What's it like to live in Donegal?

Mr. Loverman

I'm curious to know what it's like to live in Donegal.

Looking at a map it looks like some parts are really remote (e.g. the parts north west of Derry).

Is there a good sense of community or does the low population effect that?

Is there a big difference between the parts close to Sligo and the more remote areas?

Good facilities?

Freezing?

Alcoholism?!

Thanks for your answers.

NIMAN

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

I'm curious to know what it's like to live in Donegal.

Looking at a map it looks like some parts are really remote (e.g. the parts north west of Derry).

Is there a good sense of community or does the low population effect that?

Is there a big difference between the parts close to Sligo and the more remote areas?

Good facilities?

Freezing?

Alcoholism?!

Thanks for your answers.

I live to the North of Derry (Inishowen), love it. People very friendly. Scenery stunning. Good sense of community.

But I suspect you are talking more about the NW and West of Donegal?

Mr. Loverman

NIMAN wrote: »

I live to the North of Derry (Inishowen), love it. People very friendly. Scenery stunning. Good sense of community.

But I suspect you are talking more about the NW and West of Donegal?

North of Derry is my preference actually. I prefer the remoteness yet closeness of Derry for cheaper prices...

NIMAN

Inishowen has its remote bits and nice little towns and villages. I find the people very friendly.

Good facilities? Depends what you're looking for.

Freezing? No different to the rest of the west coast I'd guess. Will never be as warm as the east coast, but thats geography for you. If its freezing in Donegal it'll be freezing in the rest of Ireland too, don't worry.

Alcoholism? Depends on how much you drink! Again, no worse than the rest of the country.

Being close to the border does have its advantages. But its also nice to be on the correct side!!

smashey

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

I'm curious to know what it's like to live in Donegal.

It's friggin awesome :cool:

ednwireland

smashey wrote: »

It's friggin awesome :cool:

+1 lived here 17 years ,spent 4 hours cycling this morning barely saw a car once off the main road , friendly people, fantastic people. facilities hmmmm got me there (dont even have an a&e anymore)

muffler

What more could anyone want

excollier

muffler wrote: »

What more could anyone want

Pass the bucket, quickly.....

solas111

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

I'm curious to know what it's like to live in Donegal.

Looking at a map it looks like some parts are really remote (e.g. the parts north west of Derry).

Is there a good sense of community or does the low population effect that?

Is there a big difference between the parts close to Sligo and the more remote areas?

Good facilities?

Freezing?

Alcoholism?!

Thanks for your answers.

Great place to live providing you’re not looking for a job.

No part of Donegal is really that remote, depending of course on what you consider ‘remote’.

There is generally a good sense of community, although not as good as it used to be.

There is no big difference between the different areas except that some areas are bi-lingual and the rest speak English of sorts. However, you may need an interpreter in order to understand the English-speaking ones as some of the accents are shocking.

Facilities are good and bad depending on what you are looking for.

Freezing Alcoholism? Yeah, there are a lot of freezing alcoholics in Donegal but they won’t bother you at all.

Give it a try – I think you will like the place.

Cee-Jay-Cee

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

North of Derry is my preference actually. I prefer the remoteness yet closeness of Derry for cheaper prices...

Dunno where in Derry your shopping but with the poor sterling rate, Derry is not cheaper anymore. There was a time when it was worth people's while to buy everything in the north but not anymore, its actually more expensive now for clothing as far as I can see and grocery shopping is more or less the same prices both sides of the border so no value as you have to factor in fuel costs.

John Doe1

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

I'm curious to know what it's like to live in Donegal.

Looking at a map it looks like some parts are really remote (e.g. the parts north west of Derry).

Is there a good sense of community or does the low population effect that?

Is there a big difference between the parts close to Sligo and the more remote areas?

Good facilities?

Freezing?

Alcoholism?!

Thanks for your answers.

The western gaeltacht area is very remote with a low population density.
The east and south are not so bad, there are 17 towns with a population over 1,000 (all but one are in the east and south). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Donegal#Largest_Towns_in_County_Donegal_.282011_Census.29

The main differences between the areas are accents, west has a connacht irish influenced accent, the east has an ulster-scots kinda accent, the north(inishowen) has a derry like accent. The south is less ulster-sounding.

Other differences are the laggan valley in the east where I am from is very protestant while the gaeltacht is pretty uniformly catholic.

There are good facilities in the main towns, letterkenny has a bigger population than sligo town around 20,000 and has all the facilities you would expect, cinema, hospital, shopping centres, retail parks etc. Donegal town, Ballybofey, Buncrana, Bundoran and Ballyshannon would have pretty good facilities too.

Freezing? Its ireland:p

Alcoholism? read above:P

solas111

John Doe1 wrote: »

The western gaeltacht area is very remote with a low population density.

No, the western Gaeltacht area is not very remote with a low population density. For example, Gweedore is 30 miles from Letterkenny and as such is as close as Inishowen. It is also said to be the most highly populated rural area in Europe.

John Doe1

solas111 wrote: »

No, the western Gaeltacht area is not very remote with a low population density. For example, Gweedore is 30 miles from Letterkenny and as such is as close as Inishowen. It is also said to be the most highly populated rural area in Europe.

Well, there are around 25,000 people in the gaeltacht over 580 sq miles. For comparison county louth is half the size and has 122,000 people. The counties cavan and monaghan are around the same size and have populations much larger than the gaeltacht also.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaeltacht#Donegal_Gaeltacht

Well inishowen has population centres like buncrana, carndonagh and moville and is close to derry city.

Goodshape

I'm from Inishowen. Buncrana to be precise. I've been spending half time there and half time in Dublin over the past couple of years.

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

I'm curious to know what it's like to live in Donegal.

Broad answer: I tend to find it dull and depressing during the colder winter months. This year was a particularly long, wet and cold winter and if I didn't have the option to get away to Dublin for a couple weeks every month or so, I may have gone mad.

Aside from that – or if you're not seasonally affected like that – it's a nice place to live. Buncrana is a large enough town so you never feel particularly isolated or lacking anything, Derry is 30 minutes up the road if you want something more, the scenery is stunning, beaches beautiful, people friendly. I like it.

Looking at a map it looks like some parts are really remote (e.g. the parts north west of Derry).

Depends on your definition of remote. You'd certainly have the option of proper remote / ten minute drive to the neighbours, if you want it, or as I said – somewhere like Buncrana is a bit busier and might offer a decent mix of both.

Is there a good sense of community or does the low population effect that?

Great sense of community I've always thought. Friendly people willing to help each other out in most situations. Always some sort of art being made or music being played. Although, at least with my wider circle of friends and acquaintances, it does tend to centre mostly around 'the local'.

Is there a big difference between the parts close to Sligo and the more remote areas?

Not sure.

Good facilities?

In Buncrana? Yeah, grand. You can get most of what you need in town, for everything else their's Derry. Public transport I find a bit lacking though. Buncrana-to-Derry is infrequent and I think stops at 6pm. Two buses daily direct to/from Dublin though, which is handy.

Freezing?

Compared to Dublin? Yeah, I've found it noticeably colder and wetter. Not drastically, but noticeably.

Alcoholism?!

Depends on your definition. Most activities to seem to include alcohol. In my experience anyway. But not so much the "wake up to a bottle of whisky" variety.

caustic 1

You will travel far to find a more beautiful place to live. We have it all mountains, lakes, valleys, forests, beaches, towns and friendly people.

Joe 90

muffler wrote: »

What more could anyone want

Excuse my ignorance, but the the hell is it?

demixed

Joe 90 wrote: »

Excuse my ignorance, but the the hell is it?

That is the patron saint of Donegal.

solas111

Joe 90 wrote: »

Excuse my ignorance, but the the hell is it?

Shock...horror...do you not know Wee Daniel from Kincasslagh?

Joe 90

demixed wrote: »

That is the patron saint of Donegal.

I always though that the patron saint of Donegal was

muffler

Joe 90 wrote: »

Excuse my ignorance, but the the hell is it?

Its a robot with some human like features

danniemcq

Joe 90 wrote: »

I always though that the patron saint of Donegal was

He's more of a God than a Saint.

TroutMask

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

I'm curious to know what it's like to live in Donegal.

Looking at a map it looks like some parts are really remote (e.g. the parts north west of Derry).

Is there a good sense of community or does the low population effect that?

Is there a big difference between the parts close to Sligo and the more remote areas?

Good facilities?

Freezing?

Alcoholism?!

Thanks for your answers.

I moved here for the year and now want to stay. It's a great county, one of the best IMHO. You do need a good car, not expensive, but well-maintained as the roads can be a challenge. Diesel or a car w/ good MPG will help keep the bills down. I live near Gweedore right now, which is very remote - still I get out and about across the county, though it's a lot of driving. Facilities can be patchy, though you'll find a lot by keeping your ear to the ground. Many assets of the county are not advertised so it helps if you have good radar. The weather didn't bother me at all last winter. The county can be quite alcocentric, as far as events and social things go. Many pubs still serve instant coffee and/or have staff that make a face if you order coffee! Quaint really. There has been a sea-change is this regard, as awesome coffee shops and artisan-style pizza etc. are finally starting to come in, e.g., Caffe Banba in Carn, and the Red Oven in Dunfanaghy to name a couple. There is still the tendency for these places to close at 5PM - this must be quite frustrating for Continental visitors who, like myself, are used to a more of a cafe culture. The people are really nice & friendly in general, and usually go out of their way to make you feel welcome and at home.

DrPhilG

Joe 90 wrote: »

Excuse my ignorance

No.

I'm afraid that won't be possible.

Please leave.

Joe 90

DrPhilG wrote: »

No.

I'm afraid that won't be possible.

Please leave.

I still don't know who he is though.

To add to some balance, you should also know vast areas of Donegal's landscape has been blighted by thousands of one-off McMansions during the boom time.

Donegal County Council planning is the great untold scandal of the last 15 years.

Also, boy racer culture is still huge here although many have now left Ireland to Australia . These boy racers tend to make quaint, rural roads death traps especially late at night. As the statistics and even the markings on the road the next day will tell you. The Garda presence on the roads in rural areas is pretty much null because they have such a huge area to cover. There does tend to be a good Garda presence in the bigger towns after nightclubs and pubs close.

danniemcq

Joe 90 wrote: »

I still don't know who he is though.

Lucky you

http://www.danielodonnell.org

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_O'Donnell

Joe 90

danniemcq wrote: »

Lucky you

http://www.danielodonnell.org

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_O'Donnell

Would that be a Country and Irisher?

TroutMask

salonfire wrote: »

Also, boy racer culture is still huge here although many have now left Ireland to Australia . These boy racers tend to make quaint, rural roads death traps especially late at night. As the statistics and even the markings on the road the next day will tell you. The Garda presence on the roads in rural areas is pretty much null because they have such a huge area to cover. There does tend to be a good Garda presence in the bigger towns after nightclubs and pubs close.

This is true enough - the driving can be pretty scary up here. To be fair, quite a few of the speeder/dangerous overtakers are sporting NI regs. They can be extremely aggressive and it is most peculiar that the Gardai have yet to implement on-the-spot speeding fines - France and Spain both became weary of foreign-reg cars using their roads as racetracks and brought in these types of fines a few years back.

homer simpson

Joe 90 wrote: »

I always though that the patron saint of Donegal was

That's the fella from down the country is it not.

danniemcq

homer simpson wrote: »

That's the fella from down the country is it not.

Born in Ballyshannon, raised in Cork but we won't hold that against him

TroutMask

I have been to the Daniel O'Donnell Museum, and it is good!

davidfitz22

Living here 2 years now.
It's great here, the people are lovely, some have a chip on their shoulder against dublin people but its a minority.

Prices are much better than dublin and it feels safer and more welcoming.
the two set backs donegal has is the boyracer culcture and it rains 5 days of the week (well at least musch more than it did in dublin).
but when its not raining its beautiful. the nicest county in the country in my opinion much better than clare.

The Gardai have seemingly given up on stopping boyracers, the roads are an ugly mess of tire marks which is awful looking from a tourist prospective.

Donegal people tend to be more interested their cars more so than people from other counties,(people in cities generally don't care how they get from a to b) so if you are into motors you'll always have something to talk about.

The pubs are friendly and cheap so nights out are great, theres little variety in night clubs just crappy dance music venues.

danniemcq

davidfitz22 wrote: »

The Gardai have seemingly given up on stopping boyracers, the roads are an ugly mess of tire marks which is awful looking from a tourist prospective.

Donegal people tend to be more interested their cars more so than people from other counties,(people in cities generally don't care how they get from a to b) so if you are into motors you'll always have something to talk about.

I'm gonna have to disagree with these points. With the Gardai having little or no resources (like lots of other counties) they simply don't have the manpower or abilities to police the entire road network of Donegal. But to say that they are turning a blind eye to boyracers is a bit of an exaggeration.

I wouldn't say we are more into cars than any other county, we might rely on them more than other counties or city areas so put more effort into them but I spent a few years in Galway and Sligo and seen the exact same as I do here with regards car obsessives.

guttenberg

The one thing that used to be amazing about living in (in my case beside) Donegal was the ease of access to Football Special. Sadly though that drink has gone downhill in recent years! Seriously though, like most places its what you make of it that'll make the difference. If you make the effort to explore Donegal and integrate yourself with the friendly locals you'll love it, hop in the car and within 20 minutes you can get yourself lost in some picturesque places. With cities like Letterkenny and Derry nearby your not far from the usual amenities. Be warned though, half of Derry invades the place every summer:D

Banjoxed

Back up here now for six weeks, first thing I had to get used to was the level of tailgating that goes on, and I'm far from a slow driver. Can't figure out how sitting on another driver's ass either gets them out of the way or makes overtaking easy.

solas111

Banjoxed wrote: »

Back up here now for six weeks, first thing I had to get used to was the level of tailgating that goes on, and I'm far from a slow driver. Can't figure out how sitting on another driver's ass either gets them out of the way or makes overtaking easy.

You ain't seen nothing yet!

Wait 'till the nights get long and a lot of people can't find the dip switch. When I travel down the country, I know that I am back home when I get blinded by headlights. For some reason it seems to be worse in Donegal.

J Cheever Loophole

Unfortunately not really qualified to respond to the original question but just to say I have been going to Donegal on breaks / holidays from childhood and I find the whole county wonderful - have stayed in Bundoran, Rossnowlagh, Donegal Town, Ballybofey, Killybegs, Carrick, Derrybeg, and Dunfanaghy - the people and the towns / countryside are tops. I've always promised myself that I'll go up for a few days in the mid winter to see what it's like - that's still on the "to do list".

donegal_road

where I am is on the main Derry Sligo road and the traffic goes through the town, so its always busy. Im 20 mins from Strabane, 40 from Derry and 20 from Letterkenny, so its great for 'shappin'. Im a little under an hour from Derry airport.. if you live near Derry, you can be in London quicker than Dublin.

Banjoxed

donegal_road wrote: »

where I am is on the main Derry Sligo road and the traffic goes through the town, so its always busy. Im 20 mins from Strabane, 40 from Derry and 20 from Letterkenny, so its great for 'shappin'. Im a little under an hour from Derry airport.. if you live near Derry, you can be in London quicker than Dublin.

I'm about the same distance from Derry as I was from Dublin but can get there in a third of the time. Easy access to Letterkenny and then to magnificent west Donegal on one side and the Foyle ferry to the Causeway coast on the other side. And every wee beach tucked out of the way here in Inishowen. And City of Derry Airport. Not in any hurry to back to Dublin suburbia.

darkhorse

Joe 90 wrote: »

Excuse my ignorance, but the the hell is it?

Where have you been, man? Everybody knows Cliff Richard.

Danny Gallagher

Hi,

I am moving to Donegal in the next 3 months, I have spent a lot of time in Bundoran since childhood and would be moving there. I will need to buy a car pretty much immedialey for my commute. Any recommendations for good car dealerships or second hand places. Thanks in advance for any help.

muffler

Danny Gallagher wrote: »

Hi,

I am moving to Donegal in the next 3 months, I have spent a lot of time in Bundoran since childhood and would be moving there. I will need to buy a car pretty much immedialey for my commute. Any recommendations for good car dealerships or second hand places. Thanks in advance for any help.

If you're not moving for near enough 3 months and you "need to buy a car pretty much immedialey for my commute" then you're better looking for one wherever you live now at the moment