Looking at property in clarehall dunshaughlin?

sham69

Hi,
I am currently considering a move to Dunshaughlin and am looking for a bit of advice.
I am currently living in Dublin, close to city centre so will miss being able to walk to town (where I work).
What travel options have I got get to the city centre and is the commute long in the mornings?
I have a GF and 2 kids so can anybody tell me what the village is like and what schools are available, is crime an issue etc.
I suppose I need a review from someone living in the area ( I am in my early 30's).
I believe that there is a new motorway opening up soon?
Any advice greatly appreciated as I really have my heart set on the house and don't want to rush in and be miserable stuck out in the middle of nowhere.
Thanks in advance.
Sham.

sham69

Sorry forgot to say the property is called Grangehall.
Thanks.

Mr Magnolia

Moved to Meath

bonerjams03

The 109 bus runs regularly to Dublin City Centre. With the M3 bypass opening soon, it'll ease traffic, and make the village much quiter than it is now..

3 schools, a national school and a Gaelscoil, and A secondary level VEC. All are good.

A few takeaways, a couple of restaraunts, and plenty of pubs.

Local teams and clubs for GAA, football, basketball, badminton, martial arts, futsall. Everything really. With Tennis Courts, Astro turf pitches, and a big sports hall... And a park with a playground in the center of town..

Generally, a very nice place, no mjor crime apart from a few skangers...

I can't really give you a good feel for the place in words.

sham69

Thanks for the reply, think I am sold on the idea of moving.
The only real problem is the commute to work, plus I don't drive (will have to change that). Was thinking of putting the kids into an irish school so its good that there is one.
I will miss being so close to Dublin City Centre having lived close to it all my life but its a sacrifice worth making for the kids sake.
Thanks again.

ibarelycare

Hey, I've lived in Dunshaughlin all my life and it is a good town to live in. Can't say much more than IRColm has already said. I went to the Irish school and it was fantastic. It's called Scoil na Rithe, in case you want to contact them. I didn't go to secondary school there but they apparently have consistently good results. There are many other secondary schools within traveling distance anyway.

Nightlife is ok, pubs are quieter now than they used to be. There are a couple of restaurants but nothing fantastic, however there are some lovely restaurants in Ratoath, less than 10 mins away. Despite the fact that there have been loads of blow-ins over the last few years (:p) there's still quite a sense of community about the place. I wouldn't think there's much crime around and there aren't really many "rough" types around.

The bus service is pretty frequent but traffic on the way into town in the mornings can be quite bad. If you have to be in for 9 you'd want to be getting the bus at 7.30 or so. I only work in Blanch and it can take me 50 minutes to drive in some days.

Grangehall is just down the road from me, seems like a lovely estate, very clean and it's in a nice location...close enough to the town but still not in the middle of things and very quiet. There also seems to be a good few young families living there, I always see kids out playing, so that will be good for your children.

It's really not a bad place to live...when you tell people you live in Meath they think it's out in the sticks but it's not that far from town at all. Hope you enjoy living here if you decide to go for it

CUCINA

We have been living in Dunshaughlin for the last five years, "we" being my wife and two teen-age daughters. We moved from Dublin (yeah, blow-ins ) and it has worked out very well. The house is just a couple of minutes walk from Main St, overlooking a green area but one of the best things about it is how quiet it is, even on a Saturday night. A chap I deal with as part of my job moved his family to Grangehall a couple of years ago and his only regret is that he didn't make the move sooner.
I'd say it is a good place to rear children, definitely.
I work near Liffey Valley and it consistently takes just 35 minutes by car, but that's leaving the house at 6:40am. I've been experimenting lately, leaving at 7:15, and it still only took the same amount of time, because of the down-turn, I suppose. I don't usually use the M50. Coming home takes longer, leaving work at 4:45pm, again it takes a consistent 55/60 minutes. I always avoid coming into the village via the n3, there are a few sneaky back-roads that bring you into Dunshaughlin so as to avoid the queue of traffic coming into the village.
So if you do make the move, welcome!

CUCINA

One thing I forgot to mention, on the downside, of living in Dunshaughlin and in Meath generally, is the problem of water hardness. I meant to raise this issue in this forum before. It would be essential, I think, to install a water-softening system. Otherwise it is likely that all the kitchen appliances using water (including the heating system) will be destroyed with limescale.
I don't know if the new water tower they are building in the north of the village (beside Grangehall) will make any difference in this respect.
We had a water-softening system installed soon after moving in and it seems to be working quite well. There is a little kit you can buy to test the level of hardness. It involves adding a small sample of tap water to a powder. This makes the sample turn blue Drops of another solution are added one at a time and the number of drops it takes to turn the water pink determines the level of hardness. I check it on a regular basis and it usually takes just one drop to turn the sample pink. If it took seven or eight drops it would mean that the system is not working. This might happen, say, after a prolonged power outage and can be rectified easily enough.
I would be interested to hear of other people's experiences in the area...

Dionysus

I'd avoid Grange Hall on aesthetic grounds alone. But, as they say, no accounting for taste. If you do go ahead with it, bargain the price down like you've never done before. They are marketing them cheaply yes, and the cheapest in the village. But you will get them for a lot less than that.

Also, get your partner to flush the toilets in the adjacent apartment/house and see if you can hear it in the apartment/house you are interested in. Check the piping, plastering, soundproofing, insulation like you've never checked anything before. I'll leave it at that.

Best of luck.

sham69

Thanks all for the replies.
I usually get into work for 8am as I walk from cabra to city centre (45 mins).
I would be a nit p'd off if I couldnt get in for 8, unfortunately as I said I don't drive so thats a problem.
Would be also concerned about noise from next door apartments etc as my kids are 18months and 5 months.
I think we are going to try and take a look at them this weekend.
We were thinking of going for the 5 bedroom townhouse which is selling at 270,000. I was going to make an offer of 235-240k just to see what they say.
Probably won't buy until end of the year.
Thanks again for all the replies.

daltonm

Hi there, I was wondering about management fees on this estate? Anyone any dealings?

Thanks

tara83

A nw company took over the management of the estate a few months ago so it's a bit early to tell how they will work out so far they seem better that the previous and hopefully charges will come down. There should be a management meeting in June