Thinking of move to blessington

MORISH

Hi I have been looking to move from Dublin and blessington looks like an area we would like. Just looking for general advice on schools both primary & secondary. I can only find st Mary's & No:1 for primary & community college for secondary. They are all co-ed just wondering is there any single sexed schools? or are there any private schools out that way that people send their kids too? not that this is what I really want but might consider it to be an option for secondary school.

Also what kind of community clubs are there? wud like to meet new people & get involved in community life. Are there any areas of blessington that we should avoid house wise?? I want a safe,clam,friendly environment for my kids to be able to go call on friends & play outside. Specifically looking at deerpark road, and around there.

Thanks

wasnotwas

Blessngton is a lovely area and really hard to fault. There is little anti social behaviour and the majority of housing estates are ideal places to raise a family. In relation to schools, both primary schools are excellent and have recently built brand new premises, the No. 1 school is traditionally a protestant school but they except all denominations. The Community college is the only secondary level school in Blessington and is not a bad choice. Alternatives that parents choose is to send their teenagers to St Mac Daras (templeogue), Terenure College, Our Ladies (Terenure), all serviced by the 65 Dublin Bus route. Or also popular is sending them to Naas CBS (boys) / Convent (Girls), or Kilcullen Cross and Passion, all these are serviced by private school bus.
Socially there is a lot to get involved in, lots of community based groups such as a local & District forum group, jogging club, GAA / Soccer club etc. The locals are very welcoming and appreciate people who have recently moved in making an effort to contribute to the community and getting involved.

fussyonion

Lived in Blessington for 10 years and thought it was OK.

I didn't really feel part of the community, to be honest, but that's probably because I was often referred to as a "blow-in" and a lot of the people from Blessington tend to stick together.

Decent amount of pubs and a fine big Dunnes Stores; no clothes shops though and for Christmas shopping, you'll have to drive to Naas or Tallaght cos you won't find everything in Blessington.

The 65 bus is not very frequent and it's worse on Sundays.

Had my car vanadalised five times after parking it in the town and my car was broken into four times whilst living in Deerpark. My tyres were slashed several times. Got fed up calling the Garda about it.
Garda station opens for a few hours in the morning, then CLOSES and reopens at 7pm...something I always found very weird and not very reassuring.

Three of my neighbours' houses were burgled within weeks of each other.
I'm not saying crime only happens in Blessington but it is the only place it has happened to ME.

After that, I didn't feel safe and I moved.

I don't miss it at all but I can't speak for the whole town.

MORISH

thank you both for your replies

Fussyonion thank you for your honest opinion it's good to hear peoples experiences especially if your not from blessington as we will be in similar situation.

Like everywhere it probably has good and bad things about it. No where is perfect.

We went up yesterday to have a drive around impressed by new house developments but not so sure about living so far from my family now the reality of how far away it is has set in.

Had a lovely lunch in west Wicklow house very friendly people around.
I have very mixed feelings about it today.

BarryD

MORISH wrote: »

but not so sure about living so far from my family now the reality of how far away it is has set in.

Don't think you could reasonably say that Blessington is far from Dublin (if that's where your family are) these days. Back in the days when people walked or travelled by pony trap, yes it would have been a bit of a journey. But then they got the steam tram and later buses and so on.

Nowadays by car, I'd guess it's about 15 mins into the outskirts of Dublin at Tallaght.

MORISH

BarryD
Your right it's not far from Dublin , and is easy to reach when you have a car. But I guess what I mean is the compromise for us being able to afford a house means we will have to move further away from our families. At the moment we live only a 10 min drive from our parents and my in-laws don't drive, we both work shift work and our parents help with childminding so although it's not far at all from Dublin our situation work wise means the 30/45 min drive is far away. But I guess there is compromises in all decisions life throws at us.

Big Cheese

I lived in Blessington for about 28 years before moving to Dublin. Like most towns it will have some stories of car vandalism or anti-social behaviour but I would not say it was a bad problem...unless it happened to you of course. There are plenty of pubs and places to eat as well as a lot of options when it comes to shopping. The bus service is a bit crap but may get better as there will be more demand in the coming years if employment goes up. All in all it is a good place to live with lots to do. You are close to Dublin and close to the Lakes and surrounding areas where you can find almost any outdoor activity. Be careful on what estates you are looking to buy in as there are a couple I would avoid and there are a couple that are ridiculously overpriced due to snobbery of sorts. Need any more info pm me.