Donabate, Raheny or Clontarf?-----where should I move to?

Ruthie-Roux

Hi there,

I am considering a relocation to one of the following and looking for opinions: Donabate, Clontarf or Raheny. I need to be be on the North side of the dart line and these three are the closest so was wondering what people thought.
Which of the three has the nicest/cleanest beach, which is better in terms of transport-bus and dart and night-life (Im youngish-mid-late twenties)? Im looking to rent a decent place at a reasonable price so just doing my homework at the moment and am open to suggestions and input about any of these three areas.
Thanks,
Ruth

Wonderwall

Three nice areas you have picked. Personally i would disregard Donabate as it's just a bit too far afield. You're better off going with either Raheny or Clontarf due to there close proximity to the city centre.

They are both well serviced by the Dart, buses etc. They are very nice areas. Nightlife would probably be best in Clontarf though.. But either way i don't think it matters... 10 minutes on a bus from either place and you're in town!

Good luck!

BollickyBill

Ruthie-Roux wrote: »

Hi there,

I am considering a relocation to one of the following and looking for opinions: Donabate, Clontarf or Raheny. I need to be be on the North side of the dart line and these three are the closest so was wondering what people thought.
Which of the three has the nicest/cleanest beach, which is better in terms of transport-bus and dart and night-life (Im youngish-mid-late twenties)? Im looking to rent a decent place at a reasonable price so just doing my homework at the moment and am open to suggestions and input about any of these three areas.
Thanks,
Ruth

If you can find the right place at the right price, Clontarf definitely. It's the nicest of the three areas. It has great amenities like the nice long walk along the seafront, Dollymount beach, St. Anne's park, DART and bus services and not too far from town. If you have your own transport there is Nolan's supermarket on Vernon Ave (I think) or Superquinn at Sutton cross.
I'd have to say Clontarf.
Regards,
BB.

diceyreilly

There is not a hole lot to do in Donabate. But it's a lovely spot..

chughes

If you are young, free, and single you are probably better off in Clontarf/Raheny. I live in Donabate andaI complaint I hear from younger people is that there isn't much to do. It really depends on what your priorities are. Donabate has a lot going for it but if you socialise a lot in town it's a fair distance out for getting home.

Skerries

diceyreilly wrote: »

There is not a hole lot to do in Donabate. But it's a lovely spot..

freudian slip?

Yakuza

Skerries wrote: »

freudian slip?

Freudian slit?
When you say one thing and you mean your mother?

Sorry for derail

OP, you're really comparing two different lifestyles choices between the likes of Clontarf/Raheny and Donabate.
As you're talking about renting a house, you will get much better bang for your buck in terms of house size for a given amount of money in Donabate, but the trade off is that you're much further out of town. If you work in the city centre, you will be spending at least 2 hours a day on your commute, whereas you would spend less than half that coming from Raheny/Clontarf (cycling in would be more feasible too).

As others have said, you would have a richer /more varied social life closer to town too.

I know Clontarf and Raheny fairly well, and for the large part they are nice enough areas. I have friends in Donabate (with young (eldest is 5) kids) and they don't have any complaints either.

All in all, it depends on what your preferences are in terms of commuting / social life / type of house/apartment you want to live in.

BraziliaNZ

Has to be Clontarf. Walking distance to town, a few pubs around, Westwood, seafront, St Anne's Park, Bull Island, close to Howth, etc, etc, etc. Raheny is nice too but Clontarf is a better location.

ixoy

Moved to Clontarf recently and really like the area. It's good for shopping for example: Nolans is lovely but if you can't work around its shortish opening hours the SuperValu in Killester village is near and it's very large and opens until midnight.

For walks there's Bull Island, St. Anne's Park (nice) and you can walk along the coast. Speaking of walking, I can walk into the city centre in under an hour - something I've been doing a lot of with the nice weather.

Transport wise, it's well serviced. The 130 is an excellent service and stops at many locations in Clontarf. Depending on what part of Clontarf you're in, you may also be able to go up the Howth Road or Fairview to avail of many routes. Then of course there's the DART line.

For socialising there's a good number of pubs and a lot of places to eat out or get takeaway from.

Haven't found a bad point yet to be honest.

artanevilla

I'd rule out Donabate, very familiar with both Raheny and Clontarf, and I'd have to say Clontarf if you can afford it.

cozski

Forget Clontarf... too many people who dont belong there. Find a place in the All Saints area of Raheny. Close to the Dart, about 7 routes service the Howth Road for buses - you can travel in either direction to somewhere nice. St Annes Park is the best city park in Dublin, Raheny village has several okay pubs for the odd pint/meal, plenty of shops and take aways, close to accessing the motorway and rental prices are bang on... you get more for you're dollar and you aint paying the premium just to be able to say you live in Clontarf.

Thepones

I am currently renting in Raheny. We were looking for places in Clontarf but when you compare the prices to what you are getting - Raheny suited us much better.

There are numerous buses from town, DART and you are close enough to get a night out in Malahide / Howth or Town. The area itself is nice as well. Shopping facilities - Super Value in village and Tesco / Dunnes within 10 min drive. You also have the park there which is nice for walks (or runs if you are into it!)

There is only one bus that services most of Clontarf. It is regular, but if you are not near a stop your options are a little limited.

My two cents

BraziliaNZ

cozski wrote: »

Forget Clontarf... too many people who dont belong there.

Wtf is that supposed to mean?

John_Rambo

BraziliaNZ wrote: »

Wtf is that supposed to mean?

Ivor Callely types and jumped up overpaid civil servants with too much time on their hands, Gardai that own too many houses.

But you do get more bang for your cent in Raheny or Killester.

RMD

Thepones wrote: »

There is only one bus that services most of Clontarf. It is regular, but if you are not near a stop your options are a little limited.

In most cases you're never more than 5 minutes away from a 130 stop, and if you are then you're generally closer to the Howth road which has plenty of roots servicing it.

ixoy

John_Rambo wrote: »

But you do get more bang for your cent in Raheny or Killester.

Actually, when I was looking, I didn't. I saw 3-beds in Clontarf for the same price as those in Killester, and not much more than those in Raheny. Some of the asking prices in Killester were for places in worse condition too.
Raheny was cheaper, for what it's worth, and it was definitely my 2nd choice if I hadn't managed to get Clontarf.

John_Rambo

Oh! I would have thought they would have been cheaper. Well... best of luck on the coast!