Moving to west Donegal

LRoche05

I would be obliged for any advice you may be able to give me.  My husband has the opportunity of a job in the factory road area of derrybeg and we would ideally like a house/apartment within a 20 minute drive of his workplace.  I do not drive and as such would be reliant on public transport to take me to my place of work (as yet unknown but most likely Letterkenny) the length of time I have to travel is not an issue of concern.  Our trouble is that we live in the east of northern Ireland and have only been to derrybeg once.  We are relying on various maps to help us, along with trying to find public transport routes, what kind of area we are looking at etc and it is feeling a bit impossible.  

If you could please point us in the right areas to look at, it would be much appreciated. We would much prefer to live within a town where I could walk to get a loaf of bread, where there are a few pubs and shops if you know what i mean?

Thanks so much for your help!
Laura

homer simpson

Well I see of daft.ie that there is at present 2 houses (one two) to let in Derrybeg itself. Derrybeg and Bunbeg are 2 seperate towns but are only separated by about 300 meters of road, I used to think it was the one town when I was younger . There is pretty much everything you need in the two towns themselves, but it is a Gaeltacht area so I'd advise learning a bit of Irish / Gaelige, not necessary but it helps!There are lots of house in the surrounding areas and towns all within 10 - 20 mins drive away, if you go to the map view on daft.ie it'll show you best.


Unfortunently public transport is pretty much non existent throughout most of Donegal there is 2 bus services running from the area (bunbeg / derrybeg / gweedore) to and from letterkenny daily, Gallaghers coaches and Mc Ginleys buses. Mc Ginleys would prob suit better because their timetable is more suited to people working in letterkenny. Here the link to Gallagher's timetable and to McGinleys timetable....

Hope this helps you somewhat

donegal_road

Hi, Dungloe is approx 15-20 minutes drive from Bunbeg. It might suit your needs, it has Aldi & Lidl almost right beside each other and Super Value across the street from them.
Another option would be to live in Letterkenny if you dont drive, and your husband could commute to Derrybeg (50 mins approx)
This way you wouldnt be relying on public transport if you were working in Letterkenny. Also, you might find the days kind of long without a car in Derrybeg!

yourpics

Some good advice from the other posters here.

Dungloe has everything you need for your weekly shop.

As well as Gallaghers and McGinleys, there is also Feda Ó Donaill. All these bus services allow easy access to Letterkenny daily.

Derrybeg has a good range of small businesses including a Spar shop, Gallaghers foodstore, filling stations etc all within walking distance.

It is a great place to live and work, good community, great scenery nearby Magheragallon etc.
Like Homer says, Cúpla focal won't go amiss either

oranbhoy67

I wouldnt live in Gweedore (derrybeg/bunbeg etc) if you wont have transport as its not a town as such more a townland.. ie it doesnt have a main street with a cluster of shops & pubs etc.. all the shops are along the same road but theres a good 20 mins walk between most of them.. id recommend Falcarragh, Gortahork or Dungloe over Gweedore tbh i lived in Gweedore for 2 years & i dont drive & it was tiresome having to walk so much to get different services..hope that helps!

yourpics

oranbhoy67 wrote: »

I wouldnt live in Gweedore (derrybeg/bunbeg etc) if you wont have transport as its not a town as such more a townland.. ie it doesnt have a main street with a cluster of shops & pubs etc.. all the shops are along the same road but theres a good 20 mins walk between most of them.. id recommend Falcarragh, Gortahork or Dungloe over Gweedore tbh i lived in Gweedore for 2 years & i dont drive & it was tiresome having to walk so much to get different services..hope that helps!

Its not that bad! The walk to the shop, depending on where you live, is no further than what you have to walk in many cities!

oranbhoy67

yourpics wrote: »

Its not that bad! The walk to the shop, depending on where you live, is no further than what you have to walk in many cities!

yeah to one shop! yeah ur usually within at least say 20 mins walk but if you need to go to a different shop then you have another long distance to walk..& then the same is true if you are on a pub crawl.. i just found shops a bit too spaced apart for my liking tbh..i mean i had a shop right next to me but it charged a fortune for everyday goods so i used to walk to gallaghers most days & in the winter thats not a nice walk at all on that exposed long road.. im just giving the OP my honest opinon.. also i found myself a bit isolated in Gweedore due to the fact i dont speak Irish.. again something which i dont find holds as much importance in the other towns mentioned above!

donegal_road

you can pass 20 mins and do the walk-through here..

link

forgot to mention that you would very close to the airport at Carrickfinn if you needed to get away from it all

cosanostra

Just to add to Homers post Mangan Tours also operate a service http://www.mangantours.ie/routes.html then as a last resort you could try Lough Swilly http://www.loughswillybusco.com/timetables/

I personally wouldn't live in Falcarragh or Dungloe certainly not in the main st and if you go out of the main st you have the same problem as Gweedore with regards to distance to shops etc.
My prefared option would be staying in the Gweedore I think it has a great community spirit and some good pubs and resturaunts but with your predicament of having no transport that could be a problem although Gweedore has a lot of good taxi companies.

Letterkenny may be your best option especially if you are seeking work, LK will give you more options, a commute for your husband wouldn't be too bad 40mins or there abouts he might even be able to hook up with someone to share the run and that will cut down on fuel cost there's plenty of people living in lk traveling to work in Gweedore

LRoche05

Thank you so much for all your help - we now have a lot of different options to look at! Thanks again

pm32401705

Hey guys, i'm in the same boat as LRoche05 here (moving from easern N.I). Hoping to be working in Dungloe by the end of the month but i dont have a car at the moment. Does anybody know of either 1) a good place to look for rentals/house sharing? or 2) car sharing from somewhere like Letterkenny?

Cheers

yourpics

pm32401705 wrote: »

Hey guys, i'm in the same boat as LRoche05 here (moving from easern N.I). Hoping to be working in Dungloe by the end of the month but i dont have a car at the moment. Does anybody know of either 1) a good place to look for rentals/house sharing? or 2) car sharing from somewhere like Letterkenny?

Cheers

I would suggest living in Dungloe if you have no car.

It is a decent size town, has everything you need plus it will cut out the hassle and cost of travel

pm32401705

Thanks YourPics!

the bolt

cosanostra wrote: »

Just to add to Homers post Mangan Tours also operate a service http://www.mangantours.ie/routes.html then as a last resort you could try Lough Swilly http://www.loughswillybusco.com/timetables/

I personally wouldn't live in Falcarragh or Dungloe certainly not in the main st and if you go out of the main st you have the same problem as Gweedore with regards to distance to shops etc.
My prefared option would be staying in the Gweedore I think it has a great community spirit and some good pubs and resturaunts but with your predicament of having no transport that could be a problem although Gweedore has a lot of good taxi companies.

Letterkenny may be your best option especially if you are seeking work, LK will give you more options, a commute for your husband wouldn't be too bad 40mins or there abouts he might even be able to hook up with someone to share the run and that will cut down on fuel cost there's plenty of people living in lk traveling to work in Gweedore

why would you not live in falcaragh or advise someone else not to if you dont mind me asking?

cosanostra

the bolt wrote: »

why would you not live in falcaragh or advise someone else not to if you dont mind me asking?

I never advised against living in Falcaragh I said I wouldn't live in Falcaragh or Dungloe main st I have nothing against the areas in general just think living outside the towns would be better, more peace and quiet, don't think you would have much choice when it comes to accommodation either but living outside of the main st the OP would have the same issue as they would in gweedore with regards to travel, therefor Gweedore would be the better option imho

Angelfly

Hi,

I should move soon close to Dungloe, but at the moment I am based in Dublin. Where can I find a room to stay for a month? How is the life in Donegal? Any good internet availability? Any good place to have a nice saturday night? I will move there alone, so I am little bit scared, because I do not know anybody.. (yet) Please give me a few info.. Thanks

leedslad

How come everyone seems to moving to Dungloe all of a sudden?
Are there jobs being advertized?
Dungloe has everything you need shops,(The Cope,Aldi,Lidl,Supervalu) restaurants(Bayview,Shapla,Chinese,new bar/restaurant being built on main st.)Butterock and Doherty's cafe. Daniel O Donnell visitor centre being built.
Pubs(Beedies,Patrick J Sally's,)Ostan na Rosann being upgraded? Sweeney's gonna be upgraded?
Plenty of sporting and social clubs in the area.there should also be a glut of available rental property in the area.
If you have a car to get about and dont fancy living in a town, Then Keadue,Kincasslagh,Mullaghduff and Annagry are nice with their closeness to Mullaghderg and Carrickfin beaches.Handy too to be beside airport if you get homesick and want a weekend back in Dublin.

Broxi_Bear_Eire

leedslad wrote: »

How come everyone seems to moving to Dungloe all of a sudden?
Are there jobs being advertized?
Dungloe has everything you need shops,(The Cope,Aldi,Lidl,Supervalu) restaurants(Bayview,Shapla,Chinese,new bar/restaurant being built on main st.)Butterock and Doherty's cafe. Daniel O Donnell visitor centre being built.
Pubs(Beedies,Patrick J Sally's,)Ostan na Rosann being upgraded? Sweeney's gonna be upgraded?
Plenty of sporting and social clubs in the area.there should also be a glut of available rental property in the area.
If you have a car to get about and dont fancy living in a town, Then Keadue,Kincasslagh,Mullaghduff and Annagry are nice with their closeness to Mullaghderg and Carrickfin beaches.Handy too to be beside airport if you get homesick and want a weekend back in Dublin.

Good post not much missed out there

retalivity

leedslad wrote: »

How come everyone seems to moving to Dungloe all of a sudden?

I think that visit donegal video is having a greater effect than people gave it credit for!

Angelfly

Thanks,
and a good one more question, what kind of internet I can get there? I usually download everything....and all the time need skype. Are there any good one? Thanks for any information.

leedslad

Have a look here
http://www.dungloe.info/content/cope
The kids play area An Club Beag have Wi-Fi. I'm pretty sure the Bayview have as well. If you sign up for library membership in the Old chapel then you have free access.
Apart from these,if you are in rental accomodation then you can sign up to Eircom(fixed line) Digiweb (satellite) or O2,3 mobile or Vodafone dongles for broadband.
I believe you mentioned about staying for a month to start with so maybe you could negotiate a long stay agreement with one of these B&B's that have Wi-Fi
http://www.guide-to-ireland.com/showdetails.php?id=2599
http://www.dungloebedandbreakfast.com/Radharc_and_Oileain_Bed_and_Breakfast_Dungloe_Donegal_Guest_Facilities-687.aspx

Angelfly

I want to move there for long term and not just for holiday, so rent a house or a room. That is why I need a good internet, in Dublin I have UPC with 30Mbit, that is what I am looking for in Dungloe, and not just some weak net like vodafone with stick, because they are usually slow and have a very low download limit. I read a little bit about the Digiweb, are they good? Do they have good service? Because as I saw there are different opinions about them...

homer simpson

Angelfly wrote: »

I want to move there for long term and not just for holiday, so rent a house or a room. That is why I need a good internet, in Dublin I have UPC with 30Mbit, that is what I am looking for in Dungloe, and not just some weak net like vodafone with stick, because they are usually slow and have a very low download limit. I read a little bit about the Digiweb, are they good? Do they have good service? Because as I saw there are different opinions about them...

With all respect if your looking for 30mb you may stay where you are, you will get nowhere near that speed in in County Donegal let alone in Dungloe.

Angelfly

Believe me, not just in Dublin you can get this, I just said...because some of the other ones are expensive and you do not get good signal, and I do not want spend my money, and call all the time costumer support about my problems, what can not be fix... (anyway I am not originally from Dublin...)

Broxi_Bear_Eire

Angelfly wrote: »

Believe me, not just in Dublin you can get this, I just said...because some of the other ones are expensive and you do not get good signal, and I do not want spend my money, and call all the time costumer support about my problems, what can not be fix... (anyway I am not originally from Dublin...)

There are also many areas that don't get it. In fact the guy that does the advert didn't get it I don't know if that has changed now though.
The best you will get here if you are going to stay in Dungloe will be one of this type.
Eircom
UTV
any of the normal ones that you need a land line for

Angelfly

I heard about this sattelite one...is it available?

Broxi_Bear_Eire

Angelfly wrote: »

I heard about this sattelite one...is it available?

To be honest I am not sure I use UTV myself Though my wife thinks you can get Digiweb you would be as well getting in touch with them
If you do move here you will find most people are friendly and helpful so best of luck

Angelfly

Thanks you the nice words.. I am really scared,because I am alone, and it will be a big step for me...starting a new life...:)