Kilcoole / Newtownmountkennedy good place to buy/live for non-Irish?

kcv_dcm

Hi Folks. I will be very grateful if you guys can provide some feedback on whether it is a good idea to buy in Newtownmountkennedy (NTMK) or Kilcoole?

I never been to Wicklow ! I am a not an Irish (non-white, from India). I work in the UCD. I and my wife (who is also non-Irish, but is white & European) are looking to buy a home now. The housing market in Dublin city is very crazy and we are thinking NTMK or Kikcoole would be good from communiting point of view compared to say further North or West of Dublin outskirts. Moreover, we love quite places away from the city buzz.

Being foreigners, we just want to be sure before we buy either in NTMK or Kilcoole. I have just began doing some homework before we make any decision. We are planning to go there meet some folks, live there for a weekend or more to get a feel of it. It is in that process I am seeking some feedback. I would really appreciate your feedback.

Thanks a lot (in advance).

dogmatix

My sister lives in Kilcoole. It had a bit of a reputation for being "rough" in the past but has improved now.

Pros -
1. Easy access to the N11 - good for Dublin and rest of wicklow.
2. Good access to the sea - 25 minute walk.
3. Has it's own railway station (more of a halt with very limited services to be honest). Bus services are a bit limited though.

Cons -
1. The N11 is very congested to and from Bray. If commuting by car from Kilcoole you would want to be on the N11 no later then 6:45am.

Don't know much about NTMK though.

Creamy Goodness

Brother lives there, 84X is a good service and stops at UCD, roughly take about 40minutes or so (doesn't stop at all stops).

jayobray

Never knew Kilcoole to have a 'rough' reputation in my 20 years living there! Like anywhere, there is the odd assault and burglaries tend to happen in cycles.

N11 is very accessible, but gets very congested during the morning and evening commutes and the extra housing being built and planned for in the area will only make that worse. Leaving at 7am, my commute to Dun Laoghaire is 40 minutes.

84x is a good service but only runs during peak times Monday to Friday. It can be difficult getting on at UCD in the evenings with the amount of commuters using this as a short stop service from Dublin to the likes of Foxrock and Cabinteely. The 84 runs hourly, and less often at weekends.

There are very limited trains a day, and the station is only a platform down a dark narrow country road. Most people that get the train travel to Greystones to get the DART.

There are two convenience stores in the village, Tesco and Centra, and the main supermarkets in Greystones are only about 5 minutes drive away.

I've always found the community spirit to be good in the village. It has turned into a bit of a commuter town, and gets very quiet during the day. There are plenty of non-Irish around the village, with no complaints that I know of.

loyatemu

it's reputation wasn't so much "rough" as being a rural one-horse village with not much going on (not helped by farm-based soap opera Glenroe being filmed there).

It has greatly improved and become much more lively over recent years and it's in a great location close to the sea, countryside and mountains. I'd go for Kilcoole ahead of NTMK (house prices probably reflect this). Be prepared to spend a lot of time commuting though if you work in town.

jayobray

loyatemu wrote: »

it's reputation wasn't so much "rough" as being a rural one-horse village with not much going on

Very hard to argue with that! But yes, it has changed a lot since then, mostly for the better

2011

I have been living in Kilcoole for over 12 years now. Never considered it to be “rough” and never had any issues. The area I live in would be best described as “quiet”. I’m sure thy both of you would be made feel very welcome there.

Lots of new houses being built at present.

Pros:
1) Easy access to N11
2) More “bang for your buck” if buying a house compared to Greystones. Much larger house and garden for the same price.
3) It’s a short drive to nearby shops (Greystones or Newtown)
4) Nice community.
5) Safe and good for kids.


Cons:
1) Shops are disappointing
2) N11 is congested so an early start is a must if you want to get into town quickly.
3) Main Street looks terrible. Hopefully this will improve.

kcv_dcm

Thanks sooo much guys. All this info is very very useful for us. Thanks a lot !

batyushki

We are not Irish and have both lived in Kilcoole and near NTMK for a number of years.

If you are into walking and nature both are good places, I tend to prefer the beach at Kilcoole but NTMK has some nice forest walks.

The train at Kilcoole is very handy if you have a regular schedule, but outside commuting hours there is only the bus, which is heavily used. NTMK only has bus service.

NTMK has a Dunnes so much bigger selection of groceries. Proper shopping really requires going a few minutes north to Greystones.

We found that NTMK house prices were a bit lower. There are more new build houses now in NTMK.

Both places have lots of established community groups, community centres, sports etc. There are many new people in both places and lots of people from outside Ireland.

JungAdler

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

Brother lives there, 84X is a good service and stops at UCD, roughly take about 40minutes or so (doesn't stop at all stops).

I use this bus and it's great but I get on it on the southern x rd. One day, on my way home I"d like to stay on the bus to see exactly where it goes and how long it takes to get there.

Did you buy anywhere OP, are there new houses in Kilcoole atm? My impression of Kilcoole is just that it's really boring. Nothing there but at least you're near Greystones.

red_bairn

kcv_dcm wrote: »

Hi Folks. I will be very grateful if you guys can provide some feedback on whether it is a good idea to buy in Newtownmountkennedy (NTMK) or Kilcoole?

I never been to Wicklow ! I am a not an Irish (non-white, from India). I work in the UCD. I and my wife (who is also non-Irish, but is white & European) are looking to buy a home now. The housing market in Dublin city is very crazy and we are thinking NTMK or Kikcoole would be good from communiting point of view compared to say further North or West of Dublin outskirts. Moreover, we love quite places away from the city buzz.

Being foreigners, we just want to be sure before we buy either in NTMK or Kilcoole. I have just began doing some homework before we make any decision. We are planning to go there meet some folks, live there for a weekend or more to get a feel of it. It is in that process I am seeking some feedback. I would really appreciate your feedback.

Thanks a lot (in advance).

I'm from Greystones but I've had great experiences in Kilcoole like house parties, walks to Kilcoole along the train tracks, visit to Glenroe farm and more. It is a grand little place!

What my wife would do is check out a place that she would like to rent during the evening or at night to see what the area is like. Handy to see if there are any issues with disorderly conduct / disturbance to peace, etc in the area.

Perhaps see if you can get an AirBnB or BnB on the area. Go for walks, drink in the pub, chat to those walking their dogs or out with family.

I'm interested in houses in Kilcoole and NTMK because of the prices too.


You may want to check out Wicklow Hills:
http://wicklowhills.ie/

Wally Runs

I am going to go out on a limb here, but you could also ask of http://wicklowcountycricket.com/. It is very broad mix of players and nationalities. There is also a club in Greystones. I think Wicklow (all of it) is a great place to live.

Best of Luck

into_the_wild

Hey guys, just wondering how has your feedback been on newtownmountkennedy. I see there's a dunnes which is handy. Wife and I are looking at a few places in wickow to move and this seems quite nice. Any particular area/estate which is "dodgy"?

prunudo

into_the_wild wrote: »

Hey guys, just wondering how has your feedback been on newtownmountkennedy. I see there's a dunnes which is handy. Wife and I are looking at a few places in wickow to move and this seems quite nice. Any particular area/estate which is "dodgy"?

No dodgy areas as such, obviously some people can be more reserved than others, you can be unlucky with your neighbours no matter where you move. But use your instinct when viewing and you won't go wrong. Plenty of newer builds in the last 15 years which are now nice established developments.

2011

The new builds look good. I know some people in the large new development. Can’t remember the name of it off hand but they seem very happy there. It’s a little far out from the village but that has its advantages too.

ivn0109

Hey guys,

i have booked the house in newmounttown a month back, but now I have heard about this protests and all and about the new social housings for the refugees. I am little worried should I go ahead with the this house/location or not. How is nowmounttown kennedy as a location. Is it safe to live to there. Any suggestions please.

Thanks

Creamy Goodness

If you're white, you'll be fine, however I'd have my doubts if you weren't in my honest opinion.

The past few weeks/month have shown a lot of deeply-seeded racism in newtown (and surrounding areas) and whilst it might blown over as the IPA's integrate, it'll still be there. From what I seen on socials we have hairdressers/barbers, Montessori teachers, trades people, fitness people (and more…) all part of these protests. This - in my view - doesn't create a welcoming place for any outsider (even someone moving from Bray would be classed as an outsider).

recyclops

That's very much a tar everyone with the same brush, I have lived in Newtown for a long time and can very much be considered an outsider but tbh majority are due to the scale of development down here. Snippets you see online regarding trudder and the reality of living there for many many people are polar opposite. The ethnic shop on the main street is still doing well and anyone who spends even 30 mins on the main street will see multiple ethnicities wondering around and no issues at all.

I wont speak for how certain ethnicities feel as its not my place but with the conversations I have had with neighbours ( Filipino, Indian and Pakistani which both have a very strong population down here) they don't feel their lives have changed since trudder arose in the news, they may not be telling me the truth but I take them at face value.

Different ethnicities are even discussing their own views/fears on the trudder situation which are completely different to my own and ones I would view as potentially problematic online on local forums but that's how life is nowadays and that's very much died down in the last week or so.

Creamy Goodness

That's fair point, and I guess my view is somewhat based on recency bias. I just found it bad reading such vile and vitriolic comments that come from such normal types of workers and felt really bad and then put myself in the shoes of anyone non-white moving into that area.

prunudo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122106115#Comment_122106115

newtownmountkennedy is in the news for the wrong reasons, but that is due to government policy, not the people who live there.

It has a great community spirit and many people from various cultures and backgrounds live here. Don't believe anything you read in the media about what has gone on.

loyatemu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122111922#Comment_122111922

in fairness the people who were arrested for attacking the guards and setting fire to buildings were (to my surprise) "people who live there"

KaneToad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122111922#Comment_122111922

This newspaper extract suggests it is exactly (some of) the people who live there:

"Six arrests were made during what the gardaí described as “serious public disorder”. On Friday, four people appeared at Bray District Court in connection with the incident.

Shane Synnott, aged 19, of Season Park, Newtownmountkennedy, Michael Synnott, aged 56, of the same address in Season Park in Newtownmountkennedy, Ben McNulty, 41, of Rossmore Avenue, Newtownmountkennedy and Sharon McCann, aged 39, of Mountainview Drive, Newtownmountkennedy were all charged with the same offence which involved failing to abide by garda instructions."

prunudo

I'm not dragging this thread down the rabbit hole, I gave my opinion to someone who wants to move to there area. They can either take it on board or not.

I'll repeat, its a good area and got great community spirit with people from all walks of life.

prunudo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122112201#Comment_122112201

for the record, they were charged with liotering and not following garda direction.

Again don't believe anything you hear or read in the media.