Where to live?

dazzday

Recently separated with young kids. The ex lives in Connemara (Maam Valley) so require to be somewhere within 40mins or so to able to do school drop offs etc one or two days week in Maam (8am) and get back to work or home for the day.

Work the Ballybrit side of town (although not against a job move in the near future) with hybrid working so can work from home a few days a weekLooking for somewhere that has good amenities, welcoming to newcomers, has some classes or sports etc to do, some lovely pubs, is relatively close to work and Galway, possible transport links to the city, not crippled with traffic and in general a nice place to live as a single dad.

Options I am looking at are:

Headford

Ballinrobe

Oughterard

Moycullen

Any thoughts on the above??

tamara25

Headford is probably where I would choose myself. On a good day when u don’t have heavy traffic you would be In Galway city in 30 mins. It’s not the liviest of towns but has a good Tesco & there is a gym on the outskirts of the town if that is something you would like. Heneghans hotel is a nice place to go for food & yes people are definitely very friendly. There is also a very good bus service by Burke’s which does commutes in & out from Galway city. Good luck with wherever you choose!

JoeA3

That's a tough list of criteria and I think you'll find it hard to fulfil them all - especially "traffic"! I think you should prioritise being as close to your old home/kids as possible over your work commute, especially if your work situation is flexible and could change. Both for your kids sake and your own - if you're late or regularly under pressure to be on time for your kids pickup, collection etc, it won't do you any favours in what's probably already a stressful situation with your ex.

I think Headford and Ballinrobe would be very very quiet and you might find it a bit isolating, especially if you don't know anyone in those towns? Personally I'd probably try to find somewhere closer to Galway city while also being relatively easy to get to Maam, so I'd probably be looking in the Salthill / Knocknacarra area. Or somewhere that's reasonably close to close friends or family member(s) you can lean on, because you'll need it for a while...

dazzday

Thanks for the replies. I have friends and family Tuam side which does make help with Headford.

But again something like Knocknacara or Moycullen would be tempting just to have Galway so much closer for social life etc

iniscealtra

I wouldn’t go near knocknacarra if heading to Maam regularly. Headford is a better option.

dazzday

So I have confirmed with my Ex...she is planning to send the kids to 2nd School in Ougtherard, so that narrows my options:

Oughterard...

Pros: cheapest, some availability to buy, closest to kids (25mins), likely where the kids will have friends/clubs etc. Some ok amenities. Nice vibe for a small village. Cons: 25mins to town, too far for a taxi, average public transport,

Moycullen... Pros: Closer to town, better transport links, option for taxi? larger village, more new people to the area?, Cons:+50/100k more expensive. Lack of availability to buy. a little souless being so close to town?

Other options include Newcastle/Dangan/Bearna but definately abit more restricted on price

iniscealtra

I’d stick to Oughterard or Moycullen. Plenty of buses.

Bearna makes no sense as it’s on a completely different route and traffic is shocking.

Personally I’d pick Oughterard. Nice town and would be easy as kids will be in school there. More settled feel. Oughterard would have its own community thing going on.

Moycullen is expanding to become a commuter zone for Galway. Depends what you want?

dazzday

Appreciate the reply! Yeah I think I agree... Moycullen or Oughterard

Only real pros I see to Moycullen is it being closer to town that the odd Uber would be feasible for a night out or date. I guess I fear the dating scene in Oughterard may be a little limited!

I see sheep

Oughterard is the nicest place to live out of those 4 imo.

iniscealtra

The last Bus Éireann bus to Oughterard leaves Galway at 10. Monday to Saturday. Also a citylink serving Oughterard now. Pretty well served really.

https://www.citylink.ie/timetables/923/

dazzday

Thanks for the feedback folks... Oughterard coming out as favorite at the moment.

Obviously finding a place is going to be the big difficulty!