Choosing a place to live - Youghal or Skibbereen?

Rodrigues

Hello all, I'm hoping some of you might be able to give me some advice. My husband and I have finally decided to move back to Ireland. We've decided, for various reasons to settle in Cork, but I'm a but lost as to where exactly would be a good place to live. Our situation briefly, is this; I'm 41, hubby is 42. He's French and will really need some work on his English. We have two kids, 2 yrs and 5 months. We want to send them to a Gaelscoil as I'm a fluent Irish speaker. We don't want to live more than 10 minutes from the sea. Hubby will be staying at home initially to look after the kids. I'm self employed, so will be trying to work from home. We can afford a small house with no mortgage - we have around €110k. But I need an office, and we'd like a garage and a garden. So.... Any thoughts? On paper, Youghal looks really good, easy access to city, Gaelscoil up to secondary, by the sea and houses are cheaper than Skibbereen. But I've seen a lot of comments online saying that it's a kip... Also, don't know how easy it is to make a life(socially) in either place? Neither if us has any contacts in the area and no family left in Ireland. All thoughts welcome!

old hippy

Youghal is beautiful, lovely scenery, beaches, the Blackwater & there's a lot of wonderful people there. Having said that, there's an element there who are not always welcoming to foreigners. Be prepared for the occasional stupid comment. Overall, it's easy on the eye and not far from other beautiful places like Ardmore and Midleton (the distillery!)

Rodrigues

Thanks Old Hippy. When you say 'foreigners', do you mean my husband, or me as well? ie not from the area

HillFarmer

Hi there ,

IMO Youghal is a hidden gem.

It used to be a powerhouse back in the 70's early 80s but due to companies closing etc it has had a bad few years employment wise.

Beaches on your doorstep plus all the delights of west Waterford across the bridge. Ardmore has a fantastic restaurants and beautiful beaches, Goat island, Whiting Bay etc all 10 to 15 mins away.


If you have any detailed questions please PM me, know the area inside out.

cali_eire

Skibbereen and West Cork are hard to beat. Amazing scenery and the best of rural Ireland but with a bohemian edge thanks to the many foreigners that have made it home.

old hippy

Rodrigues wrote: »

Thanks Old Hippy. When you say 'foreigners', do you mean my husband, or me as well? ie not from the area

I can only go by personal experience; for the most part - my wife and friends (not Irish, not white) were welcomed there but there's always a few who can be less than friendly.

Some years ago, two locals were beaten up by a gang out looking for foreigners. One of the lads who was beaten was Polish. It was an unpleasant stain on Youghal's hospitality.

Of course, such actions are not representative of the town as a whole. It has it's problems, like many other places - there's high unemployment, drugs, joy riding, boy racers, suicides and drownings. That's the worst of it.

The town has great potential to grow again and attract investment - a lot of these negatives are naturally, a by-product of frustration, boredom and unemployment. Not that it excuses such behaviour but I'm sure you get the picture.

There's plenty of places on the outskirts of the town with stunning views and a strong community in place. Please don't let the negatives put you off; every place has such things - it just seems more concentrated when it's a relatively small town.

HillFarmer is absolutely correct; it is a hidden gem.

Rodrigues

Wow, that's a pretty impressive list of problems all the same... I know what you men re small towns, which makes me wonder if we wouldn't be better off in a village like Skibbereen. I grew up in a village about the same size, so I have a fair idea of what to expect. It's annoying me though, because although my gut is saying Skibbereen, logically we should choose Youghal as it has better amenities. We'll be coming over in January to check out both places and maybe a few others as well, so we're hoping that inspiration will strike us when we're actually there.

Balmed Out

http://www.myhome.ie/residential/brochure/donour-castlefreke-clonakilty-cork-west/2504752

An option if you wanted, beautiful area very close to sea and its 10 mins to clonakilty which has a gaelscoil and is a popular area with foreigners. House has nothing to do with me other then love the area but decided to purchase closer to the city.

Rodrigues

Thanks for that Balmed Out. Looks like a nice area. Hadn't really thought of Clonakilty, but worth looking at I think. On a side note though, the house you linked to has a guide price of €150k. Our budget really is €110k. Is it realistic in today's market to look at houses in the €150k range???

who the fug

Rodrigues wrote: »

Wow, that's a pretty impressive list of problems all the same... I know what you men re small towns, which makes me wonder if we wouldn't be better off in a village like Skibbereen. I grew up in a village about the same size, so I have a fair idea of what to expect. It's annoying me though, because although my gut is saying Skibbereen, logically we should choose Youghal as it has better amenities. We'll be coming over in January to check out both places and maybe a few others as well, so we're hoping that inspiration will strike us when we're actually there.

You grew in a place like Skib and you call it a village , anyway take a drive around the West Cork, lots of places that should be within your budget

In any case you are going at the right time of year to see the reality

Rodrigues

Mmm, well, according to Wikipedia a village is "..a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand". So, although the people in the village I grew up in called it a town, it all depends on how you see things... You're right re going in January, I definitely want my other half to see the reality of a long winter far from the sun :-)

Balmed Out

Rodrigues wrote: »

Thanks for that Balmed Out. Looks like a nice area. Hadn't really thought of Clonakilty, but worth looking at I think. On a side note though, the house you linked to has a guide price of €150k. Our budget really is €110k. Is it realistic in today's market to look at houses in the €150k range???

No idea with that particular one but for many it may well be. Have a look at www.collapso.net and you can track how certain house's asking prices have fallen. That particular house is within an hour of the city and would seem good value as is but you never know. www.propertypriceregister.ie is very handy too but can be hard to match addresses to properties in rural areas.

byronbay2

You would definitely buy a nicer/better property for €110K in Youghal rather than Skibb but I would prefer to live in the latter. Youghal is basically dead with very little industry/employment left in the area. Lots of tax-exempt property was built there during the Celtic Tiger and a large percentage is now unoccupied and for sale for years. Skibb is a bustling market town - the hub of West Cork - and the area is glorious in the summer, with lots of tourists, attractions and events.

If you are self-employed and need broadband for your work (or leisure) you would want to check in advance of purchase what the availability is where you are buying. Both Youghal and Skibb would be iffy for high-speed broadband.

who the fug

Rodrigues wrote: »

Mmm, well, according to Wikipedia a village is "..a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand". So, although the people in the village I grew up in called it a town, it all depends on how you see things... You're right re going in January, I definitely want my other half to see the reality of a long winter far from the sun :-)

Village in west Cork is two pubs and a church, more than two pubs is a town

Gaol Scoil would not be that important IMHO , have a look at the local second level school , that is where you problems will be.

Bet you get lovely weather in January , and thine husband will be asking what are you on about

mountain

There is a brand new Gaelscoil opened in Clon just this sept, by all accounts it is very impressive.

Living in clon town is nice, every thing within walking distance, i suspect that housing may be pricier than some of the the surrounding towns.

Balmed Out

mountain wrote: »

There is a brand new Gaelscoil opened in Clon just this sept, by all accounts it is very impressive.

Living in clon town is nice, every thing within walking distance, i suspect that housing may be pricier than some of the the surrounding towns.

I reckon Clon's housing is far more expensive then anywhere else in west cork excluding kinsale but there are reasons for that too. That said 5 minutes past clon and prices come down a fair bit as your not competing with less and less commuters.

Rodrigues

byronbay2 wrote: »

If you are self-employed and need broadband for your work (or leisure) you would want to check in advance of purchase what the availability is where you are buying. Both Youghal and Skibb would be iffy for high-speed broadband.

God yeah, I had actually forgotten about that :-( You get so used to not even thinking about that over here. Ah well, just another thing to worry about ;-)

Balmed Out

Rodrigues wrote: »

God yeah, I had actually forgotten about that :-( You get so used to not even thinking about that over here. Ah well, just another thing to worry about ;-)

http://www.eircom.net/efibreinfo/map/

Rodrigues

Clonakilty is looking more and more interesting... Does anyone know what the Convent Road is like? There may be a house we could afford there.

Balmed Out

Convent road

Bad points
On the main road from Cork to Clonakilty so there's heavy traffic though it is in the 50 kmph area as its the very edge of town.
Noisy

Good points
Very close on foot to anywhere in town also its a lovely walk from there to ring. theres a supervalue shopping centre and a texaco in a one minute drive.

monkeynuz

Rodrigues wrote: »

God yeah, I had actually forgotten about that :-( You get so used to not even thinking about that over here. Ah well, just another thing to worry about ;-)

Just wondered where over here is?

Regarding your comment on towns/villages, yes in the uk a village might have 2000 residents but only have one shop, somewhere like skib or Kenmare etc. Could have the same number of oeople but the facilities of decent town in England. Skib has a lot to offer, not my cup of tea but I can see the appeal to some.

west cork lad

I may be biased but west cork wins every time for me. As some have said clon has a brand new galescoil and is thriving. Mixture of nationalities there too so may be easier to settle in. Skib has dropped a little in my opinion with a few buildings in need of repair, but is trying to make a come back. Youghal, personally I do not like. I stayed there for a few months about 13 years ago and I hated the place. I just did not like the feel of the place. 15 - 20 min away from the bigger towns you would buy a home for less than what you have to spend and still be access all areas, so to speak. On town sizes, and I am open to correction here, Kilkenny is not a city, and Rosscarbery is, due to the fact that one has a cathedral and the other has not. When you narrow down your choices, let us know and you will get loads of feedback on the choices. As you can guess from my name I may be a bit biased. I think this is the most I have written since I left school too. Best of luck on your search and where ever you decide on, you will be happy.

mordeith

west cork lad wrote: »

On town sizes, and I am open to correction here, Kilkenny is not a city, and Rosscarbery is, due to the fact that one has a cathedral and the other has not.

Rosscarbery a city

who the fug

mordeith wrote: »

Rosscarbery a city

yes it is, also Bantry is metropolis

Also opening poster,East Cork is cold

Rodrigues

Typical. We manage to narrow down our choice to Clonakilty - bearing in mind that we still have to come over and actually see places - and now we can't find anything suitable in our price range Back to the drawing board.

grange mac

Not much going on in youghal & very hilly but beach on doorstep. Biased opinion skibb is better as try baltimore 10 min from skibb. Try looking up nama website as they would generally be for sale at less than market prices. Skibb and clon would command more of a premium price than youghal.

mordeith

grange mac wrote: »

Not much going on in youghal & very hilly but beach on doorstep. Biased opinion skibb is better as try baltimore 10 min from skibb. Try looking up nama website as they would generally be for sale at less than market prices. Skibb and clon would command more of a premium price than youghal.

Midleton might be an option. 20 mins from Cork city, train station, only a short drive to various small beaches. Nice busy town.

mp22

Rodrigues wrote: »

Typical. We manage to narrow down our choice to Clonakilty - bearing in mind that we still have to come over and actually see places - and now we can't find anything suitable in our price range Back to the drawing board.

To be honest west cork is quiet pricy as far as houses go,you will struggle on that budget to find what you want.

monkeynuz

There can be value for money Bantry way or even a few near Kenmare.

deRanged

mordeith wrote: »

Midleton might be an option. 20 mins from Cork city, train station, only a short drive to various small beaches. Nice busy town.

I second Midleton. great place to live there are houses in budget too. e.g.

Rodrigues

Any opinions on Bandon anyone?

mordeith

Rodrigues wrote: »

Any opinions on Bandon anyone?

Prone to flooding but works in progress to remedy situation

Rodrigues

I saw that - though I think the works have been cancelled for the foreseeable future. Taking that into account and hoping we wouldn't buy on the flood plain, any other thoughts? Friendly place, bit of community spirit, active? etc. etc. We're also looking as far as Bantry now based on a previous posters suggestion, but I'm really not sure about going that far west... Definitely better value for money though in both Bantry and Bandon and while Bandon is further from the sea, we wouldn't be lost in the middle of nowhere...

monkeynuz

Bantry is by no means the middle of nowhere, not a bad place at all, probably make more friends and have more fun than in other areas.

I don't live in Bantry and olny go through at most once a year but I know a lot of people love it, I like a quieter life lol.

outfox

We moved to near Bantry a few years ago, from Cork. It's a good town. Slightly less buzzy than Skibb., but its a nice size and is lively in summer. I dont know how much travelling you will need to do eg. to Cork or whatever. If you will be driving regularly, I'd stay away from Skibb as the N71 is a messy drive IMO. Bantry is much easier to get to/from, as there is a fast road with no bottlenecks all the way to Cork. Kenmare is also worth a look. Bandon is depressing.
If you really want cheap, and dont mind being very far away, you could look at Castletownbere. Maybe some of the villages would suit, such as Schull, Ballydehob or Durrus. All are next to water. The two pieces of advice I would give:
1. West Cork is waaayyyyy nicer than East Cork. Hafl the populations are hippies, alternatives, etc. whihc makes it colourful and friendly.
2.I suggest rent in your chosen town first for a few months. This will give you a flavour of the area. Also, you'll get clued in to the local property market, and might find something in your budget that you could otherwise miss.
One other point worth noting: far west Cork has very few sandy beaches, unlike east Cork and south Cork.
Best of luck.

monkeynuz

outfox wrote: »

We moved to near Bantry a few years ago, from Cork. It's a good town. Slightly less buzzy than Skibb., but its a nice size and is lively in summer. I dont know how much travelling you will need to do eg. to Cork or whatever. If you will be driving regularly, I'd stay away from Skibb as the N71 is a messy drive IMO. Bantry is much easier to get to/from, as there is a fast road with no bottlenecks all the way to Cork. Kenmare is also worth a look. Bandon is depressing.
If you really want cheap, and dont mind being very far away, you could look at Castletownbere. Maybe some of the villages would suit, such as Schull, Ballydehob or Durrus. All are next to water. The two pieces of advice I would give:
1. West Cork is waaayyyyy nicer than East Cork. Hafl the populations are hippies, alternatives, etc. whihc makes it colourful and friendly.
2.I suggest rent in your chosen town first for a few months. This will give you a flavour of the area. Also, you'll get clued in to the local property market, and might find something in your budget that you could otherwise miss.
One other point worth noting: far west Cork has very few sandy beaches, unlike east Cork and south Cork.
Best of luck.

Not so sure about your statement of Castletownbere being cheaper than Bantry, but the area is fantastic and lovely people, and not too many hairies thankfully, well not as many as Bantry - Skibbereen!

Schull, Ballydehob and Durrus are overrated imho and still overpriced.

mordeith

outfox wrote: »

1. West Cork is waaayyyyy nicer than East Cork. Hafl the populations are hippies, alternatives, etc. whihc makes it colourful and friendly.

That's your opinion which your entitled to, but that doesn't make it fact. West Cork has some lovely coastal scenery but it can be a harsh place in the winter. I'm living in east Cork but am not from there originally. The locals were / are very friendly without being overbearing, and there's a huge variety of ethnicity. People I know living here from Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, England, Peru, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Nigeria, Chinese . . .
I live within 10 minutes of at least 6 beaches and have a 2 woodlands within 5 minutes. Better roads and public transport. Easy access to Cork, Waterford and the Dublin road.

monkeynuz

mordeith wrote: »

That's your opinion which your entitled to, but that doesn't make it fact. West Cork has some lovely coastal scenery but it can be a harsh place in the winter.

Not particularly harsh seeing as West Cork has some of the highest average winter temperatures.

very rare to see snow too, frosts that are inland very rarely touch the area.

Yes it can be breezy at times but it all blows through quite quickly too.

mordeith

monkeynuz wrote: »

Not particularly harsh seeing as West Cork has some of the highest average winter temperatures..

Point taken

Rodrigues

Ah, that's good advice re roads to Cork. As for the sandy beaches, doesn't bother me much as I grew up near the Atlantic and rocks :-) That said, it would be good for the kids to have one nearby, so how long by car is it to the nearest beach? Also, do you know anything about a housing estate called Reenrour East? There's a house there that might fit the bill. I hear you re renting, but the fact is that we're on such a tight budget that we can't really afford to... I know, I know, it would make for a very expensive mistake if we end up hating where we are, but that's why I'm trying to get as much feedback as I can. Everyone who has replied so far has been so helpful and it is really interesting and useful to hear opinions from people with first-hand experience. THANK YOU ALL!!! :-)

Rodrigues

Oops. That last post was directed at Outfox, so I was referring to Bantry. Also, Monkeynuz, I didn't mean to imply that Bantry was the middle of nowhere - I was talking about most of the decent houses I've looked at which are around 15km from the nearest town. Too isolated, particularly when we know nobody and have two small kids. Bantry is looking good. That's if that house does what is says on the tin. Already getting sick of ads for houses that look great until you scratch the surface and realise that the sitting room is 6m2 or the roof is about to cave in or it's on a national road etc etc etc. Bleurgh.

monkeynuz

Rodrigues wrote: »

Oops. That last post was directed at Outfox, so I was referring to Bantry. Also, Monkeynuz, I didn't mean to imply that Bantry was the middle of nowhere - I was talking about most of the decent houses I've looked at which are around 15km from the nearest town. Too isolated, particularly when we know nobody and have two small kids. Bantry is looking good. That's if that house does what is says on the tin. Already getting sick of ads for houses that look great until you scratch the surface and realise that the sitting room is 6m2 or the roof is about to cave in or it's on a national road etc etc etc. Bleurgh.

If you have children and move to West Cork even the remote bits, you will have a full phonebook by the end of the first week!

Everybody pretty much knows everybody.

You can choose to be as isolated or as integrated as you want to round here.

Being 15+ kms from the nearest TOWN round here isn't a problem for most people, some see it as a bonus, and if you saw the way the locals drive to make up for the distance!

Seriously though, the distance can get to some people, others don't find it a problem.

Also a great place for children growing up, you can pretty much let them roam wild, I often see little groups of youngish children going off on their bicycles in the summer, not much to worry about round here, you can still leave your car running while you pop into the post office too.

frash

outfox wrote: »

far west Cork has very few sandy beaches

One word: Barleycove

frash

OP don't think you've mentioned the kind of work you & your other half will be looking for....

Might help in deciding areas.
For one thing will you need to commute to Cork?

who the fug

Not Forgetting Ballydonegan

outfox

OP, I dont know much about Reenrour estate, except that its a nice short walk into town. It isn't exactly exclusive, although some of the houses there have the best views in Bantry.
Regarding beaches, the nearest swimming point is a small pier a 5 min drive away where the Council put out sand each summer to make a beach. Kids love it. The nearest proper beach is probably Barleycove, which is the best part of an hour's drive. It's worth it though, as it is a fantastic beach, one of the nicest in the country. Frash has provided a photo above. While you can access the water at other areas nearer Bantry, I think they are generally stones/pebbles.
If you like the Bantry area, you should check out Glengarriff (which I have a soft spot for), Kealkil and Ballylickey/Pearson's Bridge. All of them have small residential estates where you might pick up something in your budget. Maybe you could email the local auctioneers and ask them to keep an eye out for you.
Mordeith - sorry, I didn't mean to be down on east Cork. The beaches are certainly superb, and the weather is probably better. I've never lived there, so I guess I'm biased.

Rhys Essien

OP,just wondering,are you originally from County Cork?

West Cork is probably one of the most scenic/nice places in Ireland,never mind in County Cork.It beats East Cork hands down,and as was said it has the Gaeltacht.

mordeith

outfox wrote: »

Mordeith - sorry, I didn't mean to be down on east Cork. The beaches are certainly superb, and the weather is probably better. I've never lived there, so I guess I'm biased.

Sound

Rhys Essien

OP,I had a fast look here for you.One here in Rosscarbery(not too far from Clonakilty).It is 3 bed and also has 2 attic rooms.There is the Gaelscoil in Clonakilty.

http://www.daft.ie/searchsale.daft?id=742239

Rodrigues

Rhys Essien wrote: »

OP,I had a fast look here for you.One here in Rosscarbery(not too far from Clonakilty).It is 3 bed and also has 2 attic rooms.There is the Gaelscoil in Clonakilty.

http://www.daft.ie/searchsale.daft?id=742239

That one looks good. I had been on to those estate agents and asked them to contact me if they had anything suitable. I'll get back on to them tomorrow. Ok, well now I have at least one option in Rosscarbery, one in Skibbereen and one in Bantry. Someone else was asking whether I need to commute to Cork, and the answer is no - I'll be hoping to get work in Cork, but I'll be freelancing and most of what I do I can do from home. As for what I do, I used to be a journalist, then went into PR. Then I moved to France and so when I come home I'll be looking for work in journalism, in PR and teaching French and Irish wherever I can. My hubby is ex-navy and his English isn't the best. For the moment he will be looking after the kids and learning English and when they're of school-going age he'll be looking for whatever he can get! We're prepared for the worst though. Bad and all as things are in Ireland, we both want to give it a shot as we really want to bring the kids up there. But if the worst comes to the worst, we can come back to France and hubby's job will still be there (civil servants can take a career break up to the 8th birthday of their youngest child )

who the fug

What does you husband do in the navy, could be work for him in Whiddy or Cork harbour , good load of French around Bantry stealing our sea urchins