Is Athlone the trendiest place in Ireland ?

horseofstone

Situated in the very centre of Ireland,with the majestic shannon flowing through it and at the entrance point to loughree ,Ireland's most historic lake with its islands of churches and monastic ruins.a town which has a castle on the main town bridge and home to a huge number of restaurants,pubs and cafe's.Athlone ,a haven of happiness.

flazio

Galway is trendier

Uncharted

NO

godtabh

The best thing about Athlone is the N6 (in any direction) and the mother in laws Sunday dinners

Happy4all

always associated it with travellers or am I thinking of Mullingar?

horseofstone

flazio wrote: »

Galway is trendier

Galway is in the arsehole of nowhere.

horseofstone

Happy4all wrote: »

always associated it with travellers or am I thinking of Mullingar?

Your thinking of glenroe on the telly, there was a traveller family,lovely bunch.

Happy4all

horseofstone wrote: »

Your thinking of glenroe on the telly, there was a traveller family,lovely bunch.

where did they move when Glenroe ceased to exist? Westmeath I think? took up a bit of boxing/

Uncharted

Yer only a sh1te in the bucket!!
I'll bate ya,ya tinkers bastard.... *





*common Athlone greeting.

Jesus Shaves

Athlone is not even the trendiest place in Athlone

doolox

Parts of Athlone are dead with little or no economic activity and closed shops everywhere due in part to the development and opening of Golden Island and the New shopping centre near the Radisson Hotel. Connacht square and the road leading to the town bridge are a lot quieter than they used to be.

It is a sad reflection on the moribund nature of economic development in the County of Roscommon in that Monksland, the western part of Athlone is the largest urban centre in the county of Roscommon and is about to be lost to Westmeath if the Athlone Urban area is expanded. A similar process is at play in Ballinasloe which is expanding Eastward at Galways gain and Roscommons expense. Both towns are badly in need of redevelopment and creation of much needed jobs.

Athlone is centrally located and I know of families where one partner works in Galway and the other works in Dublin and they commute on a regular basis from Athlone. Not a very convenient arrangement but rents in Galway are quiet high and rents in Dublin are astronomically high and you keep what ever job you can get in these uncertain times. Their car salesmen must be very happy people.

martin1

Maybe its going a little bit too far with "Trendiest in Ireland" but certainly when you look at the competition in the Midlands

Tullamore(omg)
Longford (help)
Portlaoise (gawd awful)
Mullingar (Dull central)

Athlone is totally way ahead

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

I've lived in a few different towns in other parts of Ireland and while I wouldn't call Athlone the trendiest town in the country, its got an awful lot more going for it than most other towns of its size. Plenty of good shopping options. No shortage of employment. Most of the services you could hope to access in a city. Tonnes of great restaurants and pubs. Beautiful scenery. Very affordable compared to some other parts of the country and great transport links for those who would rather be somewhere else.

Unfortunately, a lot of locals who have never left the place seem to have no confidence in praising the town. It has its problems like anywhere else, but you'd never hear Galway or Cork people slagging off their hometown.

enricoh

No, and I am not interested in buying your Celtic tiger investment property there. Great pub along the river though - Sean's?

italodisco

martin1 wrote: »

Maybe its going a little bit too far with "Trendiest in Ireland" but certainly when you look at the competition in the Midlands

Tullamore(omg)
Longford (help)
Portlaoise (gawd awful)
Mullingar (Dull central)

Athlone is totally way ahead

There's absolutely nothing trendy about any of those places.

lads wearing crosshatch / flared jeans / slip on brown shoes/ slazenger is the thing in those parts.... I rest my case lol

As for Galway city, a kip over run with dubs on the sesh

John_Rambo

Cracking town. Punches way above its weight when it comes to entertainment. River is epic.

Mena Mitty

'Tis better to be thriving than trendy....said the wise old woman at the bottom of the hill.

Donie75

Athlone is a great town but as previously mentioned, we have an awful lot of negative naysayers in this town. I had a group of friends in town recently from the US, Switzerland and South Africa and they were blown away by the town and especially the lake. They raved about it and said they will definitely come back. We need to be more positive and be thankful for what we have.

Masala

Donie75 wrote: »

Athlone is a great town but as previously mentioned, we have an awful lot of negative naysayers in this town. I had a group of friends in town recently from the US, Switzerland and South Africa and they were blown away by the town and especially the lake. They raved about it and said they will definitely come back. We need to be more positive and be thankful for what we have.

Has Athlone got a lake???

Hitman3000

Masala wrote:

Has Athlone got a lake???

Lough Ree.

Masala

Hitman3000 wrote: »

Lough Ree.

My bad for not knowing that.....my Irish geography gone to the dogs since I left school!!

Sure I remember Brendan Shine singing about it when I was a child and we only had 2 radio stations. The damn thing was on all the time... in between Gloria's 'One day at a time' !!

Conservatory

I’ve only ever drove through athlone on the bus.
It looks threatening and menacing and feels like if you venture far from the place the bus stops at you will be molested or robbed.

I’m sure this is just a bad spot where the bus drives through.

I’m in Dublin city everyday and it feels safer to athlone when you drive in on a bus.

demanufactured

Conservatory wrote: »

I’ve only ever drove through athlone on the bus.
It looks threatening and menacing and feels like if you venture far from the place the bus stops at you will be molested or robbed.

I’m sure this is just a bad spot where the bus drives through.

I’m in Dublin city everyday and it feels safer to athlone when you drive in on a bus.

Not sure which Athlone your driving through... Dublin is a kip btw

Try_harder

Athlone is a shyte hole!

cagefactor

Walked around Athlone for the first time ever revrntly. I have no intention to ever visit again. What suprise me was the amount of scumbags around the shopping mall, drugged, drunk and loud.

demanufactured

cagefactor wrote: »

Walked around Athlone for the first time ever revrntly. I have no intention to ever visit again. What suprise me was the amount of scumbags around the shopping mall, drugged, drunk and loud.

Sounds like Dublin.

italodisco

demanufactured wrote: »

Not sure which Athlone your driving through... Dublin is a kip btw

Dublin is the superior city, the best jobs, infrastructure, facilities etc etc etc.... It is a kip but hey, I'd rather live in a developed kip than some Irish equivalent of a 2nd world town /city lol

Xxx

Mena Mitty

Do they still have the Shannon swim every year ?

veryangryman

Masala wrote: »

My bad for not knowing that.....my Irish geography gone to the dogs since I left school!!

Sure I remember Brendan Shine singing about it when I was a child and we only had 2 radio stations. The damn thing was on all the time... in between Gloria's 'One day at a time' !!

Fucrking hell that lad is someone i cringe at when i hear of him being associated with the town. Awful songs (Where the 3 counties meet...muck. Do you want your aul laddy washed down...makes Richie Kavanagh sound bearable). Muck pub too when you consider the size of Monksland with no other bars nearby and they can never fill it. A terrible man all in all.

As for Athlone being trendy... It's not and i hope it never will be. Sh1t goes up in price, pay parking (and clamping) gets introduced in places that are suddenly "trendy". And don't get me started on traffic.

Lets just agree it beats the rest of the midlands hands down, but does not have competition. You want trendy, try Dingle or Westport.

meeeeh

It's a bit bigger regional town and there are some very good restaurants in the town and near by. Trendy is stretching it but you could easily pick worse place for dinner/lunch.

demanufactured

italodisco wrote: »

Dublin is the superior city, the best jobs, infrastructure, facilities etc etc etc.... It is a kip but hey, I'd rather live in a developed kip than some Irish equivalent of a 2nd world town /city lol

Xxx

Athlone is not a city.

roosterman71

veryangryman wrote: »

You want trendy, try Dingle or Westport.

100% agree

If Athlone councillors/businesses/people had any drive in them at all, they would be looking at Westport and trying to replicate that spot in Athlone. Everything is there that Westport has (apart from Croagh Patrick, but Athlone has the river) so it should be well able to compete and be as "trendy". Currently, there is no comparison.

L.Jenkins

Never thought I'd hear or read trendy and Athlone in the same sentence. If were going for the highly industrious/tourist town, then yes, Westport would be a town to look at.

ldsolare

So based on the comments here about Athlone i have to admit I am very doubtful of the place. I have a job offer but now i’m lost.
Is there a chance to recommend anther place in county westmeath pr county kildare and commute to Athlone for work? Please provid your feedback.
Would anyone consider commute from Kildare town/Newbridge? 80mins roughly travellling,
Luke

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

horseofstone wrote: »

Situated in the very centre of Ireland,with the majestic shannon flowing through it and at the entrance point to loughree ,Ireland's most historic lake with its islands of churches and monastic ruins.a town which has a castle on the main town bridge and home to a huge number of restaurants,pubs and cafe's.Athlone ,a haven of happiness.

Not denying any of this, but not sure you're got the right definition of "trendy".

Masala wrote: »

Has Athlone got a lake???

Depends on how much it's rained recently.

Smashmouth

Our Dunnes has the largest lingerie section in Ireland apparently.

I says

It’s a fine town it has all you need. An 80 min commute is a load of balls.

WillieMason

Lots of people travel from Galway City to do clothes shopping in Athlone. Athlone has no major traffic issues and lots of shops its a place on the up, a future City

roosterman71

ldsolare wrote: »

So based on the comments here about Athlone i have to admit I am very doubtful of the place. I have a job offer but now i’m lost.
Is there a chance to recommend anther place in county westmeath pr county kildare and commute to Athlone for work? Please provid your feedback.
Would anyone consider commute from Kildare town/Newbridge? 80mins roughly travellling,
Luke

There isn't a whole lot in Kildare that would be any better than Athlone. Certainly nothing worth 80min drive each way

afkasurfjunkie

ldsolare wrote: »

So based on the comments here about Athlone i have to admit I am very doubtful of the place. I have a job offer but now i’m lost.
Is there a chance to recommend anther place in county westmeath pr county kildare and commute to Athlone for work? Please provid your feedback.
Would anyone consider commute from Kildare town/Newbridge? 80mins roughly travellling,
Luke

With a family and small children you are not looking for a trendy place to live. I think Athlone has a lot going for it. There is a good selection of schools in the area. Both primary and secondary. There are a number of after school activities available depending on your interests. Regional sports centre and good facilities at the IT. Plenty of services at your doorstep. Shopping is quite good and much more accessible than Galway these days. And it’s central. If I decide to go go to Dublin or Newbridge I’m there in less than 2 hours. Beach, lakes, mountains, forests, cinema, castles, airports are all within easy reach. It’s a bit more rural and therefore less hectic and cheaper to live in than Dublin. There’s a decent selection of bars and restaurants and although the nightlife scene won’t blow you away it’s grand. I find it very family friendly.

ldsolare

Does that mean there is no good place in all county Westmeath and north countu kildare that can better than Athlone? In other words if i have job offer in waterford/cork city, would be better off to settle in these areas?
Athlone, i understand it has the advantage to be between Galway and Dublin and always the probability that anyone could end commuting to these two cities. So my point is giving the geographical location is good but it has drawbacks and i think in Athlone (last time i was there) i did not get that nice feeling at the town centre like some other towns where you things going on in the street etc. I think Athlone has only those two shopping malls and stops there. So it could be very risky for someone moving with Family knowing it needs to travel 1hr/1hr30mins everytime/every weekend wants to hang out in the city. But hey i am still considering the move there so its nice from anyone who fan proof me wrong or else recommend other nearby towns like for example Tullamore

ldsolare

Thanks for your great feedback. So between cork and Athlone what would you choose if you have the offer? Also, if i may ask, do you live in Athlone, can you recommend pre-school and primary schools for girls? This would be very helpful.
Thanks in advance.

nice_guy80

best thing about Athlone, is that half of it is in Connacht

roosterman71

To be honest OP, it seems like you want to move to Cork! A lot of posters have given comments, and each are thanked (rightfully), and you then say negative things about the town.

Subcomandante Marcos

Athlone isn't the trendiest place in Ireland, but for a big regional town, I'd rather live here than almost any other similar town in Ireland.

Compared to the likes of Tullamore, Carlow, Portlaoise, Mullingar, Longford, Naas, etc, it's a much better place to live.

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

ldsolare wrote: »

Does that mean there is no good place in all county Westmeath and north countu kildare that can better than Athlone?

Basically, yes. As said in the post before mine, I'd send you to Athlone before any other town in the region. It has the best range of facilities available, good shopping, restaurants, bars and transport links. Also, housing is slightly cheaper than what you'd pay in the commuter towns closer to Dublin.

So it could be very risky for someone moving with Family knowing it needs to travel 1hr/1hr30mins everytime/every weekend wants to hang out in the city.

Depends what you're after. Athlone has many of the facilities you'll find in Galway or even Dublin. The main thing I've ever had to travel for is going to the airport, concerts or sporting events, most of which are in Dublin anyway.

nice_guy80

Subcomandante Marcos wrote: »

Athlone isn't the trendiest place in Ireland, but for a big regional town, I'd rather live here than almost any other similar town in Ireland.

Compared to the likes of Tullamore, Carlow, Portlaoise, Mullingar, Longford, Naas, etc, it's a much better place to live.

I'm sorry but Mullingar is a good town to live in
Closer to Dublin
Loads of amenities - pools, cycleways, canals
Decent shops, cafes and restaurants
Good selection of schools
Train direct into Connolly

meeeeh

Most of the towns listed are perfectly fine to live in if you pick the right area. But if the job is in Athlone I can't see any reason to pick Tullamore or Mullingar or any other regional town over it.

Klonker

Athlone is a nice town, lived there for a few years previously. Nice selection of shops, pubs, restaurants. It's not a city so can't compare to Cork or Galway but I choice between Athlone and Tullamore or Mullingar or Portlaois or Thurles and it's a no brainer.

Subcomandante Marcos

nice_guy80 wrote: »

I'm sorry but Mullingar is a good town to live in
Closer to Dublin
Loads of amenities - pools, cycleways, canals
Decent shops, cafes and restaurants
Good selection of schools
Train direct into Connolly

I've lived on both. Mullingar is a ****hole, I currently lives in Athlone, it's a much better place to live. 90mins to Dublin, 50mins to Galway or Limerick. Infinitely better amenities.

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

Mullingar is grand and yes it's closer to Dublin if that's what you're into, but it certainly feels smaller. Athlone definitely has a bit more to it despite similar populations. Athlone was always the most important town in the region.