Info on Derry

Hi52

Hi All,

Have almost accepted a job in Derry (waiting for Contracts to arrive!) and i'm looking for some general information about Derry and the surrounding area so my transition will be a smooth as possible!!

Firstly - Accomodation! I'll be renting at first with a view to buying in the not too distant future. So..
1. what sort of rent i would be paying for a house share in Derry, limavady or Coleraine (haven't decided exactly where i'm going to live but the office is in Derry)?

2. Where can i get a listing for houses/Apt for rent on line? Or is it better to go to the local classifieds?

Secondly - Facilities!

1. Will be looking to join a gym when i get up there. Any suggestions?

2. is there a tennis club in the area?

3. and a golf club?

Any other little pointers would be great too!!

Thanking you in advance!

Hi52

biko

Check out
http://www.countyderry.com/Derry_sport.htm

Johnny_the_fox

Hi52 wrote:

1. what sort of rent i would be paying for a house share in Derry, limavady or Coleraine (haven't decided exactly where i'm going to live but the office is in Derry)?

In the waterside area of derry i think rent is about 240 pound, but for the best area your better looking at city side houses.

Hi52 wrote:

2. Where can i get a listing for houses/Apt for rent on line? Or is it better to go to the local classifieds?

propertynews would be the best bet for looking for rentals -> here

Hi52 wrote:

Secondly - Facilities!

1. Will be looking to join a gym when i get up there. Any suggestions?

2. is there a tennis club in the area?

3. and a golf club?

- Gym -

Loads of gyms in Derry and surrounding areas - in Derry itself, i think the one beside (cant think of the name) Symths toy store is the one most people would go to.

- Tennis -

The only club near that i know of would be in Coleraine - Coleraine Tennis Club (about 1hr from Derry)

- Golf -

Loads in the Area - to name a few...
In Buncrana (about 20 mins from Derry) - they have have a golf course - here

There is one also in Castledawson (about 45 mins from Derry) -> here

and one in Portstewart (about 1hr from Derry) -> here

Hi52

Thanks. Very informative!

Now i just have to pluck up the courage to tell my boss i'm outta here!!

pow wow

Hi52 wrote:

Hi All,

Have almost accepted a job in Derry (waiting for Contracts to arrive!) and i'm looking for some general information about Derry and the surrounding area so my transition will be a smooth as possible!!

Firstly - Accomodation! I'll be renting at first with a view to buying in the not too distant future. So..
1. what sort of rent i would be paying for a house share in Derry, limavady or Coleraine (haven't decided exactly where i'm going to live but the office is in Derry)?

2. Where can i get a listing for houses/Apt for rent on line? Or is it better to go to the local classifieds?

Secondly - Facilities!

1. Will be looking to join a gym when i get up there. Any suggestions?

2. is there a tennis club in the area?

3. and a golf club?

Any other little pointers would be great too!!

Thanking you in advance!

Hi52

1. If you want to rent a whole house yourself I'd say around 400 per month ball park. Double sized rooms tend to go for around 200 per month. Area wise keep in mind the uni is on the cityside so if living in the immediate surrounds of Magee there are a LOT of students. The good news is most go home for the weekend. The waterside has a lot of new estates and often you'll find people who've bought there renting out a spare room.

2. Best sites for house shares are www.daft.ie, www.letsni.com, www.spareroom.co.uk, www. flatmateclick.co.uk. The local paper is very good too but the online version doesn't have the classified section (great idea eh). I am currently househunting in Derry myself so can scan and email you the page if you want because I know how hard it can be!

3. There's a Fitness First on the Strand Road (near Smyths Toys). There are smaller independant ones around too, but FF is one of the more popular ones.

No idea about tennis and golf but if you want to know anything else let me know!

NIMAN

Hi52 wrote:

Hi All,

Have almost accepted a job in Derry (waiting for Contracts to arrive!) and i'm looking for some general information about Derry and the surrounding area so my transition will be a smooth as possible!!

Firstly - Accomodation! I'll be renting at first with a view to buying in the not too distant future. So..
1. what sort of rent i would be paying for a house share in Derry, limavady or Coleraine (haven't decided exactly where i'm going to live but the office is in Derry)?

2. Where can i get a listing for houses/Apt for rent on line? Or is it better to go to the local classifieds?

Secondly - Facilities!

1. Will be looking to join a gym when i get up there. Any suggestions?

2. is there a tennis club in the area?

3. and a golf club?

Any other little pointers would be great too!!

Thanking you in advance!

Hi52

Although I don't know much about what you have asked, I am from Derry so will try my best to give you what little knowledge I might have!!

Accommodation. There are loads of rental accomms in Derry, due to the amount that were bought to rent out by investors - which pushed the house prices up over the last few years in the city. There are a lot of rentals available in the Waterside. This is the side of the city on the East side. Also plenty in the West Bank or 'cityside'. A lot of these are around the university area, but I have noticed that this area has got very run down over the last few years. My brother rents in this area and is currently trying to rent elsewhere. He has noticed the severe lack of websites that list rental accommodation in the city. He has been searching the local papers and I did a bit around the estate agents myself. Most 3 bed family homes are going for around £450 - £550 per month, so your cost will depend on how many you share with. It might also be important if you drive or not, since this might limit your location.

Next facilities. Yes Derry has plenty of what you are after.

NIMAN

Sorry about my replies but having PC issues !!

I did type a fair bit about facilities but lost it - will do so again now.

And ignore the info that one poster above has given you - all their clubs and stuff are outside of the town itself !! Why recommend a golf course thats in Castledawson - thats miles away !!

NIMAN

Gyms

There are a few in town. The ones that I can think of off the top of my head are:

Platinum
Fitness First
Templemore Sports Complex
Lisnagelvin leisure centre
City Hotel
JJB Sports (opening very soon)

These range in monthly price from approx £12 to £37.50. Some have a pool, others don't.

Golf Courses

There are 2 in the town:

City of Derry
Foyle (inc driving range)

Plus, if you drive, there are North West (Buncrana), Redcastle, Greencastle in Co. Donegal. Sure there are others close by too but I'm not a golfer!!

Tennis Clubs

Unsure if there are actually any organised clubs, but there are courts both at St. Columbs leisure centre and Brooke Park leisure centres. Both these are outdoor courts.


Hope this helps a little. Any other questions feel free to ask or PM

NIMAN

You may be interested to know that todays Irish Times has a supplement on Derry.

Might be worth picking up if you intend to move to the city.

Johnny_the_fox

NIMAN wrote:

Sorry about my replies but having PC issues !!

I did type a fair bit about facilities but lost it - will do so again now.

And ignore the info that one poster above has given you - all their clubs and stuff are outside of the town itself !! Why recommend a golf course thats in Castledawson - thats miles away !!

clearly you missed

Hi52 wrote:

house share in Derry, limavady or Coleraine

named clubs are in the "surrounding area" ...:eek:

and a day golfing castledawson isnt that bad... even if it was 45 minutes away.

NIMAN

Johnny_the_fox wrote:

clearly you missed



named clubs are in the "surrounding area" ...:eek:

and a day golfing castledawson isnt that bad... even if it was 45 minutes away.

Yes you're right, I did sort of miss that.

Well I did read it originally but then when I started to compose my answer I always had it in my head that the poster would be living in Derry, since they said their job was based in Derry and the title of the thread is 'Info on Derry'.

Anyway, you are correct about the golf issue. I know quite a few golfers and they do seem to travel some distances to play different courses rather than always hang around locally. Good point.

But I thought that you might have named Derry based things first as your reply seemed to be weighted towards things outside of the city.

Hi52

Thanks for the replies and sorry about the confusion about where i'm going to live - still very much undecided!!

Have signed contracts and handed in notice so it looks like Derry/Coleriane etc is my destination!!

Thanks again,

Hi52

NIMAN

Hi52 wrote:

Thanks for the replies and sorry about the confusion about where i'm going to live - still very much undecided!!

Have signed contracts and handed in notice so it looks like Derry/Coleriane etc is my destination!!

Thanks again,

Hi52

I'd pick Derry itself. Reasons (unbiased):
- more happening in it than Coleraine
- you will save on a 60mile round-trip every day - petrols getting expensive!
- you will keep the mileage down on your wagon
- you can have an extra 30min (at least) in bed every morning
- handier to airport in case you fancy a wee weekend in Liverpool, Glasgow. Also flights to Dublin.

Let us know what you decide.

Hi52

Hi all,

Thanks again for the replies.

Just thought i'd log back in and let you know my final decision.

Have taken a house in Coleraine for the moment from one of the people i will be working with. Have agreed a 6 mth lease (same lenght as my probation) with him so will see how it works out. If the drive/area is wrecking my head, I'll be abe to move to Derry at the end of it.

Thanks again and wish me luck - don't know a sinner up in them there parts so starting with a totally clean slate!!

Hi52

][cEMAN**

Sorry, I only just spotted the 'Derry' forums here, and i'm about to run out the door in a sec, but if you need any info gimme a PM at some point. I'm from Derry, and i've lived both sides of the water and would know most of the places around - just can't give a detailed answer now. I'll get back to ye.

Hi52

Well, I decided to log back in to tip my cap to NIMAN. Tried Coleraine and didn't like it so I'm moving to Derry after Christmas. Should have listened to you in the first place....

So new year, new start, new city....