Thinking of moving to Galway

markesmith

Right, I'm going to take the plunge and move to Galway, probably within the next fortnight or so. Got my own car, work from home, got quite a few friends down here.

My question: what areas are nice? What ones should I avoid? Also, I'm thinking of living maybe a couple of miles outside town - would you recommend this, or is it better to stick to town? Single male early 30s, by the way.

Cheers!

death1234567

Salthill is nice but it more expensive to rent/buy than other areas in galway. You gonna be renting??

lovelyhome

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biko

There have been quite a few threads on this previously.
Instead of listing them I'll just point you to Google, lazy me.
http://www.google.ie/search?hl=en&q="moving+to+Galway"+site%3Aboards.ie

Anyway, welcome and hope you enjoy Galway as much as the rest of us

KevR

If you're going to be working from home then might I suggest somewhere in the West of the City. In my opinion, the Western Suburbs are mostly more 'homely' than the Eastern ones. Traffic around West Galway City isn't too bad; people mainly experience problems when they live on the West side and have to drive across to the East side for work - it's getting across Galway that's the difficult part. Also, I think it's easier to get in and out of the City Centre from the West side there are more smaller routes in and out; the East side has a lesser number of major routes into the City Centre but there are huge volumes of commuter traffic on these routes (people who live outside Galway City commuting in).

The East side has big industrial estates and stuff like that. You definitely won't want to live near these unless you're working in them. There are some nice estates on the East side well away from industrial estates but I personally would prefer to live West (especially if working from home).

Elevator

East side of the city is closer to the new dualer so maybe look at athenry or craughwell. If you move west like Barna, moycullen or further you'll be caught coming thru town which is a nightmare now at the best of times, east is best my friend and welcome

miss5

Would have to recommend salthill, Have many friends there
and they love it.
Good Luck

KevR

Elevator wrote: »

East side of the city is closer to the new dualer so maybe look at athenry or craughwell. If you move west like Barna, moycullen or further you'll be caught coming thru town which is a nightmare now at the best of times, east is best my friend and welcome

He said he'll be working from home so no commuting. I would definitely recommend living on the East side if he was working (out of home) on the East side.

As I said traffic around West Galway itself is mostly grand, the same cannot be said for the East with the huge commuter volumes. For things like getting to a supermarket from home and stuff like that, the West side is a lot better in my opinion. Also, if you have to take a trip into town it's certainly easier from the West.

dafunk

Things like rent prices and traffic problems are all relative. If you're moving here from north Donegal then yes, salthill might seem expensive, but if you're moving here from Dublin you'll find it very cheap. Same goes for the traffic. I live on the west of the city in salthill and commute to the east side, near Ballybane for work everyday and it takes about 20 minutes max. The evenings are worse, could take up to an hour of you leave at the wrong time but seeing as you are not commuting it's not relevant really.

I would recommend the west side of the city. The east side of the city has very few social amenities IMHO unless you enjoy hanging out in hotel bars.

?Cee?view

I have to come down in favour of the West side in this East West debate.

It's just a more pleasant side of the town.

Most of the East side is relatively recently developed; sprawling housing estates with relatively little amenities. West of the river (while it also has its share of sprawling estates) has grown around existing villages and communities. Salthill, Rahoon, and to a lesser extent, Shantalla were villages and townlands in their own right before they became subsumed into Galway. There's just a more pleasant and greener feel to these areas, without their being stuffy. It's great to be nearer the open sea as well.

When I think of the East of Galway, Grey jumps to mind.

Best is to see for yourself.

KevR is spot on about the commuting and transport options.

Starie1975

First of all, Welcome to to Galway loveen!

Give you two options, either live in the city center if your a very out going person or else go to Salthill. As another poster said it pricey but good. I guess it all depends on your budget? As the rest say west is best.

lovelyhome

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AutumnComission

I Gotta say Claregalway village is good too . . me and my Fiancee live here and once your not working or commuting in rush hour traffic its perfect. (Even then, its not really as bad as they say!!) Im a mature student in college so it suits me perfectly. The area is beautiful, very country but still so close to the city - a ten minute spin at most - €14 in a taxi between a few ppl! Rent is very reasonable compared to other areas of city - we moved out from city and wld never go back now we have! There is a newly build chalet out the back of our newly built house which is vacant at the moment - the girl who was living in it just moved to Australia. She asked the Landlady to keep it for her til Sept as she loved it but im sure if the Landlady got someone for it sooner, she'd be delighted. Drop me a line if you have any interest - I can highly reccommend the area anyway - chalet is up to you! Maybe ur after living with ppl! I dunno!

inisboffin

While there are some little gems of places East, I would also recommend the areas mentioned previously in the West of the City, all those are within 20-30mins walk of town too. If you want to be 'in' town, then my faves would be Claddagh area and Henry St/Palmyra areas.

ronnie3585

Damn, it's like Baltimore up in here - all this beefin' between Eastside and Westside.

Euro_Kraut

AutumnComission wrote: »

Even then, its not really as bad as they say!!

True. Its worse!

My advice OP, live in the city centre if you can. In an area within walking distance to the Salthill prom/Claddagh. Treat yourself to a higher quality of life where your evenings are spent walking the prom rather than in traffic.

ciotog

I'm in Galway just over two years now. I don't head out on the town much so that aspect of deciding where to live doesn't really apply. I opted for the countryside living first in Corcullen (on the N59, between Galway and the village of Moycullen) and now just outside Moycullen. This lets me cycle to work (IDA park in Dangan) and have some peace and quiet when I need it - I travel often enough for work so I find I need personal space. There are some great places to rent currently which could make for a great home office setup. Downside is that I maybe miss out on the spontaneity of being in town, you have to plan things a bit more - you also have to put more effort into your internet connection which may be an issue for your work-from-home. Wherever you end up, Galway is a great place to live.

hyperbaby

I am going to rent out a room in my house soon, nice quiet rural area, 7.5 miles from the city.
But then maybe you would like to be living near town for convenience purposes.
good luck with the move!

unJustMary

KevR wrote: »

As I said traffic around West Galway itself is mostly grand, the same cannot be said for the East with the huge commuter volumes. For things like getting to a supermarket from home and stuff like that, the West side is a lot better in my opinion. Also, if you have to take a trip into town it's certainly easier from the West.

This must be the first time ever that I've major-ly disagreed with KevR on something!

Trips to town by car:
- West, you have to cross the river. Three bridges, all congested. Western Distributor Road ... umm, doesn't. Various boreen-ish routes you can take to get around problems, but they're kinda narrow etc.

- East, several major ways you can go (Dublin Rd, Monivea Rd, Bóthar na Dheabh ... might not be spelt right) ... it just gives more options on bad days. And if you want to go to the big-town (Dublin), it's a lot quicker to be starting in Doughiska than Knocknacarra (45-60 minutes quicker sometimes, which is a lot for a 2-hour journey)

Trips by public transport:
- East has the #9 bus: fast trip, bus lane a lot of the way, frequent services, good services all week
- West ... well there's the red bus which lots of people aren't so fond of, or one of the others ever 1/2 hour or less ...
- night buses: Athenry (east) is the only place that has one. (don't know if they do stops anywhere else on the way thru ... suspect they might)

Supermarkets:
Dunnes and Joyces in Knocknacarra (west) Both expensive, IMHO.
Dunnes and Aldi in Westside, SuperValu in the Claddagh-ish (mid-west)
Dunnes, Tesco, Aldi and Lidl in Terryland (technically east, practically central though, with huge traffic problems around 'em)
Dunnes in the middle of town
SuperValu in Ballybane (east - but how come the poorest area had the dearest supermarket???)
Dunnes and a big Lidl in BriarHill
SuperValu and Lidl in Oranmore
In short - - west is fine if you don't mind what you spend. If you do, look east.

OP: you said you're moving to Galway 'cos you've friends here. Personally I'd follow them on the west vs east front, 'cos you don't want to spend ages travelling for your social life.

IMHO the city near the canals, Shantalla and parts of Newcastle are cold, damp and drafty. Yes I know some people love 'em. Depends on your damp-resistance, I guess.

The very middle of the city has lots of apartments: there are some surprising gems with big balconies etc if you're lucky, and don't mind a bit of street noise (party-ers in the night, street cleaners in the earl morning)

If you decide to live out of the city, and need good internet coverage for work, then do some hard research. Some places aren't so flash.

Re in or out of the city, it depends on why you're coming. Are you into art, culture, music, going out etc? If so, there's HEAPS to do here, and it's so much more convenient being in town and able to get places quickly. OTOH, if you like the intimacy quiet, ambience, and silage-odour of rural life, out is better.

All IMHO, of course.

KevR

unJustMary wrote: »

This must be the first time ever that I've major-ly disagreed with KevR on something!

Trips to town by car:
- West, you have to cross the river. Three bridges, all congested. Western Distributor Road ... umm, doesn't. Various boreen-ish routes you can take to get around problems, but they're kinda narrow etc.

I wasn't exactly clear when I described trips to town by car from the West. I usually walk into town but my mother usually drives. It never takes her more than 5-7 mins to get from Highfield Park to Millstreet (where she normally parks). No real need to drive across the river, can park just to the West and walk the 2 mins to Shop Street.

The Western Distributor and Bishop O'Donnell/Seamus Quirke are the worst roads in the West for congestion. They can be quite bad at peak times but other than that they are sort of bearable (Western Distributor is ok and SQ + BOD is slow but moves).

Bishop O'Donnell/Seamus Quirke is getting upgraded this year (hopefully!) to have bus lanes so that should improve some bus services in West Galway.

From my own personal experience, I think that traffic on the East side is worse (due to the massive commuter numbers compared to the West). There are traffic problems in the West also (no doubt about it), but I just find it much easier to dodge the traffic than in the East.

?Cee?view

KevR wrote: »

I There are traffic problems in the West also (no doubt about it), but I just find it much easier to dodge the traffic than in the East.

True, there are various rat runs that can be used.

HiKite

ronnie3585 wrote: »

Damn, it's like Baltimore up in here - all this beefin' between Eastside and Westside.

Sheeeet ;0)

Thinking about moving as well, with my girlfriend and our little son, he's 10 months old. We'd need fulltime childminding while she pops in and out of UCG, I work from home so would need good broadband.

At the moment we live in Skreen, Sligo, this was a family orientated move while our little guy was finding his feet, but now we're looking again and as my girlfriends PHD is based in Galway, it seems like the next logical step.

Barna looks good, but is it overpriced? We're looking for a quiet country house on the West side, and would travel out as far as Spiddle, if not a touch further.

However, we're probably seriously limiting our choices if we stick to the seafront , are there any other recommended areas on the road to Moycullen or Headford? Looking for nice lake views now ;0) We're spoiled in Skreen, we have a view of 3 mountain ranges and the Atlantic! We'll probably have to compromise somewhere, but not before putting in some good effort to get what we want!

Cheers...

happyoutscan

The traffic situation in the west is MILES better than the east side of the city. For a start there are plenty of different options, routes etc and the traffic (while at times slow) at least moves. I've lived both sides and without a doubt traffic is much more bearable on the west of the city. Easily. Best of luck with your decision.

Xiney

I think a person's opinion of the traffic in east / west depends on where they live and spend most of their time.

Personally I rather hate driving in Galway City West - purely because I don't know my way around as well and it seems a lot more overwhelming. I don't mind the traffic in the East as much because I know the areas to avoid. And as JustMary has pointed out, public transportation on the East of the city is about a million times better than on the West.

We live in the East and we quite enjoy it. We're not major pub goers, and we're tighter than a couple of coats of paint so the cheaper rents and nearby Lidl appeal to us. Most important, however, is the fact that my husband works (I accidentally typed "lives" instead of "works" there, nearly true) in one of the industrial estates up by Parkmore, so living in the East is very handy. He can cycle in 5 minutes, or if he's feeling lazy I can drive him, or on sunny days I walk up and meet him after work and we walk back together. Obviously none of this applies to the OP, but for future reference and all

Merlin Wood is a lovely spot to go for walks, I go at least three times a week with the dog, Doughiska park has one of the best playgrounds I've ever seen (although it seems to be having some issues with litter at the moment, there is an active residents association for the area and they are trying their best to find a solution at present), Ballyloughan beach in Renmore is nearby and it's a lot less crowded than the prom (and the beach is bigger and nicer than Salthill) and you're a lot closer to Dublin with the M6 on your doorstep.

I also don't understand how people can say there are no amenities here. We have an easier time getting to Liosban and Terryland than the folk in the West, I'm sure. In fact, the reason I don't know the West side of Galway at all because I'm never in it - I never have to go! I can get everything I need on the East side.

I do enjoy a walk on the prom now and again, but I personally wouldn't pay a premium every month for something that is only really highly enjoyable for maybe 8 weeks out of the entire year. If I'm going to be freezing my ass off with the wind and driving rain destroying my face and hair, I'll do that anywhere.

teepee

stay away from Hillside & Taylors Hill , Lower salthill or barna are great places to live .:eek:

inisboffin

There's lovely little houses (and giant overpriced ones) up the back roads toward the Clifden Rd (Circular Rd) and keep going through Rahoon on the Back roads to Barna - Mincloon etc. Lovely little gems up there, but crappy unless you walk/cycle/drive, or ten-fifteen in a cab

Utopia Parkway

happyoutscan wrote: »

The traffic situation in the west is MILES better than the east side of the city. For a start there are plenty of different options, routes etc and the traffic (while at times slow) at least moves. I've lived both sides and without a doubt traffic is much more bearable on the west of the city. Easily. Best of luck with your decision.

East side traffic is far worse than than the west of the city simply because there are far more people coming in and out of Galway from the east than from the west. I've spent a significant amount of time stuck in my car out on the east side but not so much on the west especially since the roadworks in Barna finished. I know both sides of the city well as I used to have to go east for work while home is out west and if I had a choice all things being equal I would definitely prefer to live on the west side. However it really depends on your personal circumstances.

HiKite

I like the look of some of the houses around Oughterard, I'm sure it's nice out by the lake and it has a few shops to keep you going; main food shopping would still have to be Galway though.

Is Oughterard full of tourists during the Summer? I started a thread in "Galway County", asking if anyone could recommend the place, but no response yet:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055853698

Cheers...

doubleglaze

I prefer the cultural richness of the West: university/Irish language TV channel and TV companies/Gaeltacht culture/schools/etc.

Seems to me, by comparison, that East of the Corrib is a cultural wasteland...


(Dodging bullets and other flying missiles emanating from the East....:D)

ciotog

Futuresounds wrote: »

I like the look of some of the houses around Oughterard, I'm sure it's nice out by the lake and it has a few shops to keep you going; main food shopping would still have to be Galway though.

Is Oughterard full of tourists during the Summer? I started a thread in "Galway County", asking if anyone could recommend the place, but no response yet:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055853698

Cheers...

I think Oughterard would be a lovely spot. I'm just outside Moycullen (for about 2 weeks now) and love it. Has the lakes http://www.flickr.com/photos/ciotog/sets/72157623417882955/

EI111

Futuresounds wrote: »

I like the look of some of the houses around Oughterard, I'm sure it's nice out by the lake and it has a few shops to keep you going; main food shopping would still have to be Galway though.

Oughterard is a great spot

Not as full of tourists as it used to be, just a nice scatter of curious foreigners passing through during summer.