Where to live between Letterkenny and Derry

mary234

Hi All,
Im hoping for some advice on where to live. My partner will be working in letterkenny and I may have to work in the north from September onwards. Therefore we want to move somewhere between Letterkenny and Derry. Any opinions/info on the following places as places to rent and live in for a year or 2 would be appreciated. Manorcunningham, Bridgeend, Newtowncunningham, Muff, Burt, Burnfoot.
Like vibrant local community, local shops, countryside.
Dislike boyracers, miles of estates.
We will be going up ourselves in the next week or so, but just thought someone might be able to give me a heads up first,
Thanks a mill,
Mary

dobsdave

Why not go to one or the other?
Failing that, Buncrana?

Trish2007

I think your best bet would be to live in letterkenny. Its only about 25mins from derry. If you live in the middle there is nothing there so you would end up going to derry or letterkenny anyway for shopping,entertainment etc. The places you named are just villages with not alot in them( no offence to anyone that lives there)

mary234

Thanks guys,
It would be nice to live in Letterkenny or Buncrana, I hear they are both great towns, but say if I am working in Coleraine (a possibility), it would be quite a commute, was hoping to knock 15 or 20 mins off by living between Derry and Letterkenny
However if the villages in between are mostly commuter zones... I guess Ill have to wait and see when I get up there.

mary234

Wheres that?

Harps

As said above you'd probably be better to just live in one or the other, living half way has no real benfits as you'd end up going in whenever you need anything.

In saying that, Bridgend wouldnt be a bad place, its 5 minutes outside Derry and if you're working in Coleraine istead of the city then it'd make more sense than living in Letterkenny which is close to an hours drive away.

muffler

mary234 wrote: »

Wheres that?

Pay no heed to the troll.

There's one in every forum

mrmac

If you're going to be working in Coleraine, then I'd suggest living in Derry.
If you work in the North, but live in the South, you'll have to pay dual tax, as the Irish Tax Man will still want the difference in tax bands.
You'll be able to buy a Northern Reg car, cheaper tax & insurance. Generally retail prices are better value in the North, and even rental prices can be better value.

Personally, I think Derry is a great city, it's lively & busy, and has a lot to offer.


Edit:
Letterkenny to Derry: 23 miles approx.
Derry to Coleraine: 30 miles approx.

Pique

mrmac wrote: »

If you work in the North, but live in the South, you'll have to pay dual tax, as the Irish Tax Man will still want the difference in tax bands.

Come again ? You earn in the north, you pay tax in the north. What's this dual tax malarkey ?

mrmac

If you're resident in the South, you still have to pay your taxes on your income. You pay the difference between the amount of UK Tax that you've paid, and the Irish Tax that you should pay in the South. This isn't really an issue on the standard rate of tax, which I think is now 20% in the UK as well. If you earn enough to go into the UK 40% bracket, you'll get a bill from the Irish Revenue for their 1%.

I have no idea if you'll also be liable for P.R.S.I and various Levies as well. Definitely worthwhile consulting an accountant about this. Sorry I can't be of more help, as it was years ago when I last worked in the North.

K-9

mrmac wrote: »

If you're resident in the South, you still have to pay your taxes on your income. You pay the difference between the amount of UK Tax that you've paid, and the Irish Tax that you should pay in the South. This isn't really an issue on the standard rate of tax, which I think is now 20% in the UK as well. If you earn enough to go into the UK 40% bracket, you'll get a bill from the Irish Revenue for their 1%.

I have no idea if you'll also be liable for P.R.S.I and various Levies as well. Definitely worthwhile consulting an accountant about this. Sorry I can't be of more help, as it was years ago when I last worked in the North.

My recollection of it is:

If you are single, that is it. Whatever is taxed in NI is the end it. Cross border relief is what it is called.

If you are married or, if you have a second income here, a return needs to be filed here.

Edit: I'll post up a few links tomorrow.

On the original question, Manor is quite nice and not too over developed, compared to other similar towns/villages.

Technique

I work in the north, and pay cross border tax.

AFAIK, it only kicks in when the higher earning partner is working in the north.

Getting back on topic, I would live in Derry if I were in the OPs position.

mary234

Thanks guys,
Im thinking Derry too now, seems to be lots going on there:)

Harps

Yeah certainly makes more sense if you're going to be working in Coleraine. You'd half close to 3 hours commuting every day if you lived around Letterkenny

homer simpson

Harps wrote: »

Yeah certainly makes more sense if you're going to be working in Coleraine. You'd half close to 3 hours commuting every day if you lived around Letterkenny

Three hours is a bit OTT, its 70 mins to colraine from where i live (near newtown) its about 10 mins to letterkenny, and 15mins extra allowing for heavy traffic. if i was you i'd prob pick burnfoot/ burt area decently quiet but not a million miles away from the major towns.

EDIT:oops just seen the date on this, sorry!

Senna

homer_simpson wrote: »

Three hours is a bit OTT, its 70 mins to colraine from where i live (near newtown) its about 10 mins to letterkenny, and 15mins extra allowing for heavy traffic. if i was you i'd prob pick burnfoot/ burt area decently quiet but not a million miles away from the major towns.

EDIT:oops just seen the date on this, sorry!

There and back, 3hr10m by your calulations:D

homer simpson

i must admit now that was a fail by myself!!! i should really read the posts more before quoting someone :rolleyes:, that and the fact boards should come with a breath test that refuses to let you on when on the sauce