Thinking of moving to Sligo

Carnmore

What's Sligo like as a place to live for someone with no connection to the place?

Have you work lined up?

Carnmore

Paxton Big Sucker wrote: »

Have you work lined up?

No, starting a business in the service industry from scratch

Well I was going to say, if you have a job lined up, Sligo is as good a place as you can get, and in many aspects, way better than most.

However, starting a new-start up business, (not that I've got business experience), will be tough. However, new businesses, if they fit into and compliment existing businesses, should be welcomed.

I'd be networking with the business community first of all, and all agencies who can provide advice before you move here.

I'm not sure of the % of start-up businesses in Sligo that are a success, but it aint high and it wont be easy. You'd need to get your homework done first. Good luck with things.

redarmyblues

Paxton Big Sucker wrote: »

Well I was going to say, if you have a job lined up, Sligo is as good a place as you can get, and in many aspects, way better than most.

However, starting a new-start up business, (not that I've got business experience), will be tough. However, new businesses, if they fit into and compliment existing businesses, should be welcomed.

I'd be networking with the business community first of all, and all agencies who can provide advice before you move here.

I'm not sure of the % of start-up businesses in Sligo that are a success, but it aint high and it wont be easy. You'd need to get your homework done first. Good luck with things.

The OP will not necessarily be aiming his business at an exclusively Sligo market anyhow it wasn't business advice the OP was looking for.

Sligo is affordable, you can buy for under 100k, things to do like sailing, golf, surfing, hillwalking , , beach fishing are close (< 5 miles) and most if not all of the above can be done on public transport, nice scenery, good music scene, eating out options are good, some nice pubs (go to the right ones and you will meet people easy enough).
It used to have a very handsome town centre but years of bad decision making has lead to it becoming a little run down, however there are plans to improve the Riverside area in the town centre, traffic is fucity, the one way system passeth all understanding, parking is sh1t and there are more traffic lights in town than the entire counties of Mayo, Donegal, Leitrim and Roscommon(excluding the Athlone bit) put together. Good for cycling though.

Mint Sauce

I knew no one is Sligo before I moved here. But as RedArmyBlues says, loads to do, and loads of events going on, to cater nearly every taste. Plenty of natural beauty, and quite friendly town centre.

As said, traffic can be a bit mental for a town its size, but good bus and train links, and road network out of it, to Donegal, Dublin, and Galway.

redarmyblues

redarmyblues wrote: »

The OP will not necessarily be aiming his business at an exclusively Sligo market anyhow it wasn't business advice the OP was looking for.
.

Yes I was making an assumption that the OP was aiming at a Sligo regional market. Totally different scenario altogether.

Mint Sauce

Paxton Big Sucker wrote: »

Yes I was making an assumption that the OP was aiming at a Sligo market. Totally different scenario altogether.

That we do, or do not know. But he wants to know, what its like as a place to live, for someone with no connections to the place.

Mint Sauce

Mint Sauce wrote: »

That we do, or do not know. But he wants to know, what its like as a place to live, for someone with no connections to the place.

Yes, redarmyblues has already made that point.

For Forks Sake

Carnmore wrote: »

.

Swap around the second and third letters of your username, and you'll blend in fine

ATC110

For Forks Sake wrote: »

Swap around the second and third letters of your username, and you'll blend in fine

Explain please

peasant

insider "joke"...Cranmore...bit of a dodgy area

ATC110

ATC110 wrote: »

Explain please

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cranmore,_Sligo

Buford T Justice

peasant wrote: »

insider "joke"...Cranmore...bit of a dodgy area

Caltragh is the new Cranmore.....

tommyamnesia

Buford T Justice wrote: »

Caltragh is the new Cranmore.....

Which Caltragh? There are 2.

Mint Sauce

tommyamnesia wrote: »

Which Caltragh? There are 2.

Theres actually at least 3 estates within Caltragh, 4 if you count the small horse shoe Rusheen Cresent. Only 2 of the estates as far as I know, has Caltragh in the title, and one was nearly always dodgy.

Carnmore

Thanks for all the replies. To clarify, I'd be starting a service business from scratch so it would be important to know about the local economy so any replies related to self-employment would also be appreciated.

ATC110

.

Carnmore

I thought this looked ok

http://www.daft.ie/sligo/houses-for-sale/sligo/7-st-josephs-terrace-sligo-sligo-1719913/

until I read this

https://www.independent.ie/regionals/sligochampion/news/residents-are-living-under-siege-36189682.html

TequilaMockingBird

Most of that road is fine, with nice people who have lived there forever. But that particular house wouldn't be fine. At all.

Crozon and Caltragh Heights are fine. I live in the social housing area of Caltragh and it's fine too, but does have a poor reputation. We are well segregated from the private estate so you wouldl be fine!

Carnmore

TequilaMockingBird wrote: »

Most of that road is fine, with nice people who have lived there forever. But that particular house wouldn't be fine. At all.

Crozon and Caltragh Heights are fine. I live in the social housing area of Caltragh and it's fine too, but does have a poor reputation. We are well segregated from the private estate so you wouldl be fine!

What’s wrong with that particular house?

TequilaMockingBird

Carnmore wrote: »

What’s wrong with that particular house?

The neighbours.

redarmyblues

https://touch.daft.ie/sligo/houses-for-sale/sligo/53-st-annes-terrace-sligo-sligo-1694498

If it was me for Less than 150k, this one.
I am not the vendor and I know them not. Nice area v close to town centre but next to Riverside too.

Local economy in doldrums since crash but showing signs of recovery 2018.

Carnmore

redarmyblues wrote: »

https://touch.daft.ie/sligo/houses-for-sale/sligo/53-st-annes-terrace-sligo-sligo-1694498

If it was me for Less than 150k, this one.
I am not the vendor and I know them not. Nice area v close to town centre but next to Riverside too.

Local economy in doldrums since crash but showing signs of recovery 2018.

Thank you - it doesn't have much kerb appeal though?

I also need rear/side access

redarmyblues

Carnmore wrote: »

Thank you - it doesn't have much kerb appeal though?

I also need rear/side access

Dunno what kerb appeal it's but it does appear to have access at the side

Carnmore

redarmyblues wrote: »

Dunno what kerb appeal it's

Polite for grotty

redarmyblues

Lovely interior, big downstairs for a 2 bed, porch looks a bit ropey but I still would love to portfolio that one, beats Qland any day.

Carnmore

redarmyblues wrote: »

Lovely interior, big downstairs for a 2 bed, porch looks a bit ropey but I still would love to portfolio that one, beats Qland any day.

Agreed re interior although I need either side parking or rear access and there appears to be neither

dingding

I am not sure what stage in your life you are at family etc..

Some coments:

Sligo is in a great location if you are into activities, within 5 miles of the town center you have lakes, rivers, forests, mountains and sea.

There are some great activity companies working and offering services and activities in this space.

Regarding a service industry it depends on what it is servicing.

Industry is mainly manufacturing and pharma although there is an explosion of jobs in IT (research) and services.

There is also a strong hospitality industry with some great hotels, restaurants, and dare I say coffee shops.

I am not sure if you are hoping to rent or buy and what your budget is. If you give more details on this. Also are you limited to Sligo town or would you condider outside town and how far.

I think Sligo is a great location. Great schools and a great quality of life with plenty of space. If you would like to PM me with more details I might be able to give more specific advice.

Wishing you all the best for a successful move and a successful business.

Also don't forget there are a number of supports if you are setting up a business, particularly if you are currently unemployed.

Also there is a new frontiers programme in the IT which will mentor and support the development of a new business.

Also at the Techlife balance 2 event on Thursday the incomming IT companies were very open to hearing about companies that could assist them and were open to discussions.

The staff in the Sligo Chamber are excellent for advice also.


If you were looking outside the town, something like this might offer potential.

http://www.daft.ie/sligo/houses-for-sale/easkey/main-street-easkey-sligo-1431270/

dingding

https://www.saolta.ie/sites/default/files/publications/A%20guide%20to%20living%20and%20working%20in%20Sligo.pdf


Some info the first section might be useful.

CalRobert

dingding wrote: »

I am not sure what stage in your life you are at family etc..

Some coments:
...

Any chance you could elaborate for a young family? Wife and I, currently in Dublin, have a ten month old and may want another. I have a 100% remote job (coding) and Sligo looks like it might be an attractive place to be, especially since you note good schools, but then you read about people being under siege and that sounds, well, horrible. How could someone without a connection to the are know how to avoid things like getting robbed all the time or rocks thrown at your head?

TequilaMockingBird

CalRobert wrote: »

Any chance you could elaborate for a young family? Wife and I, currently in Dublin, have a ten month old and may want another. I have a 100% remote job (coding) and Sligo looks like it might be an attractive place to be, especially since you note good schools, but then you read about people being under siege and that sounds, well, horrible. How could someone without a connection to the are know how to avoid things like getting robbed all the time or rocks thrown at your head?

I moved here 15 years ago with a baby. It's a lovely place to live. The only trouble you're reading about is to do with the drug business. If that's not your thing you'll be fine. I'd never leave. Your child is a perfect age to move here, you get to know other parents through the school and they are great as your child grows up and ventures out. They'll give you the heads up about anything dodgy and also keep an eye on your child.

There's a couple of 'bad' areas, same as any other town, but in general, it's great.

CalRobert

No involvement with drugs myself, but there's a good half-dozen dealers on my corner every morning and while I don't begrudge them their desire to earn a living I could do without hearing them shouting at each other all day. I actually favour Portuguese-style decriminalization, but that's another story... If I go 200 meters southwest from where I live now I get the odd rock thrown at me too while cycling (because why not?)

Can you elaborate on the bad areas? Wife and I saw what looks like a nice inexpensive house in Rathbraughan Park, but then you google it and apparently the area's rough. http://www.daft.ie/sligo/houses-for-sale/sligo/85-rathbraughan-park-sligo-sligo-1771850/ . This looks nice too, but for all I know city centre is rough (looks delightful in pictures though...) http://www.daft.ie/sligo/houses-for-sale/sligo/9-union-place-sligo-sligo-1640879/

Also, I don't mean to use you as a Sligo consultant but is there decent cycling? I was looking at Sligo at https://www.gaffologist.com/ (disclosure - I made it because I couldn't find places with bike trails near houses) and there seem to be a couple routes but I'm not sure they're the sort I'd like a young child ride on.

dingding

CalRobert wrote: »

Any chance you could elaborate for a young family? Wife and I, currently in Dublin, have a ten month old and may want another. I have a 100% remote job (coding) and Sligo looks like it might be an attractive place to be, especially since you note good schools, but then you read about people being under siege and that sounds, well, horrible. How could someone without a connection to the are know how to avoid things like getting robbed all the time or rocks thrown at your head?

There is the start of a AI / Cloud software hub in Sligo. It could be a good time to move. E3, Livetiles and Overstock all have software development operations in Sligo as well as a number of others.

If you need broadband, anything around the town should be good. I have the options of Eir Fibre, SIRO and Virgin as will most houses within a mile of the town centre.

There are a number of areas where there are issues but in general if you dont go looking for trouble you wont get it. Generally the cheaper houses on daft would be in areas where there are issues.

Regarding cycling there are some lovely public spaces that are cycle friendly. Doorly Park and along the river. Any of the forests, Hazelwood, Union Wood, Slish Wood, etc.... The cycle lanes around the town are a bit hit and miss, however if you can bring the kids bikes in your car there are some wonderful options.

http://www.daft.ie/sligo/houses-for-sale/sligo/fanore-1-larkhill-road-sligo-sligo-1773969/

As an example, this house, while a bit dated is in a great location about 15 minutes from town walking and is about 5 minutes walk from mitchell curley park. There is some value to be had as there are still houses to be had at reasonable prices. Generally anything less than 100K would have issues around location etc...

http://www.daft.ie/sligo/houses-for-sale/sligo/7-cedar-drive-sligo-sligo-sligo-1754833/

Is a house in a nice part of town but the compromise is size.

red sean

CalRobert wrote: »

No involvement with drugs myself, but there's a good half-dozen dealers on my corner every morning and while I don't begrudge them their desire to earn a living I could do without hearing them shouting at each other all day. I actually favour Portuguese-style decriminalization, but that's another story... If I go 200 meters southwest from where I live now I get the odd rock thrown at me too while cycling (because why not?)

Can you elaborate on the bad areas? Wife and I saw what looks like a nice inexpensive house in Rathbraughan Park, but then you google it and apparently the area's rough. http://www.daft.ie/sligo/houses-for-sale/sligo/85-rathbraughan-park-sligo-sligo-1771850/ . This looks nice too, but for all I know city centre is rough (looks delightful in pictures though...) http://www.daft.ie/sligo/houses-for-sale/sligo/9-union-place-sligo-sligo-1640879/
Also, I don't mean to use you as a Sligo consultant but is there decent cycling? I was looking at Sligo at https://www.gaffologist.com/ (disclosure - I made it because I couldn't find places with bike trails near houses) and there seem to be a couple routes but I'm not sure they're the sort I'd like a young child ride on.

First one you linked to is an area that has gone down rapidly the last number of years, hence the price for a 1980's house, and the other is beside the inner relief road with very heavy traffic noise I'd imagine. Othrewise it looks nice.
Always remember if it's cheap when the market is busy, there's a very good reason!

CalRobert

Thanks - yeah I read about the inner relief road and it looks like a catastrophe; really sad to read they destroyed 50 homes for the sake of putting more cars in to Sligo. Apparently yet another "relief road" was just approved by Shane Ross, because the first one worked so well I hear...

CalRobert

Speaking of that, I assume the idea of not owning a car in Sligo is a pipe dream?

red sean

The relief road has worked well and was necessary as Sligo was a bottleneck to get through beforehand. The additional road, to access the main industrial area, was part of the original plan but funding has just been made available now.
Whether you own a car or not is your choice, depending on how much you intend to travel. Sligo is no different to any other town or city in that respect.