Living in Dublin City Centre

Saurophaganax

Hi all

I'm thinking of renting a flat in the inner city. I'm wondering if anyone here has advice about living in the city centre; would you recommend it? Are there any precautions that should be taken or areas that should be avoided?

Thanks

ProudDUB

I lived in the IFSC (just behind Connolly Station) for a year and a half. It was grand. Never had a spot of bother. O'Connell St only being a 5 minute walk away was brilliant. Only thing was, you have to walk up Talbot St to get to it. There is a methadone clinic close by on Amiens St, so there were a lot of junkies hanging around the area, especially the off license beside the Supervalu. I never had any bother off them, but that's not to say no one has. As it was so close to Connolly & Busaras, there was usually always a fair amount of people knocking about the area, so I felt relatively safe. But I'd never walk home after dark once the shops and pubs closed. I'd take the Luas instead. The Jervis St and Abbey St Luas stops can also attract the junkies. Again, I never had any trouble with them, but they can be very off putting and unsettling if you are easily freaked out by that sort of thing.

Things to look out for:

Parking: Does your flat/apt come with parking, and if so is it your own designated space or street parking. Don't take it for granted that you'll have your own parking. Even if you don't have a car of your own, presumably your friends and family do. Having no where for them to park was one of the reasons why I moved away from the city centre.

Floor Level: Don't get something on the ground floor. It is asking for trouble.

Security: What does it have? Do you have your own front door? Is it a house/apt building with a security gate/alarm systems/controlled access etc etc? Not a bad thing to have in the city center, especially if you are in the north inner city. My atp complex had 30 ft high walls that were dammed near impossible to climb over if you were up to no good (it used to be part of a warehouse) security gates, and two sets of security codes at the door of each building, which may explain why I had no security issues living there.

Noise: Close your windows. Can you still hear buses, sirens, cars etc etc. Is the noise level ok? Open them. Is the noise and smell unbearable? Then you'll be living somewhere where you can't ever open a window. Are you ok with that?

BER Cert: Ask to see it especially if the flat is in a very old house or a recently constructed apt building. You'll spend a fortune heating the place if it has a low BER rating.

Saurophaganax

Thanks a lot for this advice - by enlarge the IFSC seems like a nice area Can I be really rude and ask how much your rent was? My budget is around €600 per month.

ProudDUB

No probs. I paid 900 euros p/m for a tiny one bed apt that you couldn't swing a cat in. It had no parking space. Then I moved to a much bigger, two bedroom apt in the same development. It was 1050 euros p/m. I had my own parking space, but there was no parking for visitors. I looked at a lot of apts before I moved. The 2 bed apts seem to be much bigger and better value, especially if you can get someone to share with you. The area is great, and being by the river was lovely, especially when something like The Tall Ships Festival was on.

The IFSC can get a bit dodgy down towards The Point/O2/Castleforbes end of the IFSC. The apts are lovely, but the area is not as well developed as the Connolly Station end, and there is not so much foot traffic knocking about. It just didn't feel as safe to me as the part that I lived in. There are a lot of people working in Google, Facebook, O2, international banks etc etc that live in the area, so sadly for people on a budget, that keeps rents in the IFSC area quite high.

AnonoBoy

Saurophaganax wrote: »

Thanks a lot for this advice - by enlarge the IFSC seems like a nice area Can I be really rude and ask how much your rent was? My budget is around €600 per month.

At that price you'd be better finding someone to share with.

600-700 euro will get you a place but the quality will go up if you move up to the 2 bed places in the 900-1100 price range.

[Jackass]

600 would get you a share in an apartment alright.

I used to live in the IFSC too and quite liked it, but lets call a spade a spade, all around Connolly station is a complete sh*thole of an area, generally around Dublin 1 inner city is the worst part of the inner city area.

Whilst I never had any problem whilst living there, there are loads of junkies floating around, loads of kids on corners until all hours, plenty of RA type pubs and the tattoo'd bregade outside off loading welfare money morning, noon and night...I didn't spend any time around the area it's self, it was just dead handy living in town, but I'd shop around if I was you, plenty of nice places on the southside, like around Grand Canal Dock which is generally a much nicer area imo and you'd be looking at similar enough prices for a 2 bed sharing - some would be more expensive, but you could definitely find a nice place shared for that money.

MIN2511

ProudDUB wrote: »

No probs. I paid 900 euros p/m for a tiny one bed apt that you couldn't swing a cat in. It had no parking space. Then I moved to a much bigger, two bedroom apt in the same development. It was 1050 euros p/m. I had my own parking space, but there was no parking for visitors. I looked at a lot of apts before I moved. The 2 bed apts seem to be much bigger and better value, especially if you can get someone to share with you. The area is great, and being by the river was lovely, especially when something like The Tall Ships Festival was on.

The IFSC can get a bit dodgy down towards The Point/O2/Castleforbes end of the IFSC. The apts are lovely, but the area is not as well developed as the Connolly Station end, and there is not so much foot traffic knocking about. It just didn't feel as safe to me as the part that I lived in. There are a lot of people working in Google, Facebook, O2, international banks etc etc that live in the area, so sadly for people on a budget, that keeps rents in the IFSC area quite high.

I live in Castleforbes Square and have done so for just under 2 years, safer than when I lived in Custom House Square.:D

OP, I recently leased out a room in the apartment I'm in and the competition is fierce. Don't let that deter you though, the difference between Grand Canal Dock & IFSC/ Castleforbes, Spencer Dock is the Luas is at your doorstep!

Look into sharing, €600 is a good budget.

[Jackass]

MIN2511 wrote: »

I live in Castleforbes Square and have done so for just under 2 years, safer than when I lived in Custom House Square.:D

OP, I recently leased out a room in the apartment I'm in and the competition is fierce. Don't let that deter you though, the difference between Grand Canal Dock & IFSC/ Castleforbes, Spencer Dock is the Luas is at your doorstep!

Look into sharing, €600 is a good budget.

Grand Canal has the DART in fairness, but even living in town, personally anyway, I didn't find the public transport links too important, as I only ever used it for getting in and out of town in the first place, but once I lived there I just walked everywhere. Dublin city centre is quite small in that regard, everywhere is walking distance. (unless you're heading to suburbs, and LUAS / DART etc. will all be linked up soon anyway...)

Manuva

I'm living in a Georgian house on Lower Leeson street. Its bright and really spacious but the heating isn't fantastic (Storage heater) as the building is fairly old

Parking is a nightmare so make sure you sort this with any potential landlords. I let a second room in my place a few months ago and the amount of calls I got was pretty insane. So many people from the big Tech companies on the grand canal dock looking for places in town at the moment.

It gets pretty noisy at night on the weekends as 2 of Dublin's only late-late bars are a few doors down, but I got used to it fairly fast, and you can always join them if you can't beat them.

Those are the negatives, but they are well outweighed by the positives. Its great to have the city at your doorstep and not having to think about going out and getting back. also top areas like Ranelagh and Rathmines are a 15/20 minute walk, the green line luas can take you to Dundrum etc. theres no garden but the roof has a kind of rampart where you can go up and drink etc, and theres the Iveagh Gardens and the Green and Merrion Square not too far away.

All in all I love it and would recommend it to anyone below a certain age and can afford it. rent is high, shops in the area are expensive and the pubs, while incredible, are premium priced. (My experience is southeast D2, It would probably be somewhat different in D1 or west D2)

Chickus

I am currently living in IFSC, Have had no problems at all, yes there are kids hanging around the spar and on corners but are fairly harmless..
I have been living here 3 years now and yes there are junkies around the place but once again I have never had an issue with them, they are usually too out of it to notice you..Talbot street is fine to walk up...a bit unsightly in places but its busy and relatively safe...I have walked down here at all stages of the night..
Customs house harbour, spencer dock etc are pretty good developments, the former having good security and is quiet..
I will find it hard to leave this area, it is just so handy for town and public transport links..

amtc

My friend has a lovely own door place near the Five Lamps (Amiens St) - it's gorgeous, 700 euro - garden and all!

TheBandicoot

Anyone have any experience of the south inner city, specifically Hyde Court apartments on Townsend St, opposite UlsterBank?

schemingbohemia

One thing to remember if you're living in the city centre is that your mates will invariably look to come back to your gaff to crash if they're living in the burbs!

4MeRuca

I would be very wary of older buildings around Dorset street and elsewhere in Dublin. Friends of mine used to live off Dorset street and the ceiling literally came down one night due to age and water damage. The landlord paid them off with their deposit back and a little something on top but he really didn't have to. Threshold said as long as no one is injured all the landlord is required to do is required to do is find an alternate place to live which really could be anything, anywhere. Any of the numerous pseudo European new age apartment complex's should be grand though.

CucaFace

MIN2511 wrote: »

I live in Castleforbes Square and have done so for just under 2 years, safer than when I lived in Custom House Square.:D

OP, I recently leased out a room in the apartment I'm in and the competition is fierce. Don't let that deter you though, the difference between Grand Canal Dock & IFSC/ Castleforbes, Spencer Dock is the Luas is at your doorstep!

Look into sharing, €600 is a good budget.

Yes ive lived in Custom House Square for a year, and now in Castleforbes Square for last 3 years and its a great spot, and no bother down there whatsoever.

Ole Rodrigo

Ive been living in D1, around Parnell square, for almost 14 years now and although I accept comments about the aesthetics of some parts- Talbot Street, Connelly etc - Ive never had any problems with junkies or otherwise, and I'd maintain that Dublin is one of the safest cities in Europe. The idea that the south inner city is much safer is misleading and am not so sure its worth spending any extra in rent on that basis, but thats up to you I guess.

IMO, there is no ' no-go' area in the city center. This is a myth perpetrated by those of an inexperienced and sheltered persuasion - if you keep your wits about you and treat people with courtesy you wont have any problems. Common sense really. Get yourself a Dublin Bike subscription and with all the cultural attractions close by - not to mention the resurgence of the Parnell Square / Moore street area - it offers an economical and appealing lifestyle. Best of luck.

citygirl01

i live in temple bar and its great, just by the central bank and its so handy, lived in Smithfield and ifsc before and to be honest I would advise avoiding them - unsafe to walk after dark etc, you should be able to get a fairly decent share for around 600euro a month. just beware a bedroom overlooking the street as can be noisy.. happy househunting

catrionanic

I don't think Stoneybatter is quite classed as city centre, but it's an awesome place to live! Here a couple of months and loving it - a stone's throw from the Luas and can walk to O'Connell St in 15 mins if I want to.