Moving to Wexford in July/August

TheBeefChief

Hi,

Myself, my missus, our 6 year old son and our 18 year old niece are relocating to Wexford from Scotland during the summer. We live in a town with nothing to offer any of us (140 mile round trip to the nearest cinema, for example), and I've always liked Ireland.

We had a look around at various counties, and settled on Wexford. It seemed close enough to Dublin to be able to easily fly back to Scotland for family visits, but far enough away to be reasonably rural.

At the moment we're looking to get over there as cheaply as possible, and then rent property privately. We've got enough saved to live on for a couple of months, but we'd prefer to take any full time work that's going so as not to eat into our savings. Once we're in and settled we'll then look for 'better' jobs.

I have a couple of questions I'm hoping someone here will be able to answer for me.

1. I've read on here that the bus services around Co. Wexford aren't great. A lot of the property we've been looking at has been a short distance outside Wexford Town. Are there bus services which run to the little outskirt villages around the town, or will we have to rely on the car for getting to and from school, etc?

2. What is the job situation like? As I say, we're prepared to take pretty much anything to start with. I've worked for a few years in management, but would be over the moon to land a job on Tesco nightshift, for example. My other half has lots of restaurant experience, as does our niece.

Sorry for the long-winded post! Thanks in advance to anyone who can help.

RedXIV

Hi! and welcome to our county!

As far as i know for the bus services for schools, aren't actually that bad, depending on which area you're in. I live in the north of the county so my experience is mainly based around there but from what i know of wexford town, it's pretty similar. however, getting to and from the town for anything other than school will probably demand a car.

Tesco's are ALWAYS looking for people and i know there is one in wexford town, new ross, gorey and if you're willing to drive a little bit further, you'll find more i'm sure of it. I worked in the one in gorey for a few years and know the manager there, and i'd have contacts in the others if you want them?

Same for your wife, restaurants are always looking for staff so shouldn't be too hard to find work there in that industry. I'll have a wee scout around and ask a few friend and see what they dig up for me.

Not sure how much this helps but if ya need anything else, feel free to ask

TheBeefChief

Thanks for the reply and the info, it's much appreciated.

Our son is going to be going to the new Educate Together school which is due to open in Wexford Town in September, so I'm not sure how well it'll be covered by buses when it first opens. Maybe the people behind the new school will be able to help out a little on that one.

Ideally we'd like to get jobs within Wexford Town (or close by) to begin with, until we find our feet. I'm the only one who drives in the family, and depending on buses I may well have to stay close to Wexford for the school run. That's why I'm thinking about nightshift at the moment - again, until we get settled in and can figure out ways of getting the little 'un to and from school. If you know of anyone in the Wexford Tesco, please do send me their details. That'd be a fantastic help - thank you!

MissHoneyBun

Hi BeefChief. Im a Wexford gal myself, born and bred. Ive lived in Dublin, Limerick and Wicklow since growing up and leaving home and I can honestly tell you that nowhere compares to Wexford for warmth and hospitality. In relation to your enquiries then unfortunately the bus service in Wexford is not really viable on a daily short haul basis. There are regular inter-county services run by Bus Eireann which stop in a few minor locations en route to the major destination. These run, usually on an hourly basis, but the stops are often in obscure places thsat you would need a car to get to which really defeats your purpose. Check out http://www.buseireann.ie/ for more info.

With regard to work and jobs, then Wexford has a large number of hotels and restaurants that are always on the recruit for good, experienced staff. The Riverbank House Hotel is in a nice, accessible location at the bridge in Wexford town. Perhaps your wife could apply for a position in the restaurant or even more casually as occasional banqueting staff? For yourself there may be night work available in the bar or reception as a barman or night porter. The owner of the hotel also owns a large popular niteclub in the town called The Stores so the hotel staff may be able to put you in touch with some work as a barman or bouncer there either. It's worth the enquiry!

Best of luck with your new start and let us all know how you get on!

RedXIV

OK, well after doing my bit of research and the girl i knew running the show in wexford has been promoted out of the place so it's run by a guy called <sbip>. Number for the place is <snip> and if you mention your experience, they might be able to hook you up with something.

also, after a quick scan of the net, i found two restauarants looking for staff and my knowledge of wexford would be pretty limited. so it sounds good on those fronts. the only thing is that with you moving in july or august, alot of students will have been looking for jobs so you might not get them again until september when they all leave for college/school etc.

Still waiting to hear back about school transport, will update you as i hear more

MOD EDIT: No posting of personal details please! Please sort this out through PM!

TheBeefChief

Hey guys,

Thanks for the replies. RedXIV, thanks for posting those details. They were snipped before I could read them, so if you could PM me, that would be great.

Does anyone know of any areas we should be looking to avoid renting in? There's a possibility we're going to have to rent based on photos, as we may not have enough time to come over and look at properties.

Spotted a house in Castlebridge, for example, which seems to be within reasonable distance of Wexford Town. Not having been to the area, though, for all I know it could be a hell hole!

Any advice greatly appreciated.

snellers

Castlebridge without a car is a no no - based on the school you mentioned then Town would be best - the educate together school is a little south of the town center - if you google map wexford it is off of distillery road (which becomes another road I forget the name of) - there are several new housing estates around clonard which are pretty decent. If you want any particular opinion on any road let us know and someone will come back (if I don;t know will ask the wife as I'm not from here either!)

TheBeefChief

Hi guys,

Thanks for all your help. Haven't been online much of late as we're busy packing boxes and the like!

Quick question - does anyone know what the Summerhill area of Wexford town is like? We've seen somewhere to rent which is near St Peter's College, but not knowing Wexford we've no idea what this area is like. Is it nice/okay for a six year old?

Any advice much appreciated.

MissHoneyBun

OP Summerhill is a nice leafy kinda quiet-ish road in the centre of Wexford town. It's very central and has both St Peter's College Secondary school and Christian Brother's primary school only a stone's throw away. Despite the town's main street being a less than ten minute walk away there is also a small shopping centre in the Summerhill area (supermarket, pharmacy, newsagent, pub, fast food takeaway etc). As far as I know there are only a few private estates on that road so unlikely to be noisy etc as most are family oriented. If you want somewhere in the heart of town this place is pretty much ideal. All the pro's of a central location without much of the cons tbh. Good choice. Lack of own transport would not be too much of an issue living there

TheBeefChief

Hi MissHoneyBun,

Thanks for the speedy response. That all sounds fab. Is it a mix of private and council estates in the area, do you know, or are they all private?

We're also looking at some places in Clonard, as that's close to where the Educate Together school my son will be attending is being built. Any ideas of what that area is like?

snellers

first things first - I need to double check the location of the educate together school - someone mentioned to me the other day it might not be where I thought it was - sorry about that - will let you know soon as i do!

Clonard has several new estates around there - loads and loads of properties for sale - they seem very nice but the only potential negative being who you may end up living next to IMO as loads of property seems to be rented out. As there is plenty of property to choose from I would try my best to find a place with people you would be happy to live around (preferably homeowners) as less chance of change

TheBeefChief

We've been told by the school it's going to be at Moongate, Clonard (apparently opposite Clonard Church and Community Centre).

We're only planning renting ourselves at the moment, until we've got to know the town a bit better and made sure the wee man is settling in and the like. Probably look to rent for 1 or 2 years before deciding on whether or not to buy. Not sure what the property market is doing in Ireland, but it's wobbling here in the UK, and we expect a serious price crash on houses soon. I wouldn't want to look into buying until the dust has settled!

aka_alex

Hi,

I am a wexford guy born and bread and know the town pretty well. I have to say that if you are planning to rent around the Summerhill Area you will be fine, it is a nice area of the town.

The educate together school you are talking about is within walking distance of Summerhill, will probably take 10 minutes or so to walk it from Summerhill. From what I can see this school is going to be situated in 3 prefabricated units for a period of 2 years until June 2010, (according to planning permission application).

With regard to bus services, there is a private bus service that runs in wexford town, their service runs from 8.30am to 9pm and is very efficient. They have a website that you can look up.

Hope this is of some help to you.

TheBeefChief

Thanks - some very helpful information there. We're going for the house in Summerhill, so fingers crossed we get it!

CSheener

Hey everyone, i see this thread hasn't been commented on a while so i hope someone gets to see this and can give me some advice.
Myself and my partner and our 2 lil ones are thinking about moving to Wexford. The place we are looking at is in Arnestown. At the mo we live in Greystones and i do love it - but i think with an expanding family and the cost of living....we might get more for our money if we move. I'm 26 and the kids are nearly 3 and a baby of 4 months - i love the idea of a bigger house and especially a bigger garden but i'm a very social person and am worried about meeting other mums or that in the area. Any advice anyone! Should we make the move - also what would the local school be, would they be in Wexford town. My folks will be moving to the area...so thats a good reason to make the move. Will we have a better quality of life and not get too loney!!!????

bmaxi

I can only tell you of my own experience. We moved from Dublin to Duncormick, which is very close to where you are considering, for much the same reasons as you. Be prepared for a huge culture shock. The area is very rural and clannish. The people are not unfriendly and I made a couple of good friends there but I never felt like I fitted in and eventually moved back further north to Courtown. I would imagine the local school would be Marshalstown or possibly Taghmon. All I can say is do your homework carefully and don't expect a rural idyl, entertainment is thin on the ground and winter nights are long. The best you can hope for is, if it is a new housing estate, you will be among others in the same boat but I would say, with house prices dropping, look further north.

CSheener

Thanks a mil bmaxi

For years i've said i'd never move as the chances of getting back if we don't like will be fairly slim. And very often you hear of people making the move and regretting it! For my partner he'd be gone in a shot, he loves the country and unlike me doesn't need to be yabbering to people all the time. The reason we are looking at this area in particular is because my folks have just bought a site down the round. So we would have a support network and a babysitter! If it wasn't for this we would be looking closer to where you are now! I don't think we'd be looking at a new estate either as if i'm gonna sacrifice moving from an area i love i want my house and garden to make up for it. First time i went to look at my folks site i went to the supervalue in Wellingtonbridge and the girl who gave me directions was so friendly - they aint that friendly in my local supermarket i can tell ya that!

The place we are looking at is about 15 mins from Wexford town - that still means we could have a bit of a social life with the help of taxi's....doesn't it?

sam_mom1

Curiousity... I wonder did CSheener and The Beef Chief move to Wexford and how are they getting on????