Ballymun Dublin 9 - opinions

Spidereq

Hi

Could anyone who knows the area tell me about The Plaza apartments in Ballymun - Found nice apartament that I would like to buy... but... something makes me worried about this idea.

Can you please give me your opinions - how living in there looks like and what can I expect there.

Thx

Bandara

Spidereq wrote: »

Hi

Could anyone who knows the area tell me about The Plaza apartments in Ballymun - Found nice apartament that I would like to buy... but... something makes me worried about this idea.

Can you please give me your opinions - how living in there looks like and what can I expect there.

Thx

It's worse than tallaght

Spidereq

can you elaborate - this answer brings little to the picture

masti123

nice area, used to be bad when all the flats were there but its fine now

elfy4eva

It's a fairly rough area, it was/is a government/european redevelopment project as it had be in a bad way with run down high rise flat complexes and social housing. At the moment the whole area is very contrasted, the main road where the plaza is has been modernized (for the most part) with the whole town centre full of modern styled buildings and offices, however off the beaten track you'll come into run down housing estates plagued with anti-social behavior.

Aside from the negative, some of the most lovely and genuine people I've had the pleasure of meeting have come from Ballymun. It's also beside the M50 and is well served with bus routes. Some people would be more than happy living there, but some will not be able to get beyond the negative aspects. It is what you make of it.

Hope this helps.

January

Bandara wrote: »

It's worse than tallaght

Giant brush... tar everywhere... please elaborate.

carlmango11

People on this forum have a habit of making bad areas sound great.

I've lived 10 minutes from the Civic Centre my whole life. It's not a nice area. It's ugly and has a higher-than-average percentage of scummy residents.

*prepares for onslaught*

EDIT: The buses are pretty frequent though!

subpar

Its a bit of a mixed bag ,but overall the area is slowly but surely on the up.

What you have not said is do you feel that you are buying the apartment at a good price

Spidereq

Thank you all for your feedback.

The apartment looks modern and well priced comparing to other options within my price range. It has underground parking with security person in place. Don't want to get sky high mortgage - would preffer to make it a 10 year project and move on - rent it and get somehing of a long term residence. I know that the area has its name but has it not improved since the towers are gone? I dont intend to spend much time on the streets of Ballymun - use car rather than public transport. No kids for now - just me and my wife.

Sorry to say but within the amount I am willing to spend there are no great locations or the properties are not meeting the standards I would expect from my first home.

I've been driving around its not the prettiest place on earth but... yet again people live there... don't they?

What kind of stuff can I expect. Please refer to Ballymun in 2013 not 2005 as I believe that it has changed since then.

hfallada

OP you might find better options in the CC. Mature 2 beds in the CC are about €110-140k which you will rent no problem. A lot people arent renting in areas where you have to take a bus to town, as buses are too expensive now

Spidereq

hfallada wrote: »

OP you might find better options in the CC. Mature 2 beds in the CC are about €110-140k which you will rent no problem. A lot people arent renting in areas where you have to take a bus to town, as buses are too expensive now

Can't live in CC - too crowded - love to be able to hit m50 and be in wicklow mountains in 15-20 minutes without traffic, Ballymun has UCD on the doorstep - so should be a good location for student tenants in the future

Aard

Spidereq wrote: »

Can't live in CC - too crowded - love to be able to hit m50 and be in wicklow mountains in 15-20 minutes without traffic, Ballymun has UCD on the doorstep - so should be a good location for student tenants in the future

Are you sure about that? Wicklow mountains are 20 minutes at least away from South Dublin. Coming from the Northside would add at least another 20. UCD is also not on the doorstep of Ballymun -- maybe you're thinking of DCU?

hfallada

Spidereq wrote: »

Can't live in CC - too crowded - love to be able to hit m50 and be in wicklow mountains in 15-20 minutes without traffic, Ballymun has UCD on the doorstep - so should be a good location for student tenants in the future

I think you are looking at the wrong suburb. Ballymun is on DCU doorstep (they about 12-15 kms from each other) and Ballymun is about an hours drive from wicklow. Ballymun has very few amenities. There is no restaurants, coffee shops

adamski8

Whoo OP if those are your reasons then your very wrong or mistaken about where you think ballymun is. It would bw more like 45min to wicklow alright plus a toll. I know those apartments and im not sure how many students would be up for renting them. A bit far away from dcu and not the nicest area. still a big set of towers right beside those apartments, lots of litter, horses on the grass and shady characters.

Renting to students there isnt the best idea either. They wont be there june to sep. So your tenantless for 4months of the year! Students generally like to rent cheap accom in a house share situation. Those apartments (ive been in them) are more suited to couples.

If the whole regeneration project had been completed they might have been a good place to live but i would avoid them. Right beside a very noisy busy road and the views aint pretty. Apartments are quite small too and with storage heating which i wont like personally anyway.

sabat

Whatever about living there, I certainly wouldn't buy an apartment in a complex like this in a suburb like this. They'll be full of local authority and HSE tenants who live there for free and therefore don't give a sh1t. The build quality is probably awful too.

Think about what you're actually getting for the price these cost- a few hundred bricks, some plaster board, a bit of wood and some glass. You don't even get a patch of land to call your own plus you'll have to pay at least €500 management fees every year. Wait another year or two and you'll get a house somewhere ok-ish closer to town like Crumlin or East Wall for the same money.

Spidereq

Property prices in Dublin were up 12% this year so how am i gonna buy cheaper ... Oh and i misspelled Ucd It should be DCU. I know where ballymun and it is 20 min drive to mountains ... If you consider that mountains begin at hellfire club exit 12 at M50 // ehhh not what i wanted 2 hear but sure thanks for this cold shower

Pherekydes

Ballymun is wholly in Dublin 11. Most parts of 9 are fine; many parts of 11 are crap.

Choose carefully.

Ole Rodrigo

I think the city centre in the best value at the moment. It takes me 20 mins to cycle to the countryside of North County Dub, or to Stocking Lane toward Wicklow at the weekend. Howth is 25 mins. Thats pretty good for a European capital.

Pherekydes

Pherekydes wrote: »

Ballymun is wholly in Dublin 11. Most parts of 9 are fine; many parts of 11 are crap.

Choose carefully.

This is wrong. Shangan and Coultry are parts of Ballymun in D9. I completely forgot about those parts. Would have avoided them in my day. Don't know if they've improved.

chopper6

Don't buy one of those partments...they're held together with spit an kleenex.

The local authority dwellings on santry Avenue are built to the highest standards and faced with brick...the "purchase" apartments across the road are falling apart already,you can see black rain damage creeping across the front render.



I dont know how much you have to spend but you'd be far better considering a three-bed semi house in somewhere like finglas,a far better area for the most part too.

dan1895

I've worked in Ballymun for four and a half years and although a lot of the people from the area are lovely, I'm glad I get to leave the area at the end of the day. As said above there are few amenities around, an insomnia in Super value is the nearest thing to a cafe, Mc Donald's the nearest to a restaurant, the world's worst Tesco and The Towers Pub which looks like its part of the set of shameless.

salacious crumb

dan1895 wrote: »

I've worked in Ballymun for four and a half years and although a lot of the people from the area are lovely, I'm glad I get to leave the area at the end of the day. As said above there are few amenities around, an insomnia in Super value is the nearest thing to a cafe, Mc Donald's the nearest to a restaurant, the world's worst Tesco and The Towers Pub which looks like its part of the set of shameless.

Snap.

Spidereq

Thank you everybody for your opinion - I have cooled down - I will probably add 20k and find something in better area. Thanks again - Merry X-mas

arybvtcw0eolkf

Spidereq wrote: »

Thank you everybody for your opinion - I have cooled down - I will probably add 20k and find something in better area. Thanks again - Merry X-mas

Good stuff.. I grew up in Ballymun (Balcurris Rd flats and Poppintree), I'm out of it a long time now but my family are still out there ~ honestly the place is a kip.

The regeneration has been a mess, it took away most of the green area's (before regen Ballymun was very green) ~ there are camera's EVERYHERE (and not because they're an attractive feature).. No good pubs, restaurants, cafes.

The place is as rough as a bears arse, as a Ballymun'er i'd like to say differently but in all honesty I can't.

Muahahaha

Good to hear honest, frank opinions about Ballymun. As someone who used to drive through it a fair bit last year Id concur with much that has been said. The regeneration seems like a mess and even the parts that got done up dont look that great. Its a shame the swimming pool closed down, not sure what the reason was for this anyone know

markpb

The swimming pool was closed down because a new pool and gym were built across the road. I presume the old one didn't fit in with the image of new Ballymun ;-)

EricPraline

I think that's a wise move OP. Honestly, no matter where you're looking, you should really rent in an area to get to know before making such a major financial investment. And this applies more so in an area like Ballymun (or East Wall or Crumlin to be fair), than most.

I remember talking with a former colleague who bought at the peak in an apartment development very near to the one you highlighted OP. His opinion was "we love the apartment, but we can't go out on foot after dark". Imho that spoke volumes. It's such a shame that the "regeneration" of the area effectively seemed to be about selling apartments.

Greenmachine

Isn't Ballymun in Dublin 11?

January

Greenmachine wrote: »

Isn't Ballymun in Dublin 11?

Parts of Ballymun Rd are in Dublin 9.

Greenmachine

January wrote: »

Parts of Ballymun Rd are in Dublin 9.

:P

Okay fair enough wasn't sure if it was a case of address shopping.

emzolita

If you wanna live that close to the M50 etc, Northwood in Santry is just beside Ballymun, and the apartments and area are lovely.
Im living in one 3 years, they're very well kept. They will definitely be a bit more expensive to buy, but have a look, as I know a lot are for sale atm.