Moving to Belfast Megathread

martinedwards

scared_to_move wrote: »

non-catholic-protestant family

if you aren't religeous then a state school might be a better bet than one of the (excellent) RC schools

scared_to_move

Thanks all fro the great feedback!

El Tel, not sure about my budget yet, since I still don't have a salary figure quoted to me, but I assume I should be able to afford something in the region of 200K GBP if I want to buy a house. Looking to buy a new-ish place if possible. with 3-4 bedrooms. What do you say?

el tel

Get on to

http://www.propertynews.com/

and/or

http://www.propertypal.com/

and see what £200K gets you in and around Belfast.

There's also Hollywood and Bangor to the east of Belfast.

Certainly Bangor would get you a lot more house for the money.

barry181091

Just been offered a great graduate job in Belfast. Think im going to take it, big move from Galway though!

Was up there for an assessment center and was impressed by the city, my god Queens is amazing!

I would need a car though in reality, just because that 'two bus tango' back to Galway is horrible!

Does anyone know is insurance more expensive or whatever for the UK, for new drivers? I still have my provisional and will have to get my full this summer!

Is it nice to live around Queens? Looked like a really nice area to live.

jimbo007

I think insurance is less - I moved up here 3 years ago, and definitely found insurance to be less expensive, and stayed with the same insurer (Axa).

barry181091

Oh yeah it is, just looked it up and we are talking maybe 400 less

In terms of income tax, how does that compare? Less tax the better better!

PeteEd

barry181091 wrote: »

Oh yeah it is, just looked it up and we are talking maybe 400 less

In terms of income tax, how does that compare? Less tax the better better!

You will be taxed less
http://www.listentotaxman.com/
http://taxcalc.ie/budget-2014/

will give you a rough idea

pow wow

barry181091 wrote: »

Just been offered a great graduate job in Belfast. Think im going to take it, big move from Galway though!

Was up there for an assessment center and was impressed by the city, my god Queens is amazing!

I would need a car though in reality, just because that 'two bus tango' back to Galway is horrible!

Does anyone know is insurance more expensive or whatever for the UK, for new drivers? I still have my provisional and will have to get my full this summer!

Is it nice to live around Queens? Looked like a really nice area to live.

Congratulations

For me insurance was cheaper in NI as a new driver though that's going back a couple of years now. In terms of places to live I wouldn't live in any of the streets immediately around Queen's (badly kept student houses for the most part) but less than a 5 minute walk up the road is Stranmillis (BT9 postcode if you're using one of the flatfinder sites) which is also a studenty area but is much nicer than Holylands (BT7) and is a bit more...grown up I suppose! If you were standing in front of Queen's facing the Lanyon Building with the Student's Union behind you you'd take a right up the hill past the Botanic Gardens and that's Stranmillis up there.

ShowMeTheCash

I lived on the Lisburn road, it was handy, nice place, near all the shops and a 25min walk to the city centre.

In around Queens you have the hollylands, it is handy to everything but it is all mainly students.

South Belfast is generally nicer but it all depends on what you want to splash out on in rent.

Oreamu road
Ravinhill road
Lisburn road

Are handy enough spots if you are going to be working in town.

Alternatively get an apt in town 600 - 800 squids queens money for a two bed is what if found.

barry181091

No interest in small apartments really, being a hermit in a new city...don't think so!

What I have noticed about belfast is that a lot of the houses are exactly the same inside! Seems to be tons of small terraced houses with rooms but nothing else really

BeardySi

yup, lots and lots and lots of late victorian terracing... Pretty much all of the houses close to the city centre are, you'll need to work out towards the fringes to find newer...

ShowMeTheCash

Some good duplex appartments in Alfred streed, they are expensive enough all the same.

Ardenlee just of the ravinhill road has some nice town houses that are relatively new.

rarakookoo

Great Thread, looking for more up to date information regarding Belfast city. I'm a female southerner looking to study at Queens. Looking for a quiet area close to Queens, any suggestions? Should I be worried about driving an irish reg car?

Thanks!

BeardySi

rarakookoo wrote: »

I'm a female southerner looking to study at Queens. Looking for a quiet area close to Queens, any suggestions?

Stranmillis and Lisburn road are both close and nice enough. Avoid the holylands like the plaguepit it is. Ormeau road area is reasonably nice too. The great thing about Belfast is nowhere is really that for from anywhere else...

rarakookoo wrote: »

Should I be worried about driving an irish reg car?

No. Even where I live in East Belfast it's fairly common to see houses with Irish reg cars parked outside...

magooly

There is absolutely no problem having an irish car anywhere around Queens, plenty of your neighbours will also have irish cars and they can be safely parked on the street. Noone will bat an eyelid

The only time you need to be cautious is venturing into East Belfast or anywhere near the Shankhill / Carlisle circus. In general when the marching season starts April - July just be a little more aware of where you are going and youl be fine. Driving into the city center or the local shopping centers is totally fine.

As others said BT7 BT9 ormeau lisburn road stranmillis are all suitable areas.

BeardySi

Also, Ravenhill/Cregagh Road area is decent - rents are lower and it's generally quiet. There are some streets I wouldn't want to live one, but most of the area is grand (gets a bit paradey at this time of year - though no so much this year for some reason!)...

rarakookoo

I've noticed on some of the rent pages like spare room that some houses say 'no DHSS'. I'm aware that's the department of health and social services, does that mean no to rent allowance? Anyone got any information on this, does this include the student nurses bursary or...? Also I have a bank of Ireland bank account, does anyone know if there is BOI banks in NI, if so, does it mean I would/wouldn't have to change banks/get a new bank account?

Probably really stupid Q's, but I've never moved before so I have no idea!

BeardySi

DHSS = rent allowance.

BoI do operate up here, though they are separate form the BoI south of the border - you wouldn't be able to use your account from down there up here if you know what I mean...

ShowMeTheCash

DHSS usually means they don't want people on the Dole.

But if you are a student you are not on DHSS.

You need to open a new Bank Account in Northern Ireland for DD and such.

If you are a student just becareful of rent agreements.
Usually they will be minimum of 12 months, Academic year usually is only 9 months, I know of few guys going back to my Uni days thet got caught for 3 months rent when they moved out...

Or at least they will look for it.

hawkwind23

southern reg car will be fine , maybe someone could offer advice on registering it in the north? can it be done?
works out much cheaper for tax, depending on the car it could likely be free.

South Belfast is a great place to live , if you like the party scene live close to town and the Uni. if you like the quieter life then the South Belfast suburbs are leafy and close to the Lagan and parklands , great for walking and cycling. Add the forestside/newtownbreda area to the list

DHSS wont apply to you , its a standard quote put on a lot of rentals.

Try get up here as much as you can over the coming weeks and get a feel for the various areas before committing , with no offence intended , its also a good time to year to look at how many flags in a street , general rule of thumb would be the less the better

azaliarazor

Me and my BF are moving to Belfast for a job that starts for him next month. I am American and he is Dutch, we are planning on marrying soon and this will be our home for at least a year. His job is close to the Docks and were looking to find somewhere to rent but all I keep hearing is to stick to South Belfast. We will have a car for first 3 months and then we won't. Our budget looks to be about 550 pounds a month or less for rent including rates, any suggestions? We want a two bedroom with a small outdoor space and we have two cats, this seems to be biggest issue, but it is also our deal breaker. Does anyone know of any apartment high rises's with balconies that we can contact or should we stick with realtors?

Zcott

Your best bet is just to trawl propertynews.com and find something that suits. Most places will allow cats if you ask nicely and won't chew the place apart. If his job is around the Titanic quarter it'll be well serviced by buses so don't limit yourself to places too close. Again, South Belfast is good around Ormeau, Saintfield Rd, etc.

pow wow

Parts of East Belfast would also be fine and you'd be very close to the Docks. Areas like Ballyhackamore and the Upper Newtownards Road are quite cosmopolitan and for the most part very friendly. There are some low rise apartments around there but I can't think of any developments offhand that would have balconies. Steer clear of the old house conversions if you can, generally not that well maintained. Postcodes around there would be BT4 and BT5 though those postcodes also cover areas that you might not find terribly desirable so check out the map/street views to figure out whether it's where you'd like to live.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Hello, I'm not actually moving to Belfast but I figured this was the best thread to ask this in...

Basically I'm wondering what are the best/nicest/most fashionable areas to live in Belfast? If you're familiar with Dublin I'm talking about the likes of Blackrock, Killiney, Howth etc. If money was no object and then also on a more realistic scale too.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

FarmersSon

Malone Road, BT9 in south Belfast, and the side Roads and Avenues off of it. Some of the highest property prices in Northern Ireland.

Cultra, Craigavad and Holywood BT18. Would come a close second. 15 to 20 minute drive from the city centre, on the shores of Belfast Lough.

Hillsborough, Co. Down, BT26. Historic village, 25 minutes south of Belfast. Highly desirable area to live in.

veganrun

What are the best property websites to look to find places to rent in Belfast?

ShowMeTheCash

There are nice apartments in the city centre which I think will be the most expensive. I was paying 600 - 1000 a month for a two bed apt.

South Belfast was my favourite, the Malone road and lisburn road run parallel.
They have shops like M&S, Tesco and lots of resturants and small business along the lisburn road.

THe houses between the Malone road and Lisburn road once you go past Queens are impressive some big houses big gardens very nice area.

If you go to the other side of the lisburn road like Rathdrum street you might get some cheaper rent but in an older style of terest house but still be in a nice area.

postitnote

veganrun wrote: »

What are the best property websites to look to find places to rent in Belfast?

http://www.propertynews.com/property-for-rent/

and

http://www.propertypal.com/

hawkwind23

property pal and property news are the main websites and should have links to individual rental companies.

Also worth checking Gumtree but probably more suited to room rentals.

South Belfast is a great place to live , Ormeau Road right up around the Forestside area is well served with buses.

BeardySi

hawkwind23 wrote: »

South Belfast is a great place to live , Ormeau Road right up around the Forestside area is well served with buses.

You're fecked if you want to stroll to the pub for a pint though!