Accommodation in Parnell Street, Dublin

bullpost

One of the lads in work here (He's foreign) is thinking of renting an apartment in Parnell Street Dublin. He's moving with his wife and was asking me what's it like and if the area in general is safe? I know this area is undergoing a lot of changes but am not overly familiar with it - does anyone know if its a good area to live in?

digitally-yours

I lived there a year ago and it was OK. Not the best place but if you want to live there for a year or two.

Negatives

You have lot of noise if you live in an apartment on any of the main roads there.
Loads of buses.
Drinking behaviour is common there
some rough people there too in flats
traffic is a nightmare.

Positives
City Centre
handy to pubs & shops
easy if you travel on public transport that links that area



Some parts in that area are very rough.

The overall living quality of apartments compared to the rent paid is not very good.

I would not suggest living there unless its absolute necessary.

This is my personal opinion.


*lived there for 2 years and moved out in Oct last year.

eth0_

As a female, I don't feel safe walking down Parnell St at night on my own.
Personally I wouldn't live slap bang in the city centre, there's always going to be trouble and noise levels would be pretty bad from traffic and drunk people at night.

How Strange

OP, I agree with eth0_, I wouldn't like walking up O'Connell St and onto Parnell St after a night out. Its not a northside bias but O'Connell St is a bit of a crazy place late at night. If they were out on the southside of the liffey, they would have to walk down Westmoreland St, over O'Connell bridge, up O'Connell St and onto Parnell St.

I've lived in Dublin for years and imho these are some of the roughest areas in Dublin city at night.

If he likes that side of the city, Capel St, Smithfield, Stoneybatter, apt blocks on the quays and around IFSC would be better.

And I don't think rent is any cheaper on Parnell St so between drunk behaviour, rough at night and terrible traffic 24/7 what would be the advantages to living there?

Slydice

I have a co-worker who says she feels intimidated by guys drinking on the stairs in the halls of her apartment complex on parnell st.

I also remember the news story from last year where a woman was dragged, kicking and screaming rape, into one of the apartment complexes and was raped by two men. If I remember correctly, people saw it but did nothing to help.

I'd definitely be wary of living there.

bullpost

Thanks for all the replies. Overall doesn't look like somewhere I could recommend to him at the moment.

irlirishkev

Well I've lived just off the east end of Parnell Street for the last 3 and a half years. Coming from Greystones, I was aprehensive.

I love it. I've never had any trouble (touch wood). It's soooo convenient to everything. Pubs, cinemas, shops, restaurants, public transport..
It probably took me a while to adjust to how busy it is around the area at night. But it's always buzzing. The streets are brightly lit, there are people around the whole time.

I really can't overstate how happy I am living here. And don't forget the area is being redeveloped the whole time. The new O'Connell Street, The new Moore Street project, the new Arnotts development etc..

Oh, and most of the locals in the area these days are foreign. I'd say around 70% of the people you pass on the street are foreign nationals, so he'll fit right in!

Tis great!

bugler

I get my bus from Parnell St. Not the nicest place in Dublin. There are loads of non-nationals already there, I'm not sure what the attraction is.

I don't have any experience of any of the apartments there, but I'll say this:

As a single man I wouldn't really have had many qualms about the kind of area I'd live in. I'm fairly alert and feel I'm able to look after myself. But once I moved in with my girlfriend things changed.

It's all well and good that you feel safe and secure in yourself, but having a girlfriend or kids etc who will also live in the area means you need to think about them. You won't be there all the time.

gibo_ie

depends which part of parnell street as it is a long street!!! Parnell street east (from o'connell st to gardiner street) is mostly foreign nationals and almost like chinatown and lots of russians and polish there too. Then you have west from o'connell street to capel st. This is much wider and brighter with lots of apartment buildings (lots of new buildings too) and the upgraded ilac center. I live here and i think it is great. Usually quiet and safe too in my opinion. I dont like the bit between o'connell st and moore street too much to be honest but its not terrible.

Then parnell square is completely different again.

depends on which part of the street i guess (It is something like a mile long).

Supercell

I lived in the Kingscourt Apartment block for 5 years and loved every minute of it.
The apartment block was well maintained - lifts worked and were kept clean, apartments were properly sound proofed and everything was on the doorstep.
I'd still probably be there if the landlord hadn't sold the place

As already posted - there is the Gardiner Street end of Parnell street which can be a bit dodgy at night and then there's the Henry Street end opposite Cineworld which is fine and very pleasant imho. I'd have no hesitation moving there again (except that i'm a culchie now and the fields of Wicklow have won my heart over!).

petecork

Supercell wrote: »

I lived in the Kingscourt Apartment block for 5 years and loved every minute of it.
The apartment block was well maintained - lifts worked and were kept clean, apartments were properly sound proofed and everything was on the doorstep.
I'd still probably be there if the landlord hadn't sold the place

As already posted - there is the Gardiner Street end of Parnell street which can be a bit dodgy at night and then there's the Henry Street end opposite Cineworld which is fine and very pleasant imho. I'd have no hesitation moving there again (except that i'm a culchie now and the fields of Wicklow have won my heart over!).

I know this is a 3.5 year old post but would people still think this is true? I'm thinking about buying an apartment at the intersection of Parnell/Gardiner St (109 Parnell St)

Google Earth Link of location:
http://bit.ly/m5MSfr

Thank you

BrianBlessed

I lived in the Temple Hall apartments on Parnell St and around the corner on Hill st for five years. I thought the area was great to live in. It's so handy and central. The Chinese shops and restaurants meant that there were always people walking on the street which was good. There are a few more dodgy looking Irish pubs than when I lived there but it's still mainly non nationals living the area who were less likely to hassle you on the street. I didn't feel unsafe walking down there late at night.

I wouldn't recommend you buy there though, a lot of the apartments down there are buy to let and rented out to large groups by landlords who don't care about the rest of the building. You just don't know what sort of neighbours you will be stuck with and there was a lot of damage caused to the common areas and the lift was always under repair.

Try renting there for a while and see if you like the area, there's no harm in waiting as prices are only going one way for the next few years.

petecork

Thanks for the reply. I've lived on Capel St and Upper Dorset St in the past and had no problems in either of those, so was assuming that section of parnell st (parnell/gardiner st intersection) would be similar until I started reading some stuff on forums.

Also bit worried about its closeness to Summerhill as read some things about it here:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=62444209

BrianBlessed wrote: »

I lived in the Temple Hall apartments on Parnell St and around the corner on Hill st for five years. I thought the area was great to live in. It's so handy and central. The Chinese shops and restaurants meant that there were always people walking on the street which was good. There are a few more dodgy looking Irish pubs than when I lived there but it's still mainly non nationals living the area who were less likely to hassle you on the street. I didn't feel unsafe walking down there late at night.

I wouldn't recommend you buy there though, a lot of the apartments down there are buy to let and rented out to large groups by landlords who don't care about the rest of the building. You just don't know what sort of neighbours you will be stuck with and there was a lot of damage caused to the common areas and the lift was always under repair.

Try renting there for a while and see if you like the area, there's no harm in waiting as prices are only going one way for the next few years.

BrianBlessed

Well if you lived in those areas then I think you should have a good idea about the place.

Summerhill is serious bandit country but it didn't seem to have an effect on Parnell St, even when they were shooting people 50 meters down the road.

That may have changed since I left the area 3 years ago mind

petecork

Thanks

BrianBlessed wrote: »

Well if you lived in those areas then I think you should have a good idea about the place.

Summerhill is serious bandit country but it didn't seem to have an effect on Parnell St, even when they were shooting people 50 meters down the road.

That may have changed since I left the area 3 years ago mind

petecork

BrianBlessed wrote: »

Well if you lived in those areas then I think you should have a good idea about the place.

BTW, even though I was living in D1, I only seen that part of parnell st 2-3 times during daytime, so thats the reason for the question. And I can't recall ever being in Summerhill, never had a reason to go there.

Mr. Loverman

I lived at the top of O'Connell Street before the bubble, and I have also lived in various places around the city centre for about 10 years in total.

Town, in general, is safe unless you want trouble or are one of those people who are good at making themselves a target.

irlirishkev

109 Parnell Street apartments, are not a block I'd want to live in.
TBH, they're all teeny tiny and a bit run down. Well, the ones I've seen advertised are, I'm sure there are exceptions.
There are other apartment blocks in the area which would be better choices.

That part of town is fine though and I miss it since I moved to D8. The restaurants and bars are great, and it's so local to O'Connell Street etc.. There's always a good buzz.

Agree with the previous poster about Summerhill, but you're a safe enough distance from it.

holidayhere

digitally-yours wrote: »

I lived there a year ago and it was OK. Not the best place but if you want to live there for a year or two.

Positives
City Centre
handy to pubs & shops
easy if you travel on public transport that links that area

I think the positives out weigh the negatives. Not a bad place at all.

tricky D

This one? http://www.daft.ie/searchsale.daft?id=403233

1st floor onto Parnell St will be noisy. (At least you won't have Rocky's son blaring Aslan early on Saturday mornings)

Smackheads used to able to gain access now and again and would hang around the top of stairwells. Usually due to people not closing front doors properly.

Walls and ceilings are a bit thin.

Construction quality isn't the best (Zoe built it).

Not big.

The one I lived in on the top floor, 1 bed, similar layout and size went for around 190 6ish years ago.

Super location, but you need to be streetwise. Summerhill isn't much of an issue.

Rent for a few years, I would and did. Buy, I wouldn't.

petecork

yes I've been looking at 2:

the link you gave and this:
http://bit.ly/kNv8Cb

thanks for the replies everyone

tricky D wrote: »

This one? http://www.daft.ie/searchsale.daft?id=403233

1st floor onto Parnell St will be noisy. (At least you won't have Rocky's son blaring Aslan early on Saturday mornings)

Smackheads used to able to gain access now and again and would hang around the top of stairwells. Usually due to people not closing front doors properly.

Walls and ceilings are a bit thin.

Construction quality isn't the best (Zoe built it).

Not big.

The one I lived in on the top floor, 1 bed, similar layout and size went for around 190 6ish years ago.

Super location, but you need to be streetwise. Summerhill isn't much of an issue.

Rent for a few years, I would and did. Buy, I wouldn't.

branners69

I bought new and lived in apt. 101 from 1995 until 2001. I was twenty when I bought it and had the time of my life, 15 minutes walk from Temple Bar and the mortgage only cost £210 (punt at the time) because of the Tax Incentives! Not to make you too sick but it cost £48k at the time!!

The wife is currently pregnant on babies 3 and 4 so we are in and out of the Rotunda weekly. I drive by my old haunt and I wouldnt recognise it! To me it is only a matter of time before it is rezoned as China Town, most other major cities have one.

Like others I would rent for a while to get the feel of the place, but in all the years living there coming back in all states I never had one incident of trouble!

If you are buying only buy a high floor and ideally facing the Parnell St flats so as to avoid the bus and car pollution, I was on floor 4 or the Penthouse as I told the ladies!!! I know other people at the time in lower floors had problems with ladies in high heels on wooden floors doing their head in, I remember at a resident association meeting there was talk of banning wooden floors!!

Also check the maintenance costs, it went from £200 to over £600 whilst I was living there, God knows what it is now! Over all the apartments are not brilliantly built as mentioned before they are a Zoe Development build, did someone actually die whilst building them?? Check for mould around the windows and if memory serves me there are vents in my windows which could not be closed so it was very cold in the Winter and didnt help block out the noise!

For what is worth I had a friend living across the road over the Londis and the apartments are better built and much bigger with a decent balcony!!

@ Tricky_D, I havent thought about Rocky in a long time. I remember not bothering watching the TV and looking out at the flats, bikes and tvs would go in and wraps of tin foil would come out!! Was like an episode of the bill most nights....Ah the gud 'aul days!!

petecork

thanks for that, lots of useful info there, some things I hadn't thought about before

branners69 wrote: »

I bought new and lived in apt. 101 from 1995 until 2001. I was twenty when I bought it and had the time of my life, 15 minutes walk from Temple Bar and the mortgage only cost £210 (punt at the time) because of the Tax Incentives! Not to make you too sick but it cost £48k at the time!!

The wife is currently pregnant on babies 3 and 4 so we are in and out of the Rotunda weekly. I drive by my old haunt and I wouldnt recognise it! To me it is only a matter of time before it is rezoned as China Town, most other major cities have one.

Like others I would rent for a while to get the feel of the place, but in all the years living there coming back in all states I never had one incident of trouble!

If you are buying only buy a high floor and ideally facing the Parnell St flats so as to avoid the bus and car pollution, I was on floor 4 or the Penthouse as I told the ladies!!! I know other people at the time in lower floors had problems with ladies in high heels on wooden floors doing their head in, I remember at a resident association meeting there was talk of banning wooden floors!!

Also check the maintenance costs, it went from £200 to over £600 whilst I was living there, God knows what it is now! Over all the apartments are not brilliantly built as mentioned before they are a Zoe Development build, did someone actually die whilst building them?? Check for mould around the windows and if memory serves me there are vents in my windows which could not be closed so it was very cold in the Winter and didnt help block out the noise!

For what is worth I had a friend living across the road over the Londis and the apartments are better built and much bigger with a decent balcony!!

@ Tricky_D, I havent thought about Rocky in a long time. I remember not bothering watching the TV and looking out at the flats, bikes and tvs would go in and wraps of tin foil would come out!! Was like an episode of the bill most nights....Ah the gud 'aul days!!

tricky D

branners69 wrote: »

I bought new and lived in apt. 101 from 1995 until 2001.

I was in #95 from 2000 so we might have passed each other a few times. jd was there before me.

branners69 wrote: »

If you are buying only buy a high floor and ideally facing the Parnell St flats so as to avoid the bus and car pollution, I was on floor 4 or the Penthouse as I told the ladies!!! I know other people at the time in lower floors had problems with ladies in high heels on wooden floors doing their head in, I remember at a resident association meeting there was talk of banning wooden floors!!

+1 on the top floor. Even facing onto the street at that height will reduce the noise a good bit.

branners69 wrote: »

Also check the maintenance costs, it went from £200 to over £600 whilst I was living there, God knows what it is now! Over all the apartments are not brilliantly built as mentioned before they are a Zoe Development build, did someone actually die whilst building them?? Check for mould around the windows and if memory serves me there are vents in my windows which could not be closed so it was very cold in the Winter and didnt help block out the noise!

The 2nd 2 bedroom is quoting €2,200 for maintenance which seems very high to me. And yes someone did fall to their death due to Zoe's low safety standards.

branners69 wrote: »

@ Tricky_D, I havent thought about Rocky in a long time. I remember not bothering watching the TV and looking out at the flats, bikes and tvs would go in and wraps of tin foil would come out!! Was like an episode of the bill most nights....Ah the gud 'aul days!!

Good times, good times. (And the fella in the bottom right flat who was always getting the sh1t kicked out of him iirc)