Which city to pick near Trinity college?

kamaseinu

[FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Hello,

As a french student in English, I'm going to move to Ireland over one or two years. I will study at Trinity college.

I'm seeking for a sympathic place to live. I'd prefer live in the countryside rather than in a dynamic town like Dublin. I like small villages, I'm not deeply attracted by Dublin, which is, to me, too dynamic to live there all day.

I like nature and environment, a quiet place would be nice, with a beautiful landscape in order to lift my spirit and with a nice community too (no doubt Irish people is nice, but I've heard some people saying some places in Ireland especially near Dublin are "filled" with jerks).
As Irish people, I would be glad to have your opinion.
Of course I'm also seeking a town near Trinity college, in order to move to Trinity without problems each days (the bus is not cheaper, I've seen prices like 85€/month for a student!).

I've already found the seaside town named Clontraf which seems to me really calm and original. Only 7km to Trinity.

I've also seen other towns as :

Whitehall, Drumcondra, Fairview, Johnstown, Golden Bridge, Crumlin, Harold's cross, Rathgar, Rathmines, Castleknock, Glasnevin, Ranelagh, Portobello, Kilnamanagh, ChristChurch, Ringsend, Donnycarney, Killester, Marino, Rialto, Chapelizod, Ballsbridge, Terenure, Sandymount.

What do you think of these cities? (sorry if I posted too much of them).

If you suggest me another cities, I would be glad too.
The biggest problem in order to make my opinion is that I do not find enough data about these cities, few websites, few videos or pictures about these towns. Only a lot for Dublin.

Thank you for replying.
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Lahm

Well in all fairness the likes of Drumcondra is Dublin.

It's only a few minutes walk away.



Those places you named are not cities or towns. They are just parts of the city itself.

Gavin "shels"

All the places you listed above are all part of Dublin City, you won't find much countryside within travelling distance of Trinity tbh. Leopardstown and out that direction would be the closest you'd get with being able to get the Green Line Luas into Stephens Green.

partyatmygaff

kamaseinu wrote: »

Whitehall, Drumcondra, Fairview, Johnstown, Golden Bridge, Crumlin, Harold's cross, Rathgar, Rathmines, Castleknock, Glasnevin, Ranelagh, Portobello, Kilnamanagh, ChristChurch, Ringsend, Donnycarney, Killester, Marino, Rialto, Chapelizod, Ballsbridge, Terenure, Sandymount.

None of these are towns. They're just parts of Dublin City and County.

Some of those places aren't exactly what we'd consider "nice" places to live in Dublin.

Of those places the nicest and most convenient for Trinity College would be Castleknock. If you find a place to live somewhere near Castleknock Village you'll be near the Phoenix Park and Trinity will only be about 20-30 minutes away.

Sid_Justice

malahide

PKen

From a Rent point of view, you'll pay higher in these areas. Like the others have said, the places mentioned are part of Dublin.
I would suggest moving away, a little further. Maynooth, Celbridge and Leixlip would be very suitable. These towns are in (North) Kildare and are served very well by public transport into Dublin City.
(i) Maynooth is a University town. The National University of Ireland (NUI) is located here. Very studenty - that could be good or bad?
(ii) Celbridge is home to Castletown House, one of the finest 18th century Paladian style houses in Ireland. Not quite Versailles, but worth a visit, if in need of some architectural inspiration.
(iii) Leixlip (my town) is where some of the Guinness family still live and where the first of the famous black drink was brewed (allegedly).
All these towns are located relatively close to green belts, so plenty of "Out Of City" experiences will be had. The main plus is that you're not in the city, but comuting distance from it - about 40 minutes.

kamaseinu

Thanks for all your answers! I'm really glad.:)

I've been searching on the internet but it is really hard to find more infos.

Sorry for the mistake, in France we consider every city as a village or a town, my bad, thanks for pointing it.

Leopardstown, Malahide, Cellbridge and Leixlip seems far to Trinity college to me. I have been searching for the time commute by bus, but I can only find the bus commute but no information about the time.
People even said that Maynooth was far better than Leixlip.

According to your answers I understand that to live in a countryside city near Dublin, I have to move away from it, but stay near Trinity college is a priority as I would be a student there, so if it can help I'm making clear what I would like to have.

Basically what I am searching for is a nice place to live with sympathic people and a not too dynamic town (let's even say a quiet town) and some quiet place with a river, trees, grass where you can have nice walks (if possible nice and longs walks) without any disturbance, at least one haven of peace, if there is also ruins or elements like that it would be a plus. I would be interested by a place with few noise, where I live in France, I hear cars every minutes, it's really annoying (I'm not even counting the number of cars that crossed the roundabout in front of my window during this message).

From what I have already seen, Ireland seems to be really cute : houses, people, setting...but if I can "avoid" the "industrial" side in Dublin, it would be a plus.

petethebrick

Perhaps somewhere along the coast.
Malahide, Howth, Sutton etc
All lovely places, much quiter than the city centre
The DART train will get you into trinity in less than 30 minutes every morning.

littleredspot

Plus 1 for Malahide or Howth. Very convenient on the DART, lots of lovely walks along the coast in both, or over Howth head, or Malahide castle. Nice village feel to both. Just make sure where you're renting is within a short walk of the train station.

kamaseinu

I've already seen Howth and Malahide, but they seem a bit far to Trinity to me, that is why I chose Clontarf, which is closer to Trinity (but is it a good place according to what I explained?).

I think Malahide, Howth or Sutton would be a nice place, but DART prices are expensive (12€ for student card and no idea of prices but over a month I think it would be more than 100€), from what I have seen the prices of the bus for a month is 85€, I think it would be okay to take the bus, but the DART would be a bit too expensive for me, that is why I think live in Howth, Malahide or Sutton would be a problem.

John_Rambo

Hi.

First of all Dublin and near Dublin is not filled with jerks, it's one of the friendliest cities in the world and probably the friendliest in Ireland. I don't know where you got your information, but it's like saying all French people are unwashed, presumptuous, rude, garlic smelling people who will go on strike for any excuse they are that lazy. You get assholes every where, even France.

Clontarf is lovely, but beside Clontarf is Raheny. It's not as "exclusive", but it is actually better serviced by public transport, it's got the DART and loads of bus routes in and out of the city, to Howth, Malahide etc...

Raheny is on the coast, and there is a causeway across a lagoon to the Bull Island. This is a nature reserve island, amazing place, beach, mud flats, extensive dune system... There is also a 190 acre park in the area with wooded areas, meadows and loads of walks. This park is full of wildlife. The closer to the coast in Raheny, the better.

Howth is stunning, but gets very very crowded in the summer.

kamaseinu

Sorry, I should have explained better, I meant that a lot of people (well maybe its not a truth) told me that near Dublin (especially in his suburbs) one could encounter disreputable places or even violent people, and that you have to avoid some places.

I did not want to insult Irish people, but that is true I should have explained it better, no doubt that Irish people are nice and friendly, everyone told me Ireland and Irish people was the place.

But I disagree on one point...people in France ARE presomptuous and willing to go on strike:). Well, not all of them but to be honest a majority of them yes.

From what you said, Raheny seems interesting to me.

Do anyone got an idea of the prices of a month commute by DART? (for a student). But I think the prices depends on distance, let's say the prices for a month for Howth to Trinity. On the official website I do not find the prices, only the 12€ student card.

RandolphEsq

K.I.S.S. OP

littleredspot

All the areas you're talking about will be dearer to rent in. You could easily cycle from Clontarf to Trinity which will save you transport costs.

bigsmokewriting

Dublin is a reasonably safe city - there are bad areas, like anywhere else, but many of these are fine during daytime hours.

Traffic in Dublin is bad and the bus system is not great. It's well worth being near a DART or Luas line. The city is a sprawling one and really what it seems like you're looking for is a quieter suburb near some greenery - there are plenty of parks around (Phoenix Park on the northside, Marlay Park on the south, for example) as indeed there are in the city centre - to be avoided late at night but otherwise fine.

Not sure 'really cute' is the right term for this country. There are parts of rural Ireland that might be closer to what you're looking for, but you're going to be studying in Dublin city centre, not going on a holiday! As for the people - there will be friendly people and dreadful people everywhere, and it'll really come down to who you're living with and the people you meet in college, not the neighbours.

nervous_twitch

Kamaseinu, il vaut mieux peut-être que vous posiez ces questions au forum français, où les autres français qui habitent à Dublin peuvent vous donner leurs conseils. Je sais que vous voulez pratiquer votre anglais, mais vous pouvez faire ça quand vouz arrivez!

jelly&icecream

nervous_twitch wrote: »

Kamaseinu, il vaut mieux peut-être que vous posiez ces questions au forum français, où les autres français qui habitent à Dublin peuvent vous donner leurs conseils. Je sais que vous voulez pratiquer votre anglais, mais vous pouvez faire ça quand vouz arrivez!

Her english is fine! She's probably better asking her questions here where there are likely to be a wider range of people who know more specific information about the areas of interest.

nervous_twitch

jelly&icecream wrote: »

Her english is fine! She's probably better asking her questions here where there are likely to be a wider range of people who know more specific information about the areas of interest.

I didnt say it wasnt? I only suggested she try the French forum because its often frequented by natives who are living here; maybe their opinion and experience would be helpful.

kamaseinu

*cough*

Except that I'm a man:D

What I meant by really cute was the pittoresque houses and setting in Ireland, it remembers me Bretagne in France. But I think the real beauty of Ireland does not lie in Dublin (ring of Kerry, Connemara...).

I agree that I will go here in order to study, but as the lettings in Dublin are expensive, and as I'm ready to live in the suburbs of Dublin, why not pick a quiet zone with a nice setting;).

jelly&icecream

kamaseinu wrote: »

*cough*

Except that I'm a man:D

Oops!

Sid_Justice

So you're moving to Dublin to go to Trinity. But you don't want to live in Dublin because some French person told you the entire city is dangerous and 'unsympathetic'. And you want this thread to tell you unequivocally which place to live.

nervous_twitch

In that case, I'd recommend somewhere close to Marlay Park. Its quite nice. Its on the 16 bus route, which drops you right beside Trinity, and is a relatively quiet area. Its not on the coast, however. But is very close to the mountains!

kamaseinu

Thanks I'm gonna look at Marlay park.

To Sid if you had read all my posts you would have seen that I have heard about places in Dublin. Not the entire city.
Plus, I never said Dublin was unsympathetic. Please read again my posts.

I just seek a quiet place, near Dublin, that's all. To me Dublin is too dynamic to live in (plus the lettings are expensive). If I have no other choice, I would live near Dublin with no problem, but as I have several choices, why do not study all of them?

John Mason

OP - look for somewhere on the Dartline

Sandmount, Dun Laoghaire, Blackrock - they are all on the coast and walkable to Trinity if you had to - the Dart and buses are regular and cheap

Originally Posted by kamaseinu
but DART prices are expensive (12€ for student card and no idea of prices but over a month I think it would be more than 100€), .

12e x 4 = 48e

kamaseinu

48€ for one month? It would be realy nice, because I have not found any information about the prices of the DART.

John Mason

48€ for one month? It would be realy nice, because I have not found any information about the prices of the DART

I was basing that you on your figures of 12e - i think i miss read your post

http://studenttravelcard.ie/?base_name=thecard

40% off travel with a valid Student Travel Card.

there is a list here of the travel costs for dublin
http://www.taxsaver.ie/Ticket-Calculator/Ticket-Calculator/

kamaseinu

Thanks Irishbird, I really appreciate it:)

I have also seen Ringsend, is it good? 3km from Trinity.

sagat2

Malahide, Howth or Greystones. Take your pick.

bullpost

Possibly a bit gritty and urban for you.

kamaseinu wrote: »

Thanks Irishbird, I really appreciate it:)

I have also seen Ringsend, is it good? 3km from Trinity.

PKen

kamaseinu, what's the difference between spending 25 minutes on a bus compared to 40 minutes? Why the obsession with living in Dublin, especially considering you don't like the "Urban" landscape.
I'm from and used to live in Dublin, but wouldn't live there if you paid me. The likes of Malahide (northside) and Dun Laoghaire (southside) would be the exception, but couldn't afford to buy a house there.

HivemindXX

I'll agree with everyone who said somewhere on the Dart line. You get 50% city and 50% sea that way.

Places like Clontarf and Blackrock would have been distinct towns at some point in the past but they are all well within the city of Dublin at this time. There are plenty of places that are quiet and residential in those area. Dublin is not like Paris (the parts I've seen anyway) there are far more quiet residential areas full of semi-detached house.

Google has been around with the camcars so you can do a virtual tour using streeview on maps.google.ie if you want to see what an area looks like. Obviously you are not the only person who likes areas that are quiet and nice so the price reflects that. The more you like a place the more expensive it is likely to be to live in.