What do people think of Balbriggan??

LittleLady25

I am living out here now about 4 years and I can honestly say it is changing from what I remember it being when I first moved here.

Do people generally think its rough or is it like all areas that has good and bad spots?
Bearing in mind I do live here , all opinions much appreciated.

The Hill Billy

Would you care to offer your own opinion first?

Kintarō Hattori

I rented here about 8 years ago, didn't like the place as felt it was quite rough and swore I'd never be back. In 2011 we wanted to buy our own place and viewed a house. We both really liked how the town had changed and ended up buying.

I like the town as it actually feels like a community. I'd hate to live somewhere like Blanchardstown which just feels like a random collection of houses with wide open emptiness in between. Places like that never feel homely to me.

Sure Balbriggan is quite far from town but it has EXCELLENT transport links with the city. The train service is very reliable. It's served by both Bus Eireann and Dublin bus. The motorway will take you into town in a jiffy and there's always the R132 too, handy also if you like cycling.

While the town is quite sizeable and is not a million miles away from the city, it still has a nice country feel to it. Just hop on a bike and in a few minutes you've got amazing countryside. I adore cycling out on the quiet country lanes when the weather is good, it's really beautiful. The beach is lovely and in good weather it's really nice walking up the coast.

People are friendlier here than in the city centre and in the suburbs. You can have a chit chat and discuss important issues or just talk nonsense- I value that a lot. If someone starts a bit of conversation I'll talk the arse off of them- I hate how closed society has become, so value the friendliness people exhibit here.

Sure it can be rough, but that's not all of it, just parts and you'll get that anywhere. For the most part I find it a nice place to live. I wish it were a little livelier, especially the town centre when you consider the number of people who live here but it's far from dead either..... I've seen much quieter places.

All in all I'm happy we moved out here. I'm slowly getting to know some of my neighbours who are lovely- something which was very hard to do when living in the city centre.

What are your own thoughts on living here? Was it a good/bad move? What do you like/not like?

leelee77

I grew up in Balbriggan and have just returned to live here after 17 years of living away. It is a very different place to what it was when I grew up but I still like it. The people are very friendly and I don't find it rough, although I know there are rough parts.

Eoineo

The town is what you make of it. I'm into my 10th year living here.

Great feeling of community & place; although that may be partially due to being involved in a number of community groups.

I'd love there to be more life in the town centre but it was crippled first by the ribbon development of shops on the old Dublin/Belfast Rd, then by high rents. We very rarely have to leave the town. Everything is within walking distance, but if we do the transport links are good too.

Nodster

The wife and I will be 10 years in the town next year and can't say a bad word about it - wonderful people and community, gets the thumbs up from us

LittleLady25

Thanks everyone for the opinions.

Well the first few years here I found it nice and great for a family (lots for children i find in the way of playgroups and green areas etc.)

However I am seeing some changes. A bit of a more rough feeling around, I would say I feel a little less safe going for my evening walks and the recent shooting incident I heard of has me nervous aswell.

Also I am getting alot of ' oh its getting rough when will ye move on' from friends living in other areas and people telling me how its going to get worse and to move before the children start school!
Its just worrying me a bit that this seems to be the opinion? (although from the replies here It seems very positive!!)

I think honestly that every area has its bad spots and good spots and in general Balbriggan is very diverse which I like.
I suppose Ill have to sit this one out and wait and see how it fares over the next year or so... Thanks again.:)

N17er

I live in rush but go to balbriggan to shop and for a few pints rather than swords or anywhere else. I think its a nice clean town with friendly people. Pretty much the same as most country towns.

Just interested op, where would you like to move to?

LittleLady25

N17er wrote: »

I live in rush but go to balbriggan to shop and for a few pints rather than swords or anywhere else. I think its a nice clean town with friendly people. Pretty much the same as most country towns.

Just interested op, where would you like to move to?

You know I am not really sure exactly but an older estate / quiet. With amenities on my doorstep and good schools...... recommend anywhere ?!! LOL
Thanks for replying.

RedFFWolf

I've lived in Balbriggan all my life, which is only 20 years though to be fair. However, I can still recall how much a difference there was now and years ago. Balbriggan had its roughness years ago as it did now. The difference between back when I was a dot and now is that there are simply more people. When the Summerfest was on back in the 1990s, you would have felt like you genuinely had a chance in the Duck Derby with only a few hundred ducks (no more than 300 at one stage I recall, but perhaps I'm wrong), whereas this year there were around 2,500 or so as I recall.

So long as the population increases, you'll get a mix of good or bad people coming in. Similarly, a bigger area of people and land is a better ground for actions like drug dealing and burglary (referencing to the recent spate of break-ins around March), and hence it would seem worse that way - especially in terms of reportable "roughness". With kids for example, all it takes is one or two people from school to dictate a gang of peers into one good road or a bad one. I hear as many good stories of community spirit from both adults and kids, as well as those moments of "Balbriggan has turned into a right old kip". Since there are more people, there are more reports of negative actions, but if you look carefully, especially on the town website pages, there is a lot of reports of positive activity too, if not more so.

Personally, I've always believed in Balbriggan. It's landscape is too nice; I've sussed out some "hidden spots" and really the area is beautiful in general. As for the people, you still have some "town classics", great characters that capture the heart and soul of Balbriggan as a village/community rather than town. Of course, the newer you are to Balbriggan, the harder it is to know who these people are - but new generations are always coming about. So long as that continues, Balbriggan will still have great heart, soul and spirit. I'm already looking forward to the lighting of the Christmas lights in the town, hoping my sister gets to light the lights in this years competition

LittleLady25

Thanks for that RedFFwolf.
Great to get an insight from somone here their entire lives.
Thanks for that.
LL:)

grrrrrrrrr

I first came to work in Balbriggan about 14 years ago and ill never forget getting off the train and thinkin this was the town time forgot:rolleyes: Everythin seemed so old, it was a typical rainy Irish day so it must have made it feel extra dreary and although the place has changed a lot since then I never imagined that day that i would end up living in this town and completely changing my view of the place.

What actually did bring me to live here was an affordable house and at the time i bought it i felt that it was a compromise. It took me a long time to settle into it but that was because for the first few years i didnt really 'live' in my house just slept in it, id go to swords and further afield to do things like shopping socialising etc.. Took me a while to actually realise there was no need to ive got everything i could need on my doorstep. Theres so much i like about this place that i never really seen before probably cause i ignored it!

So many shops, pubs, takeaways(nearly too many take aways!) to choose from. The pub scene seems to have quietened down a good bit lately but that seems to be everywhere not just Balbriggan but im nearly always guaranteed a good laugh on a night out around here, i wouldnt feel uncomfortable goin out alone in Balbriggan as im nearly always gonna bump into someone i know thats a comfort in itself!
For me the best bit about Balbriggan is that theres so much for kids in this town and im not even talking about the playgrounds, to be able to set off from home on foot and in five minute minutes to have them on the harbour watching the seals, the only seals i seen growin up were the ones on the telly! Every trip out with them is like a little adventure for them, between the harbour, the canal, the beaches, watchin the trains going by on the footbridge, the kinda things that were a rarity for me are the norm for them.
Theres always something goin on in this place, the community really rallies together for the likes of the paddys parade and the summerfest, its times like that when u see the amount of people that actually live in this town and it can make u wonder where they are the rest of the year!
there are so many characters that i bump into on a daily basis theres a great sense of community in this place and yes there are a few bogeys and a few rough bits but dont ye get that everywhere.

dereks

it's a good area and the recession hit it at a bad time.

Daveyboy77

The place is a kip moved here 10 years ago it was great but not now

Dizzyblonde

Welcome to Boards Daveyboy77.

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