Advice - Move Down Country or Stay

Ceolaguscraic

Hi guys,

I am hoping to get some advice. I hope to have a budget of roughly 300k soon. I am wondering from other people's experience would it be better to try and move to a commuter town for affordability or try and buy somewhere in Dublin within that price range?

Background: I am late 30s, single and living in Dublin. My social life and work is in Dublin. I am currently living at home saving but at this stage of life would like my own independence.

Pros of commuter town: Affordability

Cons: Driving everywhere for social life etc. Also trying to set up a new social circle outside Dublin on my own.

Pros of Dublin: Closer to family and friends

Cons: Lack of affordability. Only able to afford in areas with anti social behaviour and the stress that goes with that.

Would any posters be able to shed more light on this based on similar situations/experiences?

Thanks

retalivity

Im late 30's, from the country but living in Dublin. I'd move back tomorrow, but herself wont, so we're here for the foreseeable. She won't much for the reasons you've mentioned. I'd want to move back due to affordability, family and friends, however the only reasons you have for moving out of Dublin are the affordability piece. If your friends and family are already all in Dublin, you may move and find yourself with more money but nothing to do with it.

Depends on your priorities OP.

For me, life is more important than owning a house. I'll live where I have family, friends and a social life. No good rattling around a house in your own, with nothing to do!

But, you may have different priorities.

Id only ask why you think youd need to drive everywhere

We moved from Dublin a few months back and are five minutes walk from a busy market square with shops, pubs and restaurants

Work from home three days a week means the commute isnt the pain it might've been, but thats a lucky circumstance that not everyone might have admittedly

Mad_maxx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058213031/advice-move-down-country-or-stay

Two bed apartments in Santry for under you're budget, quiet area around Northwood

silver2020

If you work in Dublin City Centre, then commuter towns on a train line are an option. Sallins / Naas has strong social life for all ages and a huge number of clubs.

But if train is not a great option, then an apartment in Dublin might be best option. If the budget stretched to 325k you will have plenty of choice in good areas such as ballinteer, dundrum, drumcondra etc

houseyhouse

In your situation, I’d look for something as close as possible to your friends and family and save money by getting somewhere small. It would be different if you had a partner or kids - you’d have company at home and you’d need the extra space you could afford further away. You won’t be able to buy in upmarket areas with that budget but there are lots of parts of Dublin that are cheaper but still reasonably safe. Good luck!

dinneenp

Are you parents, where you're currently living in Dublin? If not, you already know what commuting is like. If they're in Dublin, you don't.

Dublin is great for sports & gigs. Obviously a wider choice of restaurants, nightclubs etc. but all cities/towns have these. If I was you I'd try to buy in Dublin- doesn't have to be big but at least you still have your social network, shorter commute etc. Could rent a room (or 2) if you wanted and get higher rent than outside Dublin

€300k can buy you a wide range in Dublin, depends on if you want a house, apartment etc. https://www.myhome.ie/residential/dublin/property-for-sale?maxprice=300000

Given your age and the fact that family and friends are close by I’m inclined to say Dublin.

you will definitely see some friends drift away if you move out of Dublin- in fact I guarantee it-Also, you’ll likely be moving inland away from the coast which is a big minus - and also, for 300k you’d be surprised how little that buys in places like Sallins/Naas etc - you won’t get fancy shmancy for 300k there and no guarantee there won’t be some element of anti-social behaviour present in the estate-you’ll need to do your homework on that one. Further out like Mullingar or Longford somewhere like that, yes you’ll get your 4 bed detached but you’ll be miserable.

I”d be inclined to try somewhere like Donabate even if you had to get a 2 bed apartment - it’s by the coast, on a train line . Maybe I’m out of touch though and maybe you can’t even get an Apt for that price now?

commuting from satellite counties to Dublin is a major issue now- traffic jams from like 6.30am onwards, up to 2 hour commute into city centre if using a car- that’s also a very significant cost in terms of fuel etc - also you’ll have limited night service and sometimes even those busses don’t run so a costly taxi home-it all adds up and in reality you could be using this additional expenditure on accommodation in Dublin -if you’re Dublin based the simplest and cheapest car will do you as all you’ll need is an a-b runabout for messages etc if money is tight. Irregular trips down the country could be serviced by a car rental

my advice if you want it is don’t move out of Dublin if you’re going to be based in Dublin for work for the foreseeable future- you’re single and all your family and friends is Dublin based. Also your property is likely to maintain and increase in value better over time as it’s all about location location location-

if you’re working for say the civil service and you intend staying there forever, then if you wanted a better life/work balance then maybe look at permanent WFH and base yourself in a western coastal county- Kildare county is nice but boring- I’d stick to Dublin if at all possible- the nightlife, the cultural offerings like the arts, theatres museums etc, the choice of restaurants, the sea- but, I wish you well whatever your decision

PS- I just googled apartments Donabate and there are approx 6 on sale in your price range and some look really nice and situated in lovely grounds- I know Donabate isn’t Dublin central (20 km from city) but it’s a nice area has lovely beaches and serviced by a train- getting home from a night out might be costly if getting a taxi but I think you’d be far happier there than inland - also explore Bray and see if there are similar apartments there.

JimmyVik

In my experience people who grew up in rural areas are happy enough to move back to rural areas.

But people who are from towns and cities dont seem to settle in the rural life.. There are some exceptions. Some city folk take to it like a duck to water but they would be rare.

And remember its 10 times harder to make the move back to the city than it is to make the move away from the city.

Claw Hammer

Stay in Dublin. I knew people who were single living in country towns who used to come to Dublin for weekends. They had no life in the country. Commuting is stressful, you won't have any work colleagues near where you live and not being married with kids won't find it easy to integrate in a country town.

PSFarrell

Definately Dublin...I've seen friends buy in commuter towns like Ashbourne, Bettystown etc and they ended up living in their parents in Dublin most weekends to socialise...Different if you were married...

listermint

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118018350#Comment_118018350

In fairness that's a lot of nonsense. We moved out of the city and you wouldn't find me moving back. Bought a place did it up it's worth twice now what we paid . Could move back tomorrow with a tiny mortgage I just wouldn't move, we would lose too much quality of life.

As for the OP , stay where you are. Your age profile single status etc you are best placed in Dublin at this point of your life. You'd lose too much aspect from your day to day to benefit you.

Plenty out there in that price bracket, some off the shelf. And many fixer uppers. Maybe a project would work out for you?

Caranica

A few 3 bed duplexes in Waterville in D15 on the market around 300k at the moment. Huge rooms, great location. Only downside is management fees.

Rates for room rentals in the area 600-800 euro so could rent a room or two while you're single.

JimmyVik

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118018996#Comment_118018996

I did say there were exceptions didnt I?

listermint

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118019732#Comment_118019732

You did .

I left my house this morning and was at heuston within 45 mins, including walking to the station

If i didnt feel like doing that there are private buses going through town heading into dublin for about a tenner return that take an hour

Im not even convinced that driving is as it was, or that it wont come back a little again once we see WFH wash through the system- i know a fella who takes two hours to get into work in dublin from roscommon

Id only say research what the actual options are for the issues you see, im seeing a lot of exaggerated problems in the thread

GoneHome

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118017716#Comment_118017716

I laughed when I read this, I'd a member of my extended family was renting an apartment in Santry up to the covid pandimic, they were working in the Beaumount hospital in an an admin/contract type position so it was nearby, when covid hit they couldn't get out of Santry quick enough and back home to Tipperary, they were telling me stories after about Santry that would make the hairs stand on the back of your neck, and to add insult to injury this man was paying nigh on €1800 a month on rent for a flat, he said the anti-social behaviour/drugs etc in the area was beyond the beyond. Lucky this man is after getting a great job below in Limerick attached to the hospital and happy to be well away from Santry I can tell you.

Mad_maxx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118021973#Comment_118021973

Where in Santry was this kind of behaviour?

I said Northwood

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118021973#Comment_118021973

If they thought santry was bad, I would hate to see them somewhere actually rough!

C14N

Personally would definitely say Dublin if you can get it, but I'll admit I'm prejudiced toward that. I particularly dislike driving to commute and value being able to get some kind of public transport. I'd say to some extent, do the maths and figure out how much you'd have to be spending on petrol to get to work and factor that into your costs along with mortgage payments, because it probably won't be negligible if you have to do it daily. I personally put a lot of value on not having to drive everywhere, and having more time in the evenings and mornings with a shorter commute, and not nearly as much value on having a large property or garden though, so your mileage may vary on that.

I'd also generally argue that it's a lot easier to sell in the city and buy in the countryside. It's a higher-turnover market with more demand, so there will always be someone who will want to buy the property later on. This isn't true to the same extent in smaller towns, and definitely not in rural locations.

There are places in Dublin area within your budget. It’s as much as I’ll hope to get when it comes to selling my good sized duplex in the suburbs.

C3PO

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118022591#Comment_118022591

They might be about to find out … they’ve moved to Limerick!!

Bigmac1euro

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118021973#Comment_118021973

I laughed when I read this….

GoneHome

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118031032#Comment_118031032

Why? In all honesty I can't see why you see living in a kip of a flat/apartment above in Santry and paying €1,800 a month for it would be better than living down in rural Limerick or Tipperary, just can't see it

Bsharp

If all your connections are in Dublin I'd try and stay there. Worth looking at how your cost of living would differ between the two, day to day, and factor that into calculations.

For a place in Dublin, if mortgage affordability becomes an issue then you could rent out a second bedroom for short periods or from Sunday evening to Friday afternoon; gives you personal space and there's plenty of demand for both. I've two friends that do this. They're over paying their mortgage to reduce the term whilst having a bit of cash to spare. Both are 39 and single.

Think about long term maintenance and retrofit costs for properties you're looking at. In an older house we've a world of pain ahead as energy prices rise in addition to the call for retrofitting. Life is likely to get alot more expensive covering these expenses in the future. My friends have apartments that will barely need to be touched and they don't use heating.

boredatwork82

I left Dublin and moved down the country. Only difference is I am from the town I moved too.

If it was me I wouldn't move to a commuter town in your position. It would be so lonely.

Granted you might get a bigger better house. But moving to a town where you do t know anyone especially been single would be lovely in my opinion.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118060910#Comment_118060910

Depends on a person's needs and wants. I'm paying 1800 euro rent in Dublin and would have no intention to move to rural anywhere! I

Tbh, I'd say they person was laughing more at the idea that Santry is some kind of crime ridden hellhole!

Ceolaguscraic

Thanks a million for all the replies. It cleared things a lot in my mind. It made me realise that staying in Dublin is the best option.