Moving to Longford?

SeanW

I think all the Longford bashing here is a bit over the top. But to correct the last poster, Templemichael College is a mixed secondary school, a.k.a. "The Tech" it was called Longford Vocational School when I went there. We had a small class size, and we were all one big gang of friends for the time. Granted there was plenty of mitching going on, but there was a good education for you there if you wanted it and there was no knofe crime or anything like that.

I seriously would not recommend Longford for a Dublin commuter - you would need to factor in at least 2 hours commute time each way, and unless you're prepared to accept the attendant crappy quality of life, it really should be avoided.

I might do Edgeworthstown-West Dublin but that's it.

flas

xjennyx wrote: »

forget edgeworthstown dats crap! nothing there at all eh longford not much for teenagers to do apart from drink n do drugs,im sure u dont want ur kids ending up like dat,i honestly dont think theres much in longford for teens to do seriously like im 5 miles from longford town and i always head up 2 dublin,mullingar r athlone just to get away from it.

what are you talking about? did you grow up here!?there was lots to do,everyday something going on after school if you wanted to do something and now there is even more for younger people to do!?honestly what else do you expect? there is music if interested in music in the attic, sports down the mall not to mention all the sports clubs around the town and a cinema and bowling alley?

Kenzi

I grew up in Longford and loved it. In fact i'd jump at the chance to get back there but the profession im in has very limited opportunities in this country, never mind the midlands! I go up the odd time to meet old friends and try to get in a Longford Town game at the same time. Sure it has its 'social' problems but what town that size doesnt? I live in near Mallow in Cork which is much much bigger than Longford but the latter seems bustling in comparison to Mallow. There's so much more going on there! I lived across from Clonbalt woods(when it was just fields/houses starting to be built)

evolutionqy7

move to lanesboro way ahead of every one in longford

asomeday

Am living in lanesborough (renting) & will be buying a house in the area shortly. My job opportunities are v limited down here & am considering commute to Dublin city centre by train...

Have no kids-thinking of this as a 2-3 year thing maximum

Am I mad?!

OP: lanesborough has a mixed secondary school & lovely area around the Shannon for walks etc. a few pubs but quiet nightlife.as regards teenagers - I don't think there are many activities outside the usual sports clubs etc

Wouldn't be keen on living in Longford town tbh as one poster says there are lots of undesirables...on the other hand you get that everywhere!
Myself & my partner have gone so far as to say we won't send our kids to school there so we won't buy any houses that would be in the catchment area for mixed schools in the town!

Freddie K

asomeday wrote: »

Am living in lanesborough (renting) & will be buying a house in the area shortly. My job opportunities are v limited down here & am considering commute to Dublin city centre by train...

Have no kids-thinking of this as a 2-3 year thing maximum

Am I mad?!

OP: lanesborough has a mixed secondary school & lovely area around the Shannon for walks etc. a few pubs but quiet nightlife.as regards teenagers - I don't think there are many activities outside the usual sports clubs etc

Wouldn't be keen on living in Longford town tbh as one poster says there are lots of undesirables...on the other hand you get that everywhere!
Myself & my partner have gone so far as to say we won't send our kids to school there so we won't buy any houses that would be in the catchment area for mixed schools in the town!

Why don't you open a Head Shop in Lanesborough since you are so keen on them? I'm sure that would go down well with the locals.

JupiterKid

Hopefully with the new N5 leg of the bypass open there will be a chance to spruce up the centre of Longford town with better urban streetscaping. Let's face it - it needs it.

maguic24

The country part of Longford is grand, but the town itself is an absolute kip. I lived on the outskirts of the town and I could not bare it! I moved to Dublin to go to college. It was such a big change for me. Dublin over Longford any day. Unemployment is sky high in Longford and shops are constantly shutting, others reopening for a few months and then shutting down again. As well as that, there is serious societal problems. There is certain parts you just could not go through. It's very depressing, not only that but you will have to get used to living in a small town, where everyone knows everyone elses business. It was nice getting away from a narrow-minded, judgemental, hard core, catholic town. I know I am making a generalization there and of course everyone is not the same, but I am making these judgments based on my personal experience. I remember we were made go to mass when we were young, and half the people who went to mass would be only there to spot who WASN'T there. >.<

Equality

I would definitely agree that Longford should be avoided. Both the town and the countryside.

I made the mistake of taking a job in Longford - I was absolutely tortured by one large local family. Jobs in Longford, in case you have not heard, are to be reserved for locals only (that means born and bred in Longford for three generations, at least).

Non-locals are to be treated poorly, and given the worst of everything. Do not expect fairness in terms of access to schools, housing, employment or anything really. The first consideration will always be the amount of power you have in the town. It will be calculated on the basis of the number of relatives/friends you have, and on your asset wealth (farm or business). Everything is allocated on the above basis, and if you relocate to Longford you will be at the bottom of the list for everything.

In addition, you may expect to have your life made miserable by the locals, if one member of a family takes a dislike to you, then the entire family will try to convince you that you would be happier elsewhere. Plus all their many friends.

You may expect to have your food spat in if you go into a local restaurant, and served to you with a smile, amid much laughter in the kitchen.

You may expect to be intimidated if you simply walk up the street, and walk past a member of said local 'gang'.

I could go on, but I think you get the point.

In my case, I left the job. It was a job I had done for years in Dublin, and I absolutely loved it. It was well paid, permanent, had a very good pension, and plenty of opportunities for promotion. Great conditions of employment, apart from the nastiness of people who felt that 'outsiders' should not be allowed to work or live in their lovely town.

In short, avoid Longford at all costs.

cherryghost

Equality wrote: »

I would definitely agree that Longford should be avoided. Both the town and the countryside.

I made the mistake of taking a job in Longford - I was absolutely tortured by one large local family. Jobs in Longford, in case you have not heard, are to be reserved for locals only (that means born and bred in Longford for three generations, at least).

Non-locals are to be treated poorly, and given the worst of everything. Do not expect fairness in terms of access to schools, housing, employment or anything really. The first consideration will always be the amount of power you have in the town. It will be calculated on the basis of the number of relatives/friends you have, and on your asset wealth (farm or business). Everything is allocated on the above basis, and if you relocate to Longford you will be at the bottom of the list for everything.

In addition, you may expect to have your life made miserable by the locals, if one member of a family takes a dislike to you, then the entire family will try to convince you that you would be happier elsewhere. Plus all their many friends.

You may expect to have your food spat in if you go into a local restaurant, and served to you with a smile, amid much laughter in the kitchen.

You may expect to be intimidated if you simply walk up the street, and walk past a member of said local 'gang'.

I could go on, but I think you get the point.

In my case, I left the job. It was a job I had done for years in Dublin, and I absolutely loved it. It was well paid, permanent, had a very good pension, and plenty of opportunities for promotion. Great conditions of employment, apart from the nastiness of people who felt that 'outsiders' should not be allowed to work or live in their lovely town.

In short, avoid Longford at all costs.

I think you're WAAAAY out of line in a few of those statements. I moved from the Dublin area to the Longford area about 12 years ago and was NEVER treated that bad. Most of the people in the town are as friendly as people in the next town. I'd really like to know what job you had in Longford that you exposed to the scum of the town.

If you think people were spitting in your food, I'd also like to know where you think that was. Longford has some of the best restaurants in the midlands region including some nationally renowned ones (the Viewmount comes to mind), so please, enlighten me.

And just for the record, I personally believe that job prospects in town are very very poor, but are slowly improving, from what I have noticed (though still noticably poorer than other areas of the midlands). And I still stand by my original statements that Ardagh/Abbeyshrule/Killoe areas are nice to live in. Very nice and close knit communities that welcome all ethnic types from all backgrounds, in my personal experience.

Equality

Regarding the job, it was a percentage of the colleagues who made my life difficult. Not customers. A considerable number of my colleagues were indeed lovely, but very reluctant to go against the group who 'had it in for me', to coin a phrase. The problem was that a group wanted me gone out of the job, and they eventually succeeded. A large group of locals versus one of me - the end result is obvious. I faced nasty looks both within the workplace and in Longford town itself, if I made the mistake of so much as walking up the street or down the corridor in the workplace. Every day for a number of years. The impact on me was very negative, partly because the nastiness was sustained for such a long period of time.

With regard to job prospects, they were excellent with this particular employer. Like I said, a very desirable job.

Job prospects in general within the town are pretty much non-existent/very poor, I would agree with you there. A lot of the locals bought houses for about a quarter of a million euro, which are now worth about fifty to seventy thousand. Some people I worked with had bought such houses, and are now absolutely impoverished. They are not spending money in the town, because the mortgages are crippling them - with knock on effects for the shopkeepers in the town. These are people on good salaries, but it is easy to see that money is very tight for them. In many cases, the mortgage is such that they are effectively bankrupt. They have good jobs, so they will continue paying the massive mortgage, but they won't be able to afford the luxury buys that keep some shops in business. In short, the massive mortgages that many are paying are causing a lot of businesses to close down.

luvnit!

Equality wrote: »

I would definitely agree that Longford should be avoided. Both the town and the countryside.

I made the mistake of taking a job in Longford - I was absolutely tortured by one large local family. Jobs in Longford, in case you have not heard, are to be reserved for locals only (that means born and bred in Longford for three generations, at least).

Non-locals are to be treated poorly, and given the worst of everything. Do not expect fairness in terms of access to schools, housing, employment or anything really. The first consideration will always be the amount of power you have in the town. It will be calculated on the basis of the number of relatives/friends you have, and on your asset wealth (farm or business). Everything is allocated on the above basis, and if you relocate to Longford you will be at the bottom of the list for everything.

In addition, you may expect to have your life made miserable by the locals, if one member of a family takes a dislike to you, then the entire family will try to convince you that you would be happier elsewhere. Plus all their many friends.

You may expect to have your food spat in if you go into a local restaurant, and served to you with a smile, amid much laughter in the kitchen.

You may expect to be intimidated if you simply walk up the street, and walk past a member of said local 'gang'.

I could go on, but I think you get the point.

In my case, I left the job. It was a job I had done for years in Dublin, and I absolutely loved it. It was well paid, permanent, had a very good pension, and plenty of opportunities for promotion. Great conditions of employment, apart from the nastiness of people who felt that 'outsiders' should not be allowed to work or live in their lovely town.

In short, avoid Longford at all costs.

And so all people from Longford are like this one family you came into contact with?
I think not!
You obviously had a bad experience but if you think people are "spitting in your food" I think you've got a bad case of paranoia.

I would love to know where you lived cause I can tell you that Longford is full to the gills with non nationals who have jobs here and they most certainly are not " 3 generations" of longford!

The phrase "Don't tar everyone with the one brush" springs to mind.

starskey77

cherryghost wrote: »

I used to live in Edgeworthstown

Steer clear of it. Its nothing as you expect it to be, as I found out. Moved just north of Longford town, love it there, great neighbours, great country life, cant complain. If you're considering Longford, I recommend the outskirts of Longford town, or else Ballinalee or Kenagh I suppose. I'm in Ennybegs in Killoe, its a really nice place, but teenagers are few and far between I guess

Ennybegs is great, that person thinking about edgeworthstown
nightmare

scotzgeeza

Equality wrote: »

I would definitely agree that Longford should be avoided. Both the town and the countryside.

I made the mistake of taking a job in Longford - I was absolutely tortured by one large local family. Jobs in Longford, in case you have not heard, are to be reserved for locals only (that means born and bred in Longford for three generations, at least).

Non-locals are to be treated poorly, and given the worst of everything. Do not expect fairness in terms of access to schools, housing, employment or anything really. The first consideration will always be the amount of power you have in the town. It will be calculated on the basis of the number of relatives/friends you have, and on your asset wealth (farm or business). Everything is allocated on the above basis, and if you relocate to Longford you will be at the bottom of the list for everything.

In addition, you may expect to have your life made miserable by the locals, if one member of a family takes a dislike to you, then the entire family will try to convince you that you would be happier elsewhere. Plus all their many friends.

You may expect to have your food spat in if you go into a local restaurant, and served to you with a smile, amid much laughter in the kitchen.

You may expect to be intimidated if you simply walk up the street, and walk past a member of said local 'gang'.

I could go on, but I think you get the point.

In my case, I left the job. It was a job I had done for years in Dublin, and I absolutely loved it. It was well paid, permanent, had a very good pension, and plenty of opportunities for promotion. Great conditions of employment, apart from the nastiness of people who felt that 'outsiders' should not be allowed to work or live in their lovely town.

In short, avoid Longford at all costs.

Well i am from Scotland, Lived in sligo/Leitrim the past 10 years now. Currently in Longford and see no problems with it. Fair enough there is some rough ones that need a good slap. But i wouldn't let a small bunch spoil the town. Tbh i think your making most of it up. I have several mates who moved to Longford the past year 1 English 1 Welsh and none of them have any trouble either. Been givin dirty looks on a night out in blazers Night club but that happens.

scotzgeeza

luvnit! wrote: »

And so all people from Longford are like this one family you came into contact with?
I think not!
You obviously had a bad experience but if you think people are "spitting in your food" I think you've got a bad case of paranoia.

I would love to know where you lived cause I can tell you that Longford is full to the gills with non nationals who have jobs here and they most certainly are not " 3 generations" of longford!

The phrase "Don't tar everyone with the one brush" springs to mind.

I agree with everything, But there is no such thing as a non national everyone has a nationality.

onyxiv

Hi.
Can you tell me with part of Longford town is good place to live. Me and my wife decide to buy a house and we think about Longford town, but we dont know a neighborhood, so please help us. I hear a lot about section 23 is bad area but where is that??? We dont have kids but we plan so We are looking best place to live with kids.