Neighborhoods in Dublin

lkono

Thank you all for humouring me and keeping me out of the boring neighbourhoods! I really can't say enough how helpful this forum is.

It's good to know that I can cast my search much wider than I was originally led to believe. One thing that worried me about Rathmines/Ranelagh is that it sounds as though it's all students. I've been out of college for a few years and am going back now for a higher degree, so I don't necessarily need to just be surrounded by undergrads. This doesn't mean I won't look there, I just wanted to know some other options.

Is there any particular reason to avoid Gardiner Street and Mountjoy Square?

I think I'll pass on the scooter. A bike suits me just fine. And I'm not really the best Redskins supporter -- but the Nats and DC United are a different story.

Does anyone have any thoughts on The Liberties/The Coombe? (Are those even neighborhoods? Or just inventions of Google Maps?)

One more question - I'm fairly involved with the local community groups in my current neighborhood, and with DC in general (particularly bike-advocacy groups and the local arts scene). A lot of the local news is hosted on neighborhood blogs, like http://www.princeofpetworth.com and http://dcist.com/. Those are incredibly helpful for me as a resident, and I would recommend them to any newcomer to get a sense of the area. Are there any neighborhood micro-blogs in Dublin?

CiaranC

lkono wrote: »

Thank you all for humouring me and keeping me out of the boring neighbourhoods! I really can't say enough how helpful this forum is.

It's good to know that I can cast my search much wider than I was originally led to believe. One thing that worried me about Rathmines/Ranelagh is that it sounds as though it's all students. I've been out of college for a few years and am going back now for a higher degree, so I don't necessarily need to just be surrounded by undergrads. This doesn't mean I won't look there, I just wanted to know some other options.

Dublin 6 (Ranelagh/Rathmines) is not all students by any mean, it just has a bit of a student/ethnic/bohemian feel.

Is there any particular reason to avoid Gardiner Street and Mountjoy Square?

I have never lived on the northside, people here complain that a lot of addiction centres are located there which brings the inevitable social problems.

I think I'll pass on the scooter. A bike suits me just fine. And I'm not really the best Redskins supporter -- but the Nats and DC United are a different story.

If you like your football D6 is "traditionally" a Shamrock Rovers area, but the closest senior southside club is St Patricks Athletic. On the northside (Dublin3 and Dubliin 7), you have Shelbourne FC and Bohemian FC.

http://www.shamrockrovers.ie
http://www.stpatsfc.ie
http://www.shelbournefc.ie
http://www.bohemians.ie/

Does anyone have any thoughts on The Liberties/The Coombe? (Are those even neighborhoods? Or just inventions of Google Maps?)

These are areas, really old traditional heartlands of Dublin - especially the Liberties, which is a bustling working class area and a favourite of many on here. Rents are quite a bit cheaper here than D6.

Marcusm

Rathm

Marcusm

Rathmines is prob 20% students max and Ranelagh half that again. Much more 25 and up and plenty much older. It's been mid 90s since either of those areas had a significant student population.

Beware many of the conversion flats (generally Victorian era) can be poor; you really need to inspect before committing. The Lowe agency in Rathmines will have a good selection and some forward perspective on future vacancies.

OP ignore the whole Northside/Southside thing. There's a trend in terms of wealth but it's by no means representative of the two areas in their entirety. There are plenty of posh places on the Northside and plenty of rough places on the Southside. It's a bad rule of thumb to be given.

That said, the areas you have in mind sound fine, and I'd know quite a few Trinity students in the D6 area.

I live on the Harolds Cross road near Terenure, I love it. 10 minute walk from Rathmines, 5 minutes from Terenure. Good bus routes (16, 16A and 49) to the city, 83 and 18 just around the corner. The only thing is there's no decent beer gardens nearby :pac:

I've lived in Ranelagh twice before and found it to be a really lovely place, but a little over priced, because if you just feel like nipping out for a microwave dinner and pint of milk you're stuck with Spar and Centra-soon-to-become-Spar. At least in Rathmines you have a choice of four supermarkets.

iguana

Deleted User wrote: »

I've lived in Ranelagh twice before and found it to be a really lovely place, but a little over priced, because if you just feel like nipping out for a microwave dinner and pint of milk you're stuck with Spar and Centra-soon-to-become-Spar. At least in Rathmines you have a choice of four supermarkets.

Unless you are an old granny it takes about 10 minutes to walk between Ranelagh and Rathmines.

Piliger

iguana wrote: »

Unless you are an old granny it takes about 10 minutes to walk between Ranelagh and Rathmines.

Even less. I timed it as 8.5 mins when I loved here a month ago.

I would DEFinitely avoid Gardner street btw. Very dodgy and I would consider Mountjoy square to be borderline.

Harolds cross is fine but difficult to find anything. Same prices as Ranelagh.

The Coombe is around Dolphin's Barn and is what I would call borderline.

ciaran_h

JuliusCaesar wrote: »

Dublin is small and very mixed, so that there can be a council estate down one street and very expensive houses in the next.

Here's a map of Dublin's postal districts. Mostly even numbers are southside, and odd numbers are northside. Dublin 2, 4, 6, 8 are mostly fine (with little pockets of less ok), 1, 3, 7, have maybe larger pockets of less-okayness. Generally you'll know them when you see them!

Stay in a hostel/hotel for the first week or so till you find your feet. Any of those postal areas will have you in TCD by bike in 20mins or less.

Dublin 8is not in same category as 4 or 6

ciaran_h

ciaran_h wrote: »

JuliusCaesar wrote: »

Dublin is small and very mixed, so that there can be a council estate down one street and very expensive houses in the next.

Here's a map of Dublin's postal districts. Mostly even numbers are southside, and odd numbers are northside. Dublin 2, 4, 6, 8 are mostly fine (with little pockets of less ok), 1, 3, 7, have maybe larger pockets of less-okayness. Generally you'll know them when you see them!

Stay in a hostel/hotel for the first week or so till you find your feet. Any of those postal areas will have you in TCD by bike in 20mins or less.

Dublin 8is not in same category as 4 or 6

Borderline???...liberties / coombe prob fits ur bill...central, reasonable cheap....def not boring

Camac Hibs

From what you say you are looking forand your interests I would suggest firstly Stoneybatter/Smithfield area and secondly The Liberties and possibly Portobello.

Rathmines and Ranelagh are being talked up a lot here. Rathmines is okay and a fairly broad mix of people I suppose, Ranelagh is overpriced and boring, would not recommend anyone coming to the city to bother living there.

I would definitely suggest moving to one of the neighbourhoods between the canals.

flo_indublin

Regarding the Liberties, here's a local paper published by DIT (Dublin Institute of Technology) journalism students: http://www.theliberty.ie/

I live there and it's a very nice neighbourhood, working class yes but also a bit bohemian and I'm sure a few students live there because it's cheap. The National College of Arts and Design is in Thomas Street. There are a couple of nice coffee shops but as regards pubs you wouldn't probably want to socialize there! :-) But that's no problem as it's 10 minutes walk to the very centre of town and town is your oyster ;-)

P. Breathnach

Piliger wrote: »

Even less. I timed it as 8.5 mins when I loved here a month ago...

You move faster when motivated by love.

P. Breathnach

flo_indublin wrote: »

Regarding the Liberties, here's a local paper published by DIT (Dublin Institute of Technology) journalism students: http://www.theliberty.ie/

I live there and it's a very nice neighbourhood, working class yes but also a bit bohemian and I'm sure a few students live there because it's cheap. The National College of Arts and Design is in Thomas Street. There are a couple of nice coffee shops but as regards pubs you wouldn't probably want to socialize there! :-) But that's no problem as it's 10 minutes walk to the very centre of town and town is your oyster ;-)

You're giving a mixed message, but presenting it as if it were not. If you wouldn't want to socialise in the neighbourhood pubs, then the message is that you are not comfortable with your neighbours.

Some Dublin neighbourhoods are tricky to understand, and that includes the Liberties area. One street might be great for somebody like OP, and the next street might be pretty well a no-go area. And the same consideration applies to routes to get home: one route might be very safe, whereas what seems a reasonable alternative might involve encountering some very dodgy people - most typically in Dublin, junkies desperate for the price of their next fix.

catch--22

I've lived in Ranelagh and Stoneybatter in recent years (now living East Wall) and would give a strong thumbs up to both.

But to pick one it would be Stoneybatter. A great mix of working class Dublin, students, young professionals. It also has one of the best pints of Guinness in Dublin thanks to Walshes bar - and really that’s one of the most important things!

Good luck with the move OP

Toby Take a Bow

lkono wrote: »

Does anyone have any thoughts on The Liberties/The Coombe? (Are those even neighborhoods? Or just inventions of Google Maps?)

They are indeed proper areas! Although The Coombe would fit into The Liberties. And The Coombe would be my favourite place in Dublin. I've lived in different areas (mainly D2, around Pearse Street) and would always, always try and live in The Coombe and the surrounding areas. It seems to really fit with what you're looking for in Dublin: urban, lots of interesting places to see things and do things and definitely within biking distance of Trinity (10 minutes or thereabouts). Anywhere from Thomas Street to the canal would be great, although rents aren't as cheap as some people seem to think (D8 was remarkably resistant to falling rent prices).

Poster Boy

Tusky wrote: »

I would avoid Gardiner Street and Mountjoy Square.

Why avoid Mountjoy Square? It is definitive of "an up and coming area within biking distance of Trinity", as desired by the OP.

For the OPs information, Mountjoy Square is one of Dublin's 4 Georgian Squares, which is seriously improved over the last 20 years having previously had 1/3 of its buildings demolished. The apartments in the new buildings are not particularly huge, but are reasonably priced and could suit someone attending TCD.

Mountjoy Square is well served by Dublin Bus route 7, which connects the Square to Trinity via O'Connell Street, and then passes on out along the south coast road. There is also a Dublin Bikes rental bicycle station on Mountjoy Square, which makes it ideal if the OP wishes to cycle to TCD, outside of which there are also bike stations.

The square has a police station adjacent on Fitzgibbon Street, where there continues to be a 24 hour 7 day a week presence, and statistically according to the CSO, Mountjoy Square has one of the lowest burglary rates in the country.

Last year ugly coach parking was removed from around the square, leaving the park open and pleasant; this year the council have zoned the square as an architectural conservation area.

The area is not particularly posh - more boho than yuppie, but thats part of its charm. Its also got rakes of historic and cultural links, including connections to Yeats, Arthur Guinness, Patrick Pearse, OCasey, Joyce as well as having been where much of the Oscar winning film Once was made - more info here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountjoy_Square

Sorry if Ive gone on - Im just a bit surprised to see a Dublin place be misrepresented in a way that I would have thought was contrary to this forums charter.

Draupnir

Poster Boy wrote: »

Why avoid Mountjoy Square? It is definitive of "an up and coming area within biking distance of Trinity", as desired by the OP.

For the OPs information, Mountjoy Square is one of Dublin's 4 Georgian Squares, which is seriously improved over the last 20 years having previously had 1/3 of its buildings demolished. The apartments in the new buildings are not particularly huge, but are reasonably priced and could suit someone attending TCD.

Mountjoy Square is well served by Dublin Bus route 7, which connects the Square to Trinity via O'Connell Street, and then passes on out along the south coast road. There is also a Dublin Bikes rental bicycle station on Mountjoy Square, which makes it ideal if the OP wishes to cycle to TCD, outside of which there are also bike stations.

The square has a police station adjacent on Fitzgibbon Street, where there continues to be a 24 hour 7 day a week presence, and statistically according to the CSO, Mountjoy Square has one of the lowest burglary rates in the country.

Last year ugly coach parking was removed from around the square, leaving the park open and pleasant; this year the council have zoned the square as an architectural conservation area.

The area is not particularly posh - more boho than yuppie, but thats part of its charm. Its also got rakes of historic and cultural links, including connections to Yeats, Arthur Guinness, Patrick Pearse, OCasey, Joyce as well as having been where much of the Oscar winning film Once was made - more info here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountjoy_Square

Sorry if Ive gone on - Im just a bit surprised to see a Dublin place be misrepresented in a way that I would have thought was contrary to this forums charter.

It's not misrepresentation to say that Mountjoy Square gets some very unsavoury foot traffic from adjoining areas at all times of the day, particularly after dark. Living in Mountjoy Square would also require you to make your way through some of the roughest places in Dublin City Centre to get to TCD or the City Centre proper.

Mountjoy Square on it's own is a lovely place, if a little disused in spots, but it's unfortunately surrounded by the kind of areas and people that are best avoided if possible.

To the OP, I'd recommend Smithfield, Stoneybatter, Kilmainham along the LUAS line or Ranelagh. Any and all of those pretty much tick every box you've posted.

Ernest

Rhand wrote: »

Everything in Dublin 1 and 2 is fine.

You must be joking!
Dublin 1 is the area around O'Connell St, Parnell Street, Talbot Street, Gardener Street, Sheriff Street and the notorious boardwalks near the River Liffey.
This is where the junkies hang out and is NOT where you would want to be living (given the lack of law enforcement in Dublin)

Dublin 2 incorporates the area just south of the River Liffey and includes Tara Street, York Street, Pearse Street, Temple Bar as well as the nicer parts near Grafton Street, St Stephens Green and Merrion Square. Like most parts of Dublin its a Mixed area. Be Cautious.

CiaranC

Ernest wrote: »

You must be joking!
Dublin 1 is the area around O'Connell St, Parnell Street, Talbot Street, Gardener Street, Sheriff Street and the notorious boardwalks near the River Liffey.
This is where the junkies hang out and is NOT where you would want to be living (given the lack of law enforcement in Dublin)

Dublin 2 incorporates the area just south of the River Liffey and includes Tara Street, York Street, Pearse Street, Temple Bar as well as the nicer parts near Grafton Street, St Stephens Green and Merrion Square. Like most parts of Dublin its a Mixed area. Be Cautious.

The OP is a citizen of Washington DC, and consequently is not afraid of his own shadow or a few shuffling tracksuited zombies. I think he'll be ok.

jay2012

Hi lkono! You're lucky for 2 reasons: (1) If you can handle Northeast DC, you can certainly handle Dublin. And (2), you're getting an awful lot of great advice here. I think people are really being helpful and mostly giving you great tips and useful personal opinions.

It's just my opinion, but I'd also recommend The Liberties / The Coombe in Dublin 8. It's where I live. It's certainly not a fancy neighborhood, but has an interesting, urban vibe. I like The Liberties because it feels very "real": bustling and full of activity, but somehow it is one of those rare "it just is what it is" places: neither overly built up with faceless chain stores nor snootily trying to be "bohemian" or "alternative". It just is what it is, and the area has a lot of personality. Great market on Meath Street (but more of a useful, cheap stuff "great, I need a pair of scissors and can get it for only a euro" place than a high fashion shopping experience :-)

A great thing about The Liberties is that the centre of Dublin is very walkable from here. I never drive or take public transit or even bother to use my bicycle. I'm not even a very fast walker and yet within 15 minutes or so of leaving home and walking towards the centre, I can either cut north a little and be in Dame Str and therefore quite near Trinity and College Green; or cut south a little and be at Camden Str/Portobello or St. Stephen's Green. And it's not a "dead" 15 minute walk into the centre from here either, when you're just walking through nothingness to reach your destination; but shops, pubs, cathedrals, cafes, interesting stuff, all along along my walk, whichever way I head.

I can't say a bad word about the other places people here mentioned, they're all good recommendations, and I'm sure there are a lot of different Dublin neighborhoods that would make you happy. From my point of view though, a summer program of just a few months will go by very quickly. Especially if I was going to be spending most every day at Trinity (and maybe some evenings too, if there are events, dinners, or bar-hopping nights held in Dublin centre for participants?), I wouldn't want to waste even a minute of time each morning and each evening waiting for buses, DART trains, or LUASes to travel between home and Trinity, I'd prefer to just live someplace both very interesting and very central, and for me, that would be The Liberties.

I hope you have great time in Dublin. Good luck!

CiaranC

Ikono, give these a read before you get here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ginger_Man
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beastly_Beatitudes_of_Balthazar_B

Both reference Trinity, Irish Americana and the beauty of Dublin

ProudDUB

Draupnir wrote: »

It's not misrepresentation to say that Mountjoy Square gets some very unsavoury foot traffic from adjoining areas at all times of the day, particularly after dark. Living in Mountjoy Square would also require you to make your way through some of the roughest places in Dublin City Centre to get to TCD or the City Centre proper.

Mountjoy Square on it's own is a lovely place, if a little disused in spots, but it's unfortunately surrounded by the kind of areas and people that are best avoided if possible.

Have to agree with that. I am a very proud Dub, but every city has its areas to avoid & that is one of them. It is a shame as the square itself is quite lovely. OP, you said in your original post you want to be around " lots of young professionals". Am not sure you'd find many of them there. There is a lot of social housing in the area (what you would refer to as the projects) and young families.

I am in the IFSC (International Financial Services Center.) It's not a dedicated area as such, but it starts around Connolly Station and goes all the way down to the start of Dublin Port. I think it has its own listing on Daft. It is mainly offices and apts serving people who work in the financial services sector and companies like Google and Facebook which are nearby. O'Connell St & the city center is a 5 minute walk away. Trinity is a quick 10-15 minute walk away as there is a foot bridge over the river near by.

I rarely need to take public transport anywhere and over time, those savings can really add up. But as you are on the Luas and Dart & mainline rail lines, it makes getting around really easy if you do decide to explore a bit further afield. Agree with the above poster about living in or near the heart of the city. It is great having so much stimulating and interesting stuff right on your doorstep.

flo_indublin

P. Breathnach wrote: »

You're giving a mixed message, but presenting it as if it were not. If you wouldn't want to socialise in the neighbourhood pubs, then the message is that you are not comfortable with your neighbours.

Some Dublin neighbourhoods are tricky to understand, and that includes the Liberties area.

Yeah, it may sound like a mixed message but what I meant is that the Liberties is a very close knit community of people who've lived here all their lives and in the local pubs you only find locals, I mean, they even do lock-ins in some pubs on Saturday night! But apart from that everyone has always been kind to me and welcoming since I've moved to the area in 2008 (and I'm not only a blow-in but also a foreigner :-). It's different, buzzy, alternative and quaint, not everyone's cup of tea but I really like it and it's so close to the city centre! Nothing bad has ever happened to me in the Liberties.

I like Ranelagh and Rathmines too (great library in Rathmines by the way) but not as much. However, if the OP wants to be around young professionals Rathmines is probably his/her best bet even though I'd suggest to check out all these areas and then decide :-)

Rhand

Ernest wrote: »

You must be joking!
Dublin 1 is the area around O'Connell St, Parnell Street, Talbot Street, Gardener Street, Sheriff Street and the notorious boardwalks near the River Liffey.
This is where the junkies hang out and is NOT where you would want to be living (given the lack of law enforcement in Dublin)

Please, you're exaggerating. It's actually an area where a lot of students and foreigners in general live, granted most of those are Brazilians and South Koreans but still. It's a nice place to live with all amenities really close by.
Yes, there are some issues with beggars, drunkards and junkies but I've lived here for 6 months and not once did I feel unsafe or did I encounter a problem.

But I've lived all my life in one of the roughest areas of Antwerp, Dublin 1 is a walk in the park compared to that.

Poster Boy

CiaranC wrote: »

Ikono, give these a read before you get here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ginger_Man
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beastly_Beatitudes_of_Balthazar_B

Both reference Trinity, Irish Americana and the beauty of Dublin

Funny you should mention JP Donleavy - only recently he and others wrote into the city council, looking for Mountjoy Square to be properly preserved:
http://www.archiseek.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7459#p108191

ProudDUB wrote: »

every city has its areas to avoid & that is one of them. It is a shame as the [Mountjoy[ square itself is quite lovely... There is a lot of social housing in the area (what you would refer to as the projects) and young families... I am in the IFSC (International Financial Services Center.)

With due respect, I think this is a sweeping statement - tarring communities because they are living in social housing, while also ignoring regeneration successes such as Killarney Court and James Joyce Street. In any event, as it happens, the IFSC is also surrounded by social and working class housing at Sherrif Street area and the East Wall on the northside - and Moss and Lombard Street areas on the southside, not that this should matter.

OP, as with any city centre, you have to take some degree of care - if you wish for a really quiet area, you may prefer to locate in one of the suburbs. One tip of advice is to avoid places where there is a drugs clinic present as these regrettably tend to be associated anti social behaviour - Butt Bridge and Tara Street area are particularly afflicted.

iguana

iguana wrote: »

Unless you are an old granny it takes about 10 minutes to walk between Ranelagh and Rathmines.

Except when you don't feel like it?
I believe that was implied.

dRNk SAnTA

The OP is clearly looking for an URBAN lifestyle, he wants to be in the thick of it (yes, even if there are a few "rough people" around the place - oh dear!)

So Ranelagh and Rathmines are nice but OUT because that is boring suburbia compared to places like Smithfield, the Liberties etc.

P. Breathnach

dRNk SAnTA wrote: »

The OP is clearly looking for an URBAN lifestyle, he wants to be in the thick of it (yes, even if there are a few "rough people" around the place - oh dear!)

So Ranelagh and Rathmines are nice but OUT because that is boring suburbia compared to places like Smithfield, the Liberties etc.

Yeah. I always thought Rathmines was just like Arlington.

ProudDUB

Poster Boy wrote: »

With due respect, I think this is a sweeping statement - tarring communities because they are living in social housing, while also ignoring regeneration successes such as Killarney Court and James Joyce Street. In any event, as it happens, the IFSC is also surrounded by social and working class housing at Sherrif Street area and the East Wall on the northside - and Moss and Lombard Street areas on the southside, not that this should matter.

I am not tarring anywhere with anything. I was merely responding to a specific request that the OP made about a certain demographic of people. The OP said that they wanted to live in an area with lots of young professionals. I spend a fair amount of time in the Mountjoy Sq/Gardiner St areas. I do not think that the 2 areas contains large numbers of said young professionals. I did not say if that was a bad thing or a good thing, just that it was not what the OP specifically mentioned that they were looking for.

The IFSC does indeed have own dodgy areas that is is close to. But it also has a lot of people living here that fit the OP's requirements - young professionals that they (presumably) will have a lot in common with, and will have fun socializing with. As a lot of them are from overseas too, that could also be very useful for the OP in finding their own feet in a foreign country.