Ballinacarrow in Sligo

missyver · 16-12-2014 8:54pm #1

Just looking for some advice. Does anyone have any views of living in ballinacarrow in Sligo? I'm not from the area. I know there is no shop in village so that's a disadvantage. Any advice appreciated.

Kettleson · 17-12-2014 1:31am

Perhaps if you offer a wee bit more about why you're moving there and your general domestic set, up we might be able to offer you a bit more advice.

missyver · 17-12-2014 8:26am

Kettleson wrote: »

Perhaps if you offer a wee bit more about why you're moving there and your general domestic set, up we might be able to offer you a bit more advice.

Sorry, basically we are trying to buy a house and have been looking for ages but nothing much has come up in Sligo town area so we were looking at some houses in ballinacarrow but I'm used to living in town so was thinking if there was no shop in the village, that would be unusual for me. Also we have a child on the way so we are thinking of places to bring up a child. Maybe it would be better to bring up a child in village like ballinacarrow than Sligo town

Plazaman · 17-12-2014 11:00am

The closure of the shop and filling station was a blow to the village. Collooney would be your nearest shops. Seems a nice quiet area, has the National School smack bang in the middle. If you own a car it'd be fine. If there are two of ye, with one working but just one car, a lot of planning needed especially with a baby. From what I'm told it seems to be a quiet village community wise (I could be wrong).

Have ye checked elsewhere? Cliffoney would be a similar size village but has better amenities. Grange, slightly bigger and fairly lively. Hopefully you'll get a few more opinions here.

Makeup · 17-12-2014 4:08pm

Ballinacarrow seems characterless to me. It's very small, too small in my opinion. Would prefer Grange as another poster mentioned, more amenities and it has a good community spirit. In my view it would be a much nicer locality to bring up a child - playground, national school, secondary school, supermarket....

Kettleson · 17-12-2014 6:06pm

http://westsligo.com/Ballinacarrow.html

The only comment that I can make is that you have to like "living in the country".

A good few of my friends live in "the countryside", they grew up there, and they love it, but its a way of life, and you have to be born into it, or get used to it pretty quick. It would crack me up, I need to be beside some sort of town.

I once considered buying a house in the countryside and my mates told me that with young kids "you will never be out of the car". They need places to go, swimming, birthday parties, cinema, discos, and to see their mates etc. And they were right.

I'm a townie in the general sense of the word and have total respect for folk who live in the countryside.

But a word of caution, once you buy a house, you've made your bed for a while and its going to cost you to move there and move again if it doesn't work out. If you're not used to living on the countryside, I'd be looking for somewhere much much closer to town.

Rent there for 6 months if you have any real doubts.

Henlars67 · 18-12-2014 2:45pm

There are several bigger towns or villages within easy commuting distance of Sligo which would have much better amenities and more shops.

Grange, Cliffoney, Collooney, Ballisodare, Ballintogher, Dromahair.

Personally I'd much rather live in any of those than in Ballinacarrow. They're all within 10-25 minutes drive from town, and there's plenty of houses for sale in most of them.

mayogirlie1 · 18-12-2014 10:24pm

I have relations living near Ballinacarrow and although it is a quiet area it is so safe and peaceful they absoulety love it and so do we when we visit .... I would much prefer it to Colloneey or Coolaney which seem to have a rather rough element around the place. So yeah definitely give Ballinacarrow a go!

AgileMyth · 19-12-2014 1:54am

What Henlars said..

Plenty of decent villages about.

Even Beltra/Dromard would be better. Couple of small shops if you forget to stop in ballysadare on the way out!

Kristopherus · 19-12-2014 1:59am

The big advantage that Ballinacarrow has is that property is very much cheaper there than in the other towns.

Bluejet · 21-12-2014 1:00am

I know some very good people from Ballinacarrow, so I would normally be reluctant to advise against it, except for the fact that everyone I know there (3 families with young children), while liking the people and clubs in the area, are currently looking to move. At first, it ticks all the boxes regarding price of houses, but, in the long run, no. The closure of the shop may seem tiny in the grand scheme of things, but, it is the one issue mentioned by all as a significant factor in their way of life. The place they live is no longer connected to the community in which they live. They travel to shop, bring the kids to clubs, and a lot more. The people there are great and the clubs (all clubs) have a great tradition. But, no. For a young family. No.