Possibly moving to Kells

musical_notes

We have a lovely house and are hoping to purchase, however I'm still a little unsure of what I think of Kells as a place to live. On first impressions, it doesn't really impress me. It seems a little shabby and disorganised as a town.
But I could be wrong of course. I know it's not big and we'd obviously have to drive to Navan to do our shopping or Blanchardstown for something bigger but what is it like in terms of socialising, are the pubs and restaurants good? We have 3 children, are there good schools in the area and are they full as it is?
I would be giving up my current job and looking to take up childminding which is something I would love to do, do you think there would be a demand for it in the area?
I'd just really like an impression of the area that makes me a little more enthusiastic to move. We are living in Mullingar at the moment but my husband would rather be somewhere a bit closer to where he is from (ie Swords) my own relations live in Lucan.
Regards
M

Big Nelly

Wouldnt move to Kells if you paided me to be honest.....town looks like it is still in the 18th Century and I have heard the locals aint to ready to welcoming either! thats the opinion of everyone I have ever talked to about Kells....so my advice is no!!

pubs: Look dodgy and have heard they are
Restaurants: is there any?
Schools: havent a clue about primary, secondary had a bit of a rep when I went to school...dont want to say what on boards!!

Please note these are personal opinions and not trying to slag anyone off!!

Splendid

I'm from Kells

and this

I have heard the locals aint to ready to welcoming either!

is a load of ****.

It really depends what you want from the town. There are some nice pubs, and some dodgy ones. The nightclub is really more a Disco if that makes sense. The primary schools aren't bad. The community school isn't great but i survived it.

DMC

Over the last few years, Kells has become a dormitory town... little or no industry, a lot of folk just use it as a bed at night for working in Dublin. It still has a wee bit of a market town feel, as it has a large catchment area, as well as a major north-south east-west junction.

Pubs: Plenty, you should find your niche, one to suit all sorts. The Vibe is still Flix.
Restaurants: Not much choice. Tower Grill on a Friday night.
Schools: I survived the Community School too, can't say anything too highly or too lowly, it does exactly what it says on the tin. Schools could well be at capacity, because of the sprawl from Dublin, but that is the same for all towns within 60 miles of the capital.
Childminding: Yes, there are creches already, I don't know the ones in Kells really, nearly every village around has a playgroup at this stage.

This is just touching the surface, I'm sure others can expand further on this. HTH.

musical_notes

Thanks for the input all of you :-) (sounds a bit like the town I grew up.........)

Sysiphus

Big nelly by name and by nature apparently!

I moved to Kells 2 years ago, I think its a great town. Small, yes. Friendly, yes. Pubs, about 23, everything from young to old man, if ye want music, pool, darts, rings, chat, etc. they are all there.

Navan for shopping? Grand local shops here, and the farmers market on saturday.

Only 15 mins away from Virgina and some of the best lakes in the country.

I commute in and out to Dublin every day and most wekends am in city at least once a day, i would love to spend more time here, but thats life!

Kells, great town, come on and join us, Dave, dave, hello dave, dave

Big Nelly

Sysiphus wrote:

Big nelly by name and by nature apparently!

Wat you mean by that? I said it was a personal opinion! didnt insult anyone and mentioned I didnt want to slag anyone off! why everyone throwing a huff?????

If you love the town so much why dont you paint something in it? when was the last time one of the houses was painted? during the famine?

DMC

meh, if you nick is Big Nelly, you may have to put up with folk taking the mick out of it....

But, clearly, the answer to the original posters query can been seen in these posts.

Kells is what you make it.

upmeath

word. im from trim, and as an outsider i have to say kells certainly isnt the worst town in the county. (n*v*n)
its lively, but meath towns have a medieval kind of layout and lack a bit of focus, so you dont really get all the hustle and bustle in one spot, thats probably why you're disappointed. granted, there's a bit of dereliction in kells too. not too much though. the schools are top notch, as far as i know the eureka has the highest percentage of students graduating to nui's of any school in the county, and among the highest grades in the country. dont know about their community school though.

musical_notes

We've actually decided to stay put.....but for other factors not related to what kind of place Kells is. But I just wanted to say thanks for the helpful input from you all again.
Take care
M

robert bardas

kells is as good as any medium sized town you'd get as for that nelly person everything you said about kells you heard off someone else not a very good fact ridden post basically you know nothing about the town and yet have told someone to stay away from it -nice .why not tell everyone what you "heard" about the secondary school

paddylonglegs

Whenever I have gone through there is constantly a huge amount of street properties for sale.Obviously real estate companies are taking an interest in the place and see it has potential.

Sysiphus

3 years here, love the town, may have to move, but only due to GF not wanting to commute. Will keep the house here and be a weekend non dub. With the M3 starting shortly and ending about half a click from kells, watch the house prices go up and the estates get bigger (already 6 - 7 new estates in the last 1.5 yrs (will stand corrected if more!!!) Kells is becoming a true satelitte town, unf. will expect it to loose it outsider charm.