Go West young man..(in this case a not so young couple...)

aynneone

Time has come for house here in Greystones Co Wicklow to be sold, divided, and finally to head to where Ive spent the last 55 years wanting to be.. Galway. Im 55, hes 60, I work on the pc, so can work from home,Terry has been a driver all his life and would still really need some sort of work, even a few hours here and there. Ive a close friend in Oughterard, and an even closer friend in Clifden/Roundstone, so would ideally love to be in this area, we have a budget of E125 k, and the most important thing to us is to have land for the three dogs...also, Im a nuisance, I dont drive, so would need some sort of bus access to a town or village....Our other location is Woodford, again with the same criteria... Could anyone in either location taken a minute just to give us any advice, just about the towns, whether we are being unrealistic looking there given our budget....would we be made welcome?.. Im a veterinary nurse by profession so would happily get involved in any sort of voluntary work like I do here, and would be only too glad to join in any local activities...Thanks in anticipation... Anne

popa smurf

aynneone wrote: »

Time has come for house here in Greystones Co Wicklow to be sold, divided, and finally to head to where Ive spent the last 55 years wanting to be.. Galway. Im 55, hes 60, I work on the pc, so can work from home,Terry has been a driver all his life and would still really need some sort of work, even a few hours here and there. Ive a close friend in Oughterard, and an even closer friend in Clifden/Roundstone, so would ideally love to be in this area, we have a budget of E125 k, and the most important thing to us is to have land for the three dogs...also, Im a nuisance, I dont drive, so would need some sort of bus access to a town or village....Our other location is Woodford, again with the same criteria... Could anyone in either location taken a minute just to give us any advice, just about the towns, whether we are being unrealistic looking there given our budget....would we be made welcome?.. Im a veterinary nurse by profession so would happily get involved in any sort of voluntary work like I do here, and would be only too glad to join in any local activities...Thanks in anticipation... Anne

Its an exciting time for ye heading off into the west. we moved ourselves down from Dublin a few years back so we have fair idea whats it like, Clifden and roundstone are nice but very isolated, it depends what your looking for you could rent a cottage for a while and see do you like it. with regards your budget of 125k should be loads to get you a nice place Good luck with the move

aynneone

Popa, thanks so much for reply, got butterflies in my stomach now lol, ridiclous really, but have lived in this house for 32 years..BUT, its a kind of now or never time..so fingers crossed.. One question you might be able to help me with.. Broadband??.. I work from home on the pc, so would really need a reliable connection..dont know where you are, but how do you find it?

popa smurf

aynneone wrote: »

Popa, thanks so much for reply, got butterflies in my stomach now lol, ridiclous really, but have lived in this house for 32 years..BUT, its a kind of now or never time..so fingers crossed.. One question you might be able to help me with.. Broadband??.. I work from home on the pc, so would really need a reliable connection..dont know where you are, but how do you find it?

It all depends where you are it can be patchy I am not depending on it to make my living but i am sure they have good broadband in towns,

jjf1974

Not being able to drive and depending on public transport may limit your choice of location.http://www.citylink.ie provide a daily service from Clifden to Galway. Broadband is available in most areas except very remote areas.http://www.lightnet.ie is used by a lot of homes in Connemara . With your budget you should be able to get a cottage with a bit of land.

Two of the three places you have mentioned are quite remote - Woodford has for instance a bus on a Friday morning to Portumna and another on Saturday evening presumably for the bingo. http://www.portumna.net/localbus/

As said above why not rent somewhere for a while and try it out - particularly in the winter.

It would also give you a chance to sus out work.

Doom

Try renting in these places firstly, to see if you like the area....why rush to buy a place

aynneone

Doom, thanks for that, to be honest, have been paying a mortgage all our lives and now looking to settle in a smaller house, renting with 32 years worth of stuff to put into storage, and more importantly with 3 dogs, one of which is a German Shepherd might just be a nightmare, plus.. the fact, want to be young enough to enjoy our new surroundings, Ive spent a great deal of time in the area Oughterard/Clifden which is where I now think we are going to centre our search on, and am very familiar with the good Citylink bus service.. Gone are the 3 buses a day from Clifden to Galway..thank goodness.. Im lucky in as much as I can work from home once I have a good internet connection, and have other great plans... Only thing is.. why at the back of my head do I hear the old saying, 'if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans'... I really do appreciate very much all of you who took the time to reply, and am taking your answers on board..

Moving into a smaller place presumably you wouldn't have room for all of the 32 years of stuff one way or another.

You should be able to pick up a holiday rental for cheap over the winter - I strongly recommend spending an extended time there if possible before buying.

Rickwellwood

Rent for a while before you buy definitely - houses are not selling at all here in the areas you mention - renting first will give you a good sense of the area, people, services. If it were me doing what ye are planning I'd be renting first, take time to scope out the area. Also get a place close to the bus route. I'm a transplanted Dub btw and I like the fact that Galway city is well within shouting distance by bus. The bustling metropolis is there if needed.

Shakti

take a campervan and tour about for a bit in the area, nice spots in clare for not big money, broadband outside of the town's is either terrible or terribly expensive or both.

aynneone

Thanks Rickwellwood, and I do understand what you are saying,and you are so right about the buses and the proximity to Galway. Ive spent about a third of my times over the last 7 years or so commuting from Dublin to Clifden, and so the Citylink buses are the best inventions ever, when I first came back to Galway I was relying on Bus Eireann which was a nightmare, so things have certainly improved from that point of view, not to Roundstone tho lol, in twice a week and out twice a week if my memory serves me correctly.. Im very very familiar with Clifden, winter and summer, in fact spent part of a winter in a cottage in a place called Shanaheever which was devoid of electricity, have to say it was one of the warmest winters ever. Being realistic, tho I loved it dearly, Im also aware somewhere like that would be completely impractical on a long term basis,and with the bones getting older, hence us I think more or less now deciding on Oughterard if we can find something suitable. Part of this decision is influenced by the fact Ive a dear friend living there also, but as you say, plenty of buses passing through, the knack being to find somewhere on a bus route..and Shakti, thank you also, your comments about Broadband fill me with fear, is it too much to ask out of life, Broadband and a bus....:) Rickwellwood, do you mind me asking you, did you rent first before settling?.. just interested in seeing if you didnt and regret it, or did and thats why you recommend it... I understand why you are advising it, but for some reason my old brain couldnt comprehend the idea of a double relocation especially with dogs etc, I think we have decided to be careful, but having once decided on where, we will just make the best of it.. I live currently in what was a rural farming area for many years before 'progress' reared its ugly head...

dec25532

Try this website, it contains properties in the Oughterard area within your budget. Some with extensive gardens for your dogs.

http://www.daft.ie/searchsale.daft?s%5Bcc_id%5D=c19&s%5Ba_id%5D=2555&s%5Bmnp%5D=&s%5Bmxp%5D=125000&s%5Bmnb%5D=&s%5Bmxb%5D=&s%5Bmna%5D=&s%5Bmxa%5D=&s%5Bpt_id%5D=&search=1&s%5Bsearch_type%5D=sale&s%5Brefreshmap%5D=1&search_type=sale

Quick question, could you not learn to drive. You are still only a child when it comes to this learning process.

aynneone

Thanks a million Dec, firstly, we are actually interested in 2 of those properties and are planning on travelling down week after next to see them, secondly, as far as the driving goes, would you like the story about the BRAND new Mazda a few weeks before the wedding?.. the Datsun upside down in the ditch?... The Toyota, ..and so it goes on, but when I very luckily managed to wedge the Uno between a litter bin and another car at Greystones Harbour one Sunday, (luckily as I was heading for the ocean having mistaken the accelerator fot the brake, AGAIN), I decided for the good of both myself and the Irish public to admit defeat ..

jjf1974

[QUOTE=aynneone;86132694. Broadband??.. I work from home on the pc, so would really need a reliable connection..dont know where you are, but how do you find it?[/QUOTE]
According to http://eircom.net fibre-broadband will be available in Oughterard next year.:)

Shans28

I'm originally from outside Oughterard and my parents are still there. They have broadband with eircom and its not too bad. Can be a bit slow when downloading big files but for general Internet and email it's fine. I think it's pretty reliable as well, at least I never have any issues with it when I'm at home. And as someone else said, it is going to be be upgraded to faster fibre powered broadband next yr. As for houses, I reckon you will get something. There are still some houses around O'ard and Connemara in general that are in my opinion way overpriced considering the market and they don't seem to be shifting. Best of luck with it all anyway!