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Moving to Waterford.. Looking for advice

Italish

Hi everybody,
My name is Luca, I come from Italy and I live in Drogheda/Louth since 2016.

After I have been visiting far and wide all the country, I concluded this town doesn't suit me. So, recently I ended up thinking I might move to Waterford.

Since, I red old posts about Waterford (2-3 years ago) and all them highlighted a certain roughness and lack of services (eg. university, cardiac care, jobs)

I wanted to know what you objectively think about that:

1) Is really Waterford so rough? Even more rough than Drogheda? (I don't know if you heard about recent shootings, people chopped to pieces here in Drogheda).

2) Which are the best areas where to settle, if there's any? (Objectively)

3) Do see any prospects for local improvement?

Finally, I think every city in the world can be unsafe and rough. I am just looking for extra advice from locals. Thanks everyone!

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azimuth17

Italish wrote: »

My partner and I are healthcare professionals and we can find a job wherever there is a hospital. We are fed up with Drogheda, It's really boring and depressing living here. So we were looking for something bigger enough but not extremely chaotic and we thought that Waterford could be a good compromise.

Initially we were considering Dublin, but for what it's worth it's too expensive. And to me it's not safer than the rest of Ireland.

We also considered Cork and Galway. But they are extremely far from Dublin airport which is the only connection with home. Plus, the weather it's more rainy an windy (for what I have experienced).

Finally we thought about moving south-east:
- Kilkenny: it's lovely but we were looking something on the seaside.
- Wexford: in the top three. I would love living there. I am just afraid to get fed up with the town routine after few years.

So this is how I came to Waterford, I might be wrong but I feel there is good quality-price ratio.

Best thing to do, come down, drive around and make your mind up. If you are a healthcare professional, UHW is the regional Model 4 cancer, trauma and cardiology centre. UPMC Whitfield is an excellent private hospital , with radiotherapy and has just added a new cardiology cath lab.

BBM77

Donatron wrote: »

Can I ask peoples opinion on moving to Dunmore East? I imagine it would be very quiet in the winter, which isn't necessarily a bad thing for me.
Would it be considered a very nice place to live? Any notable rough elements?

Unless you have a fish allergy there would be little problem moving to Dunmore East.

Donatron

Can I ask peoples opinion on moving to Dunmore East? I imagine it would be very quiet in the winter, which isn't necessarily a bad thing for me.
Would it be considered a very nice place to live? Any notable rough elements?

Stopitwillya

Best of luck with the decision Italian. Would highly recommend Waterford. When the weather is nice you will have plenty of options for things to do. My favourites are going out to Dunmore East, Tramore or Bunmahon or a walk on Woodstown beach or the Greenway. I have lived in a landlocked county before and have to say I missed living near the seaside. I would also say Waterford city is fairly safe. I would imagine we have lower levels of crime than other cities.The negatives are our city centre could do with some improvements, a lack of 24/7 cardiac care and a lack of a University in the region.

Italish

Purple Mountain wrote: »

Why are you very specific about Waterford?
You need to consider your employment opportunities before you start thinking it's a nice place to live.
Unless you are a self sufficient multi millionaire of course.

My partner and I are healthcare professionals and we can find a job wherever there is a hospital. We are fed up with Drogheda, It's really boring and depressing living here. So we were looking for something bigger enough but not extremely chaotic and we thought that Waterford could be a good compromise.

Initially we were considering Dublin, but for what it's worth it's too expensive. And to me it's not safer than the rest of Ireland.

We also considered Cork and Galway. But they are extremely far from Dublin airport which is the only connection with home. Plus, the weather it's more rainy an windy (for what I have experienced).

Finally we thought about moving south-east:
- Kilkenny: it's lovely but we were looking something on the seaside.
- Wexford: in the top three. I would love living there. I am just afraid to get fed up with the town routine after few years.

So this is how I came to Waterford, I might be wrong but I feel there is good quality-price ratio.

spookwoman

I am a blow in myself and will not sugar coat it. Hardy is right it can be very clannish and it gets worse the further you get from the city.

Dunmore road side is probably where most people want to go. There are traffic issues in the mornings, can take an hour just to get out to the industrial estate if your don't leave before 8.10 and getting across the bridge through town can be a nightmare. There are primary schools out this way but I don't know what it's like trying to get someone into them.
Shopping is handy with Tesco, Lidl, Aldi and Ardkeen stores that does more local and artisan foods, also some pubs and cafes and with the ring road handy if you want to get to the other retail parks on the other side of the city. There are some good shops in town that won't break the bank, especially if into hiking and outdoors. Couple of festivals during the year with Spraoi, Waterford Walls, the Blue Grass festival out Dunmore way, Tramore has one as well. Some nice places to go to outside of Dunmore and Tramore if you want the sea.
There is the Greenway all the way out to Dungarvan and now they are starting on one out towards wexford.

Bus stops outside the housing estates and you will have to get a few to get out to the industrial park, if you cycle and used to the flats there are a few steep hills to get out of the Dunmore road over to them as well.

I don't go into the city often and when I do I don't go there at night on my own, just don't feel comfortable/safe walking around.

Back to the Dunmore Road I suppose it the same with everywhere else, there are growing antisocial issues with teens hanging around , you probably heard about the acid attack. In the last year been 2 cars set alight on this estate and fire brigade is often out at the back of Billinakill Downs putting out gorse fires set by a firebug.

Ref medial care the hospital is out this way so handy for an emergency but getting seen by an consultant can take years and getting referred for xrays and scans has waiting lists of years as well. If you have a heart attack after 5pm or a weekend good luck cause will send you to Cork which is over an hour away.
There are a few new estates going up on or around the ring road but I would be very wary of moving into them and would be a last resort because of antisocial problems already in the areas. Take your time and ask around about estates before moving in.

Purple Mountain

Why are you very specific about Waterford?
You need to consider your employment opportunities before you start thinking it's a nice place to live.
Unless you are a self sufficient multi millionaire of course.

Italish

If you wanna know, after reading your posts I'm quite convinced I going to move there. So, thank you all.. I'll see you around!

Ps. If only I had 1 cent for every time someone sang Suzanne Vega's song or said "like Luka Bloom!" after introducing myself...

BBM77

Italish wrote: »

Hi everybody,
My name is Luca, I come from Italy and I live in Drogheda/Louth since 2016.

After I have been visiting far and wide all the country, I concluded this town doesn't suit me. So, recently I ended up thinking I might move to Waterford.

Since, I red old posts about Waterford (2-3 years ago) and all them highlighted a certain roughness and lack of services (eg. university, cardiac care, jobs)

I wanted to know what you objectively think about that:

1) Is really Waterford so rough? Even more rough than Drogheda? (I don't know if you heard about recent shootings, people chopped to pieces here in Drogheda).

2) Which are the best areas where to settle, if there's any? (Objectively)

3) Do see any prospects for local improvement?

Finally, I think every city in the world can be unsafe and rough. I am just looking for extra advice from locals. Thanks everyone!

Waterford like all cities has a certain amount of crime but it is pretty tame compared to other places in the country. There is certainly no gang warfare and shootings are very rare. So no I would not consider it rough.

The best areas to settle has more to do with your personality. Personally, I find the people on the east side of the city not as friendly as the west side. The Dunmore road area is a bit arsey to me.

Waterford as a city is in a transitional stage in its history. Traditionally it would have been a manufacturing city, for a time the industrial estate was the largest in the country. Now it is moving more to the service industry and developing tourism. With that said there is still a lot of manufacturing and the pharma/medical device industry still employs a lot of people. Also, there is quite a good tech sector. So to answer your question yes there is a lot of prospects in Waterford. Hopefully, the north quay development will happen which will be a huge boost to the local economy.

To me the biggest con in Waterford is the utterly ridiculous negativity you hear from locals. They would literally say something about Waterford is the worst thing in the world without even knowing anything about it. And every little thing is a sign the city is dying. It gets painful after a while. The second post is the standard go somewhere else BS you get.

hardybuck

Waterford is an up and coming city, and like most cities there are pros and cons about living there.

Pros include affordable housing and it's a compact city that's not destroyed with traffic. Beaches, mountains etc. within a short drive. You'll find the weather is better than Drogheda.

Excellent food scene in the city and increasingly in Waterford county. Far more tourist attractions than all the other regional cities.

As a smaller city Waterford lacks scale and doesn't have as many well paid jobs that larger cities have. Public transport is limited and the nightlife is fairly poor. I personally feel like the city lacks the atmosphere you'd find in other city and town centres, but there are some good local festivals that make up for that.

People not from the area can sometimes struggle to integrate as the locals are pretty clannish.

If you don't own a car I'd recommend the John's Hill, Grange Park Avenue/Road/Crescent areas, Summerville Avenue or around Newtown as the best places to live - all walkable to the city centre and very respectable. If you have a car, all of those areas plus parts of the Dunmore Road, Williamstown and Grantstown are the sought after areas.

I personally wouldn't live in Drogheda for a variety of reasons, gang violence is one reason - and I think you'll find Waterford will be far safer. I think Waterford can be a viable option for you but not your only option presumably.

decies

Motivator wrote: »

Do you live on the second floor?

You made me lol sir

MoashoaM

1) Not too rough.

2) Top of the town, if you're lucky!

3) Of course!

I love the place. I suppose it depends on how you like to spend your time.

azimuth17

91wx763 wrote: »

Listening to people like you with those attitudes is exactly why I'm glad not to live there any more and why I wouldn't recommend !!! If you're from somewhere else you're always going to be a "blow-in", after living there for 38 years and I move away does that make me a "blow-out" ? The next commenter speaks correctly.

(My mother still lives there so I visit often ).

I lived and worked in Wexford and always liked the place. I am from Waterford and like my home town. It has a lot to offer. I don't know what attitude you mean. OP asked for best areas and I gave him my opinion. I am sure if you ask in Wexford town people will have opinions on that subject there too. To think otherwise is silly. I don't know where you lived here, but a bit of envy of some kind on show.

Quigs Snr

I moved back home from Dublin years ago.

Retail isn't great. But its passable for most needs. House prices are good compared to the rest of Ireland. Decent amenities you are close to a couple of dozen beaches of various different types e.g. loud resort (Tramore), nice fishing village (Dunmore), deserted beaches, rugged coastline etc.. Plus you have mountains etc..

Motorway 90 mins to Dublin. Shame there's no university but WIT isn't bad. Couple of hospitals here and current cardiac care issue aside I am not aware of many other places being significantly better off.

Traffic is not bad by Irish city standards and the place has improved in recent years with things like the Greenway.. the north quays coming (supposedly) etc... Much of a muchness with other places in Ireland except for Dublin maybe.

Not particularly violent. Crime is everywhere but I reckon its like a buddhist monk commune compared to Drogheda.

91wx763

azimuth17 wrote: »

Hard to answer the Wexford based critic except to say, he/she does not live here, so best ignore. If you want good medical services and third level education locally, then it is in Waterford. Good quality of life. Nice restaurants. Decent schools. Good transport connections. Good housing, best areas are around Dunmore Road, Ballygunner, Williamstown, although I would not exclude areas like Lismore Park/Heights etc. Good cultural offering, theatre, cinema, museums, art gallery pre Covid. Access to a lot of amenity on coast and mountains. I don't find it rough at all. Maybe some do, but certainly little enough evidence of it. Faults? Probably heaps of them, but its a very relaxed place.

Listening to people like you with those attitudes is exactly why I'm glad not to live there any more and why I wouldn't recommend !!! If you're from somewhere else you're always going to be a "blow-in", after living there for 38 years and I move away does that make me a "blow-out" ? The next commenter speaks correctly.

(My mother still lives there so I visit often

azimuth17

Aquos76 wrote: »

Sorry now, but I have to disagree with you here, there are plenty of great areas in Waterford City besides where you mentioned, generally its people who live in certain areas think they are better than other areas. I am not going to mention anywhere specific, but I will say Waterford City and County have far more to offer than just the Dunmore Road, Ballygunner and Williamstown.

I'm sure we have.

Aquos76

azimuth17 wrote: »

Hard to answer the Wexford based critic except to say, he/she does not live here, so best ignore. If you want good medical services and third level education locally, then it is in Waterford. Good quality of life. Nice restaurants. Decent schools. Good transport connections. Good housing, best areas are around Dunmore Road, Ballygunner, Williamstown, although I would not exclude areas like Lismore Park/Heights etc. Good cultural offering, theatre, cinema, museums, art gallery pre Covid. Access to a lot of amenity on coast and mountains. I don't find it rough at all. Maybe some do, but certainly little enough evidence of it. Faults? Probably heaps of them, but its a very relaxed place.

Sorry now, but I have to disagree with you here, there are plenty of great areas in Waterford City besides where you mentioned, generally its people who live in certain areas think they are better than other areas. I am not going to mention anywhere specific, but I will say Waterford City and County have far more to offer than just the Dunmore Road, Ballygunner and Williamstown.

Motivator

Italish wrote: »

Hi everybody,
My name is Luca

Do you live on the second floor?

azimuth17

Hard to answer the Wexford based critic except to say, he/she does not live here, so best ignore. If you want good medical services and third level education locally, then it is in Waterford. Good quality of life. Nice restaurants. Decent schools. Good transport connections. Good housing, best areas are around Dunmore Road, Ballygunner, Williamstown, although I would not exclude areas like Lismore Park/Heights etc. Good cultural offering, theatre, cinema, museums, art gallery pre Covid. Access to a lot of amenity on coast and mountains. I don't find it rough at all. Maybe some do, but certainly little enough evidence of it. Faults? Probably heaps of them, but its a very relaxed place.

91wx763

Italish wrote: »

Hi everybody,
My name is Luca, I come from Italy and I live in Drogheda/Louth since 2016.

After I have been visiting far and wide all the country, I concluded this town doesn't suit me. So, recently I ended up thinking I might move to Waterford.

Since, I red old posts about Waterford (2-3 years ago) and all them highlighted a certain roughness and lack of services (eg. university, cardiac care, jobs)

I wanted to know what you objectively think about that:

1) Is really Waterford so rough? Even more rough than Drogheda? (I don't know if you heard about recent shootings, people chopped to pieces here in Drogheda).

2) Which are the best areas where to settle, if there's any? (Objectively)

3) Do see any prospects for local improvement?

Finally, I think every city in the world can be unsafe and rough. I am just looking for extra advice from locals. Thanks everyone!

I can speak as someone who was born and raised there but lives away now.

Move to Wexford town, far more life there for about the same cost.

Waterford is not that rough, the apartment complex areas are grim, student estates can be a bit noisy. The old parts of Ballybeg or Johns park actually aren't that bad, you'll get quite a lot for your money with shops and town not too far away. The big developments probably won't come if that's what you mean but the place will still be ok. Don't expect to get excited by anything though.