Living in claremorris

halloffame

Can anyone offer me advice on what time of town claremorris is to live in? We are thinking of buying a house there & would love to hear what ppl have to say in relation to: safety, social life, cost of living, shopping, people, friendliness, community spirit etc

whitey1

Dont know a whole lot about the day to day goings on, but some general info:

Great location: very convenient to Knock Airport, Galway and Castlebar

Active Golf club, GAA Club, soccer club and more recently a rugby club

Plenty of pubs

yop

halloffame wrote: »

Can anyone offer me advice on what time of town claremorris is to live in? We are thinking of buying a house there & would love to hear what ppl have to say in relation to: safety, social life, cost of living, shopping, people, friendliness, community spirit etc

Worked there for a number of years and was out there plenty of times.

Seems like a good town, its small but its got plenty of nice pubs and Tesco and Aldi so its easy to shop in.
Its about 25 mins from Castlebar and its about 35 mins from Galway.
Cost of living would be decent I would suspect.
Saftey, never had an issues there in fairness.
Everyone there seemed dead on, couldn't complain about the place.

Oldtree

It seems like a lovely place with lots of amenities but as with anywhere it is better to rent for up to a year before buying a house, and get to know it for yourself before commiting.

halloffame

Thanks for the feedback. All seems positive enough. We are not keen on the idea of paying rent for up to a year as we are ready to buy when we find the right house. Just wanted to get people's views on the area.

Another question- any estates or areas that are worth looking into? Or any worth avoiding? Thank s !

12 element

Any reason you're choosing Claremorris in particular?

Oldtree

halloffame wrote: »

We are not keen on the idea of paying rent for up to a year as we are ready to buy when we find the right house. Just wanted to get people's views on the area.

Paying rent may not be the negative thing you think, as if you buy a house without doing your research you will pay for years to come, possibly much more than a years rent, and you will not know an area till you live in it. Buying a house is not a thing to be rushed.;)

runawaybishop

halloffame wrote: »

Thanks for the feedback. All seems positive enough. We are not keen on the idea of paying rent for up to a year as we are ready to buy when we find the right house. Just wanted to get people's views on the area.

Another question- any estates or areas that are worth looking into? Or any worth avoiding? Thank s !

You'd be daft to not familiarise yourself with an area before buying in fairness. One persons idea of grand might not match up with yours. I've worked in the town previously but I'd still rent somewhere for a while before committing to purchasing a house.

kippy

yop wrote: »

Worked there for a number of years and was out there plenty of times.

Seems like a good town, its small but its got plenty of nice pubs and Tesco and Aldi so its easy to shop in.
Its about 25 mins from Castlebar and its about 35 mins from Galway.
Cost of living would be decent I would suspect.
Saftey, never had an issues there in fairness.
Everyone there seemed dead on, couldn't complain about the place.

In fairness if you can get to galway in 35 minutes on an "average" day you'd be breaking any number of laws I would think.
Even getting to the "east" of the city would be 1 hour plus on your average day, considerably more depending on traffic/time of day etc.


There are a lot of pubs, a couple of clubs, depending on the time of year, a couple of good restaurants, plenty shops of differing types, plenty sporting options there as well.
It's a nice spot and I've not heard of any major trouble there down the years to be honest.
Some nice walks and parks around the place and it is relatively close to a few towns with jobs etc.

I would recommending renting for a while though, the biggest thing about moving to a town you dont know is the loss of a "support" network (if you had one).

yop

kippy wrote: »

In fairness if you can get to galway in 35 minutes on an "average" day you'd be breaking any number of laws I would think.
Even getting to the "east" of the city would be 1 hour plus on your average day, considerably more depending on traffic/time of day etc.

Claremorris to Parkmore takes 35-40 mins, I do it daily.

kippy

yop wrote: »

Claremorris to Parkmore takes 35-40 mins, I do it daily.

What times?

yop

kippy wrote: »

What times?

6.50am departing.

halloffame

We've decided on Claremorris for a number of reasons- location, work, cost, kids etc. We have family nearby (but not too near!) and have heard only positive things about the place. W have visited a number of times and got a good feel for the place- Just wanted to see if anyone here had another perspective. We will think about renting for the short term but are almost sold on the town of Claremorris... Any nice areas/estates in the area?

runawaybishop

halloffame wrote: »

We've decided on Claremorris for a number of reasons- location, work, cost, kids etc. We have family nearby (but not too near!) and have heard only positive things about the place. W have visited a number of times and got a good feel for the place- Just wanted to see if anyone here had another perspective. We will think about renting for the short term but are almost sold on the town of Claremorris... Any nice areas/estates in the area?

How are you sold on a place that you don't really know? Have you stayed there at all?

halloffame

Yes, stayed a good few times. Like the place but looking for any and all viewpoints

yop

runawaybishop wrote: »

How are you sold on a place that you don't really know? Have you stayed there at all?

I think the "we have visited a number of times" and how they have family live nearby would help their decision.

runawaybishop

yop wrote: »

I think the "we have visited a number of times" and how they have family live nearby would help their decision.

Sure, but you cant beat actually spending time somewhere to get to know it. There are a lot of places that are nice to visit but would not be as fun to live. Buying a house is a big decision, I don't think you can be armed with too much knowledge. Ideally renting in the place you want to purchase would be best.

kippy

yop wrote: »

6.50am departing.

Fair enough, doable that time of the morning but you'd probably be motoring.......

yop

kippy wrote: »

Fair enough, doable that time of the morning but you'd probably be motoring.......

80kmph all the way Kippy Its quite, 10 mins later leaving and I bet it adds another 15.

kippy

yop wrote: »

80kmph all the way Kippy Its quite, 10 mins later leaving and I bet it adds another 15.

I bet
Its often taken me an hour from Milltown in the "wrong" conditions (about 7.30 leaving or on a sunday evening) but thankfully its not a trip I do regularly.

irishgeo

shopping is not great in claremorris if your looking for a few of the more branded stores but castlebar is only down the road.

Oldtree

Has Smyths toys and Elverys that we don't have in Ballinrobe...

yop

Oldtree wrote: »

Has Smyths toys and Elverys that we don't have in Ballinrobe...

Ah yes but yous have the "bull" loving Super Valu

ilovegalway

Its a nice place to bring up kids. Within ten minutes drive,you have a choice of over 5 national schools. We have super value, Centra, aldi and tesco. Also have a leisure centre and an indoor athletic track. You also have great connectivity as we have a train station. There is great community spirit here. 20 min drive to castlebar where you have GMIT mayo campus!
In fairness there are some nice restaurants and cafes.

Oldtree

yop wrote: »

Ah yes but yous have the "bull" loving Super Valu

wold famous bull at that

deafroadrunner

Oldtree wrote: »

wold famous bull at that

Mod Note: Don't particularly like the tone of that comment.

halloffame

Cheers all, thanks for feedback. We have looked at tuam milltown Ballinrobe knock & Castlebar also but decided on claremorris. Not a rushed decision at all. As someone said you can never have enough info when buying a house and that's what this thread was about. Everyone has been really helpful & largely positive too I may add!!

If anyone wants to suggest an townland, area or estate in claremorris region that's top notch that'd be great to!

ariana`

kippy wrote: »

I bet
Its often taken me an hour from Milltown in the "wrong" conditions (about 7.30 leaving or on a sunday evening) but thankfully its not a trip I do regularly.

Takes DH 45mins, max 50mins, from Milltown. That's leaving @ 7.10.

35mins from C'morris is good (fast) going... not sure if i'd want my DH doing it quite so speedy :rolleyes:

yop

ariana` wrote: »

Takes DH 45mins, max 50mins, from Milltown. That's leaving @ 7.10.

35mins from C'morris is good (fast) going... not sure if i'd want my DH doing it quite so speedy :rolleyes:

20 mins that time of the morning will add 15-20 mins more to the journey, its backlog at that time of the morning, hence early bird catch less traffic

ariana`

yop wrote: »

20 mins that time of the morning will add 15-20 mins more to the journey, its backlog at that time of the morning, hence early bird catch less traffic

Ah but you're going from C'Morris so you're probably only 8mins ahead of him by the time you're passing Milltown. I do the journey at various times of the day/evening/night and at best it's very close to 30mins from Milltown-Claregalway, so 35mins from C'morris-Galway City is questionable at any time of the day or night. I think it's unrealistic to tell the OP that Claremorris is 35mins from Galway City but that's my opinion - it's closer to 1hr.

Sorry OP gone totally off-topic. I work in C'Morris and like it well enough. Coming from the city i miss the city, but if you're coming from a more rural or small town backround then i'd say it would tick the boxes. It has the basics in terms of supermarkets, library, police station, toy shop, sports wear, shoe shops, and a couple of clothes shops (though only 1 to my liking!), playground for small kids, indoor play-centre for small kids, cafes, restaurants, pub, hotel, swimming pool, gym, park for walks/bike rides, athletics club, gaa clubs and so on. And as others have said proximity to Castlebar and Galway, which both have hospitals/3rd level institutions and other amenities, is an advantage.

SpatialPlanning

Claremorris is a town that has been really developing over the last 10 years. I'd imagine it's a really good town for a young family. The connectivity is also excellent - close to a developing international airport, train to Dublin, on the N17 with easy access to Galway and Sligo, close to Castlebar...etc.

Good amenities in the town - sports clubs, shops, good hotel, restaurants, bars, schools..

Also, there were a lot of new builds there over the last 10 years so there are bound to be ample purchasing opportunities.

yop

ariana` wrote: »

Ah but you're going from C'Morris so you're probably only 8mins ahead of him by the time you're passing Milltown. I do the journey at various times of the day/evening/night and at best it's very close to 30mins from Milltown-Claregalway, so 35mins from C'morris-Galway City is questionable at any time of the day or night. I think it's unrealistic to tell the OP that Claremorris is 35mins from Galway City but that's my opinion - it's closer to 1hr.

I'm not from Claremorris, I have been doing this journey for 18 months now so I can't see why its questionable. You do the journey during the day/evening/night all carry a LOT more traffic at them times of the day. I return during the evening and it takes 20 mins longer to get home.
It is realistic to me, so I am giving my point of view. If it takes you 1hr then thats fair enough.

ariana`

yop wrote: »

I'm not from Claremorris, I have been doing this journey for 18 months now so I can't see why its questionable. You do the journey during the day/evening/night all carry a LOT more traffic at them times of the day. I return during the evening and it takes 20 mins longer to get home.
It is realistic to me, so I am giving my point of view. If it takes you 1hr then thats fair enough.

I find it questionable because you mentioned driving @ 80kmh and 80kmh for 60km would take 45mins.

But Listen, i accept it takes you 35mins leaving at 6.50am, the roads are quiet so maybe you're averaging above 80kmh.

But that aside peronsally i wouldn't advertise on a forum or anywhere that Claremorris is 35mins from Galway City because at most common travelling times it can take considerably longer as you've said yourself.

yop

ariana` wrote: »

I find it questionable because you mentioned driving @ 80kmh and 80kmh for 60km would take 45mins.

But Listen, i accept it takes you 35mins leaving at 6.50am, the roads are quiet so maybe you're averaging above 80kmh.

But that aside peronsally i wouldn't advertise on a forum or anywhere that Claremorris is 35mins from Galway City because at most common travelling times it can take considerably longer as you've said yourself.

Note the wink after 80kmph! Its a 100kmph road for the majority anyway.

As you said already it can take longer the later in the day, Its not advertising, I am giving the OP my own daily experience, as requested.

Its gone off topic enough as it it.

ariana`

yop wrote: »

Its gone off topic enough as it it.

Agree, apologies OP. Best of luck with your decision & subsequent move.

halloffame

ariana` wrote: »

Agree, apologies OP. Best of luck with your decision & subsequent move.

Cheers everyone-- Thread went off topic there and became one about how long it takes to Claremorris to Galway! Grrrrr😣
Lots of great comments. Looking at first houses next week. Some great buys out there especially in grattan park & claremount. Looking for 4/5 beds though which are less common! Very important we have nice neighbours & not too many loud noisy partying neighbours!! Very exciting

irishgeo

halloffame wrote: »

Cheers everyone-- Thread went off topic there and became one about how long it takes to Claremorris to Galway! Grrrrr😣
Lots of great comments. Looking at first houses next week. Some great buys out there especially in grattan park & claremount. Looking for 4/5 beds though which are less common! Very important we have nice neighbours & not too many loud noisy partying neighbours!! Very exciting

one tip would be go take a trip around the houses you might like on a friday and saturday night and see if any of the neighbours are of the partying type.

Kommy

Hi,

Moved to Mayo in 2006 from the other side of the country and after researching all towns within the Westport to Tuam diameter, settled on Claremorris. We rented for a couple of months initially which in hindsight, was a good decision, as you can only get to know a village/town by living there rather than listening to other peoples opinions, anecdotes etc. Having lived abroad and in a couple of places around Ireland, generally, and this is my personal opinion, negative sentiment about Claremorris comes from those who have had limited experience living in other places. If you are looking for a 24/7 social life, high end shopping etc then Dublin/London/New York are better options however, if you are require a location with a good balance of amenities then Claremorris ticks the majority of the boxes. Accommodation wise there were lots of 3 bedroom semi type houses built during the boom so if that's your preference there are an abundance of options. As for travel time to Galway - 45mins without traffic i.e. early morning/late evening but leave yourself an hour all other times.

Hope this post helps rather than hinders your decision making process.

(:

halloffame

You're right about the three beds there are lots of them. We're looking for a four or five bed detached really. Not as many of them as you might think

Panthro

Year old thread but most relevant one I could find.
Moved to Claremorris just over a month ago.
First impressions are all good. Nice town, its got everything you'd need. Some nice pubs in town, tesco and aldi for the he shopping. Train station, knock airport down the road, castlebar not too far, Galway to too far. Feels like a safe enough town, the locals are friendly. You can rent a house and not be living on bread and water for the month.
I can't fault it to be honest, suits me down to the ground.
Only thing left now is to get to know a few heads!

j_mo

Panthro wrote:

Only thing left now is to get to know a few heads!

Head down to dick byrne's or warde's and you'll soon get to know a few people ☺

Panthro

Been in both! Met a lad I knew vaguely in Byrnes pub too, haha!

Billy_P

Cant go wrong with Gilligans for meeting people, always a friendly pub, +1 for wards aswell.

jkmanc1974

Always found Gilligans and Wardes good craic when lived there years ago....see the bar part of the Dalton Inn has been done up also(was up there couple of weeks ago)

Buzyizzy

I was very interested to read all the positive comments about Claremorris as I am also seriously considering a move there from the UK.
I would like to say that I have moved around the UK all my life without renting first and have never had an issue with settling in or any animosity. Maybe I'm very easy going.

Colin Clarke

Had a good read of all the comments and they all seem fairly positive a bout Claremorris but are there any no go area's to buy a house, bad estates or places with problems. Looking to move away from Dublin for a quite life and seen one I can afford in Barr Na Haille estate.

happyoutscan

Colin Clarke wrote: »

Had a good read of all the comments and they all seem fairly positive a bout Claremorris but are there any no go area's to buy a house, bad estates or places with problems. Looking to move away from Dublin for a quite life and seen one I can afford in Barr Na Haille estate.

Been a long time since I spent much time in Claremorris, but this used to be a mix of very decent folk with the odd bad egg.

I'd be sure to do some research beforehand, especially who is next door. Sorry can't be more help but I'm sure someone will be along at some stage who would know more.