Ballymoney Co Wexford, Good place to move to?

Pixied

Hi

We are starting to look at ballymoney as a place to move to from Dublin.

Can anyone advise what it's like to live there?

For example:

What are the schools like?
What are the nice estates/areas to be looking at to buy?
Good community spirit/open to outsiders?
Safe?
Any clubs for kids..eg gaa etc..?
Do many people live here all year round..I know it's a beach area..with a lot of holiday homes..

All info appreciated.
Cheers!!!

Chaosangel

Im gonna try help you on this!
My names is shane and I moved down here about 7 years ago from dublin myself.

Well in the ballymoney are the school options are

Primary-the Loretto in Gorey town or Tara Hill which would be closer to the general Ballymoney location,I never went to either but my younger brother went to Tara Hill and it seemed to be a lovely school.

Secondary-as im sure you know Gorey Community School has the largest population of students in Ireland and it is a big school,I attended for 6 years,it is a good school I have to admit as much as I didnt like it (basic student opinion) it has great facilities,labs,pitches,canteen,a wide variety of rooms for all subjects and Transition Year is a great year in the school.

Estates wise there's Sandycove which is on the Kildermot side which is linked to the beach by path,it is quite a large estate and most houses are hoilday homes in it but they are nice houses,one of my frineds lives within the estate so im aware of the houses and area around,other than that to be honest there isnt much else for sale except maybe the odd house in the area perhaps on the beach road or slightly out of Ballymoney im not sure off the top of my head.

The community is very nice,lots of locals and the Tara Vale pub is within walking distance of most houses about 10,15 minutess as is The Orphan Girl perhaps a bit further,there is a shop at the top of the beach road which is basically handy for all needs,not great value now ill admit but it does the job,there is also a Londis up the hill slightly beside Tara Hill school,much better shop. The beach is lovely as you walk past the first part of it the second beach as its called is beautiful and leads on far up with many more lovely parts,really must see to be honest. For GAA and such well there's up on Tara Hill within the school up there alot of sports involved and in Gorey there is a sports hall and all sorts of clubs. Its a lovely area,roads aren't great though,cars do go around quite fast and the condition isn't great just to warn.


Just some stuff off the top of my head as its 2.56 am!!
You can email me for anything else if you wish on [MOD EDIT]send a PM

Hope that helps at all,
Shane.

RedXIV

Chaosangel wrote: »

Primary-the Loretto in Gorey town or Tara Hill which would be closer to the general Ballymoney location,I never went to either but my younger brother went to Tara Hill and it seemed to be a lovely school.

Gorey town also has a Christian Brother School and a mixed primary school on offer. Both are of more than acceptable standard, the CBS in particular is a sports based school for your little atheletes

Chaosangel wrote: »

Secondary-as im sure you know Gorey Community School has the largest population of students in Ireland and it is a big school,I attended for 6 years,it is a good school I have to admit as much as I didnt like it (basic student opinion) it has great facilities,labs,pitches,canteen,a wide variety of rooms for all subjects and Transition Year is a great year in the school.

It is in one word BIG. but thanks to this school, college is a breeze to deal with and it offers one of the broadest subject ranges in the country. The TY option in this school is EXCELLENT, especially if your kid has any confidence issues (worked on me)

Chaosangel wrote: »

Estates wise there's Sandycove which is on the Kildermot side which is linked to the beach by path,it is quite a large estate and most houses are hoilday homes in it but they are nice houses,one of my frineds lives within the estate so im aware of the houses and area around,other than that to be honest there isnt much else for sale except maybe the odd house in the area perhaps on the beach road or slightly out of Ballymoney im not sure off the top of my head.

Not really up to scratch here, i worked in the caravan parks so i'd know them best. From my recollection though, they are throwing houses up all over the area. But these are usually single and massive. You are VERY close to Gorey, which is growing rapidly and houses are going up on the outskirts of it which you might want to consider also.

Chaosangel wrote: »

The community is very nice,lots of locals and the Tara Vale pub is within walking distance of most houses about 10,15 minutess as is The Orphan Girl perhaps a bit further,there is a shop at the top of the beach road which is basically handy for all needs,not great value now ill admit but it does the job,there is also a Londis up the hill slightly beside Tara Hill school,much better shop. The beach is lovely as you walk past the first part of it the second beach as its called is beautiful and leads on far up with many more lovely parts,really must see to be honest. For GAA and such well there's up on Tara Hill within the school up there alot of sports involved and in Gorey there is a sports hall and all sorts of clubs. Its a lovely area,roads aren't great though,cars do go around quite fast and the condition isn't great just to warn.

Ditto to this, the community is execellent, absolutely lovely people here and for the most of the year, it's generally very quite and calm place to live. Does tend to get very busy if the weather is good and the beach can be packed solid on a scorcher of a day. Alot of people in the area are moved down from dublin so you should have no problem fitting in!

As shane said, there's loads of clubs around to keep kids entertained. I know alot of things are in gorey like Badminton, Tennis, Tae Kwon do, Rugby, scouts, and out in Courtown there is a leisure centre with gym and pool. These are not hard to find and research and when you get down here, you'll find loads to do. Suprises the locals even sometimes.


If i could offer one bit of advice it would be NOT to move into Gorey town itself in case you were keeping that as an option, the town does tend to keep going at all hours and it's not a great place to live if you have young kids. I lived in town for 2 years before moving to the outskirts (place called Creagh) and the change is def noticable.

Didn't really add much in hindsight, it's all shane's work really but hey, if it helps i done good right?

Pixied

Damn right, you both did good!!:D

Cheers, seriously you've both been a great help!!

Just another quick q, if that's ok?

We're going to go down and have a look around this weekend. Neither of us know the area too well, but we have also seen some other area nearby..ie
- Ardamine
-Courtown
-Poulashone (??)
-Castletown

Are any of these worth looking at also??
If so which ones? We are looking for a place within walking distance of a nice beach, thats safe and other kids to play with our young one.

Ballymoney came highly recommended to us- do you think this would be the best location/community around there??

Thanks again too..

RedXIV

- Ardamine -- Very nice area from my limited knowledge of the place but not great prospects for kids, not alot of facilties close by in comparsion to the others

-Courtown -- Wouldn't recommend this myself. It's either packed solid (summer) or dead (rest of year).

-Poulashone (??) -- Never heard of it

-Castletown -- Heard good things about this spot but a bit out of the way. Just my opinion, I could be wrong.

Being blunty honest, i think you got it right with Ballymoney, had i been asked with your critera for a place to live, i would have said Ballymoney too. It does seem to have everything you want.

Other than that i'd check Ardamine, and it MIGHT be worth looking at the Riverchapel estates aswell.

But def, Ballymoney sounds like your perfect spot.

sent ya a PM with a number if ya need anything else, coz i don't know if i'll be on comp between now and monday

Best of luck house hunting!

bmaxi

Ballymoney is a lovely spot but houses are inclined to be pricey compared to the other areas you mentioned. There are no housing estates in Courtown except holiday homes and these are not really suitable for year round living. Poulshone again is a lovely place, close to a nice beach, but again only one small traditional housing estate. Riverchapel and Ardamine offer the best choice but wherever you go beware the dreaded "Builders' pension fund", otherwise known as "Management Companies", these tend to be quite common.

Pixied

Thanks Bmaxi- I know what you mean about management fees! We pay some at the mo and we both want to avoid this in our next place- if possible!!

The houses do seem pricey in comparison to nearby areas. From what I can see alot seem to have been up for sale for a while. The Gorey area in general has a high amount of houses for sale at the mo, over 1,000 on daft I think, so I'm wondering if this has effected Ballymoney also..?

Does anyone know if Broadband is available in Ballymoney?
If so, who are the providers? For eg three ect..

Thanks again, we went to visit Ballymoney last friday and it seems a lovely spot!

thedarkroom

Hi Pixied,
I have lived in Ballymoney for most of my life and would definitely recommend it, we would welcome some permanent residents here. There is an abundance of holiday houses here, which can be a bit overwhelming at times, particularly if you try to get to the beach on a sunny bank holiday weekend or find you have to queue for the local shop during the summer but the place has a lot going for it. If you can live with the chaos of the summer high season at it's peak for a few weeks during july and august then it is well worth it. 48 weeks of the year more than compensate for the hectic four of the summer high. You should look around before the holiday season starts to get a true idea of what the place is really like, you should be charmed.
- Regarding house prices, Ballymoney does tend to be a bit higher than elsewhere but remember that the prices listed on Daft and MyHome are guidelines and you should not take them as gospel. Negotiate, make an offer. Remember it is a buyers market at the moment. Look at the prices of the houses for sale in The Village and see the differences in prices between these houses, which are all basically the same with minor differences. I would be inclined to avoid Sandycove as a place to live, not that there is anything wrong with it per se but it is a housing estate of around 200 holiday houses with only a few permanent residents. While I know a couple of them and would be happy to have them as neighbours, the estate is so big and empty that I would find that the empty houses would not contribute towards building a community for 12 months of the year. The imbalance of permanent and holiday houses is wrong but that's an argument for another day.
- I would avoid the likes of Courtown and surrounding areas, dare I say, at all costs. They are busy, noisy and boisterous during the summer and not without problems. Gorey can be good but do your homework first before you invest. Get some local knowledge first before buying, it could be very useful. And I mean LOCAL knowledge. Castletown is a nice spot but more rural in layout than Ballymoney with the nearest shop being beside the School in Tara Hill. Describing Castletown as more rural is not a criticism, it's just different, quieter, dispersed, less developed and remote.
- Broadband is available in Ballymoney, I have it with Eircom and find it good as long as you don't need to talk to someone but I have no problems. I know several people with Eircom broadband and all are happy with it.
- The schools locally are quiet good. There is Tara Hill, I have two kids there and they love it and I would highly recommend it. Alternative primary schools are located in Gorey and all of them generally are good. There is the CBS (I went there 40 years ago), there is the Loretto, a Gaelschoill, the Central School and an Educate Together. The Gorey Community School is one of the largest secondary schools in the country, around 1600 students. While the school is very good generally, the size does create a lot of issues. There is a good range of courses available and the transition year programme is busy, varied and well though-out. I have two teenagers currently attending here and I have found the staff there always to be very helpful and enthusiastic.
- Facilities available in the locality are quiet good but you will need a car and you will find that you will be spend a lot of time driving kids around the place to friends or in to Gorey. There is a new local bus service which started this year. It's in it's infancy at the moment and there are changes to the timetable on occasions to improve the service, etc so hopefully the long term plan works out and this service is here to stay. It can be difficult to organize something like this when there are such large seasonal fluctuations in population numbers in a rural area and this summer will be the first summer of operation so time will tell. (www.goreybuslinks.ie)
- If Shane, above, is the Shane I know near the Tara Vale then he has addressed a lot of the issues quiet well. There's plenty to do when you look for it and as people move in to the area they generally make friends quickly, the schools are good for that.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the area, if I don't have the answer I'm sure I can find out for you. My email address is <snip> or you can pm me,

David O'C

A few links worth checking out:

www.goreylinks.com
www.northwexford.com
www.wexfordtourism.com
www.goreyguardian.ie
www.goreyecho.ie
www.wexfordweb.com
www.wexford.ie
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorey

thedarkroom

Kind of went on a bit there, sorry about that.

Pixied

No way TDR - thanks a mill. I have to say everyone here has been so helpful and both my husband and I really appreciate it.

Quick questions (sorry):
1. There seems to be a lot of gated housing estates. I can understand the big holiday home estates but we noticed some smaller private small estates were also gated. Just wondered if there was any reason for this? Is it better to buy here or that it it doesn't make any differance?
2.Are any sides of Ballymoney village more residential then holiday home in nature.We have a little girl and would like her to have friends near enough by..
3.Is Tara Hill school a feeder school for only cetain secondary schools in Gorey or all of them?

If anyone can help a bit further..thanks!

thedarkroom

Q1 - The gated communities is a status/identity thing which bestows a perceived sense of importance (I think you can tell that they generally p**s me off) and aren't really necessary due to security issues. Ballymoney isn't any different to the rest of the country and doesn't generally have a problem with burglaries or theft. It does happen but is rare enough and mostly restricted to holiday homes where the obvious attraction is that they are empty for 9 months of the year. I would certainly feel safe here but I wouldn't go off all day and leave the house open and would just advise on the side of sensibility.
I do find that gated estates and houses are irritating because several times I have been standing in the rain waiting to pick up my kids, pushing a button on a gate to house and waiting ages for a reply and for the gate to open. I consider them anti-social and certainly don't encourage a neighbor to casually call in when passing.
Q2 - I wouldn't say that there is any one place more residential than the other, other than the centre of the village, which would be equidistant to everywhere. The development called 'The Village', at the part that is located along the road to Ballymoney Golf Club, has a few families living there but I don't know them as they are mostly newcomers to the area. If you are looking for a family orientated, all-year round estate, avoid SandyCove as it is primarily a gated holiday estate. Tara Cove chalets is the same. Tara Meadows has some permanent residents but I could not give a breakdown of its make-up and it is about a mile from the village centre, Seafield is expensive and has notions of exclusivity.
Q3 - Tara Hill is a good school and has grown a lot over the last five years or so, with a new extension just opened officially this year. Generally, any student going there would automatically go to the Community School in Gorey but sometimes go to Arklow, Carnew or even further afield. It would certainly be a feeder for Gorey as it is in the catchment area for there.

Any more questions, don't hesitate to ask, I will only be too glad to fill you in.

RedXIV

I can't improve on thedarkroom there for the first two questions but i can add to the third

Gorey only has the one secondary school and due to it's size it does attract students from a large surrounding area. There are options as said in Arklow, Bunclody and others but tara hill students generally head to the gorey community school. As far as i know there is a bus service from ballymoney into gorey town for this purpose

thedarkroom

Yes there is a bus in to Gorey for school students but it is not a free one. I think we pay around €48 each per term, but I'm not too sure. It's worth it for the convenience though. There is also a bus to Tara Hill school from Ballymoney. It picks them up outside the shop at about 8.50 each morning and has them home again at 3.30, no charge for that one.
The way the charges work is that if you go to the closest school, designated for your area then the service is free. If we decided to send them to the primary school in Riverchapel or Arklow, then we would have to cover any related charges for that if it was by bus or else have to drive them their personally. The bus is only free to the closest school and you live over a certain distance. I think that the distance is about 3 kilometres, but I'm not to sure. I'll find out and post it up here.

bmaxi

Gated estates will almost certainly mean hefty management fees with the certainty that these will go on forever, as local authorities will not take them in charge. I agree with darkroom, these are purely snob value and always seem to say to me "we don't want you here". They are quite common in the general Courtown/ Ballymoney area.

Pixied

Thanks again everyone..

I have to agree about the gated housing thing. I hate the idea of someone not being able to 'pop in' and the idea of management fees. There are alot of houses for sale in these gated areas though.

That sounds like a great set up with the buses and the school run.

Just to mention something also- incase any of you have friends selling. Earlier this week I requested brochure details of houses in Ballymoney from certain estate agents via some of the property websites. Only one got back to me! And this was in connection with a gated house. Given the current climate and people finding it hard to sell I thought it was very bad form from some of the agents. I'm not very familar with the agents down there, so can't really remember the names of the ones in question off the top of my head. But defo bad form on their clients.

thedarkroom

As a matter of interest, did you try getting in touch about this one:-

www.daft.ie/1367303

http://forsaleinballymoney.blogspot.com

Pixied

Cheers again TDR, had a look at this originally online, but was looking maybe for a dormer type house and this house didn't have any interior photo's. But, will have another look as it is in a good location. Thanks!!

(ps sorry about delay in replying, have been away!!)

debbie12345

Hi David

I wonder if you can help me as I noticed that you know alot about Ballymoney, we are thinking of renting a house in Sea Road in the village not far from the beach as we are moving to County Wexford from UK, I noticed that the Orphan girl pub has a nightclub every Saturday and Sunday and I was a little concerned if there is any noise when the club closes in the village and if any youngsters leave the club and mess around on the beach, ie., people passing the house late in the evening. Please dont feel we are a miserable couple we enjoy a night out and a few drinks like anyone but then want to retire home to somewhere quiet and just wanted some local knowledge before committing to the rental agreement Thank you Debra

thedarkroom

debbie12345 wrote: »

Hi David
I wonder if you can help me . . .

Certainly, and feel free to pm me if there are any questions you don't want to put on a public forum.

debbie12345 wrote: »

Hi David
. . . . .not far from the beach . . .

This is a relative term, not far from the beach could be a hundred yards or a mile away. Just curious, but have you looked at the house or just viewed it on the web?

debbie12345 wrote: »

Hi David
I noticed that the Orphan girl pub has a nightclub every Saturday and Sunday

The Orphan hasn't had a night club in several years but do run occasional teenage and weekly kiddies discos during the summer. They also have private functions on some weekends but none of these are ever disruptive to anyone in the village or on the Sea Road. It can be a bit noisy for those in the vicinity of the pub.
Noise from Seafield Hotel when there are functions and weddings would be more noticeable as it is closer to the Sea Road and can run late.

debbie12345 wrote: »

Hi David
. . . . and mess around on the beach, ie., people passing the house late in the evening.

Occasionally there can be a bit of disruption on the Sea Road during the Summer or on holiday weekends but it depends on where you are looking at and what you would consider to be obtrusive. To be honest, this is limited and not really an issue. I know several people who have homes and holiday houses at the very end of the road and they don't seem to be bothered by anything much.

debbie12345 wrote: »

Hi David
Please dont feel we are a miserable couple we enjoy a night out and a few drinks like anyone but then want to retire home to somewhere quiet and just wanted some local knowledge before committing to the rental agreement.

You would need to keep in mind that this is a holiday area and would need to be prepared for the fact that winters are very quiet but then the summer will be a bit jarring when the population goes from a few hundred to a few thousand for two months. During the busiest period (particularly end of July, start of August) it can be very busy and a super fine sunny day will bring a lot of people to the beach. Once schools finish up, a lot of families tend to move down to the holiday parks . . . and it is noticeable.
To be honest, though, for the couple of weeks of the busy period, the rest of the year more than makes up for it and the Sea Road is really nice. The beaches are particularly nice, great for walks, and lovely this time of year.

Any more questions, feel free to ask.

wexford12

I moved out of Ballymoney a few years ago worst move i ever made i'd go back tomorrow its an amazing place to live.I read a few posts about charges on gated esates etc they are true and they can get a bit busy in the summer months.I'd but a house in the village close to the pubs and shop etc but on your own site, this will also have its own set of charges but well worth your own space and if you have kids they will love the big garden. The charges for you own site are mainly the septic tank bio system which needs yearly maintence to keep it right i think we used to pay about €200 ish PA

Malooska

Can anyone help? Are there many permanent residents in the sandycove, ballymoney estate? I'm looking at buying a house there and the majority are holiday homes. I love the area and it looks like it's a safe quiet area. Does anyone know if in the busy summer months does it get really noisy?