US Citizen moving to Citywest - areas to live?

CianRyan

As nice as Sallins and Celbridge are, is there really a lot for the kids to do out there? Transport wise into Dublin?
Not being picky, it's a genuine question.

listermint

MadsL wrote: »

Not trying to be snide, he asked for a safe area.

Would you recommend Tallaght generally (not specifically) for two young American girls coming to live in the country (and Europe) for the first time as being a "safe area".

"I have no colourful friends as you suggest by your snide tallaght comments"

I never said anything about your friends, I said D24 was an area where you are more likely to meet "colourful" character than Rathmines.

Truthfully, where would you advise them to go out safely for their first night out?
Rathmines/City Centre or Square in Tallaght?

And, out of interest, how much would a taxi run you after a night in the centre of Dublin?

Ill-informed sensationlism, rathgar has a higher burglary rate, this another misguided snippet of useless info. I grew up along side 2 American kids. Guess what .. They are still living there... Horror!

MadsL

listermint wrote: »

Ill-informed sensationlism, rathgar has a higher burglary rate, this another misguided snippet of useless info. I grew up along side 2 American kids. Guess what .. They are still living there... Horror!

Sigh. Let's not turn this into a "I grew up in Tallaght and it's fine" debate. I personally would not recommend it. You feel different. Let's leave the bickering out of it.

MagicMarker

MadsL wrote: »

I never said anything about your friends, I said D24 was an area where you are more likely to meet "colourful" character than Rathmines.

Well, Dublin 24 is about 20 times the size of Rathmines, so you're kind of stating the obvious.

Some people really need to understand that Tallaght is a huge area, with some nice areas and some less than desirable ones. There is absolutely nothing wrong with suggesting certain parts of Tallaght to a new family trying to settle down.

MadsL

MagicMarker wrote: »

Well, Dublin 24 is about 20 times the size of Rathmines, so you're kind of stating the obvious.

Some people really need to understand that Tallaght is a huge area, with some nice areas and some less than desirable ones. There is absolutely nothing wrong with suggesting certain parts of Tallaght to a new family trying to settle down.

Agreed. But kinda hard for new immigrants to know which areas straight off the plane.

Suggesting Rathgar/Terenure area gives both reasonable access to Citywest and reasonable access to both safe nightlife in Rathmines and easy access to the city.

CianRyan

Terenure really doesn't give reasonable access though, he said he doesn't want a long commute and at rush hour he's looking at 30 minutes to a half hour.
And being told where to look at in Tallaght solves the rest of the problem.

Tonbe honest, the only reason not to suggest it on that budget is snobbery.

Tusky

I would give serious thought to what MadsL has said - he/she is dishing out a LOT of sense. There are plenty of quiet areas of Dublin (which would have a townlike feel) that are a reasonable commute to city centre and CityWest.

I would completely scratch Tallaght off the list first of all. And I think you are being a tad selfish if you are considering somewhere like Naas - it's too much of a trek to the city for your daughters and would not be an exciting place to live.

Top end of your budget: Rathmines, Ranelagh, Rathgar (these have a slightly longer, but still totally reasonable commute)

Bottom end of budget: Templeouge, Terenure.

All of the above are reasonable commutes to city and your work, are safe and are reasonably quiet (Rathmines being the most 'hustle and bustle-esque', but still has a townlike vibe and is a short walk into city)

I would hate to move halfway around the world and live somewhere like Naas at that age (16/17) - there's nothing wrong with the place, but it's terribly unexciting.

CianRyan wrote: »

Terenure really doesn't give reasonable access though, he said he doesn't want a long commute and at rush hour he's looking at 30 minutes to a half hour.

What's wrong with a 30 minute commute? That's pretty damn handy if you ask me.

MadsL

Tusky wrote: »

I would hate to move halfway around the world and live somewhere like Naas at that age (16/17) - there's nothing wrong with the place, but it's terribly unexciting.

This.

Tusky

And I can guarantee your daughters, particularly as they get older, will want to spend more than the odd weekend in the city. Reasonable access to the city may not be important to you, but it will be important to them - and for that reason it should be a priority on your list.

Anita Blow

If your girls are going to college then you'd be best locating at least near the city. They wouldn't realistically be able to commute to college in the city from Naas for example.

borderlinemeath

Dundrum shopping Centre is the mecca for teenagers. Sure most of the Irish kids that hang out there probably sound as American as the OPs daughters:D. Has all the facilities needed, cinemas, all kinds of food from McDonalds to TGIs to finer dining for the adults, shops, supermarkets etc.

Dundrum/Sandyford for an easy commute for OP, straight down the M50, easy access to local amenities and also a great run into the city centre on the green luas line.

http://www.daft.ie/searchrental.daft?id=1269416
http://www.daft.ie/searchrental.daft?id=1267410

miss no stars

borderlinemeath wrote: »

Dundrum shopping Centre is the mecca for teenagers. Sure most of the Irish kids that hang out there probably sound as American as the OPs daughters:D. Has all the facilities needed, cinemas, all kinds of food from McDonalds to TGIs to finer dining for the adults, shops, supermarkets etc.

Dundrum/Sandyford for an easy commute for OP, straight down the M50, easy access to local amenities and also a great run into the city centre on the green luas line.

http://www.daft.ie/searchrental.daft?id=1269416
http://www.daft.ie/searchrental.daft?id=1267410

Was just going to suggest the Dundrum area, it seems ideal for them. Easy access to work and to amenities for the daughters and wife, you'd definitely find something to rent within that price range. If they go to college in Ireland there's one almost on their doorstep and easy access to the city centre for others.

Another one I would consider if you enjoyed the feel of Athlone would be Stepaside. For the kids it'd be about a 10 minute walk to the LUAS (easy access to city centre and Dundrum) and it's quick onto the the M50 (a kinda ring-road highway in Dublin) for getting to Citywest (or easy enough to go by the "backroads" although I'm not familiar with the traffic situation on them).

Stheno

OP you need to consider if you are coming from Naas that in the mornings, it can take up to a half hour just to get into citywest itself from the N7 along with the half hour minimum it will take from Naas to there

bulmersgal

CianRyan wrote: »

As nice as Sallins and Celbridge are, is there really a lot for the kids to do out there? Transport wise into Dublin?
Not being picky, it's a genuine question.

Celbridge is a great area to live in, if you want a country feel but close to city. You are only 25 minutes drive into the city centre about 15/20 minutes to city west.

Liffey valley is close by , if your children are going to college we have a express bus in the morning that goes through town and out to ucd. I moved out to Celbridge at 16 and love it. You are only a short journey from city life but you can go on a walk and be surrounded by animals and beautiful scenery.

We have 3 big supermarkets and new one being built also very close to maynooth which has more shops, walks and also a university.

You could get decent house within your budget. That's all 3+ bedrooms available at moment.
http://touch.daft.ie/search.daft?s%5Bsearch_type%5D=rental&s%5Bcc_id%5D=c3&s%5Ba_id%5D%5B0%5D=199&s%5Bmnp%5D=0&s%5Bmxp%5D=0&s%5Bmnb%5D=3&s%5Bsort_by%5D=&fr=touch&search=1&adv_form=0&offset=10

listermint

Tusky wrote: »

I would give serious thought to what MadsL has said - he/she is dishing out a LOT of sense. There are plenty of quiet areas of Dublin (which would have a townlike feel) that are a reasonable commute to city centre and CityWest.

I would completely scratch Tallaght off the list first of all. And I think you are being a tad selfish if you are considering somewhere like Naas - it's too much of a trek to the city for your daughters and would not be an exciting place to live.

Top end of your budget: Rathmines, Ranelagh, Rathgar (these have a slightly longer, but still totally reasonable commute)

Bottom end of budget: Templeouge, Terenure.

All of the above are reasonable commutes to city and your work, are safe and are reasonably quiet (Rathmines being the most 'hustle and bustle-esque', but still has a townlike vibe and is a short walk into city)

I would hate to move halfway around the world and live somewhere like Naas at that age (16/17) - there's nothing wrong with the place, but it's terribly unexciting.



What's wrong with a 30 minute commute? That's pretty damn handy if you ask me.

Stopped reading after this, because just like madsl your completely clueless.
Im from Tallaght, I went to college all my friends went to college. ALL my friends work in major international firms all are successful. None of them smoke. All of us grew up around here and id have no issues buying here. In fact i rent here now. Moved from cabinteely.

So you might take your front page gutter opinion and stick it somewhere because its very tiring reading incredulous tripe that is being spewed from your fingertips.

Anyway back on topic OP. Belgard Heights is a nice mature suburban area with a great local, a small primary school and access to everywhere i suggest looking it up. Its not dissimilar to any quiet local area in the US bar the obvious architectural differences. But alas my many and varied visits to the states over my years are in stark contrast with a seemingly colourful upbringing that i am lead to believe i should have had. back in my box with my college education and happy extended family.


shakes fist at sky......

Pride Fighter

ocsfan wrote: »

Well, there's an update! I got the Green Card Permit! So now, we're really down to it. I think the two areas I've been focusing on are Bray and Naas, but open to other suggestions. I think I've ruled out Lucan, Clondalkin, and probably Tallaght. I'd LOVE to live in Citywest and be able to go home for lunch and never commute again (I've been doing it for years), but the lack of things for the kids to do in Citywest makes me think that that's not a great option. I'd probably rule out places like Blessington, Rathcoole, and maybe Saggart for the same reason - very little for the girls to do.

I've also been looking at some other areas that were mentioned: Firhouse, Knocklyon, Ballyboden - all along the southern edge of Dublin, but I'm still open to suggestions. Basically, I'd like to be somewhere that there's things like a Cinema, shopping for the girls, with reasonable access to Dublin City Centre, but not be in the thick of the city and them being safe is obviously a big factor.

Thanks for all of the suggestions - I'd love more ideas on areas to avoid, considering the requirements.

I'd steer clear from Bray. It is miles away.

I think your concerns about Citywest, although somewhat accurate are unfounded, I'll explain what I mean. Citywest can be a boring part of Dublin, but there are still some things to do there. There is St. Mary's GAA club in Sagart, which provides a good sporting outlet, Irish sports as well as martial arts. Also more importantly Citywest is on the Luas line, this is a tram that takes people to Tallaght in 10 minutes and the City Centre in about 40 minutes, where there is loads to do.

I live in a very boring suburb on the luas line, but cause I am on the luas line, I am under 30 minutes from both Tallaght and the city centre. Most suburbs dont have a cinema, so most people travel to the ones that do by public transport. Citywest offers the best public transport in Dublin to get your kids to places where they can be entertained.

If you want them to have everything you specified. You should move to Dundrum, but houses there are extremely expensive, and you'll have to get a car to commute to work.

Citywest is the best bet IMO. Your kids if they want to go to College are easy commutes from IT Tallaght, DIT and Trinity.

Either way, good luck and welcome to Ireland

Tusky

listermint wrote: »

Stopped reading after this, because just like madsl your completely clueless.
Im from Tallaght, I went to college all my friends went to college. ALL my friends work in major international firms all are successful. None of them smoke. All of us grew up around here and id have no issues buying here. In fact i rent here now. Moved from cabinteely.

So you might take your front page gutter opinion and stick it somewhere because its very tiring reading incredulous tripe that is being spewed from your fingertips.

Wow. Did I miss something? Because whether you or your friends went to college, or whether they smoke (ehh, what?!) is totally irrelevant. There was zero snobbery in my comment. I come from a working class area in NW Dublin - incidentally, somewhere I would not recommend as a place to live either.

I would not recommend that an American family move halfway round the world to live in Tallaght either. I have family and friends in Tallaght and while I don't dislike it, It just would be nowhere near the top of list of places to live in Dublin. And I don't think I would be alone in that.

You are clearly far too sensitive about your hometown.

listermint

Tusky wrote: »

Wow. Did I miss something? Because whether you or your friends went to college, or whether they smoke (ehh, what?!) is totally irrelevant. There was zero snobbery in my comment. I come from a working class area in NW Dublin - incidentally, somewhere I would not recommend as a place to live either.

I would not recommend that an American family move halfway round the world to live in Tallaght either. I have family and friends in Tallaght and while I don't dislike it, It just would be nowhere near the top of list of places to live in Dublin. And I don't think I would be alone in that.

You are clearly far too sensitive about your hometown.

No im sorry this is not the case, im just far more informed that you are obviously. As ive stated previously I hung around with a 'new' american family there and guess what they are still there!

Also im obviously intelligent enough to realise that you branded a whole area of south west dublin as a no go zone. I pity your outlook on life because if this is how you choose to inform yourself its a sad state of affairs for you.

Ive been many many places put personally i chose to judge places on merit and not lack of experience.

Tusky

listermint wrote: »

Also im obviously intelligent enough to realise that you branded a whole area of south west dublin as a no go zone.

I certainly did not brand it a no go zone.

I think you need to look back at what I said about Tallaght (which is actually very little) and then look at your reactions, which have been totally over the top.

You recommend it as a place to live for this family, I don't. A difference of opinion, lets leave it at.

ocsfan

I really can't thank you all enough for your help so far! I know people can get defensive or have different opinions on areas, and have tried to take this all in. We're all set to leave in a couple of weeks, so we're really coming down to it now. I still haven't found a place, but need to right away (or my wife will kill me!), but there's a few things that I've thought through:

Naas - out. Too far from Dublin.
Bray - likely out. Too far from work and other couple of things...
Tallaght - likely out. Not a comment on Tallaght...

I think as much as anything else, one thing I really would like is the ability to walk to shopping centres, grocery stores, B&Q (possibly), etc. I'd likely have the car every day, so the girls will want a town where they can either walk to some sort of shopping, food, etc.

Considering, among others: Sandyford, Dundrum, Rathmines, Ranelagh, Rathgar, Templeouge, Teneure. I've increased my budget to 1400 max. Still welcoming suggestions on other areas or why I might not consider these...

Thanks so much!
Steve

CianRyan

Without commenting on the areas themselves, as they all nice places, the idea of not having to commute anymore is totally lost with that lot.

ocsfan

Thanks, and you're right. I'm willing to commute - hoping to keep it to 30 minutes each way or so.

Celly Smunt

MadsL wrote: »

Sigh. Let's not turn this into a "I grew up in Tallaght and it's fine" debate. I personally would not recommend it. You feel different. Let's leave the bickering out of it.

have you ever lived in tallaght?


To the op,Tallaght is a great place and location for where you're commuting to,areas like kilnamanagh,balrothery,castle lawns and millbrook would be my recommendation.

After living transatlantic myself,tallaght is the only place around your commute that matches the general size and offers the amenities of an american suburban city,with great infrastructure to the city centre and motorway.

ocsfan

Hmmm, still thinking about Tallaght. We've stayed there for about a week, a few years ago. It was just fine, really. No problems at all. Maybe it's worth another look. Are there sections of Tallaght that are better than others? (North, south, east, west)?

Thanks!
Steve

CianRyan

That should be alright but at rush hour it can take me about 15 minutes to get home from Citywest and I live in Tallaght.
If you have off peak commuting hours you should be fine with that time.
Not sure what the Naas Road is like but the N81 can get seriously backed up sometimes, it bottlenecks at some points.
Templeouge would be closest but there's no shopping center, you'd be driving or getting the bus to The Square. It's got a great park though.

I drove from Dundrum to Tallaght during rush hour, or slightly before even as I left at 4:30, it took an hour to get home but that was off the M50, could definitely be quicker that way. It's got a great shopping centre, cinema and restaurants though so that's a big plus.
Rathmines, Ranelagh, Rathgar, Templeouge and Terenure are all close enough together so you can get the same idea from the above. Sandyford I'm not familiar with though so I can't help.

A bit rambly but I hope that helps.

ocsfan wrote: »

Hmmm, still thinking about Tallaght. We've stayed there for about a week, a few years ago. It was just fine, really. No problems at all. Maybe it's worth another look. Are there sections of Tallaght that are better than others? (North, south, east, west)?

Thanks!
Steve

Kingswood, Old Bawn, Kilnamanagh, Aylesbury and Bancroft would be my pick of Tallaght.
They're all quiet, well settled areas with great access to amenities and road networks.
Stay away from West Tallaght, there are some grand spots but without really knowing the place, it's not worth considering.

I'll see if I can dig up a few houses for you.

Celly Smunt

ocsfan wrote: »

Hmmm, still thinking about Tallaght. We've stayed there for about a week, a few years ago. It was just fine, really. No problems at all. Maybe it's worth another look. Are there sections of Tallaght that are better than others? (North, south, east, west)?

Thanks!
Steve

the best way i describe the good areas is from the m50 to the village which would be east i suppose.

The only bad spots in tallaght are far out past the square shopping centre which is a good bit off.The areas i've mentioned are nice places with awards for cleanliness,higher elderly population and made up of home owners rather than council housing.

Stay away from killenarden,jobstown,fettercairn and anywhere around there.As i said they are far off from where i mentioned.

Celly Smunt

If i get a chance i'll record a video driving around tomorrow and upload it here to give you an idea.

Aykina

ocsfan wrote: »

Considering, among others: Sandyford, Dundrum, Rathmines, Ranelagh, Rathgar, Templeouge, Teneure. I've increased my budget to 1400 max. Still welcoming suggestions on other areas or why I might not consider these...

Given family and ages I'd have to say Dundrum. Ideally, get a rental within walking distance of the town centre (aka Fundrum) and you have shops, cinema, good restaurant options, LUAS into city centre all on your doorstep and would also be close enough to Dun Laoghaire and surrounding coast areas which are for nice walks. Plus very driveable to Wicklow which is lovely start to exploring Irish countryside. Good mix of action/accessibility/walkability etc.
Downside to Dundrum is traffic coming off the M50 at rush hour around Christmas time, with people queueing to get into the shopping centre.
Sandyford is very close - but slightly less walkable imo.

Rathmines and Ranelagh are popular, but I think more fun if you were willing to up your budget or were a 20something out every night and schlepping in and out of town all the time.

Rathgar is really lovely too, but without the Dundrum towncentre amenities, transport connections and slightly more pricey.

Of all the above I've never lived in Templeogue or Terenure so can't comment. They'd be your best commuting bet though!

Best of luck

Marty McFly

Another vote for Dundrum for me, has everything you need really and is a nice area,

or as a second thought ifyou are looking for somewhere closer and that has all the amenities you need you couldnt go wrong with Clondalkin, specifically looking at Newlands, Monastery and Floraville. All with good transport links, close to Clondalkin village which has all the amenities you could need in shopping centres, restauraunts, pubs with openings and with Liffey Valley shoppin centre a short distance away outside of the village. Mondastery was actually built to be more like an American suburban estate as far as I know.

awec

+1 Dundrum

One of Europes biggest shopping centres on your doorstep, a 20 minute Luas (tram) into Dublin city centre, quiet enough area and not too much of a commute to citywest.

I've lived in Citywest / Saggart before for a few months (out of necessity rather than choice). There really is not much to do at all, I'd avoid if possible.

Sandyford is beside Dundrum. It is quiet enough too. Also has Luas stops and you can get to Dundrum shopping centre on the luas in about 2 minutes, and into the city centre in about 25.

Sandyford itself has not got much to do at night (it tends to empty out at night as a lot of it is office / retail space), but getting to places that do have things to do is easy.

You can also use a different M50 exit than Dundrum so you won't run into the traffic problem at Christmas time etc.