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Moving to Athlone

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  • 17-01-2009 3:45pm
    #1
    HiKite
    Registered Users Posts: 378 ✭✭


    Hi there, my partner and I are thinking of moving to Athlone with our new baby in August, and were wondering if anyone can recommend a nice quiet part of the town to live in?

    I also have a small distribution business, and was looking at Blyry Industrial Estate as an option; again, if anyone has any suggestions, they would be greatly appreciated.

    Many thanks,

    Enda.


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    #2
    blast05
    Closed Accounts Posts: 256 ✭✭blast05


    Woodville is right beside Blyry - very sound houses - all 4 or 5 beds. There are issues re completion of the road surface in the estate but the builder is due up in court for prosecution in early Feb ..... all in all, progress is being made on that front. You can also expect a fully fledged residents committee to be reformed this year with a maintainence contract for the entire estate to be top of the agenda.
    You could get a 5 bed detached looking on to a green area at the end of a cul-de-sac for "asking" price of 300K. Unlike most estates, there are very few unoccupied houses with Ericsson (~500 staff), Blyry, Dept. of Education (~300), Athlone IT and a couple of pharmaceutical companies in Garrycastle IDA park all within walking distance.
    There are a couple of other new nice housing estate close-by. Less site space per house and all houses in the estates are not sold so God knows who would end up living in them once the banks force the builder to sell or whatever.

    If you're looking for a rural area, then i would say anywhere around Mount Temple or Glasson would be the best option. Rumour has it that the builder of these: http://www.lochluatha.com/ is in trouble and 350K would buy one (original asking price of 700K) .... about 7-8 miles from town centre


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    #3
    Hagar
    Closed Accounts Posts: 16,793 ✭✭✭✭Hagar


    I moved there from Dublin several years ago and I would strongly advise you to have your head checked.


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    #4
    tubos
    Registered Users Posts: 450 ✭✭tubos


    I moved from Dublin in August '07, 3 weeks after our son was born. Living in Woodville, which is a lovely estate (some issues with the road as a previous poster said, but nowhere near as many issues as some of the newer housing estates), quiet, and right beside Blyry. Rents are also very cheap, you could probably rent a huge 4 bed house for 800 a month.

    It was the best move we ever made, especially with a young baby. For me, I no longer have to spend hours stuck in traffic going to work, and can go home for my lunch, so I can help out a lot more at home and spend more quslity time with the young lad. At the weekends the lake is a few minutes up the road, so we'd go there a lot in the summer. The town has got everything really, or at least has most things you need in a within a very small area.

    I can't comment on the night life as it's something I've not been able to experience!! Driving back to Dublin to see family now is a Doddle. Can drive to M50 is less than an hour now.

    I'm not gonna say I'll never go back to Dublin (I prob have said it before though!), as there is always something that will draw me back!!! But I'm happy out here, the young fella has a big garden to play in, something he wouldn't have had in Dublin prob, and the school he'll be going to is across the road from the estate.

    Feel free to pm me if you want any more info.

    All the best
    Tubos


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    #5
    Saint_Mel
    Registered Users Posts: 2,598 ✭✭✭Saint_Mel


    Probably a bit bias here as I'm an Athlonion, but having lived/worked away from home for years I can honestly say I was never more happy than the day I moved back to live.

    Depends on what your into and want out of a place to live but for me it has everything. From a social aspect theres plenty of pubs etc., probably could do with another resteraunt or 2 but whats there is grand, theres cinema/bowling/all the usual stuff. From sporting point of view there are plenty of clubs (football, GAA, hockey, basketball, golf etc) around to join and get active.

    For people moving from Dublin, the price differece in houses can leave room for bigger gardens etc for kids so thats a big advantage.

    Its a small enough town in that nothing is too far away from wherever you live, and as was mentioned before its on the Galway-Dublin route so not that far away from either with the new motorway.


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    #6
    von Smallhausen
    Registered Users Posts: 1,162 ✭✭✭von Smallhausen


    Anywhere apart from Willow Park and Battery Heights:D:D


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    #7
    HiKite
    Registered Users Posts: 378 ✭✭HiKite


    Hi folks, thanks a million for the comments and info; we're heading down/across on Sunday to have a look around the town and Mount Temple and will check out your suggestions.

    Hagar, I had my head checked in Tullamore when I was a kid, and I should fit in fine ;0)


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    #8
    Hagar
    Closed Accounts Posts: 16,793 ✭✭✭✭Hagar


    Futuresounds wrote: »
    Hagar, I had my head checked in Tullamore when I was a kid, and I should fit in fine ;0)
    Best of luck to you. As a Dub I couldn't get my head around the way everyone wanted to know everything about you but were suddenly evasive when asked about themselves. Small town, small minds. Saturday is Window-licker Day down at the Golden Island, don't miss it, it's the highlight of the week.



    I fairness there are some very nice people in Athlone but if I had known it was going to be so parochial and incestuous I wuld never have gone there.


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    #9
    tubos
    Registered Users Posts: 450 ✭✭tubos


    I think it is far from parochial and incestuous!! well where I live anyway, I hardly know any of the neighbours, just like it was up in Dublin.

    Golden Island can be a bit of a sight alright on a Saturday, would I be right in saying that there is a large amount of members of the travelling community in Athlone, or are they the locals?? Although now when I go back to Dublin city I am shocked by the amount of Adam and Paul types roaming the streets :eek:

    one thing I can't understand about Athlone is the driving and how drivers don't bother to yield at t-junctions and just jump straight out onto the road!

    Anyway, it's a great place to live, especially if you still have ties to Dublin as it's only a short spin up the road.


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    #10
    120_Minutes
    Registered Users Posts: 4,706 ✭✭✭120_Minutes


    tubos wrote: »

    one thing I can't understand about Athlone is the driving and how drivers don't bother to yield at t-junctions and just jump straight out onto the road!

    dont bother to indicate

    dont bother to use roundabouts correctly

    i could go on.....


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    #11
    BoB_BoT
    Registered Users Posts: 1,835 ✭✭✭BoB_BoT


    Hagar wrote: »
    Best of luck to you. As a Dub I couldn't get my head around the way everyone wanted to know everything about you but were suddenly evasive when asked about themselves. Small town, small minds. Saturday is Window-licker Day down at the Golden Island, don't miss it, it's the highlight of the week.



    I fairness there are some very nice people in Athlone but if I had known it was going to be so parochial and incestuous I wuld never have gone there.
    :eek:

    Every day is Window-licker Day now Hagar haha
    I swear though a large portion of the population are just getting stupider around here, and it's nothing to do with the inbreeding haha

    tubos, driving has always been a challange, if it's not some twat that can't indicate, it's someone heading the wrong way up a one way street and when ya try to warn them you get the middle finger.
    I don't know what's wrong with people, I learned to drive here. I can indicate, use roundabouts correctly, hell I CAN EVEN PARK between the lines! I wonder if I can get money off my insurance for that :P

    Also there's quite a few Adam and Pauls knocking about the town recently. Bloody odd actually....


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    #12
    extra1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 28 ✭extra1


    don't move!! run for the hills! its a dump. in fact it is built on a dump. FACT.


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    #13
    Onikage
    Registered Users Posts: 1,451 ✭✭✭Onikage


    extra1 wrote: »
    don't move!! run for the hills! its a dump. in fact it is built on a dump. FACT.

    Well, sort of. Golden Island shopping centre is located on the grave of the old town dump. It is a fairly typical Irish town.


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    #14
    Seaneh
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 18,300 ✭✭✭✭Seaneh


    Hagar wrote: »
    Best of luck to you. As a Dub I couldn't get my head around the way everyone wanted to know everything about you but were suddenly evasive when asked about themselves. Small town, small minds. Saturday is Window-licker Day down at the Golden Island, don't miss it, it's the highlight of the week.



    I fairness there are some very nice people in Athlone but if I had known it was going to be so parochial and incestuous I wuld never have gone there.


    Ah Chris, don't be like that...


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    #15
    Hagar
    Closed Accounts Posts: 16,793 ✭✭✭✭Hagar


    You're back from your travels. Just couldn't stay away from Athlone could you. :D


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    #16
    Seaneh
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 18,300 ✭✭✭✭Seaneh


    Hagar wrote: »
    You're back from your travels. Just couldn't stay away from Athlone could you. :D

    I live in Galway now, haha.

    I was in Morzine like 3 weeks ago visiting Kilmurray (he's living there) and I sincerely hope the food down where you are is better then and ****e in Haute-Savoie because I've never been as disappointed with food in my life!


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    #17
    HiKite
    Registered Users Posts: 378 ✭✭HiKite


    Hi folks,

    many thanks for all the info. We've decided to move to Sligo instead, after I changed tack with the business. We distribute, and I've outsourced the warehousing, meaning we can live where we want ;0)

    Take care,

    e.


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    #18
    lionel1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4 ✭lionel1


    I moved to Athlone from Dublin about 2 years ago.
    It is not as bad as people make it out to be.

    On the plus side
    rents are cheap
    communting time is short
    there is a few good pubs and restaurants
    locals are very friendly
    good golf courses.
    new road has opened and you can make the m50 in about an hour

    On the negative side
    it is a small town and everybody knows your business.
    The locals are very nosey.

    Overall i am happy to be living here it won't be my final stop but i am happy to be here for the time being.:)


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