Sligo I.T student accommodation 2014

kornalelly

Hi, I am just finished the leaving and think I am going up to Sligo it this September! I need to book accommodation and would prefer student accomm cause I don't know anyone else going, does anyone have any advice on which is best? ard nua/ yeats/ grove/ clarion ?? etc
Thanks

Naydy

Clarion and Yeats were taken over by new management this time last year, and are now run by the same people who run the Grove iirc. Tbh, the 3 are more or less the same and you can't really go wrong with any of them imo. I lived in both Clarion and the Grove for years and both were grand. I only had one major issue that whole time with one roommate and the staff couldn't have been nicer and moved me to another apt. You get free internet from the IT in the Grove, Yeats and Clarion which is a bit unreliable at times but it's is a nice plus when it does work.

I don't know much about Ard Nua tbh so I can't help you there, but i've heard other people say it's grand.

Stay away from Gateway, I know you haven't mentioned them, but I had two friends staying there who had all kinds of trouble with them. Hope this helps

Tucker.Tim

Naydy wrote: »

Clarion and Yeats were taken over by new management this time last year, and are now run by the same people who run the Grove iirc. Tbh, the 3 are more or less the same and you can't really go wrong with any of them imo. I lived in both Clarion and the Grove for years and both were grand. I only had one major issue that whole time with one roommate and the staff couldn't have been nicer and moved me to another apt. You get free internet from the IT in the Grove, Yeats and Clarion which is a bit unreliable at times but it's is a nice plus when it does work.

I don't know much about Ard Nua tbh so I can't help you there, but i've heard other people say it's grand.

Stay away from Gateway, I know you haven't mentioned them, but I had two friends staying there who had all kinds of trouble with them. Hope this helps

The Clarion (and I assume at least the Grove too) is off the college network since last August. It's UPC fibre optic 150 MBit connections now, but sadly it's only one connection per block so each outlet is limited to 3MBit~. The restrictions from the IT network have been lifted and games consoles work fine on it but torrents are blocked on most ports so you'll need to figure out work-arounds if you want that functionality. Surfing the web could be described as patchy at best too.

The Clarion/Grove is still one of the best in terms of location and overall security in student accommodation. If you do choose the Clarion be sure to get one of the apartments with the new furniture, though hopefully by September they will have rolled those out to all six blocks anyways.

Gateway is on the campus but some of the room plans (sinks in bedrooms) are mad-cap and the rooms tend to be more cramped than other student accommodation.

Ard Nua is the swankiest purpose built student accommodation. I don't have much experience with it.

kornalelly

Sound, thanks guys for your help!
So theres no wifi is it just plug in cables to your laptop??:) ..
ok stuck between clarion and the grove so ..
ya I don't want to go to the gateway..they only allow two per apt and id prefer to live with more ppl!

Tucker.Tim

kornalelly wrote: »

Sound, thanks guys for your help!
So theres no wifi is it just plug in cables to your laptop??:) ..
ok stuck between clarion and the grove so ..
ya I don't want to go to the gateway..they only allow two per apt and id prefer to live with more ppl!

If you've it down to the Clarion or the Grove you may as well go for the Clarion, prices were identical when I was checking last year and the Clarion is down the access road off the Clarion Road proper, the Grove directly past it. If you didn't know better you'd almost think they were all the one, indeed ownership is now.

Pretty much the only difference will be having to walk a few hundred feet further to get to college from the Grove.

Naydy

Yup, like has been said, they are both in the one place, but the Clarion apts are slightly closer for walking in. There is not much other difference really, the apts are even laid out the same.
No WiFi, you need an Ethernet cable I think they're called. They used to sell them in the office in there when I lived there, or you'd pick one up easily in town.

ejfrouge

Hi All,


I have a similar question about accommodation, only i am starting in September as a mature student (27) so looking for somewhere that suits. A house mainly, but i dont know what direction to head?

Any suggestions on where to look
and
Where to avoid?..

Cheers!

themorbegs

Think I might be going sligo next september and dont have a clue about accomodation!? Where would be best for me to go ill bee moving up to sligo on my own so wont know anybody, and would student accomodation be better or a house with students , which is better craic?? Haha

Naydy

@ejfrouge If you wanna avoid younger students than stay away from Mulberry Park, Glencarraig or any other housing estates near the IT (they usually come up as Ballinode, Co. Sligo if you're looking on daft). Have you had a look at any houses on daft that you think you'd like? will you be walking or driving in?

@ themorbegs - I'd go with student accommodation if its your first time living from home. It's a lot easier not having to worry about dividing up extra bills like bins and ESB with new housemates. All of that is taken care of for you out of your fee in the student accommodation. If you'd prefer to live in a house than an apartment, they have houses in Yeats Student village. I'd go for Yeats, Clarion or The Grove and ask to be put in with other first years, they are usually very accommodating that way.

ejfrouge

@naydy Thanks, I will be driving, but still dont want to be too far away. Ive been looking at houses but the problem I am coming across is just getting a room not a whole house and any rooms for sharing are for a min of 1 year and professionals. I will try to look at apartments next. daft only has a few in that area you mentioned i might avoid there then.

Naydy

ejfrouge wrote: »

@naydy Thanks, I will be driving, but still dont want to be too far away. Ive been looking at houses but the problem I am coming across is just getting a room not a whole house and any rooms for sharing are for a min of 1 year and professionals. I will try to look at apartments next. daft only has a few in that area you mentioned i might avoid there then.

Cartron is pretty convenient for getting to the IT if you are driving and it also has the town bus route right through it which will take you to the IT and is only about 20 min walk. Some nice houses there too. Lived there for a year and no issues at all.

When you are looking for apts, just stay away from any on "The Mall", that's where a lot of the student pubs are and can get very noisy :-)

Coughlans

I lived in Ard Nua for first year and am going back again for second year. Although I think it's slightly more expensive than Yeates and the grove its really nice and well worth it. There's wifi in all the houses/apartments which is great

zega

Im being sent to sligo as part of my apprenticeship,sept/december,anyone know where will offer me accom to be payed weekly? or something short term??

Carson10

For those of you wanting some Local Knowledge on IT Sligo, The campus is located in Ballinode Sligo which is less than one mile from the town in a quiet residential style area.

Most students stay next to the college with very little renting in the town itself.

The student villages are:
Yeats Village
Clarion Village
Gateway

Main House Rentals areas in Ballinode:
Mulberry Park
Ashbury Lawn
GlenCarrig

The main IT Sligo/St Aneglas area of Sligo is very scenic, quiet 'leafy' neighbor hoods, very safe, no crime and about 1 mile (walking distance) outside of Sligo Town.

For the gyms a lot of students use the leisure centre at the Clarion Hotel next to the college which has a swimming pool, or they can use the Gym@IT Sligo.

If anyone needs anymore local information please feel free to ask and i will be more than happy to help. Good Luck.

http://www.yeatsvillage.net/
http://www.gatewayapartments.ie/
http://www.thevillageclarion.com/?pagid=home

AirBiscuit

ejfrouge wrote: »

Any suggestions on where to look
and
Where to avoid?..

Cheers!

Avoid Cranmore and Rathbraughan/Ballytivnan like the plague, full of undesirables and general anti-social behavior. Easily the worst places in Sligo

Cartron is alright, the houses are kinda old and there are too many kids on bikes for my liking but I never had any trouble.

As for the estates I haven't lived in:

• Rathedmond seems very nice: Quiet, well-kept, houses are nice, close to the bus and train stations and close enough to town and the shops.
  However, it's fairly far out from the college so maybe consider somewhere else if you don't have a car. Also It's quite expensive, but I'd wager much less so than any of the purpose-built student accommodation.
• Yeats heights is cheap (or so I hear), but unless you have a car it won't be much fun climbing/cycling up the steep hill every day, and it's just about the furthest estate from the supermarkets in Sligo, with no town buses going up to it
  As for the houses themselves, they're quite old, hence the cheapness.
• The Ballinode estates (Glencarrig, Mulberry etc.) I have no experience with other than the fact that that during the last 2 RAG weeks there was all kinds of anti-social behaviour and general mayhem. Decide on these yourself
• Don't forget about all the different types of apartments in town. I lived in a flat in town in 1st year and 3rd year and they were just fine, close to all the shops and close enough to the college

As for all the people saying the student accomodations are the best place to live for 1st years, I really disagree:
They are without a doubt the absolute most expensive places to live in all of Sligo (not only the rent but guaranteed taxis on every night out in town because they're such a far walk, taxis for shopping etc).
They're practically guaranteed to have drunk students making noise at night so if you're looking for someone quiet, they're crap.
The internet connections in them are absolutely horrible, especially in the Clarion and Gateway (read; sites being blocked, unable to play games and so on). It really makes more sense to go somewhere else and to get UPC for yourself, it only costs €45 a month (and that includes phone) for a reliable, fast internet connection that really is important for college work. The crap connection in student accommodation (and even the library when it's busy) really impedes on your ability to work.
As for the being close to other students, plenty of students live in town and the estates, since they discover after first year that student accommodation isn't all that great. Cartron and Yeats heights are full to the brim with students during the year, so don't worry about not meeting friends.
And plus, (with the exception of yeats village and gateway), they're actually quite a far walk from the college. If you live in the Grove, it's going to take you a while to walk all the way down past the Clarion and Benbulben flats just to get to the Clarion road, and a couple more minutes thereafter depending on which block you need to go to.

Tucker.Tim

Botulism wrote: »

Avoid Cranmore and Rathbraughan/Ballytivnan like the plague, full of undesirables and general anti-social behavior. Easily the worst places in Sligo

Cartron is alright, the houses are kinda old and there are too many kids on bikes for my liking but I never had any trouble.

As for the estates I haven't lived in:

• Rathedmond seems very nice: Quiet, well-kept, houses are nice, close to the bus and train stations and close enough to town and the shops.
  However, it's fairly far out from the college so maybe consider somewhere else if you don't have a car. Also It's quite expensive, but I'd wager much less so than any of the purpose-built student accommodation.
• Yeats heights is cheap (or so I hear), but unless you have a car it won't be much fun climbing/cycling up the steep hill every day, and it's just about the furthest estate from the supermarkets in Sligo, with no town buses going up to it
  As for the houses themselves, they're quite old, hence the cheapness.
• The Ballinode estates (Glencarrig, Mulberry etc.) I have no experience with other than the fact that that during the last 2 RAG weeks there was all kinds of anti-social behaviour and general mayhem. Decide on these yourself
• Don't forget about all the different types of apartments in town. I lived in a flat in town in 1st year and 3rd year and they were just fine, close to all the shops and close enough to the college

As for all the people saying the student accomodations are the best place to live for 1st years, I really disagree:
They are without a doubt the absolute most expensive places to live in all of Sligo (not only the rent but guaranteed taxis on every night out in town because they're such a far walk, taxis for shopping etc).
They're practically guaranteed to have drunk students making noise at night so if you're looking for someone quiet, they're crap.
The internet connections in them are absolutely horrible, especially in the Clarion and Gateway (read; sites being blocked, unable to play games and so on). It really makes more sense to go somewhere else and to get UPC for yourself, it only costs €45 a month (and that includes phone) for a reliable, fast internet connection that really is important for college work. The crap connection in student accommodation (and even the library when it's busy) really impedes on your ability to work.
As for the being close to other students, plenty of students live in town and the estates, since they discover after first year that student accommodation isn't all that great. Cartron and Yeats heights are full to the brim with students during the year, so don't worry about not meeting friends.
And plus, (with the exception of yeats village and gateway), they're actually quite a far walk from the college. If you live in the Grove, it's going to take you a while to walk all the way down past the Clarion and Benbulben flats just to get to the Clarion road, and a couple more minutes thereafter depending on which block you need to go to.

I'm sorry, but I have to pull you up on this guff.

The main entrance of the IT from the very back of Clarion Village is 8 minutes away, walking slowly. You'd do it in five if you really had to.

You'd get the odd drunken banter in any student accommodation but nothing compared to the noise you'd suffer in nearer the town. I can vouch for the Clarion Village and say it's very quiet and the security means there's very little chance of real bother in the Clarion Village/Grove. Walking in from nearly any accommodation bar the Gateway (which is on the campus) is going to take a similar length of time unless your classes are all in the D block, which is on the intersection of the Clarion and Manorhamilton Roads. Yeats is, if anything, farther away than even The Grove.

As I said before, the internet has vastly improved and now no sites are blocked and consoles work perfectly on it. Patchy sometimes, but that's the trade-off. You're putting out-of-date information out for people to read when it is factually untrue.

The advantages to purpose-built student accommodation are obvious - you don't have to divvy up bills, hound house-mates for money and everything is inclusive so you have exactly what it will cost up front. Another advantage in the Clarion Village anyways is that the apartments are quite warm and all winter I put the radiator on a total of four times. Those are things that will be hard to match in most of the older accommodation because being surrounded by apartments means plenty of heat seeps through the walls.

Someone that doesn't know anyone they're going to be living with should seriously consider purpose-built accommodation because it takes much of hassle out of the experience, and in first year the less you have to worry about the better chance you have of settling.

Also, taxis? Anyone living anywhere near the IT will need to deal with taxis if they want to get in to town quickly for a night out (€2 PP going in is the going rate from the decent drivers), purpose-built or not. To be honest, as someone without a car I've found it's much handier to be nearer the IT than it would to be nearer the town centre; one of them I go to every day, the other I don't.

I don't see why people get so gung ho for or against any type of accommodation; they all have their faults and their advantages.

Foggy.nelson

Hopefully going to Sligo next year as a mature student, thinking at 26 going on 27 will be too old for student accommodation , but think I'd prefer student accommodation for the handyness of it all. Anyone have any experience.