Retired - Moving to Letterkenny???

ohridlady

Hi there, have just read the moving to Letterkenny forum and everything seems to be geared to working and partying!!

What about a couple in their early 60's? Would that be viable? Or maybe stupid!!

Thanks

josey_whale

Hi ohridlady,

I wouldn't say LK is completely geared to the work and partying. There is a vibrant retiree community in Letterkenny. Have a look at the Town Council's website

Letterkenny is at the heart of Donegal. It has everything you need. I belive Donegal to be the most beautiful county in Ireland. There is nowhere in the county that is more than 90mins drive away. It's 3 hours to Dublin.....

JMHO

Harps

What exactly are you interested in doing?

Its much the same as any other big town in the country, lots of shops and entertainment and the IT means theres a lot of young people around hence the partying reputation but I dont see why it wouldnt be suited to retirement. Theres plenty of things to do, a few big parks and as said above the whole of Donegal is on your doorstep. If you drive in any direction towards the coast you'll come across some great places every time.

mrmac

Hi ohridlady - welcome!

I live in Letterkenny, and although I'm not at retirement age, I left college nearly 20 years ago!

As Harps asked already, what's your background, what kind of activities do you like, when are you thinking of coming, and is it a permanent move?

muffler

Loads of things to be doing. Apart from the numerous shops, ale houses, hotels and restaurants there is a cinema, a theatre, a golf club, a swimming pool etc etc.

Im not from the town but Im sure like any town of its size there would be various groups that you could join and if you're interested in sport Id imagine any of the local clubs would welcome you with open arms.

ohridlady

Hi there, thank you for all the encouraging messages.

We are at present living abroad and want to move back somewhere other than England although my husband is English and I was brought up in England. I was born in Derry and my parents moved away when I was 12. My father's family were originally from Moville and my mother from Clonmany.

I have been back to Derry the last time in 2002 and we visited Letterkenny then although I have to say it had changed a lot since I was a child!!

We like the fact that it still appeared to be laid back and lacked the rules and regs mentality and political correctness that seems to be a way of life in England now. I'm sure you will all correct me if I am wrong here!

We will be looking for somewhere to rent to see how it goes with maybe a minimum of a year at least. Somewhere quiet ideally.

Do you think we would be made welcome? My husband has been teaching English conversation voluntarily to keep his brain active and judging by the number of people from abroad living in Letterkenny maybe that is something he could continue to do.

The weather we know can be miserable but we are in Montenegro at the moment and have to say it couldn't be much worse in the winter!!

Look forward to hearing from you all again.

Many thanks

Harps

The town has changed a lot since 2002 even, theres been a huge amount of development in the past 10 years. Not all of it is positive but theres a few big retail parks, a new leisure complex, new town park etc that should keep you entertained. Cant say I've noticed anything particularly bad on the PC side so that shouldnt really be a problem.

Theres a lot of foreign people around now as well, lots of Eastern Europeans, Africans and Indians so I'd imagine there'd be demand for English lessons.

On places to stay, are you looking for a house or just a flat to rent? Theres plenty of quiet estates around and I'm sure you could find a few flats as well. Not an expert on it so someone else can give you a recommendation.

As for the weather, this Winter was terrible actually:D We had 3 months of snow and sub zero temperatures

muffler

This thread from 2007 might be worth a read

Ronan Keating

There are plenty of peaceful places to reside in the town in your old age. There are also plenty to avoid, namely Long Lane, Glencar and the other side of the Oldtown Bridge.

ohridlady

Hi there, thanks for that information. Is there any area that you would recommend? We don't want peace like the grave but just a nice quiet area to live.

Thanks

Ronan Keating

Avoid the areas circled in red. The places circled in black are generally quite safe.

ohridlady

Thank you so much Ronan - that's very helpful for us as we don't know the area.

Still looking!! We need to come and have a look really but we need to find somewhere to stay for a month or so but not in a hotel. Will keep looking.

Thanks again.

Ronan Keating

I suppose Ballymacool is a nice spot. There is a new park there now too and I'd say it's fairly quiet as it isn't right in the middle of the town.

It would be on the bottom left of the map (To Churchill To West). It's not too far from the town centre either and is a part that wouldn't be well travelled by thugs in tracksuits.

If you are venturing into town be wary of the Oldtown Road. This is what you'll see first when coming into town from Ballymacool. When you come in past Black's Centra you will be in the town - at the junction of the Convent Road and Oldtown Road and then the Main Street. This is where the solitude ends. It is a hectic area, lot of traffic etc.

The footpath along the front of the Dunnes Stores Building (on the Oldtown Road) is probably one to avoid, it might be best to cross the other side of the street. There are a few vegetable stalls along that footpath and also a lot of people. Most are very friendly, however, some won't apologise if they knock your handbag off your shoulder. Ahead of that is the Oldtown Bridge. You have no reason to cross here unless you have something you need taken care of or want to visit Jungle King (a play building for Kids - like Bananas in Derry).

The Main Street would be divided into Upper and Lower. Take care when passing by The Wolfe Tone Bar on Lower Main Street. It is especially active during Celtic FC games.

Long Lane near the hospital is somewhere to be cautious but you probably shouldn't need to go there anyway. It is a long road, as the name suggests, with little or no Garda presence some secluded entry points.

That's the basic summary of a few parts anyway.

Ronan Keating

More info - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letterkenny

Harps

Regarding the circled areas on the map, I really wouldnt recommend anywhere around Ashlawn if wou want somewhere quiet. Its mainly populated by students during the college year so thers plenty of parties and what not going on there.

We've got a house in Glencar and its perfectly fine (not in the red circled area above mind), nice quiet area near the town centre, a park right across the road and quite a few local shops.

As mentioned above, Ballymacool seems like a nice area. Its a new area, only really been developed in the past 10 years but its now got a big park, a leisure complex and is near the town centre. The main problem is a local shopping area, theres been a sign for a neighbourhood shopping centre up for a while but doesnt seem to be much happening

byte

Curious as to why you'd need to take care passing Wolfe Tone Bar?

muffler

Ronan Keating I have deleted your last post. Im not prepared to allow conjecture and possibly libelous comments to be posted here. Think before you post please.

Ronan Keating

Sorry about that Muffler.

ohridlady

Hi there, thanks again for all the info.

Have been trawling the internet to try and find property to rent and wonder if anyone has any other ideas other than property.ie, property news.ie or daft.ie I would be very grateful.

We would also like to come and stay for a month maybe to find accommodation which means finding short term accommodation in the high season!!

I would also like to find out about the cost of living i.e. utilities and wonder if I should post another thread on this?

Many thanks

muffler

ohridlady wrote: »

I would also like to find out about the cost of living i.e. utilities and wonder if I should post another thread on this?

This thread would be fine as its all related.

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