Drogheda or Newbridge or Malahide

Harshad

Hi,

Need some guidance on whether I can proceed to purchase a house in Drogheda.

• Property available on southside of Drogheda near M1
• Price for 3-bed semi-detached speculated to be around 300k

Post-Covid lockdown opening, I might have to commute daily to Dublin City Centre (location in any part of Dublin based on switching jobs in future). I prefer to travel using public transport and my working hours will be 9 to 6.

Reasons for looking at Drogheda

• Supermarkets such as Tesco, Aldi, Lidl, Dunnes
• Penneys
• Clinics, hospitals
• educational institutional
• Dart station
• Coaches to Dublin
• my budget is 330k max

Hesitations

• Public commute through Dart/Coach - travel time of 1 to 2 hours - standing commute - I'm used to this travel a few years back when I was in India where I lose 3+ hours in transit - I just sleep through the journey - little bit hesitation after being in a comfort zone here in Dublin - staying near to office etc.
• anti-social behaviour in some areas on the north side
• I have been looking at some other properties in Newbridge and Malahide. They might require 330k to 360k for 3-bed.

Should I go for this property in Drogheda or wait up for properties in Newbridge/Malahide?

Considerations - price, commute, education for children in future, health centres, supermarkets

xeresod

You won't get a 3 bed semi in Malahide for your budget, so your choice is narrowed to Drogheda or Newbridge!

JethroC

I bought in drogheda over the last 2 years and live on the southside. Love it so far.

I've seen little to no antisocial behaviour in the town and being brought up in a rough area Dublin I can tell you it's a big change (and relief).

Everywhere has their social issues though but there's simply less of them in drogheda compared to dublin because there's less people there.

As for the commute I wouldn't personally be a fan of trains for the reason you mentioned of having to stand during busy periods.

I use the matthews coaches instead and they're brilliant. I work in Dublin on the southside of the city centre and door to door in the mornings (when kids are in school and traffic is heavier) it takes exactly an hour as the coach goes through the port tunnel and skips drumcondra / dorset street etc.

It would take you longer than an hour working and living in different parts of dublin so the commute is really not bad.

You can get a taxsaver ticket for the matthews coaches as well if that helps or a 10 journey ticket for €60 to be used within 2 years I think.

gipi

If the Drogheda property you're looking at is near the M1, it may be quite a distance from the train station (note, not a Dart service). Car parking at the station can be in short supply (in pre-covid times anyway), so bear that in mind. The advantage of train travel is that most of the services start in Drogheda, so you should get a seat in the mornings. There is also an express service which starts in Belfast, that can get full before it reaches Drogheda, but the journey is only 35 minutes to Dublin Connolly.

As the previous poster mentioned, the Matthews bus service is very good.

A number of GP clinics in Drogheda haven't been taking on new patients as their books are full. You should check this carefully before making a final decision