 30k a year and I would share with someone no prob. I would prob look for accomodation sharing with a friend so maybe somewhere for 2/3 people.

So if anyone could recommend what the best areas are to look into for living I would really appreciate it
Thanks!

bugler

If you're working in the IFSC then you might want to live there too. There are plenty of apartments around there.

Rent wouldn't be cheap though, and a car space may not come with the accomodation, or if it does it will add to the rent.

If you were going a bit further out and you didn't mind a bus/train ride in then maybe look at Drumcondra or Phibsborough.

As for the south side, well again rents won't be cheap, but any of Dublin 2/4 and a bit further away Dublin 6 are worth looking at. You may again be looking at getting a bus to work though. Ranelagh is lovely, Rathmines is nice too. The rents will reflect this.

By the way, it is not a good time to be looking for somewhere to rent if you are looking for an apartment for you + friends. I found it very difficult to find a 1/2 bed place late last year, and there is plenty of evidence that this hasn't changed (in fact the Daft reports suggest it has got worse since then). Maybe it is easier to get a 3 bed or higher.

The reasons for this are outlined on a few recent enough threads in this forum.

If you decide to just look for a room in a place it may be easier to get.

Zambia

There are nice Apartments directly Opposite the National College of Ireland in the IFSC Centre. They have car spaces but I would just not get a car unless you need it as you are next you the LUAS line at Connolly and that goes straight to Heuston.

Speedway

that's great thanks very much for the advice. If I could avoid a car for the moment that would be ok but I would prob get one for driving back and forth to Cork for some weekends.

I might look for a 3 bedroom instead so cause I know a couple of people that might be up for sharing.

so if I actually start looking now is Daft.ie the best place to seach of would I be better going up there in August/September and just hunting

ronbyrne2005

IFSC is well served by Luas, Dart Rail and busses. You can get a place anywhere along the Luas, dart or rail lines and be at IFSC fairly quickly. Somewhere like Clontarf is not too dear for rent and has Dart and busses for rapid transport to the IFSC. Better to stick to Northside(where IFSC is!) as a similar property is cheaper to rent usually and likes of apartmentsin city centre are very expensive relative to suburbs. Maybe consider renting a 3 bed house in suburbs of Dublin 3,5,7,9,11 which are all close to IFSC by bus,bike or rail.

These 3 bed properties would be ideal for access to city centre/IFSC etc
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Speedway

thanks very much for all the info. very helpful

jdivision

I'd be careful in my choice of apartment in the IFSC if you decide to live there. Some of them get stoned by kids living in the flats and local authority housing behind them. I moved out because of this.

ixoy

jdivision wrote:

I'd be careful in my choice of apartment in the IFSC if you decide to live there. Some of them get stoned by kids living in the flats and local authority housing behind them. I moved out because of this.

I lived in the IFSC a couple of years ago (in Custom House Harbour - the one that sits on top of water) and the apartments at ground level seemed to suffer breakins and smashed windows with an alarming regularity.

However, if you're up for a few levels you should be ok and the area is nice and quiet generally unlike the current area where I'm lving (Smithfield Square), which is too noisy for me to be bothered renewing.

bringitdown

Have lived in Ringsend, Ranelagh, Clontarf and Blackrock all lovely areas with Ringsend possibly taking the lock due to location wrt the city center and also proximity to the coast.

Mates have lived in Harolds Cross, Phibsborough, and Tempelogue and Dame St. Relatively few complaints here.

My main criteria are commute times to work inbound and outbound (you can sometimes have a great QBC inbound and none outbound), proximity to the city center for the social life, good facilities in the locality (shops, recreation), and of course that the place I'm renting is okay.

A crappy commute can really kill your enjoyment of Dublin.

The_Conductor

Speedway wrote:

that's great thanks very much for the advice. If I could avoid a car for the moment that would be ok but I would prob get one for driving back and forth to Cork for some weekends.

I might look for a 3 bedroom instead so cause I know a couple of people that might be up for sharing.

so if I actually start looking now is Daft.ie the best place to seach of would I be better going up there in August/September and just hunting

Seriously- if you can help it at all, you are better off without driving up and down to Cork. The train might not be cheap, but its preferable to a 5 hour drive after work on a Friday evening (and as mentioned, you would most probably have to pay dearly for a parking space in Dublin (don't even consider driving around Dublin, its a mess)).

If you are considering a 3 bed house/apartment for renting- looking out on the suburbs is probably your best bet. As mentioned above, your primary concern is commuting- so somewhere with good public transport should be top of your list. Dublin West (aka the Adamstown/Newcastle development area) is a possibility, particularly as its light rail station is due to open in April. Facilities/amenities there are pretty minimal though- but then again that could well be said for most areas of Dublin which have been developed over the past 10 years.

The actual number of properties available for renting in the Dublin area is falling, as the number of properties on the market is rising- a correction of the market price and rent yield ratios in both directions. Unfortunately this is unhelpful for you. Unless you are physically present in Dublin to view and rent properties, irrespective of what you see on DAFT or in the Evening Herald, you are wasting your time. August/September is also the worst possible time for renting (as its when all the students come back after the summer- and a lot of them may have the same idea as you re: renting a house/apartment between friends). If you were prepared to look a bit earlier- its possible that you might have a bit more success.

Shane