Relocating to Cork with family

Mae12

Hi,

I know this has been raised a few times before but can't find any recent threads.

Will be moving to Cork in September with family (1 toddler) and looking for info on best places to live for family? Area with park, good amenities, walking distance to shop / pub, public transport if possible.

Have looked at Douglas / Blackrock / Glanmire / Midleton and trying to figure out best option.

Is it hard to get into primary and secondary schools in Douglas /Blackrock?

Had thought Glanmire would have best of both worlds (near city but still a bit more of a village feel) but seems to be very spread out and would have to drive everywhere to get anything.

Is there anywhere else worth considering?

Both of us will be working in Mahon.

Any advise / suggestions welcome.

Thanks.

Tomtata

Ballincollig is great, living here a few years with Family and rate it extremely high. Rent for a 3 bed semi has gone up €400/m in the last couple of years but that is similar across most Cork city suburbs. Driving to Mahon in the morning takes ~20 mins, traffic queue only starts at the Mahon exit for the Jack Lynch tunnel so never any delays.

Padraig Mor

Tomtata wrote: »

Ballincollig is great, living here a few years with Family and rate it extremely high. Rent for a 3 bed semi has gone up €400/m in the last couple of years but that is similar across most Cork city suburbs. Driving to Mahon in the morning takes ~20 mins, traffic queue only starts at the Mahon exit for the Jack Lynch tunnel so never any delays.

In my experience (travelling the opposite direction), the tunnel is often backed up to Douglas in the morning, c. 7.50am.

JCX BXC

Glanmire is good if you get something near enough to SuperValu. Nothing's particularly far away from there. It's quite a family orientated area too. Although I can't make head nor tails of it, there doesn't seem to be any center.

questionmark?

I can recommend Midleton as a place to live but you would have to make it through the tunnel each morning. Depends on time you work but without traffic you would have less than a 20 minute commute.

rebs23

Welcome to Cork.
If you are both commuting to Mahon, I would recommend Blackrock but it is the most expensive part of Cork to rent or buy in. It really does depend on budget and there are good schools in all your preferred locations. There are lots of good cafes, parks, walks, etc 10 minutes on the bus to town, etc but it is expensive.
If the cost of Blackrock/Ballintemple/Ballinlough is too much. There is good cycle access to Mahon via the old railway line so that could open up Passage West as a location with reasonable rental rates. You could cycle from Passage to Mahon in 10-15 minutes, all of it off road on a dedicated cycle- walkway. It is a very popular way of getting to the offices in MahonPoint.
Another option would be other locations inside the N40 such as South City Centre, Ballyphehane, Capwell. All good locations. Personally I would really and try and get a location inside the N40 as close to Mahon as possible so you can enjoy what the city has to offer with everything nearby rather than locations like Midleton/Glanmire. It really does depend though on what lifestyle you are after but Passage would be a good option as well if you're willing to cycle to work.

Sephiroth_dude

+1 for Ballincollig, once you get on the link you'd breeze down there, buses into town every 30 minutes and soon to be 15.

SouthernBelle

Sephiroth_dude wrote: »

+1 for Ballincollig, once you get on the link you'd breeze down there, buses into town every 30 minutes and soon to be 15.

I give it my vote too.

Mae12

Thanks for all feedback. Looks like we should be staying on the Mahon side of the tunnel. Will include Ballincollig on our search list.

lostinsuperfunk

Have you considered Turner's Cross (close to Capwell and Ballyphehane as suggested by another poster)?
There are local pubs and shops, and an Aldi within walking distance. Nice old housing stock, much of it refurbished (2 bed terraces and bigger semi-d's). It's around 15 minutes' walk to the city centre. There is a nice park with a playground nearby in Ballyphehane.
Mahon is around 5-10 minutes by car, either via the ring road or by going through suburban roads in Ballinlough. The southern orbital bus route (219?) to Mahon also passes through.
There are creches in the area, and a mixed national school. There are other schools nearby in Ballyphehane, Greenmount, Ballinlough and Douglas. I think it would be easy to get into the local ones, but not sure about Ballinlough or Douglas.