Best places to live in Ireland?

Cato78

I wasn't sure where to put this, as there are like 864 forums, but none that are an exact fit for my question. My girlfriend and I will be moving to the ole' Emerald Isle once her citizenship is approved. She's entitled to it since her grandparents were born there. However, neither of us have ever been to Ireland. A lot of countries have a " best cities to live in " list, but I can't seem to find anything for Ireland.

I've talked to a few Irish folks and read some posts online and the only consensus seems to be " don't move to Dublin " lol. Cork and Galway seem to both come highly recommended and look amazing, but I've read it rains quite a bit more on the west coast. Wicklow seems quite nice, but I've not read as many good reviews for it. Anyway, just kinda wanted to get some opinions on good places to live.

I should mention that we're Americans, born and raised. I'm 32 and she's 29. We don't have any kids and don't plan on having any. I run my own business online and work from home. She's a medical transcriptionist here, which required a 2 year B.S. degree. I dunno what she'll do there, as I know you guys got hit hard economically. We'll have to see how it plays out.

Anyway, ideas would be appreciated! And if this should be in another forum, please let me know where.

spank_inferno

Well first off, congratulations and welcome to Ireland!

Its a big decision so of course there is a lot to weigh up.

I'm not going to give an advertisement for Wicklow, I'll try to be as real as possible.

As you've seen on the maps we're part of the greater dublin area.
Taking where I live (wicklow town) which is about half way down the county, we're 90 mins from Dublin airport, & about the same to the centre of Dublin.

The county is quite rural despite its proximity to the capital & is dominated by larger towns along the coast.


Property prices were higher in Wicklow than almost anywhere in Ireland and it was no accident. However house prices are in a state of flux here so
it might be better to rent a house, before taking the plunge into home ownership.

If you want to be close to the capital where the jobs are then wicklow is a good compromise.

Judgement Day

Can't recommend the place I'm afraid - today it's very far removed from the romantic Ireland portrayed in "The Quiet Man" - for a better idea of what the country's really like try a couple of episodes of "Fair City".

samhail

You could come and rent in an area for a while and see how you like it.

Depending on how fast a life you want you could decide to try in Dublin or Galway or further out from one of the cities.

If you have the money you could even consider picking out a few places in ireland and staying there for a few days each to experience the culture and the area...

The broadband in ireland is a bit of a nightmare aswell - so if you are running an online business i would keep that in mind when looking for a place.

Cato78

Spank - Thank you! We're very excited and can't wait to see Ireland and other parts of Europe as well. I didn't realize Wicklow was so rural. That might not be the best situation for a foreigner who has never been out of the US. It's probably best for us to stick to a larger city, at least until we adapt more. I did look at some property in Bray and it was quite pricey, whereas I found some lovely places in Galway and Cork for 700Euro. Though as your economy declines, as it will in the west in general, the prices should come down. We're probably looking at 10-12 months before we can make the move, so I'm hoping they come down a bit. They're still falling like rocks over here. Could one live in Wicklow town and rely soley on public transportation?

JD - Thanks for the reply. Do you mean you can't recommend Ireland in general, or Wicklow? I know you guys got hit real hard economically over there, but the entire west is suffering, or will be soon enough. We're all in for a long, hard road, IMO. Trust me, it's no picnic over here. My house used to be valued at $500,000, now it's at about $300,000.....but my property taxes are still the same!? lol. Our " official " unemployment rate is at about 12%, but depending on how you view economics, it's closer to 20%. By the way, I've never heard of " The Quiet Man " or " Fair City " :P but I'll check out Youtube.

Samhail - Thanks also. What we plan to do is do a Homestay somewhere for a month while we search for an apartment and get settled. The family we stay with can help us learn the ins and outs of Irish life hopefully. There are Homestays in Galway, Cork, Dublin, etc. I'm kinda hoping to pin down a city beforehand. Though I guess one could stay in Galway and travel to Dublin or Cork to get a feel of the area and housing. It's a tad bit smaller than the US over there, right? That's bad news about the broadband. I'd assume it's fine in the bigger cities, but a bit off in the rural areas. Is that right?

Thanks everyone! If anyone wants to know anything about the US, feel free to ask. I've lived here my entire 32 years and am involved in politics ( which is depressing, lol )

pixbyjohn

Cato78, I would suggest that you would rent a place in the Greystones, County Wicklow area when you first come to Ireland. Greystones is only 20 miles from the centre of Dublin city and is served by a regular train and bus service. Trains are every half hour to Dublin. There are numerous houses to rent in the area and reliable broadband is supplied by a few different providers.
I wish you luck in your decision.

spank_inferno

I'd second the Greystones idea.

Being that bit closer to dublin it is part of the Dublin urban transport system (for rail and bus) whereas other areas further south rely on less frequent transportation options.

And also being that bit closer to dublin things like broadband are a little bit better too.
And word to the wise.... 1-2 mbps connection is considered broadband, we are a bit behind the curve, though it is getting better.

Riddickcule

Greystones is a brilliant place to live but comes at a cost.

I would definetly suggest Greystones if you were planning on kids, but you're not

Whatever you've been told about Dublin it really is a great city very vibrant and a lot going on, and with any city there are no go areas.
But property here is not getting cheaper so if you're planning on buying buy now!
If you don't mind travelling far to work then you can consider Kildare (county)
towns like Naas, Newbridge or Celbridge are good spots to live.

Just please, please don't go to Bray.

Pixied

Greystones is definitely a winner...

This is a really helpful thread in terms of nice places to live around the country..
http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=77664&highlight=coastal+place+to+live

evolutionqy7

Cato78 wrote: »

I wasn't sure where to put this, as there are like 864 forums, but none that are an exact fit for my question. My girlfriend and I will be moving to the ole' Emerald Isle once her citizenship is approved. She's entitled to it since her grandparents were born there. However, neither of us have ever been to Ireland. A lot of countries have a " best cities to live in " list, but I can't seem to find anything for Ireland.

I've talked to a few Irish folks and read some posts online and the only consensus seems to be " don't move to Dublin " lol. Cork and Galway seem to both come highly recommended and look amazing, but I've read it rains quite a bit more on the west coast. Wicklow seems quite nice, but I've not read as many good reviews for it. Anyway, just kinda wanted to get some opinions on good places to live.

I should mention that we're Americans, born and raised. I'm 32 and she's 29. We don't have any kids and don't plan on having any. I run my own business online and work from home. She's a medical transcriptionist here, which required a 2 year B.S. degree. I dunno what she'll do there, as I know you guys got hit hard economically. We'll have to see how it plays out.

Anyway, ideas would be appreciated! And if this should be in another forum, please let me know where.

if your ready to retire go to rural galway...otherwise to me Galway is like a holiday home...everything is ok first few days then it gets utterly boring...havent been in Cork long enough to say anything good or bad about it...out of all the places the crowded noisy Dublin feels most like home though rent can be quite expensive here

angieowen

Hey All

I need a bit of help - me and my partner are thinking about buying a house in woodleigh Avenue in blessington, does anyone know what kind of estate this is- good or bad?? I just want to suss things out before i sign the papers!!

Pixied

Hi Angie

You would probably be better off to start another thread with the estate name and Blessington as your title, you will probably get a better response or/and post in the 'location location location' section of askaboutmoney.com.

Actually I just found this..worth looking into further..

http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=78132&highlight=blessington



Maybe also do a search on Blessington here and on askaboutmoney..

Good luck!

trad

OP have you checked out the weather here? It's a tad different to Florida. It hasn't been much above freezing since Christmas. Some prices here might shock you. Petrol (Gas) is about $7.60 per gallon (ours is a little bigger than a US gallon). Motor tax on a 3 litre car can be as much as €1500 per year.

You might be wise to check out what you require to become a resident herehttp://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/moving-country/moving-to-ireland/rights-of-residence-in-ireland/registration-of-non-eea-nationals-in-ireland.

It's a great country and there are many fine places to live and some not so great. Best advice is to rent and move about. You'll know the right place when you find it.

I don't know what a medical transcriptionist is but from what I recall there are people working here in Ireland who do back office work for American doctors / medical centers.

spadesaspade

Any up dates from this guy?

Did you ever make the move