How is it like living in Balbriggan?

JULIA0704 · 15-06-2018 10:50pm #1

Hi

I have read thousands of posts about life in Balbriggan, but they are all kind of old.
My husband and I rent in Drogheda. Were willing to buy a house/apartment and we were willing to move a little closer to Dublin.
We like being close to the train, because it's very easy heading to city center, no traffic..

I have been in Balbriggan a couple of times and I liked it pretty much, it didn't feel that different from Drogheda for example... Or any other working class town. However a girl from my work was all telling me 'oh, you are gonna get killed there, loads of gangs'.
So, I want to know the main opinions of people in general, special those who live there. Our budget for a house or apartment is around 220k. And I know some people don't like Balbriggan because there are loads of expats, but I wouldn't mind, I'm an expat myself. I wanna now about crime and anti social behaviour... Is it worse than other areas I can reasonably afford (like finglas, swords, clondakin, Tallaght)?
And I know some estates are better than others, we were considering the apartments in castleland court... Any opinion about this area?

What attracts me the most about Balbriggan is that the train is very handy, the prices are good and specially the countryside thing... I don't wanna live in Dublin city itself, like crowded neighborhoods and streets, no green areas and fresh air...

Thanks

vlunited · 17-06-2018 1:40pm

Balbriggan is worse place to live than Drogheda IMO.
220k will give you a way better property in Drogheda.
Just saying.

KFed · 17-06-2018 1:50pm

I would not spend your hard earned money repaying a mortgage on a property in balbriggan.

I think the balbriggan market will be difficult to sell out of in time. There is a huge social housing ownership as percentage of total meaning private buyers looking to sell out, will likely be selling to a county council or a private investor, either of whom are likely to drive a hard bargain. With few other buyers in the market, it may be hard to sell or mean you'll have to take a low offer or be stuck there.

If the council stops buying, it may be extremely difficult to sell at all.

There are serious social problems in the town.

I wouldn't buy there and would see can your budget cover swords for example.

vlunited · 17-06-2018 1:54pm

3bed Semi-Detached in Drogheda VS 1bed apartment in Swords.
220k won't bring you very far.

Samuel T. Cogley · 17-06-2018 4:47pm

Personally I'd rather take the slim pickings in D15 than move all the way out there but that's just me.

17-06-2018 4:59pm

Are any of ye guys posting actually from Balbriggan?

I'm not from there myself, but have heard that it's one of the worst places in the country for anti social behaviour and gang issues, but I do often wonder to myself how true it is or how much of a reflection it is on real-life there.

I live in a rough area, but I find that the area's reputation is often very much exaggerated or played up. I've heard lots of things about the place, that I've never seen or witnessed myself (despite years of living here).

I do recall a radio show about a year ago that was discussing how lots of residents of estates in Balbriggan marched to the Garda station or somesuch about the issues. I wonder if that proved useful at all.

RHJ · 17-06-2018 5:10pm

This post has been deleted.

Stephen15 · 17-06-2018 5:13pm

I get the impression that most the problems are in the estates and not in the town centre.

Gumbo · 17-06-2018 5:35pm

Guys,

Racism of any sort will not be tolerated in this forum.

@youtube! : do not post in this thread again.

private · 17-06-2018 5:41pm

It has good schools and transport links. The beach and walks are lovely. I have been there lots shopping at lidl and visiting a friend in the centre and never noticed any anti social behaviour. Dublin City centre far more alarming! I haven't visited any estates.

KFed · 17-06-2018 5:45pm

From nearby but not from balbriggan. I never lived in balbriggan but I know people from there, went to school with them, know people living there currently and looking to get out.

Has historically been an unemployment blackspot since my childhood (80's) but the mass dumping of all the social housing in balbriggan by developers throughout the Celtic tiger years inflated the scale of the problem massively. I would say its much worse now than then.

I would spend more on rent to live elsewhere than pay a mortgage there. Would not want to be invested in a house or apartment there, would not want to raise a family there, would not want to socialize there.

I am sure it has good people, it is not all bad, but if it was me I would not live there.

Off the top of my head in recent years there was a Man shot dead after the school run in the town. E.r.u. policing school drop offs. Attempted hit and run at school drop off. Man and woman missing last seen in balbriggan, citizens marching on the garda station due to general level of crime / antisocial behaviour. So there are serious criminals around and general lower level younger thuggery also.

Has its share of problem citizens. Wouldn't be on my list of areas to live at any price.

Is it going to get better in 10-20 years as you pay back that mortgage? And if so, what is going to be the catalyst for that? Investment? Public or private investment? New private housing stock en masse?

I reckon it'll always be a peripheral town from Dublin / drogheda with social problems that may get worse not better.

It will always have the m1 nearby and the railway line though.

JULIA0704 · 18-06-2018 9:41am

Thanks everyone... I just gave up about Balbriggan, not because of antisocial behaviour but because I want to be able to sell de property in the future, maybe 10-15 years from now, and move to somewhere better. And apparently selling properties is a problem in Balbriggan and it may get even worse. Me and my husband are both in our 20s, so it's not a property for good, it's somewhere we can live for the next decade while we start raising our family.
I am considering swords now. I've found some 2-bedroom apartments there for €220k and less.
Does anyone have anything to say about Holywell? I liked it because it's very close to M1 so probably not too much traffic to get to city centre... And it's not that far from Malahide train station, I could drive there, park my car and take the train if I needed to.

dk1982 · 18-06-2018 10:20am

JULIA0704 wrote: »

Thanks everyone... I just gave up about Balbriggan, not because of antisocial behaviour but because I want to be able to sell de property in the future, maybe 10-15 years from now, and move to somewhere better. And apparently selling properties is a problem in Balbriggan and it may get even worse. Me and my husband are both in our 20s, so it's not a property for good, it's somewhere we can live for the next decade while we start raising our family.
I am considering swords now. I've found some 2-bedroom apartments there for €220k and less.
Does anyone have anything to say about Holywell? I liked it because it's very close to M1 so probably not too much traffic to get to city centre... And it's not that far from Malahide train station, I could drive there, park my car and take the train if I needed to.

Swords express goes via holywell. Great service to town via the port tunnel. 25 mins max to city centre

mariaalice · 18-06-2018 10:33am

JULIA0704 wrote: »

Thanks everyone... I just gave up about Balbriggan, not because of antisocial behaviour but because I want to be able to sell de property in the future, maybe 10-15 years from now, and move to somewhere better. And apparently selling properties is a problem in Balbriggan and it may get even worse. Me and my husband are both in our 20s, so it's not a property for good, it's somewhere we can live for the next decade while we start raising our family.
I am considering swords now. I've found some 2-bedroom apartments there for €220k and less.
Does anyone have anything to say about Holywell? I liked it because it's very close to M1 so probably not too much traffic to get to city centre... And it's not that far from Malahide train station, I could drive there, park my car and take the train if I needed to.

Would you not consider Rush or Lusk

JULIA0704 · 18-06-2018 10:53am

mariaalice wrote: »

Would you not consider Rush or Lusk

Are they good areas? I have heard about loads of crimes and antisocial behavior as well...

vlunited · 18-06-2018 11:16am

Rush Lusk and Skerries are grand.

mariaalice · 18-06-2018 12:46pm

The media have people driven mad:P, there is something wrong with everywhere if you look hard enough, by sheer logic where ever you buy with the budge you have you are going to be surrounded by people similar to yourselves same type of jobs lifestyle.

The big thing is to buy where there is not too much-rented property, long-term owners with families invest more in where they live join resident associations and generally keep an eye on the place.

Vim Fuego · 18-06-2018 1:16pm

I would probably opt for Drogheda, Skerries, Lusk or Rush over Balbriggan personally.

Balbriggan definitely isn't all bad though - there are decent shopping facilities on the outskirts (that people from some surrounding areas mentioned above would drive to), but the town itself is a bit of a pain layout-wise and annoying to drive through.

I haven't been out to a pub there in plenty of years, but I didn't see any trouble that you wouldn't see everywhere else.

The main consideration would be schools and ability to sell your house on in ten years. I think the other areas might be a bit better for that imo.

kjr77 · 18-06-2018 7:30pm

KFed wrote: »

From nearby but not from balbriggan. I never lived in balbriggan but I know people from there, went to school with them, know people living there currently and looking to get out.

Has historically been an unemployment blackspot since my childhood (80's) but the mass dumping of all the social housing in balbriggan by developers throughout the Celtic tiger years inflated the scale of the problem massively. I would say its much worse now than then.

I would spend more on rent to live elsewhere than pay a mortgage there. Would not want to be invested in a house or apartment there, would not want to raise a family there, would not want to socialize there.

I am sure it has good people, it is not all bad, but if it was me I would not live there.

Off the top of my head in recent years there was a Man shot dead after the school run in the town. E.r.u. policing school drop offs. Attempted hit and run at school drop off. Man and woman missing last seen in balbriggan, citizens marching on the garda station due to general level of crime / antisocial behaviour. So there are serious criminals around and general lower level younger thuggery also.

Has its share of problem citizens. Wouldn't be on my list of areas to live at any price.

Is it going to get better in 10-20 years as you pay back that mortgage? And if so, what is going to be the catalyst for that? Investment? Public or private investment? New private housing stock en masse?

I reckon it'll always be a peripheral town from Dublin / drogheda with social problems that may get worse not better.

It will always have the m1 nearby and the railway line though.

KFed, if you want to talk about people getting shot in Balbriggan, don't forget about the man who was shot outside his house in Dun Emer in Lusk and another man who was shot in Mill Close in Stamullen. These are not mentioned as they are "Grand" areas. This just proves that thuggery as you call it can happen anywhere.

KFed · 18-06-2018 8:07pm

kjr77 wrote: »

KFed, if you want to talk about people getting shot in Balbriggan, don't forget about the man who was shot outside his house in Dun Emer in Lusk and another man who was shot in Mill Close in Stamullen. These are not mentioned as they are "Grand" areas. This just proves that thuggery as you call it can happen anywhere.

The original poster specifically asked about balbriggan. "I wanna now about crime and anti social behaviour... Is it worse than other areas I can reasonably afford (like finglas, swords, clondakin, Tallaght)?"

I don't see how referencing a shooting in stamullen or lusk is relevant to the original poster asking about balbriggan, whereas the incidents I mentioned did relate to balbriggan.

KFed, if you want to talk about people getting shot in BALBRIGGAN... Don't forget about... Lusk... Stamullen....

I'd agree crime can happen anywhere but I believe balbriggan has a problem, and will continue to have a problem due to the social housing dumping on balbriggan that occurred in the Celtic tiger years.

I wouldn't call shootings and murder thuggery. Stealing bikes / phones / tools from sheds, dashcams from cars etc is more wannabe teen thug life anti social behaviour I had in mind. I don't think balbriggan is great on anti social behaviour either. As surely the march on the hard station would suggest.

Are the residents marching on the garda station in swords?

18-06-2018 8:09pm

OP, if you've 220k, and you're bouncing around not sure where to settle, could I recommend a house in Drogheda:

http://www.daft.ie/louth/houses-for-sale/drogheda/114-marian-park-drogheda-louth-1678435/

You won't get much (any?) anti social behaviour at that address. It's on a relatively busy-ish road (not 'main road' busy, but it's a shortcut route that would see a bit of traffic). You're less than a 5 minute drive to Bryanstown for the shops and school there, and also less than 5 minutes to Ballsgrove, for the shops and school there. Less than 10 minutes will get you to the Retail Park and into the town Centre.

M1 (tolled) is less than 10 minutes away, too. Probably about 10 minute (drive) from the train station also. 5 minute walk to the Bus station (down an, albeit, rough little pathway).

If I was buying in Drogheda, and had the same money to spend, I'd be kicking that door down throwing cash all over the place at the owners and putting 'property of kkv' stickers on everything before they got a chance to kick me out.

tvjunki · 20-06-2018 3:59pm

JULIA0704 wrote: »

Hi
I have read thousands of posts about life in Balbriggan, but they are all kind of old.
My husband and I rent in Drogheda. Were willing to buy a house/apartment and we were willing to move a little closer to Dublin.
We like being close to the train, because it's very easy heading to city center, no traffic..

I have been in Balbriggan a couple of times and I liked it pretty much, it didn't feel that different from Drogheda for example... Or any other working class town. However a girl from my work was all telling me 'oh, you are gonna get killed there, loads of gangs'.
So, I want to know the main opinions of people in general, special those who live there. Our budget for a house or apartment is around 220k. And I know some people don't like Balbriggan because there are loads of expats, but I wouldn't mind, I'm an expat myself. I wanna now about crime and anti social behaviour... Is it worse than other areas I can reasonably afford (like finglas, swords, clondakin, Tallaght)?
And I know some estates are better than others, we were considering the apartments in castleland court... Any opinion about this area?

What attracts me the most about Balbriggan is that the train is very handy, the prices are good and specially the countryside thing... I don't wanna live in Dublin city itself, like crowded neighborhoods and streets, no green areas and fresh air...

Thanks

My husband was brought up in the town and he would say it is a good place to bring up family. There are plenty of social clubs societies to children to join. There are more schools being built. You have two beaches and one with sand, Ardgillan Castle and you have a new skate park being built.

The train service alone would sway me from buying in Drogheda. It is 45min on the train and as you are in Dublin region you do not pay extra to go to another county as in the case of Drogheda. You dont pay a toll going in to Dublin in the car.

There is a number of shops in the town(Tesco extra, Dunnes, Supervalu,Lidl and smaller shops)
I have lived in the town for many years and have seen very little antisocial behaviour. A number of persons from another town came in saying they were from Balbriggan to cause trouble.
There is one area in the town that was bought up by BTL investers before the crash and many are still rented out. The sense of community is hard to build if people are constantly moving.

There are issues in every town but some are displayed more by the media more than others.
The community's silent protest was due to the reduction of guards in the town due to the recession and not replaced. They asked for more Guards at night. People in this town will raise their voices or make a protest if they feel nothing is down about an issue. They are passionate about their town and they will fight for what they require. Other towns people will not not this. We now have more guards than before.

You dont hear about the children winning awards or the secondary school high on the lead tables for results. The largest secondary school is being built at the moment and there are more primary schools now. Also many in secondary school move onto 3rd level education.

Also Balbriggan Guard station covers Balbriggan Skerries outerland Naul and Stamullan as well as the motorway so any arrests the person would be brought to that area.

Balbriggan is growing at a pace and the Fingal County Council plan to build more houses, schools( they are building the largest secondary school on the county at the moment)
We have access to Dublin in 45min and they plan to bring the Dart out.
The goverment were looking at building a port outside Balbriggan as well. New businesses are moving into the town as well.

If I was buying a house I would buy within the Harry Reynolds road to the sea area because they were built before the celtic tiger and well built. There are some estates the houses are they 20years and they are well constructed. Houses do not come up very often but once they do they are not on the market for very long.
The prices are going up and you will get a good house. Some of the newer houses are timber framed and the lining has a 25-30year life span.

I have seen the prices of houses going up for many years and I think the Auctioneers are keeping the prices down to sell. I saw a 2nd hand 3bed mid terrace for 250k and if the area was bad you would not sell at that price. New houses in Castlelands are 290k but the same estate a few years older sell for 230k. Auctioneers make more money selling new houses from the developers than old houses so always push the new ones.

Jeffy17 · 21-06-2018 10:05am

tvjunki wrote: »

My husband was brought up in the town and he would say it is a good place to bring up family. There are plenty of social clubs societies to children to join. There are more schools being built. You have two beaches and one with sand, Ardgillan Castle and you have a new skate park being built.

The train service alone would sway me from buying in Drogheda. It is 45min on the train and as you are in Dublin region you do not pay extra to go to another county as in the case of Drogheda. You dont pay a toll going in to Dublin in the car.

There is a number of shops in the town(Tesco extra, Dunnes, Supervalu,Lidl and smaller shops)
I have lived in the town for many years and have seen very little antisocial behaviour. A number of persons from another town came in saying they were from Balbriggan to cause trouble.
There is one area in the town that was bought up by BTL investers before the crash and many are still rented out. The sense of community is hard to build if people are constantly moving.

There are issues in every town but some are displayed more by the media more than others.
The community's silent protest was due to the reduction of guards in the town due to the recession and not replaced. They asked for more Guards at night. People in this town will raise their voices or make a protest if they feel nothing is down about an issue. They are passionate about their town and they will fight for what they require. Other towns people will not not this. We now have more guards than before.

You dont hear about the children winning awards or the secondary school high on the lead tables for results. The largest secondary school is being built at the moment and there are more primary schools now. Also many in secondary school move onto 3rd level education.

Also Balbriggan Guard station covers Balbriggan Skerries outerland Naul and Stamullan as well as the motorway so any arrests the person would be brought to that area.

Balbriggan is growing at a pace and the Fingal County Council plan to build more houses, schools( they are building the largest secondary school on the county at the moment)
We have access to Dublin in 45min and they plan to bring the Dart out.
The goverment were looking at building a port outside Balbriggan as well. New businesses are moving into the town as well.

If I was buying a house I would buy within the Harry Reynolds road to the sea area because they were built before the celtic tiger and well built. There are some estates the houses are they 20years and they are well constructed. Houses do not come up very often but once they do they are not on the market for very long.
The prices are going up and you will get a good house. Some of the newer houses are timber framed and the lining has a 25-30year life span.

I have seen the prices of houses going up for many years and I think the Auctioneers are keeping the prices down to sell. I saw a 2nd hand 3bed mid terrace for 250k and if the area was bad you would not sell at that price. New houses in Castlelands are 290k but the same estate a few years older sell for 230k. Auctioneers make more money selling new houses from the developers than old houses so always push the new ones.

A great summary of the town, it is a place that is being improved after years of neglect: (https://www.independent.ie/regionals/fingalindependent/news/a-new-strategy-for-balbriggan-36834968.html

Balbriggan is, as per the Census, the youngest town in Ireland and there is plenty of clubs in Balbriggan for the young and old to join.As a person who lives there I would recommend it to anyone looking at houses in the area

RachelGeralty · 21-06-2018 7:53pm

Buy elsewhere if you praise peaceful life...this is my advice OP. Balbriggan average property prices are rougly on the same level as Finglas...that should ring a bell to you without my further comments to elaborate why.

SVI40 · 21-06-2018 10:41pm

Holywell is a fine place to live. I bought here 5 years ago, and no regrets. Close to the Pavilions, Malahide, Swords, and seconds from the M1/M50.

JULIA0704 · 22-06-2018 12:13am

SVI40 wrote: »

Holywell is a fine place to live. I bought here 5 years ago, and no regrets. Close to the Pavilions, Malahide, Swords, and seconds from the M1/M50.

Thanks!
I have been to Holywell twice this week to check the area, and I loved it! Exactly what I was looking for! It's my first choice right now:)

kjr77 · 22-06-2018 8:47am

RachelGeralty wrote: »

Buy elsewhere if you praise peaceful life...this is my advice OP. Balbriggan average property prices are rougly on the same level as Finglas...that should ring a bell to you without my further comments to elaborate why.

I'm not sure it is fair to compare average house prices in these two areas. Finglas is close to city centre and Balbriggan is 25km away in north county Dublin. There are new 4 bed semi detached houses in Taylors hill Balbriggan selling for 350k. I don't think these will be available on the hap scheme.

SVI40 · 22-06-2018 9:11am

JULIA0704 wrote: »

Thanks!
I have been to Holywell twice this week to check the area, and I loved it! Exactly what I was looking for! It's my first choice right now:)

You're welcome. Feel free to ask any questions if you need.

jim-mcdee · 02-08-2018 5:02pm

tvjunki wrote: »

My husband was brought up in the town and he would say it is a good place to bring up family. There are plenty of social clubs societies to children to join. There are more schools being built. You have two beaches and one with sand, Ardgillan Castle and you have a new skate park being built.

The train service alone would sway me from buying in Drogheda. It is 45min on the train and as you are in Dublin region you do not pay extra to go to another county as in the case of Drogheda. You dont pay a toll going in to Dublin in the car.

There is a number of shops in the town(Tesco extra, Dunnes, Supervalu,Lidl and smaller shops)
I have lived in the town for many years and have seen very little antisocial behaviour. A number of persons from another town came in saying they were from Balbriggan to cause trouble.
There is one area in the town that was bought up by BTL investers before the crash and many are still rented out. The sense of community is hard to build if people are constantly moving.

There are issues in every town but some are displayed more by the media more than others.
The community's silent protest was due to the reduction of guards in the town due to the recession and not replaced. They asked for more Guards at night. People in this town will raise their voices or make a protest if they feel nothing is down about an issue. They are passionate about their town and they will fight for what they require. Other towns people will not not this. We now have more guards than before.

You dont hear about the children winning awards or the secondary school high on the lead tables for results. The largest secondary school is being built at the moment and there are more primary schools now. Also many in secondary school move onto 3rd level education.

Also Balbriggan Guard station covers Balbriggan Skerries outerland Naul and Stamullan as well as the motorway so any arrests the person would be brought to that area.

Balbriggan is growing at a pace and the Fingal County Council plan to build more houses, schools( they are building the largest secondary school on the county at the moment)
We have access to Dublin in 45min and they plan to bring the Dart out.
The goverment were looking at building a port outside Balbriggan as well. New businesses are moving into the town as well.

If I was buying a house I would buy within the Harry Reynolds road to the sea area because they were built before the celtic tiger and well built. There are some estates the houses are they 20years and they are well constructed. Houses do not come up very often but once they do they are not on the market for very long.
The prices are going up and you will get a good house. Some of the newer houses are timber framed and the lining has a 25-30year life span.

I have seen the prices of houses going up for many years and I think the Auctioneers are keeping the prices down to sell. I saw a 2nd hand 3bed mid terrace for 250k and if the area was bad you would not sell at that price. New houses in Castlelands are 290k but the same estate a few years older sell for 230k. Auctioneers make more money selling new houses from the developers than old houses so always push the new ones.

Great summary. I'm delighted Balbriggan gets such bad press. I could have never afforded a place with a sea view 15 mins from the airport if it weren't for that. I does help not being bigoted if you move here though.

foodiewarrior · 22-08-2018 12:05am

Hi there.
Would anybody recommend Moylaragh estate?

I'm trying to buy in the Tallaght-Citywest area, but I'm really priced out of that area. I saw nice houses in the Moylaragh estate.

tvjunki · 22-08-2018 9:37am

foodiewarrior wrote: »

Hi there.
Would anybody recommend Moylaragh estate?

I'm trying to buy in the Tallaght-Citywest area, but I'm really priced out of that area. I saw nice houses in the Moylaragh estate.

This is one of the areas built during the Celtic tiger. We we went up for a look. 3 show houses were together. You could hear the noise 3doors down. Also they have issues with pyrite. Some have been retrospective refit but not all houses come under the government scheme so not all properties are getting repaired. Also most of the people living there are renters. Have a look at houses the sea side of harry Reynolds road. Houses built before Celtic tiger.

What I would suggest is go up in the evening or at the weekend and see what it is like.

You can buy but make sure you have a cert showing pyrite if there was removed or the property is pyrite free as you may have difficulty getting house insurance or you may pay a premium.

How is it like living in Balbriggan?

Comments