Moving to Dublin and confused about best areas

Rasmus

In all fairness, although there are grand places to live around Ballyfermot, Drimnagh and Bluebell for the average person, the OP has expressed concern about living in Smithfield, so I think it is safe to say that he needs recommendations for other kinds of areas.

Redsox Rover

I would suggest Ashtown. I have lived there for years and it is extremely safe with its own supermarket, barbers, a centra shop, spar shop, takeaways, pubs.

It is on the commuter line which is erviced by trains coming from Maynooth and M3 Parkway. traisn are very 20 minutes to the city centre. There is also the 120 bus which runs every 30 minutes. The train journey to connolly is about 15 minutes and the bus is about 30 minutes to the city centre.

Ashtown is also located along the Royal canal, is right beside the phoenix park and is a 10 minute drive to the extensive Blanchardstown shopping centre. if you are driving at all it is also located close to the M50.

The apartments in the area are extremely comforatable and modern. A 2 bed apartment would go for approx €900-€1,100 with 1 beds going from €750.

It is an excellent location with everything the OP has stated as a requirement.

irisheejit

Thanks a lot for the advice to date! A lot of conflicting opinions here!

I might just consider sharing if needs be. Rather not spend excessively for a place, and to be fair, in retrospect, 1000E is a crazy amount to pay.

I'll check out some of the places mentioned by you guys. Paying over 1000E in London, thought spending same amount in Dublin would be wise but as mentioned by mates - I need my head examined (their words not mine haha)

Good to see large variety of opinions on this though!

I think I'll spend several days in Dublin and get a feel for a few areas (maybe borrow bullet proof vest if needed)

Cheers guys!

The Idyll Race

irisheejit wrote: »

I'd consider something around Sandyford but I think I might be going too far out. Not too sure if the green luas ine would be any better than the red one.

You could go beyond Sandyford to the Gallops or even Cherrywood and still be able to get into the Green in 30 or 40 mins. Big advantage of the Luas then is easy access to Dundrum and Ranelagh. The Green is definitely better than the Red line.

irisheejit

Not think Sandyford or Stillorgan are too far out? I can imagine taxis late at night costing a lot out there.

Also not sure if either location has any local supermarkets to walk to.

borderlinemeath

You mentioned you might be open to sharing.

How about something like this? You could walk to work in 10mins. Ranelagh is just up the road with supermarkets, pubs, restaurants, coffee shops, the barge pub just across the road.

http://www.daft.ie/searchsharing.daft?id=683100

Or this one in Rathmines, again walk in about 15mins, all supermarkets, restaurants, pubs, at 5mins walk.

http://www.daft.ie/searchsharing.daft?id=692793

TouchingVirus

Seeing as I work in the same area, and am currently looking for a new spot to live myself, I'll give you my advice - stick as close to the city center as possible. I currently live in north Drumcondra - the area is well serviced by buses and is a nice place to live. If I was to settle in Dublin it would be a worthy contender. However only the 13 and 16 will go southside near George's Street out of the myriad of buses that are close to me and after a year of busing it the commute has really worn thin. Having to bail early on nights out to save the €15 taxi money, the €73 a month on a taxsaver bus ticket etc, the waiting for a bus, the missing of a bus, the full bus etc. it gets to you (or has to me).

If you're going to go north of the Liffey, I would avoid Talbot St/Gardiner Street/Summerhill - they're grand spots if you know the area but it does have the problem of being real "inner city", a bit like Elephant & Castle in London. Sure people live there with no issues but their reputation preceeds them. Smithfield would be grand and is walkable, I've not had any trouble walking there late at night either. The IFSC (especially the front on the quays) is far enough away from East Wall/Sheriff Street/ to be OK but I hear from people who used to live there it can become a bit of a ghost town at weekends/nights; almost a soulless place but there are nice apartments to be had and the city centre/southside is only a short walk away.

On the southside you're pretty much all right between Kilmainham (so Heuston South Quarter/James' Walk) through to Ballsbridge and down as far south as Ranelagh. As ever, there are area with reputations southside too like some parts of Ringsend, Dolphin's Barn, around the council/corporation flats up near the Guinness Storehouse and a few others but to be honest with you it's a decision to have to make for yourself; it's really not like walking around in Baghdad and the stabvest thing has to be a joke, I don't think I've ever felt unsafe walking around in Dublin.

Take a few days, come over and walk around the city both at night and in the day and make up your mind. Personally, I'd be leaving places like Stillorgan, Donnybrook, Rathgar, Sandymount myself unless you're looking for somewhere a little more "settled".

I'm thinking somewhere in the following area: http://www.scribblemaps.com/#id=JZ5ADj8cHj

Use the Map View on Daft.ie (though it's only updated periodically and isn't "live") - something like this search for places in Dublin 1/2/4/6/7/8 with 1-2 beds up to €1000/month

The_Conductor

Ok guys- less of the derogatory comments please.
OP- perhaps you'd like to further clarify what you have in mind in your accommodation search- because the suggestions you're getting here are all over the shop.

Shane

irisheejit

Cheers Shane

I appreciate the suggestions to date but as mentioned, they vary greatly to the point whereby I can't draw conclusions about suitable areas to live in.

Just to clarify what I'm after -

• Maximum budget of 1000E (keep in mind this is the ridiculous amount I pay in South London at the moment. I rather spend less in Dublin)
• A place that has transport to the Radisson Hotel area of Dublin (can live further out of Dublin as long as the commute is realistic)
• Ideally would prefer my own apartment (had too many bad experiences previosly)
• I don't need to be next to bars and restaurants. Just a local supermarket with night life not overly far away so taxi home wouldn't cost too much.

With every suggested area I'm checking on Daft.ie (as lets face it, Ireland's No.1 property site for a reason).

Keep the suggestions coming

NicsM

irisheejit wrote: »

Not think Sandyford or Stillorgan are too far out? I can imagine taxis late at night costing a lot out there.

Also not sure if either location has any local supermarkets to walk to.

OP, I'm based in Stillorgan myself at the moment and working in town. The commute can get pretty frustrating-even with a variety of bus routes and the Luas not too far away.

Between Stillorgan and Sandyford there are 2 major shopping centres, Stillorgan Shopping centre itself which has Tesco and Beacon South Quarter which has Dunnes. Stillorgan is a more mature suburb, while Sandyford has a high proportion of newer apartments so is slightly more suited to young professionals.

Taxis from Stephen's Green on a night out would cost about 15 quid, which isn't too bad but living a bit closer to town would be a lot cheaper for taxis.

To make the most of your move to Dublin I'd definitely advise looking for somewhere as close to the city centre as possible. I have friends living in Grand Canal Dock, I've seen some really high spec double rooms for around €650 a month. You'd be a 30 minute walk from the Radisson but it's doable, even quicker on a bike.

dearg lady

borderlinemeath wrote: »

http://www.daft.ie/searchsharing.daft?id=683100

Or this one in Rathmines, again walk in about 15mins, all supermarkets, restaurants, pubs, at 5mins walk.

http://www.daft.ie/searchsharing.daft?id=692793

'No chemical dependencies' lol, I've never seen that in an accommodation ad before!

irisheejit wrote: »

Cheers Shane

I appreciate the suggestions to date but as mentioned, they vary greatly to the point whereby I can't draw conclusions about suitable areas to live in.

Just to clarify what I'm after -

• Maximum budget of 1000E (keep in mind this is the ridiculous amount I pay in South London at the moment. I rather spend less in Dublin)
• A place that has transport to the Radisson Hotel area of Dublin (can live further out of Dublin as long as the commute is realistic)
• Ideally would prefer my own apartment (had too many bad experiences previosly)
• I don't need to be next to bars and restaurants. Just a local supermarket with night life not overly far away so taxi home wouldn't cost too much.

With every suggested area I'm checking on Daft.ie (as lets face it, Ireland's No.1 property site for a reason).

Keep the suggestions coming

I would still vote for Rathmines, it has plenty of supermarkets, shops,pubs, buses to town(well it's only 20-30 min walk to town anyway) and it's a very safe area.
In general most socialising is done in the city centre in Dublin, and night buses are poor. Your budget would allow you to live quite close to city centre, or even in city centre.

irisheejit

Ninaluna wrote: »

OP, I'm based in Stillorgan myself at the moment and working in town. The commute can get pretty frustrating-even with a variety of bus routes and the Luas not too far away.

How long does your commute take?

TouchingVirus

irisheejit wrote: »

With every suggested area I'm checking on Daft.ie (as lets face it, Ireland's No.1 property site for a reason).

Keep the suggestions coming

Hah, did you know Daft is on Golden Lane?

You've a wide scope with those specific requirements, I reckon Ranelagh would be perfect for you. Short walk to the city centre/work, well serviced by buses to Georges St (closest stops to Golden Lane). Restaurants and shops in Ranelagh within walking distance and a nice choice of houses/apartments.

Rathmines is an option but it is slightly further out, past Ranelagh. I should also mention a lot of the areas mentioned are suitable, they meet your basic requirements. It's personal preferences after that, unless you want tighten the requirements up with regards commute time etc

NicsM

irisheejit wrote: »

How long does your commute take?

It depends entirely on the route I take (and I tend to vary it a lot!) so I'll give you an idea of the best way into town. Without traffic it would take under 30 minutes but at peak times it has taken me over an hour to get into town.

To get into town for 9am can be tight with certain routes; The 46A is one of Dublin's busiest bus routes in terms of passengers-if you were catching it anywhere from Stillorgan village or along the N11 you would want to be on a bus by 8:15, this should have you at Stephen's Green around 8:45.

The Luas takes 20-25 minutes from Stillorgan but bear in mind there can be a walk to the Luas stop so again I would say you'd need to be leaving by 8:15 to give yourself enough time.

The 11 is another Sandyford bus route but I would advise avoid at all costs, it gets stuck in traffic at 3 different schools and can take up to 90 minutes to get into town at worst.

I also cycle in and this takes a max of 25 minutes but you'd want to be comfortable with Dublin traffic beforehand.

callie33

Given your criteria, I would go with Ranelagh, Milltown or just search Dublin 6 and parts of Dublin 14 (Windy Arbor, some of Churchtown). Rathmines isn't that great in terms of renting, accommodation mostly consists of damp, dingy, studenty flats.
Right now decent lets are thin on the ground in Dublin particularly in your ideal location of Ranelagh - there are so little people buying that all the good rental properties are full up.
Moved back to Dublin myself lately and three of us were looking for a house and the viewings were completely oversubscribed and everything decent was snapped up immediately. So if you manage to find something worth viewing, be organised with references and deposit as competition is quite fierce at the moment. Good luck.

TouchingVirus

callie33 wrote: »

Given your criteria, I would go with Ranelagh, Milltown or just search Dublin 6 and parts of Dublin 14 (Windy Arbor, some of Churchtown). Rathmines isn't that great in terms of renting, accommodation mostly consists of damp, dingy, studenty flats.
Right now decent lets are thin on the ground in Dublin particularly in your ideal location of Ranelagh - there are so little people buying that all the good rental properties are full up.
Moved back to Dublin myself lately and three of us were looking for a house and the viewings were completely oversubscribed and everything decent was snapped up immediately. So if you manage to find something worth viewing, be organised with references and deposit as competition is quite fierce at the moment. Good luck.

Couldn't agree more about the competition being fierce, worst time to be looking though - start of college term.

strandroad

irisheejit wrote: »

Not think Sandyford or Stillorgan are too far out? I can imagine taxis late at night costing a lot out there.

Also not sure if either location has any local supermarkets to walk to.

They have loads actually, there are giant Dunnes and Aldi in Sandyford, while Stillorgan has Tesco, Lidl and Donnybrook Fair. Also Superquinn and M&S in Blackrock can be handy, depending on which side of Stillorgan you are.

OP, how do you feel about cycling? If you live in the area within certain radius, say up to Terenure, Milltown, Booterstown, you can have fairly easy cycling commute into town, no need to worry about the Luas or taxis.

TouchingVirus

mhge wrote: »

or taxis.

Cycling while hammered is never a good idea

Diarmuid

irisheejit wrote: »

A place that has transport to the Radisson Hotel area of Dublin (can live further out of Dublin as long as the commute is realistic)
I don't need to be next to bars and restaurants. Just a local supermarket with night life not overly far away so taxi home wouldn't cost too much.

Could you qualify what "realistic commute" and "not overly far away" is?

Everyone has a different idea so it might be a good idea to put numbers on that, esp time.

irisheejit

At the moment I'm living in South London and leave at 7.30am and get a 7.44am train into London Bridge (Arrive here around 8am, then 20-25 minute bus ride to office). I get to work for about 8.30am every morning.

Early but I avoid any rush and like to get a head start on my day.

I'm prepared to be several miles out from the city centre if regular transport is available, and on the occasions I'm out after mid-night, taxis home won't be a massive financial drain.

JustAThought

There is a big difference between " regular" and reliable!!!!

Busses etc here have improves but IMO are nothing like london Tube services which 'd have you spoilt: even the Northern Line!!

Your job had an dead city centre location; I'd stick to walking distance or a short hop; bearing the time yoh spend waiting for busses or walking to them, or waiting for 10+ people to get in, find their coins & pay can be v annoying too!!!

bluecode

Apparently the Northside is off limits? I speak as a Southsider so no bias. Sure there's no Luas but there is the Dart. My wife and I just recently rented out a nice, (I would say that), two bedroom house in Santry for €1000 a month. It's right on the bus route and close to shops. It's even walkable to the city centre.

So unless the Luas is a dealbreaker why not look take a look at some places like Santry, Raheny, Clontarf? Somewhere near the Dart.

listermint

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

listermint wrote: »

That's not completely fair, there is a few areas at certain times of the day where it is unsafe to drive your car through. But it would be a wrong place, wrong time sort of thing. They are the same areas where a firetruck will pull up outside the estate and wait for a riot van of Gardai before entering.

This entire sentence is complete trash, while il agree there may be elements to the Fire Service part but thats just scummy kids who have issues with Authority. They would throw stones at the fire brigade but to say they attack random motorists is laughable.

I honestly dont know where you get your info from.

irisheejit

Can we keep this on topic guys?

I appreciate everyone has their own view but I rather this thread not get locked.

Zamboni

Rathfarnham/Terenure

Lovely areas - Check
Bus routes that go down past the Radisson - Check
€20 taxi fare tops from city centre - Check
Late night buses - Check

Luas should not be a necessity for you. Neither stop close to your work place.

conf101

Zamboni wrote: »

Rathfarnham/Terenure

Lovely areas - Check
Bus routes that go down past the Radisson - Check
€20 taxi fare tops from city centre - Check
Late night buses - Check

Luas should not be a necessity for you. Neither stop close to your work place.

To be honest there are tonnes of places you could go looking but you'd drive yourself demented trying to look in them all. Loads of people have mentioned Rathmines (a place I love) because it's walking distance from town but you've already said you're not fussy about a commute and that you can't find what you're looking for in Rathmines. So that's out.

I think Zamboni has it spot on. Rathfarnham and Terenure are both lovely areas. Both have lots of amenities and are easily commutable to town, certainly much shorter than what you're used to in London, and both are full of great accommodation. If I were you this is exactly where I'd be looking.

listermint

conf101 wrote: »

To be honest there are tonnes of places you could go looking but you'd drive yourself demented trying to look in them all. Loads of people have mentioned Rathmines (a place I love) because it's walking distance from town but you've already said you're not fussy about a commute and that you can't find what you're looking for in Rathmines. So that's out.

I think Zamboni has it spot on. Rathfarnham and Terenure are both lovely areas. Both have lots of amenities and are easily commutable to town, certainly much shorter than what you're used to in London, and both are full of great accommodation. If I were you this is exactly where I'd be looking.

its their brand new reasonable spec apartments in rathfarnham /terenure ?

Seems like the OP wants a brand new/ish high spec apartment. Which you wont get in Rathmines, or the areas mentioned as they are traditionally housing. Id imagine the OP should put up their own top ten choices and the good people here can give them a workable pro/con on them without spouting rubbish.

Number_5

irisheejit wrote: »

Can we keep this on topic guys?

I appreciate everyone has their own view but I rather this thread not get locked.

What more information do you need?? You have 5 pages of advice. Patience and plenty of time of daft.ie is what you need now

TouchingVirus

bluecode wrote: »

Apparently the Northside is off limits? I speak as a Southsider so no bias. Sure there's no Luas but there is the Dart. My wife and I just recently rented out a nice, (I would say that), two bedroom house in Santry for €1000 a month. It's right on the bus route and close to shops. It's even walkable to the city centre.

So unless the Luas is a dealbreaker why not look take a look at some places like Santry, Raheny, Clontarf? Somewhere near the Dart.

Santry's further out than Drumcondra. Out that far you are relying on buses, and relying on Dublin Bus is folly; it can take 30 minutes to get me home or over an hour depending on the wait and traffic. After a year your head is melted, I would advise against. Stick to the southside.

SBWife

What's the issue with living in town. There are plenty of rentals in the Christchurch, Francais St, Liberties area, which would be a maximum 15 min walk to Golden Lane. These areas are safe, well serviced, and you don't have to worry about the bus or LUAS nor do you have any commuting costs. Failing that the docklands are turning into a good place to live as well.