Living in Mountjoy Square

worthyone

I'm thinking of buying a property in Mountjoy Square initially to live in & possibly later to rent out, has anyone any experience of living there? I will be new to Dublin - don't know the area at all - so any advice would be great. Thanks.

Long Time Reader

I don't know where to start -

MountJoy Square.... I didn't know Dublin either. MJ Sq. looked like an easy location to pick. City Centre and all. But.. I couldn't stay there any longer than 2 months. The apartments are tiny. Very small rooms. Lots of car traffic outside especially at night. The lower/Upper Gardiner road is a very busy bus route. (every two to five mins at busy times). Since the majority of those buildings are historic. There windows are protected. So no double glazing!!!

It's a pretty rough area too. My friend (girl) got mugged right outside the building in broad day-light! (lots of drugs in the area too).

And FYI...The MJ Sq. area is filled with hookers - escorts or whatever you call them. TV3 brought that little bomb-shell to my life when they covered dublin escorts on the telly. (thanks)

IMO.. Stay away from there... But I'm sure people will come back will good experiences too.

Dublin has great transport links. Why don't you look for a house/apt on either the green/red line luas? Best form of transport ever! (well bar cycling of course). D8 D12, some good big, cheap gaff's out that area.

*****I don't post much on boards... but when I saw your question. I felt compelled to respond...

buzsywuzsy

worthyone wrote: »

I'm thinking of buying a property in Mountjoy Square initially to live in & possibly later to rent out, has anyone any experience of living there? I will be new to Dublin - don't know the area at all - so any advice would be great. Thanks.

I lived on fitzgibbon street for a couple of years cause the rent was cheaper than the south side.
I found the square ok and relatively safe as the Garda station is in fitzgibbon street and there would be Gards on foot.
The square would sometimes have some rubbish and dog sh*it on the footpaths.
The park always has people in it especially in the summer months.
The best thing about the area was how close it was to town.

not even wrong

I lived on Mountjoy Square for five years and it was a great location for me, never had any problems (other than my bike getting robbed once, which can happen anywhere) but as mentioned above it is an inner-city area with all the advantages and disadvantages that come with that.

Also note that if you're not on the Gardiner Street side it's a lot quieter.

Why not rent there for six months before you make the commitment of buying?

And FYI...The MJ Sq. area is filled with hookers - escorts or whatever you call them. TV3 brought that little bomb-shell to my life when they covered dublin escorts on the telly. (thanks)

There are no "streetwalkers" in Mountjoy Square, any prostitution going on is going to be "escorts" in apartments. Case in point the quote above where the poster was a resident on Mountjoy Square and didn't even know about any of this until the TV told them.

worthyone

Thanks for the info - need now to mull over things.

ProudDUB

Would definitely agree that you should consider renting there before you choose to buy, especially as you do not know know Dublin well. It would be considered a fairly rough area by most people. But what may seem cheap and cheerful and colorful and cosmopolitan to you, may seem scary and dog rough to someone else. Especially renters. Yes, it is centrally located, but there are plenty of other parts of Dublin that are fairly centrally located too that wouldn't have the bad reputation that Mountjoy Sq has.

John Mason

i lived there for a while and loved it. it is so close to everywhere.

no need for taxis ever. Parking is a bit of a pain but other then that i would highly recommend it

worthyone

My feeling is location is great in terms of getting places & prices are quite cheap. So....... Anyway, great input from people - many thanks.

theholyghost

The buildings are all pretty old and in variable state of repair, so, keep that in mind.

Personally, I don't like the square at all, I worked there for over a year and despite it being central to everything it is also a bit removed. After about 6 at night, it also transforms, kids from around Gardiner St. egging people. Shady charachters. Bricks through windows. Not many/any cafes, restaurants. Sure, its near to Parnell St. and O'Connell St. but I wouldn't consider those nice ends of town either.

Having said that, I never saw a streetwalker on the square.

Victor

Long Time Reader.... First time poster.. wrote: »

Lots of car traffic outside especially at night. The lower/Upper Gardiner road is a very busy bus route. (every two to five mins at busy times). Since the majority of those buildings are historic. There windows are protected. So no double glazing!!!

Because a property is listed, doesn't mean that nothing can be done with it, merely that you need to discuss the works with the council planning department and if necessary get planning permission.

However, note that on a square that the sound will travel and echo more that it would on an ordinary street.