Best Place To Live In Ireland?

KristianS

Hi,

I hope this is the right place to ask. Have just found this awesome forum and glad I did. Me and the family are researching a move to Ireland. We're from Wales but currently living in Malta. Could anyone offer me some advice on the best places to look? I'd like something coastal (I'm big on fishing), a town relatively close to a city (30 / 40 mins drive or so), friendly to the English, good local schools and hospital. I'd appreciate any ideas. Thanks!

Xavi6

KristianS wrote: »

Hi,

I hope this is the right place to ask. Have just found this awesome forum and glad I did. Me and the family are researching a move to Ireland. We're from Wales but currently living in Malta. Could anyone offer me some advice on the best places to look? I'd like something coastal (I'm big on fishing), a town relatively close to a city (30 / 40 mins drive or so), friendly to the English, good local schools and hospital. I'd appreciate any ideas. Thanks!

This could be fun!

Probably best off out West. Somewhere like Galway or Mayo. Anywhere but Cork and you'll be fine.

KristianS

Xavi6 wrote: »

This could be fun!

Probably best off out West. Somewhere like Galway or Mayo. Anywhere but Cork and you'll be fine.

That was quick, only just posted!

Thanks - I'll check out those places.

Dord

I know a place just like that, but it's in Wales.

KristianS

Dord wrote: »

I know a place just like that, but it's in Wales.

That's a shame because we're a little jaded with Wales. I'm sure we'll find something in Ireland.

Rowley Birkin QC

Xavi6 wrote: »

Anywhere but Cork and you'll be fine.

:rolleyes:

jordata

May I suggest the sunny south east? Maybe Wexford town ? Lovely coast line, great people, near Wales, not too far from Waterford, Kilkenny or Dublin cities (though more than 30/40 minutes!). Choice of schools, hospital. Friendly to the English? We are so over that whole feud thing. No hard feelings.
Or Somewhere like Dunmore East or Dungarvan further west of Waterford city? But I did hear that they eat the English down there?
Good luck!

KristianS

jordata wrote: »

But I did hear that they eat the English down there?
Good luck!

LOL :eek::eek::eek::eek:

Some excellent suggestions, thanks! I'm off to bed now but will research them in the morning.

Xavi6

Good call on Weford. The missus has a house down in Kilmuckridge and it's a fantastic little spot. Only an hour or so drive to Dublin as well.

Overheal

Just not Dublin, basically.

Orange69

Jesus, why would you want to move to Ireland?

I spent the last 4 years trying to get out of that hell hole!

CHD

Xavi6 wrote: »

Good call on Weford. The missus has a house down in Kilmuckridge and it's a fantastic little spot. Only an hour or so drive to Dublin as well.

+1 on Kilmuckridge. Great lil spot.

KristianS

KristianS wrote: »

That's a shame because we're a little jaded with Wales. I'm sure we'll find something in Ireland.

Wales & Ireland are very similar, in many ways, nice countryside, laid back people, bi-lingual signs, sheep! fishing etc....

brendansmith

Ballykilaschelueog! Ta se go maith!

4zn76tysfajdxp

Try Galway, if you don't mind a bunch of filthy hippies and crusties (that doesn't include me).

If you're an attractive woman you can stay with me! You will have to cook, clean and perform sexual favours to pay your way until you get a job/I go to prison for making you sleep with me.

If you're a man, try a hostel. They can be really nice and there's only a slim chance of any rape or what have you.

mise_me_fein

Anywhere in Mid Louth. In between Dundalk and Drogheda(10-20 mins), also Dublin and Belfast(50 mins - 90 mins), close to 2 airports, the sea and a decent road to travel to wherever you need to go.

Mossy Monk

jordata wrote: »

Or Somewhere like Dunmore East or Dungarvan further west of Waterford city? But I did hear that they eat the English down there?

I had a Yorkshire woman for breakfast today. Tasty she was.

WindSock

Friendly to the English? But you're Welsh

BraziliaNZ

the people in north wales sound like they're straight out of coronation st to me, maybe he's concerned people will instantly assume they're plundering english yobos as they don't have the mid-glamorgan valleys accent we all love so much! I find Wexford depressing for some reason, and full of muppet boy racer types, I noticed them more there than other counties. I'd recommend somewhere in Galway, but it rains even more there than the east. Hmmmmmm.

Pighead

mise_me_fein wrote: »

Anywhere in Mid Louth. In between Dundalk and Drogheda(10-20 mins), also Dublin and Belfast(50 mins - 90 mins), close to 2 airports, the sea and a decent road to travel to wherever you need to go.

Don't forget Mullacrew. One of the finest townlands in Ireland, if not the world.

meditraitor

Balbriggan all the way, we have a beach

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

meditraitor wrote: »

Balbriggan all the way, we have a beach sandpit;)

Fixed.

getz

i have been on holiday in most of ireland -- i love the country and its people {and i am english} but the one place i love most of all is the south east{the garden of ireland} a little village called shillelagh south wicklow--if only i could win the lottery

jaffa20

Killybegs in Donegal
Dun Laoighaire in Dublin

Statso

jordata wrote: »

May I suggest the sunny south east? Maybe Wexford town ? Lovely coast line, great people, near Wales, not too far from Waterford, Kilkenny or Dublin cities (though more than 30/40 minutes!). Choice of schools, hospital. Friendly to the English? We are so over that whole feud thing. No hard feelings.
Or Somewhere like Dunmore East or Dungarvan further west of Waterford city? But I did hear that they eat the English down there?
Good luck!

I also back Wexford. Seems to meet all your requirements except it takes just under an hour to get to Waterford city and just under 2 hours to get to Dublin. Other than that though we're perfect.

Bendihorse

Roscommon, without a doubt.

Heisenberg.

This post has been deleted.

homerjay2005

rathmines in dublin.

meditraitor

homerjay2005 wrote: »

rathmines in dublin.

Jebus no, you'd be better of working in the mines (no offence welshy)

IronMan

Bendihorse wrote: »

Roscommon, without a doubt.

Are you having a laugh? Roscommon is easily the worst county in Ireland. A desolate place, peppered with towns where unambitious men with yellowed teeth, unkempt hair, and wrangler jeans stare out of pub windows. Where a social life consists of getting a bag of chips after the pub closes. And where the chief topic of conversation is about your cousin Fidelma who went to the big smoke, and is shacked up with some flash harry from Mullingar.

dr.bollocko

No my good coldplay liking man of physics. It is because Cork is a SHIT HOLE!
Trust me. I lived there for a while. Wouldnt recommend it. Locals were a bunch of PROCs

ejmaztec

There's been no mention of Kerry, probably because it's a separate country.

rossie1977

IronMan wrote: »

Are you having a laugh? Roscommon is easily the worst county in Ireland. A desolate place, peppered with towns where unambitious men with yellowed teeth, unkempt hair, and wrangler jeans stare out of pub windows. Where a social life consists of getting a bag of chips after the pub closes. And where the chief topic of conversation is about your cousin Fidelma who went to the big smoke, and is shacked up with some flash harry from Mullingar.

you have described every town in every county there

OP you do realise it rains alot here in Ireland, alot. you have everything you could want in malta and great weather year round. when i was in malta in february i experienced weather i wouldn't see here in july

Bendihorse

IronMan wrote: »

Are you having a laugh? Roscommon is easily the worst county in Ireland. A desolate place, peppered with towns where unambitious men with yellowed teeth, unkempt hair, and wrangler jeans stare out of pub windows. Where a social life consists of getting a bag of chips after the pub closes. And where the chief topic of conversation is about your cousin Fidelma who went to the big smoke, and is shacked up with some flash harry from Mullingar.

Ehh, i dont think you picked up on the sarcasam in my post...

Schloker5000

Welsh Person _ We have in Ireland, like the UK, an inordinate percentage of socially retarded folk amongst the general population (people who litter, wear tracksuits, speak with very limited vocabulary, wear foreign soccer jerseys, get free houses, generally don't realise/care that they live in a society, etc..) in the UK they are referred to as "Chavs", in Ireland we call them "Skobies", "Skangers", "Vermin" etc.... to avoid these types, elect to live in areas not on this list; Dublin , Cork, Cobh, Limerick, Galway, Belfast, any medium to large county towns really. The Blasket Islands have not had a recorded Skobie Sighting, so check out real estate there, tends to get a bit damp though. I debated leaving my country after spending last Sunday afternoon walking visitors around Dublin city centre last weekend - I am embarrassed to call myself Irish, what a litter strewn scruffy skobie-filled kip. Excepting the above rant, we are generally a nice bunch over here, mostly willing to help strangers without question.

getz

my mate pat tells me that the best place to live in ireland is manchester -- when i told him manchester is not in ireland .he said [lets go down to murphys bar and talk about it}

Dudess

KristianS wrote: »

I'd like something coastal (I'm big on fishing), a town relatively close to a city (30 / 40 mins drive or so), friendly to the English, good local schools and hospital.

Being all serious now (you're gonna get a lot of piss-takey answers here on After Hours and that's fair enough as it's a light-hearted forum, but your question is a serious one): there's a number of places that absolutely fit your criteria (Cork, Galway and Waterford jumping out in particular). Dublin does too, but nice coastal towns 30 or 40 minutes' drive from Dublin city are extremely expensive places in which to live. The traffic is a nightmare too.

I can obviously tell you about Cork - there is a lot of anti Cork sentiment here as it's kinda a running thing between Cork and Dublin people, plus Cork people are considered overly proud of their town (there's even a website and "state of mind" called the People's Republic of Cork!) It's mostly just a bit of tongue-in-cheek banter however (although not always) but don't let the anti Cork sentiment cloud your judgement. Anyone who takes all the Cork v Dublin slagging and the totally ironic People's Republic of Cork stuff seriously (no matter what side of the fence they're on) ain't the brightest!
There are beautiful coastal towns in West Cork and South West Cork - e.g. Clonakilty, Skibbereen and Kinsale. West Cork is spectacular - and full of British. Kinsale is probably on the pricey side though but no harm checking it out. These places are about 30 or 40 minutes' drive from Cork city centre.

Cork city is very small - population, if you include the commuter belt, about 250,000 or less. But it's big enough for there to be a lot to do and a great buzz. No major traffic problems either.
I've lived in Dublin and I loved it, but I find life a lot easier since returning to Cork.
I don't know of any British people having to put up with crap here either. That nonsense is extremely rare. I presume you're enquiring about friendliness to the English because people assume you're English? A Welsh guy I know here gets the "What part of England are you from?" question quite a lot.

Just an aside: the strong Cork accent is... hilarious. Difficult to keep a straight face I'd imagine if you're not familiar with it. It actually sounds a bit like the Welsh one at times. And the two blend together very well. My boss is Welsh and living here over 30 years - he has a mixture of both accents and they complement each other perfectly!

Schloker5000 wrote: »

Welsh Person _ We have in Ireland, like the UK, an inordinate percentage of socially retarded folk amongst the general population (people who litter, wear tracksuits, speak with very limited vocabulary, wear foreign soccer jerseys, get free houses, generally don't realise/care that they live in a society, etc..) in the UK they are referred to as "Chavs", in Ireland we call them "Skobies", "Skangers", "Vermin" etc.... to avoid these types, elect to live in areas not on this list; Dublin , Cork, Cobh, Limerick, Galway, Belfast, any medium to large county towns really.

That rules out nearly everywhere but I'd agree with Cobh in East Cork (pronounced "cove"). It's not a coastal town but it's a harbour one and it has quite the scumbag contingent. Ditto Youghal, also in East Cork. It's coastal and not as rough as Cobh but there is quite the scum problem too.

kevmy

Let me recommend to you somewhere around my own home patch - the border areas of Galway and Mayo.

We got the sea and we have the second and third biggest lakes in the island (Lough Corrib and Lough Mask) - all good for fishing. Close to a city/big town in Galway or slightly smaller places like Castlebar or Westport (Galway has about 3 hospitals and Castlebar has one also).
Also if you live in the country the schools are better/ less jammed and ontop of that not as many skangers in the country. The seem to be more of an urban creature.

Recommended places Ballinrobe, Cong, Clonbur, Ougtherard anywhere in that area

KristianS

HOLY COW! 36 replies since my post last night. Thanks so much for all the replies, folks! If the friendliness here is anything to go by, I think we're going to love Ireland.

I should clear up something from my first post (I was a bit sleepy at the time of writing). I was actually born in England but have spent about half my life in Wales. Malta is nice enough but it has problems. Prices have sky-rocketed even in our two years here, it gets TOO hot in summer, when tourists descend in summer you barely have elbow room, it never rains (I like the rain!), and the fishing stinks. The older population in Malta are friendly but the new generation is very arrogant and rude. Nice island, but we're tired of calling it home. Oh and we miss decent tv and tescos!!!

I'm going to spend my free time today using your posts as research jumping-off points. In all honesty we think all of Ireland is beautiful - which is what's making the location-decision a hard one. I'll keep you updated anyway and will likely call this forum home. Thanks!!

Oh and I'm a *checking* guy! hehe

ejmaztec

kevmy wrote: »

Let me recommend to you somewhere around my own home patch - the border areas of Galway and Mayo.

We got the sea and we have the second and third biggest lakes in the island (Lough Corrib and Lough Mask) - all good for fishing. Close to a city/big town in Galway or slightly smaller places like Castlebar or Westport (Galway has about 3 hospitals and Castlebar has one also).
Also if you live in the country the schools are better/ less jammed and ontop of that not as many skangers in the country. The seem to be more of an urban creature.

Recommended places Ballinrobe, Cong, Clonbur, Ougtherard anywhere in that area

And you can spend your leisure time panning for lead. :pac:

R0ot

Donegal

Tigger

ejmaztec wrote: »

And you can spend your leisure time panning for lead. :pac:

lol
+1

feck off begrudgers

joeybloggs

getz wrote: »

i have been on holiday in most of ireland -- i love the country and its people {and i am english} but the one place i love most of all is the south east{the garden of ireland} a little village called shillelagh south wicklow--if only i could win the lottery

Is someone threatening you?Did they make you say that?
Shillelagh is a hole.

rvd156

Leitrim....Class place to live....

Dord

IronMan wrote: »

Are you having a laugh? Roscommon is easily the worst county in Ireland. A desolate place, peppered with towns where unambitious men with yellowed teeth, unkempt hair, and wrangler jeans stare out of pub windows. Where a social life consists of getting a bag of chips after the pub closes. And where the chief topic of conversation is about your cousin Fidelma who went to the big smoke, and is shacked up with some flash harry from Mullingar.

Roscommon doesn't exist, it's just a rumour made up to scare children! :rolleyes:

xOxSinéadxOx

don't go to wexford

kevmy

ejmaztec wrote: »

And you can spend your leisure time panning for lead. :pac:

In fairness theres probably a heap other places that have lead in them do. I mean don't tell me that Galway was the only place where lead pipes were used back in the day.

You have to laugh at the council though providing "clean" water which turns out to have twice as much lead as the bad stuff

D-A-V-E

go to Limerick,home of munster and irish rugby. only an hour from the beach and 15mins from the airport. heres a clip flying over the outskirts!

http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=eroZKYG012k

ejmaztec

kevmy wrote: »

In fairness theres probably a heap other places that have lead in them do. I mean don't tell me that Galway was the only place where lead pipes were used back in the day.

You have to laugh at the council though providing "clean" water which turns out to have twice as much lead as the bad stuff

We all know that, but Galway wasn't very good at keeping it under wraps. We're all probably being poisoned but don't know it - yet. :eek:

KristianS

xOxSinéadxOx wrote: »

don't go to wexford

I'm just researching Wexford now. So far it ticks all my boxes. Is there something I don't know??

KristianS

D-A-V-E wrote: »

go to Limerick,home of munster and irish rugby. only an hour from the beach and 15mins from the airport. heres a clip flying over the outskirts!

http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=eroZKYG012k

Great video and NICE landing if that was you flying! Will look at Limerick, thanks.