Buying a house in Galway but where?

Lousqueeza

My husband and I are finally in a position to buy a little house in Galway City however I've been wondering whether there are any locations on the outskirts of the city that may give us a little more value for our money.

We're quite new to the area having moved from Dublin in the last few years so we're still learning! We already know about Athenry and Craughwell, are there any other little areas that we could be investigating? We both work and socialise in Galway City centre so would need transport links and at least a corner shop or two close by.

Any help/advice with this would be brilliant.

Lou

khards

Are you looking to move to the outskirts to keep your purchase price down or are you looking for a non-estate house with a garden bigger than a postage stamp?

Where about are you living in Galway? I guess that you are renting somewhere in the city.

Corrandulla and Headford are not bad choices IMO as the road into the city does not pass through any major bottle necks and the house prices there are reasonable, however you would not be able to pop into the city for an evening out.

We both work in the city and go for an evening out (beers) around once every month or two.

The price of a taxi home (knockferry/moycullen area) works out far far cheaper than it ever would to attempt to rent or buy a home close to the city.

I often smile to myself when people I know tell me that the must be within walking distance of X,Y or Z then never walk there because they have to carry shopping or it is raining. these people are only too willing to spend €100,000 to save on the cost of a €30 taxi 3/4 times per year.

Not to forget if you are moving to the outskirts to save money, then in the long run it may cost you more when you price in the cost of transport over a 10/20 year period.

I would that Athenry would be a suitable location as the trains run frequently, we are currently waiting for something decent to come up in that area.

Galwayguy35

Have you tried Loughrea, some reasonaly priced houses there and it's a good town for shopping as well, maybe it's too far out though.

Mrs OBumble

If you are considering buying in a smaller town, I would suggest renting there for six months first. It may be more of a lifestyle change then you're used to. Most towns have some public transport links that are ok for working, but not good for socializing. (Athenry and Oranmore are exceptions, featureing the only Night Bus services in the county.)

Oliver_Ahern

Galwayguy35 wrote: »

Have you tried Loughrea, some reasonaly priced houses there and it's a good town for shopping as well, maybe it's too far out though.

Recently moved to loughrea and whilst I agree that it's a good town with good local shops, butchers, nice lake etc the public transport is not that great tbh.

The city link and bus eirean dublin/galway bus passes through but they have completely butchered (sorry!) their timetable and services recently. Now there are no buses either way after 8pm, which ruins any going out plans in Galway or coming back late from a day out in Dublin!

Redhairedguy

Oranmore and Athenry tend to be a happy medium for a lot of people I know, some are renting, some have bought.

Oranmore is a lovely town, a bit built up for my liking, but that's just the local in me shining through (grumble... grumble... grumble...). It has great amenities, what with loads of shops, pubs, a library, cinema and whatnot.

Athenry is that little bit further out, but being on the motorway, it's still only 20 minutes into the city; and it's on the main Galway - Dublin rail line. It's a class little town.

mamabear82

Oliver_Ahern wrote: »

Recently moved to loughrea and whilst I agree that it's a good town with good local shops, butchers, nice lake etc the public transport is not that great tbh.

The city link and bus eirean dublin/galway bus passes through but they have completely butchered (sorry!) their timetable and services recently. Now there are no buses either way after 8pm, which ruins any going out plans in Galway or coming back late from a day out in Dublin!

gotta agree the public transport could be better

Greaney

Athenry is one of the best towns for schools (secondary) and has some lovely little eateries (a couple of bridgestone awards) and good public transport links, not amazing, but better than most.

PJK2013

Have you tried Barna. Dont live there myself but did work on some sites out there. Still more expensive than other locations but great value to be had compared to boom times. Near sea, transport into town and has nice pubs & restaurants.

Redhairedguy

Yeah. Barna is lovely. Everything is close by, and it would be my preferred side of Galway, what with Salthill, Silver Strand and Barna woods so close by.

ladiesman217

Hi Lousqueeza
I moved to Athenry about a year ago from the Galway city and we have found it to be a lovely town. There is a new bus service that runs daily into Galway city and there is also a good night service if you wanted to go out for a few at the weekends. We are only renting at the mo and wont be buying for a while but there is a considerable difference in price between the city and Athenry in renting and buying. When we are at a stage where we are ready to buy Athenry is top of the list. The train service to Dublin is great.

Best of luck with it:)

biko

I agree with Redhairedguy. Barna and Oranmore are both lovely. Oranmore would be my favourite though, Barna is still very much a village.

Red Pepper

Redhairedguy wrote: »

Yeah. Barna is lovely. Everything is close by, and it would be my preferred side of Galway, what with Salthill, Silver Strand and Barna woods so close by.

I have to agree that the west side of the city is best especially near the coast.
If leaving the city Barna and Moycullen aren't too far and are nice villages. Spiddal and Oughterard are a bit far out.

truebloodfan

khards wrote: »

Are you looking to move to the outskirts to keep your purchase price down or are you looking for a non-estate house with a garden bigger than a postage stamp?

Where about are you living in Galway? I guess that you are renting somewhere in the city.

Corrandulla and Headford are not bad choices IMO as the road into the city does not pass through any major bottle necks and the house prices there are reasonable, however you would not be able to pop into the city for an evening out.

We both work in the city and go for an evening out (beers) around once every month or two.

The price of a taxi home (knockferry/moycullen area) works out far far cheaper than it ever would to attempt to rent or buy a home close to the city.

I often smile to myself when people I know tell me that the must be within walking distance of X,Y or Z then never walk there because they have to carry shopping or it is raining. these people are only too willing to spend €100,000 to save on the cost of a €30 taxi 3/4 times per year.

Not to forget if you are moving to the outskirts to save money, then in the long run it may cost you more when you price in the cost of transport over a 10/20 year period.

I would that Athenry would be a suitable location as the trains run frequently, we are currently waiting for something decent to come up in that area.

The only problem is if you don't have your own car cause there are very few buses to galway and no bus shelters so expect to be cold and wet 95% of the time. If you've your own car then I'd definately recommend that area. Also it's about 12 miles from the city so taxis could be expensive

Woodville56

Like Lousqueeza, considering a move permanently to the west with my partner. We don not plan to live in Galway city as (a) work base will be in the Loughrea area and (b) house prices in the city would be a bit beyond our budget at this point.
As well as considering Loughrea itself, we also have Athenry, Gort, Oranmore, Craughwell on our house hunting radar. Our priorities would be to:

* acquire a town/village property in a small housing development , or rural area close to a town, within half an hour or so drive to the city (for the social life and shopping at weekends),

*a similar travelling time to the coast,

*a town/village with a nice community spirit feel about it.

We have own transport so public transport not so important for us nor is access to schools etc .

We would be glad of any advice or observations from anyone in a similar position who is considering moving to one of these town or who has moved there in recent times as to which of these towns have the "X Factor" for them ! Or if you live in one of these towns, what are the good points/bad points about living there, how's the property market ?, nice (not too big ) housing developments etc we might consider ?