Whats Athy like?

TanD

Hi guys

We're relocating to Kildare and I couldn't help but notice the amount of houses for sale in Athy and I'm just wondering if there is any specific reason for this?Those who know the area what do you think of it?

Thanks

mcgarrett

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=78861016

TanD

Thanks!

Emme

TanD wrote: »

Hi guys

We're relocating to Kildare and I couldn't help but notice the amount of houses for sale in Athy and I'm just wondering if there is any specific reason for this?Those who know the area what do you think of it?

Thanks

Athy might be ok if you have a young family but there's not much to do otherwise. If you're not meeting other parents at the school gates it might be difficult to make friends in the town. Socially it's a hard town to crack. The town has always had a reputation for being unfriendly.

Coneyboro is one of the more popular housing estates in Athy and it has a mix of private and council occupants. A man was killed in Coneyboro last year in a drugs feud. Like every small town in rural Ireland, Athy has its fair share of crime.

The train service is very limited and expensive for what you get in comparison to other train lines. If you drive fuel is about 4 cent more expensive per litre than elsewhere. Think carefully about Athy. A house in Kildare town or Newbridge might be a bit more expensive at first but you have a far better train service and more amenities. It would work out cheaper in the long run. If you are both working full time I would not recommend Athy.

Wordless

TanD wrote: »

Hi guys

We're relocating to Kildare and I couldn't help but notice the amount of houses for sale in Athy and I'm just wondering if there is any specific reason for this?Those who know the area what do you think of it?

Thanks

Lots of people dislike it but I worked in the library there and the people that came in were very nice. I used to play in the Emigrant pub and there was never any trouble there likewise the Smugglers. As people have said it isn't great for shopping.

sovereign121

TanD wrote: »

Hi guys

We're relocating to Kildare and I couldn't help but notice the amount of houses for sale in Athy and I'm just wondering if there is any specific reason for this?Those who know the area what do you think of it?

Thanks

kip

Emme

sovereign121 wrote: »

kip

Oh dear :eek:

Unfortunately a lot of people agree with you. Carlow is one stop down the train line and has better shops and amenities. But I really would recommend Newbridge or Kildare town if you want to relocate to Kildare.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

does the town still come to an absolute standstill every evening as everyone for 10 miles around tries to drive down athy towns one narrow road at half 5?

Emme

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

does the town still come to an absolute standstill every evening as everyone for 10 miles around tries to drive down athy towns one narrow road at half 5?

Yes. It's at a standstill a lot of other times as well for the same reason. Trucks often block the roads and make things even worse.

derold

Ah athy is grand, it does have problems same as any other small town. Not alot of amenities, but carlow is fifteen min away for anything major you could need or any events you want to go to. Most people ive met from the town are lovely people, great craic. Clancys and andersons are good pubs

sovereign121

35 minutes this morning to get from Tegral to the square, it's not even a mile. And that is every morning. No amenities what so ever to speak of. Very limited shopping choices, 2 supervalu's and a lidl. The petrol stations are a money racket as they charge more for fuel than anywhere. Serious lack of public transport. The list unfortunately goes on and on...........

BuffyBot

sovereign121 wrote: »

kip

Criticism is great...if it's constructive. Take note, folks

mcgarrett

sovereign121 wrote: »

35 minutes this morning to get from Tegral to the square, it's not even a mile. And that is every morning. No amenities what so ever to speak of. Very limited shopping choices, 2 supervalu's and a lidl. The petrol stations are a money racket as they charge more for fuel than anywhere. Serious lack of public transport. The list unfortunately goes on and on...........

Are you serious?

They have some of the best GAA, Rugby and Soccer facilities in the county. A brand new leisure centre, all weather tennis courts, 18 hole golf course and Par 3, youth clubs, scouts, gymnastics club, fishing on canal and barrow, triathlon club, canoeing and rowing clubs, cycling club, library and arts centre town park .........................and diesel is 1.44 on the Stradbally Road!!!!!

Emme

mcgarrett wrote: »

Are you serious?

They have some of the best GAA, Rugby and Soccer facilities in the county. A brand new leisure centre, all weather tennis courts, 18 hole golf course and Par 3, youth clubs, scouts, gymnastics club, fishing on canal and barrow, triathlon club, canoeing and rowing clubs, cycling club, library and arts centre town park .........................and diesel is 1.44 on the Stradbally Road!!!!!

From what I hear the leisure centre is always packed and expensive for what you get. It is the only leisure centre in the town and they capitalize on that. Other towns in Kildare such as Naas have more than one leisure centre. K-Leisure in Naas is better equipped than K-Leisure in Athy but costs the same to join.

Diesel may be 1.44 on the Stradbally Road but this is an obscure brand of fuel.

If you compare better known motor fuel brands such as Topaz, Maxol and Texaco they are on average more expensive by 4c per litre in Athy than in surrounding towns and 6c more expensive than some other stations. For example, fuel in the Topaz station on the Dublin road costs around 6c more per litre than fuel in the Topaz station in Kilmainham.

The library and sports clubs are great for people for who don't have to work full time. Everything in Athy seems to shut down at 5.30 or 6.00 at the latest apart from Lidl. Like many small towns in rural Ireland, Athy has evolved to serve people who aren't working more than people who are working. This is due to the high unemployment rate and lack of business diversity in the area.

I would not recommend Athy as a place to live for anyone who is working full-time.

Does anyone know if the Aldi will be going ahead in Athy or have the autocrats there vetoed that like they veto anything else that might be progressive?

Wordless

I think Emme, and not to put words into the mouth of the poster above you, the point s/he was making was more against the idea that there are no amenities whatsoever in Athy when there obviously are. With regards the library Athy library is no different in hours to any other library in the county. The difficulty, as I see it, with threads like these are that living in any place is subjective to a degree: a place might have very little amenities and rough areas but it doesn't mean people won't like it for other reasons.

Emme

Wordless wrote: »

I think Emme, and not to put words into the mouth of the poster above you, the point s/he was making was more against the idea that there are no amenities whatsoever in Athy when there obviously are. With regards the library Athy library is no different in hours to any other library in the county. The difficulty, as I see it, with threads like these are that living in any place is subjective to a degree: a place might have very little amenities and rough areas but it doesn't mean people won't like it for other reasons.

Athy is about 10 miles from me and it has a very bad name locally. The library may have the same opening hours as others which is fine but there are very few amenities compared to other towns. A poster wanted advice on moving to a town in Co Kildare and I advised against Athy. Some older people I know say it used to be a fine town years ago but not any more.

Wordless

Emme wrote: »

Athy is about 10 miles from me and it has a very bad name locally. The library may have the same opening hours as others which is fine but there are very few amenities compared to other towns. A poster wanted advice on moving to a town in Co Kildare and I advised against Athy. Apparently it used to be a fine town years ago but not any more.

It always had a bad name as far as I can remember, like most places sometimes fairly and sometimes not. My point isn't that you can't make the points you have made, far from it and I would agree with a lot of what you say especially with regards the lack of amenities and traffic. When I worked in the library I met many people that were involved with various activities such as drama, fishing and music (outside the library) in spite of the lack of amenities.

Emme

Wordless wrote: »

It always had a bad name as far as I can remember, like most places sometimes fairly and sometimes not. My point isn't that you can't make the points you have made, far from it and I would agree with a lot of what you say especially with regards the lack of amenities and traffic. When I worked in the library I met many people that were involved with various activities such as drama, fishing and music (outside the library) in spite of the lack of amenities.

OK, but the people who have the time to come to the library are the ones who are able to take advantage of the local amenities, however few. People who work 9-5 Monday to Friday may not be able to use the library and you may never meet them.

Wordless

Emme wrote: »

OK, but the people who have the time to come to the library are the ones who are able to take advantage of the local amenities, however few. People who work 9-5 Monday to Friday may not be able to use the library and you may never meet them.

Of course and that is where the subjective part comes into play but a lot of the people I mentioned were involved with activities outside the library and the library opens on Tuesday until eight o' clock so we did have a few in that weren't on the 9-5 grind. As I said I agree with you on the lack of amenities and with the traffic and like most Irish towns Athy has too many pubs.

Rory Gallagher

I'd advise against Athy or Kildare Town tbh.
Newbridge is a fine place.

Wordless

Of course what is often ignored in these threads is the price of property, it is cheaper to buy a house in Athy. Unfortunately a lot of people in Kildare can't afford to live in the towns they were brought up in due to prices and as a consequence a lot of Kildare has become a commuter county. I would never be able to afford to live in Maynooth or Naas I know during the boom a lot of people couldn't afford Newbridge or Kildare. Realistically there isn't anywhere in Ireland that doesn't have social problems I could tell you stories about Kildare Town, Athy, Naas and Newbridge that would curl your hair. Having played in a band and moving throughout the county I don't actually find anywhere in Kildare that different from the other place.

goose2005

Whats Athy like?

It's like the upper part of your leg

Emme

Wordless wrote: »

Of course what is often ignored in these threads is the price of property, it is cheaper to buy a house in Athy. Unfortunately a lot of people in Kildare can't afford to live in the towns they were brought up in due to prices and as a consequence a lot of Kildare has become a commuter county. I would never be able to afford to live in Maynooth or Naas I know during the boom a lot of people couldn't afford Newbridge or Kildare. Realistically there isn't anywhere in Ireland that doesn't have social problems I could tell you stories about Kildare Town, Athy, Naas and Newbridge that would curl your hair. Having played in a band and moving throughout the county I don't actually find anywhere in Kildare that different from the other place.

Property may be cheaper in Athy but there are added costs to living there. The rail links are poor and there is so little in the town that you have to drive somewhere else to do anything. I admit that there are fairly good sports facilities for children but the town is very cut off. If you can't afford a house in the better Kildare towns such as Naas or Newbridge you would be better to move to Carlow than Athy. It's about 10 minutes further down the (poorly served) train line but there are far more shops and amenities than in Athy.

Wordless

Emme wrote: »

Property may be cheaper in Athy but there are added costs to living there. The rail links are poor and there is so little in the town that you have to drive somewhere else to do anything. I admit that there are fairly good sports facilities for children but the town is very cut off. If you can't afford a house in the better Kildare towns such as Naas or Newbridge you would be better to move to Carlow than Athy. It's about 10 minutes further down the (poorly served) train line but there are far more shops and amenities than in Athy.

But sure you go to Naas and they tell ya Newbridge is a ****ehole and vice-versa ha ha you can't win! What I mean is if you weren't from Kildare and knew nothing about the county and checked house prices you would have to be curious about Athy, hence the number of Athy threads, but as you said there is a reason for the cheaper prices. Some people just don't have the option to buy in Newbridge or Naas was my point and Carlow has a fierce bad reputation too! You could go on and on but to be honest Emme at least you give reasons for why you don't like a place I just feel saying one place or another is horrible with out a reason isn't very helpful!

Emme

Carlow may also have a bad reputation but I think the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. There is a good selection of shops there, you have a Lidl, an Aldi and a Dunnes for grocery shopping. Some of the hardware stores have closed recently but there's a better selection than in Athy. There are some good boutiques and vintage stores in Carlow as well. In Athy you have Shaws :rolleyes: OK there's a Shaws in Carlow as well if you like that sort of thing but thankfully there are alternatives.

There's a reasonably good social life in Carlow as it is a student town. For those who aren't into pubs there are some excellent woodland walks and gardens outside the town. Oakpark is fantastic for families and it's free. The Arboretum in Leighlinbridge is a short drive away and it's a great day out.

On the other hand Athy just has a Lidl and all the other supermarkets there are very expensive. Apparently the people in Athy feel they are very lucky to have a Lidl as nothing progressive is allowed in the town. There was supposed to be an Aldi but the powers that be in Athy are doing their best to delay a decision on that.

Carlow is 10 minutes down the train line from Athy but has much more to offer. The extra 20 minutes a day is worth it because if you lived in Athy you'd use up that time driving to places that have the amenities Athy doesn't.

I know Carlow belongs in a different forum but for those who are thinking of moving to Athy because the rest of Kildare is too expensive - don't move to Athy. Move to Carlow.