Life in Limerick - what's it like?

racingboo

Hi, All, I'm an immigrant from South Africa, been here ten years but have lived in Dundalk all that time. An acquaintance from South Africa is moving here, it is a family with three young children. They have a choice where to settle: Limerick or Dublin (city in both cases)? I thought the best people to answer that question would be folks who live in these places already.

Thanks in advance for your help and advice.

Iranoutofideas

Limerick is a lot smaller than Dublin and less expensive regarding rent and entertainment. I'm not a family man so not up to speed on the factors affecting kids etc.

I think Limerick would be more family friendly perhaps?

Jofspring

Limerick will be easier to get around. Easier to adjust to I would imagine. It has cheaper rent/house costs, not a lot of traffic either, not a huge amount going on but certainly better than it was only a few years ago. The public transport in Limerick isn't great either compared to Dublin.

Dublin would have a lot more going on, is a far bigger city, has considerably bigger rent though and the traffic up there can be awful. The public transport is excellent though with Dublin Bus, Luas and the Dart.

bazz26

It could really depend on what kind of work the person is looking for and what skills they currently have, this could determine which city offers the best job prospects for them.

Parchment

Dublin would be my choice. Limerick is very limited in most areas i think.

Totally Tropical

One mans paradise is anothers mans hell etc but i'll just give as honest an answer as possible.Dublin would be the only international standard city in this country but it's a city i never warmed too.Now you on the other hand might like it but i personally think myself Limerick is the most underrated and one of the (it's between Limerick or Cork imo) nicest cities in the country.It's just a very genuine sort of place and the grid system of the streets, the georgian architecture and the river front are very unique features.It's just a nice city to explore and walk around.If you want to experience a city that lives up to the reputation that Ireland has for friendliness the best then that's Limerick imo.

I would also consider Limerick to be a much safer and pleasant city than Dublin.It depends on what you're looking for really.If you want plenty of options for nightlife shopping concerts etc then you would probably opt for Dublin but i say give Limerick a chance.If you're looking for a place full of charm and character then you can't go wrong with Limerick.The traffic and house prices wouldn't be as bad in Limerick either compared to Dublin!Of course not everything's perfect in Limerick.Like everywhere else it has it's flaws but i just think a newcomer to both cities will find Limerick to be a much more warmer and friendlier place.Limerick is the friendliest city in Ireland in my opinion by a long shot.Why not give it a try and see for yourself.I don't reside in either city but i spend a lot of time in Limerick when i get the chance.

riverrocked

I have children and live in the city, and have to say we do have a great choice when it comes to activities for children, they can do get involved in all the regular sports as well as unusual ones, like rowing and tennis, for not a lot. There are plenty of free classes in the Hunt, Art Gallery, Library to keep them entertained And depending on their ages, the people's park kids section is quite good, as is the one on the Shelbourne road, for older kids there are free coding classes in LIT. We have some of the highest rated secondary schools in the country (considering that we don't have many secondary schools this is great). It only takes a few minutes to get onto one of the many walks around the city, canal, westlands, island which make you feel like you are in the countryside. This year has been packed with activities on, I could have gone to an event everyday if I wanted to, but who has enough time, this being said, the year before there was also something I could have gone to everyday too, this year there was just even more options.
For a family I would go with Limerick, I lived in Dublin for a few years and just found it cold.

iguana

I've recently returned to Limerick with my son after spending many years living away, mainly in Dublin and London. I like Dublin a lot but you have to be earning an awful lot to live well there as housing costs are so high in any area that you would be comfortable raising children. And even with spending a lot of money for housing you are still very likely to end up with a long commute to your workplace, which is a real negative in terms of family life. In Limerick if you have a reasonable salary you can live very, very well quite easily. The city is manageably small with lots of lovely safe, amenity filled areas to raise a family within a 20 minute walk of the city centre. There are also plenty of similar residential areas near UL or any of the industrial parks. If they prefer country/village life to suburban then there are lots of options that are still a short commute from the city. And prices to rent or buy houses are very reasonable.

It's possible to buy a detached house on with a big garden in a nice neighbourhood, walking distance to the city with both supermarkets and beautiful countryside on your doorstep for less than 10-20% of what similar would cost you in Dublin. It means that you can have a completely different lifestyle here. Even on a lower salary you can afford a nicer house but have more money in your pocket. While Dublin undoubtedly has more social and cultural options there are a huge amount of family amenities in Limerick. I'm always taking my son to fun places and events. If I was still childless I might miss the variety of adult entertainment in Dublin (though that was pretty pale compared to London) but to be very honest as a parent I don't go out as much as I used to and when I do go out, there is more than enough in Limerick for me to never get bored of it. And if I do want to go to something in Dublin I can afford it now better than I could when I lived there as so much of our income was spent on accommodation. I find I have a much better social life here than I did in Dublin as friends, family and amenities are closer while my money goes further.

Different people have different priorities but for me, the increased quality of life here has been worth the loss of some social options in Dublin. Another factor is childcare. Lower housing costs have made it easier for me to be a stay at home mother but if your friend's wife would be looking for work I believe childcare is much more expensive in Dublin.

One negative of Limerick may be expat socialising options. If your friend and his family would like to find a way to connect with other people from SA the odds are there would be more options for that in Dublin as it's a bigger city with larger immigrant communities. And I don't think there is a South African shop in Limerick but afaik, the one in Dublin delivers nationwide.

zulutango

I spent a few years in Dublin recently, and went up there with an open mind expecting to enjoy it and make the most of it. But after about 6 months I realised that life up there isn't great, and that's even if you do happen to be earning plenty of money. I reckon it's a great place to be in college or in your mid twenties. After that, no thanks. Not for me anyway.

For whatever positives Dublin has (cultural attractions primarily), Limerick has plenty of those too. And it's not like you can't visit Dublin now and again if you must. The negatives of Dublin are many, I'm afraid. It's quite a chaotic city with way too much traffic for my liking. It's poorly maintained and poorly managed in a lot of places. Whole sections of the city centre are quite run down and have serious social problems and there doesn't seem to be much of an appetitie to fix them. It's bloody expensive to live there too. On the same salary I'm managing to save a lot more money than I could up there, and I wasn't even seeing the benefit of it. Another poster mentioned that public transport is good up there, but that's only true in certain areas. I would say it's quite poor on the whole. Crime is Dublin is fairly bad these days too. I witnessed a fair amount of petty stuff up there and there was a murder near my house too. **** happens everywhere, but in Dublin it seems to happen a lot.

One of the things I love about Limerick is that I can pick up the phone and call a friend and say let's go for a pint and we can meet within the hour. My experience of Dublin (partly because of the transport issue and partly because everybody seems to live ultra-scheduled lives up there) is that you need to really plan social occasions well in advance. Another huge advantage that Limerick has over Dublin is that if you go to a cultural event you're more than likely going to meet people you know, and shared experiences tend to be more enjoyable. That just doesn't happen in the capital. You go to a gig or a play or whatever and then you go home. It's not as much fun.

Another great aspect to living in Limerick is the fact that you can get away from it easily. I love going to Kerry and Clare doing various activities and both are within easy reach. Getting out of Dublin and going anywhere particularly interesting is hardship. I like running and the Phoenix Park in Dublin was great. It's honestly one of the best public amenities anywhere. But there's only so may times you can go there before getting bored of it. Limerick has variety in spades. I run around Cratloe, sometimes Killaloe and other places. I live in the city centre and run out by the river and the canal towards the university and all around there, it's great.

To be honest, I could go on and on. I'm not saying Limerick is paradise or anything. There's lots that I'd like to see improve and some things really frustrate me about the place. But on the whole I would choose it over Dublin. Easily. Cork would give Limerick a run for its money though.

One other thing I'd say is that city living in Limerick beats suburban living. There are good residential areas within a few minutes walk of the city with great schools, parks and other amenities. North Circular Road, O'Callaghan Strand, Ennis Road and Clancy Strand would be my picks, but there's otherlovely places too. Hope that helps.

vkid

Have lived in both, and I would take Limerick.

But everyone is different.

I just couldn't be dealing with the traffic, the rent prices, the expense of everything really, the scum bags in the city center of Dublin, everything is a pain in the hoop... All of these things are lesser issues in Limerick imo. Quality of my life is way way better down here than in Dublin.

Would want a serious chunk of money to ever consider moving back to Dublin but each to their own.

squonk

If it was between Dublin or Limerick, I'd take Limerick for the reasons above. Smaller, more amenities within 20 minutes of your location etc. Ideally though, I'd take Galway. More expensive than Limerick but it's more cosmopolitan and there's more going on. Kind of a happy balance between Limerick and Dublin IMHO.

Silentcorner

squonk wrote: »

If it was between Dublin or Limerick, I'd take Limerick for the reasons above. Smaller, more amenities within 20 minutes of your location etc. Ideally though, I'd take Galway. More expensive than Limerick but it's more cosmopolitan and there's more going on. Kind of a happy balance between Limerick and Dublin IMHO.

I think you're confusing touristy with cosmopolitan...it is a one street town, hardly cosmopolitan...thats a good one!!

Procasinator

Silentcorner wrote: »

I think you're confusing touristy with cosmopolitan...it is a one street town, hardly cosmopolitan...thats a good one!!

I think you are confusing cosmopolitan with metropolitan.

zulutango

I wouldn't consider Galway a better place to live than Limerick. It's expensive, has chaotic traffic and it's fairly disastrously planned and managed. Visually and architecturally it's not nice at all. As for arty and cultural stuff, well it's all a bit touristy for my liking. It does have the sea, and that's a great asset. It's also got a reasonably decent night life (which Limerick lacks in my opinion). On balance, Galway, nah. I'd much rather move to Cork if I was run out of Limerick.

Silentcorner

Procasinator wrote: »

I think you are confusing cosmopolitan with metropolitan.

Having a main street that is full of pubs and shops that sells trinkets to tourists is not cosmopolitan.

Procasinator

Silentcorner wrote: »

Having a main street that is full of pubs and shops that sells trinkets to tourists is not cosmopolitan.

No, a place that embraces it's multicultural demographics is.

According to census of 2011, "Galway City was the most multi-cultural with 19.4 per cent of its residents recorded as non-Irish."

http://www.cso.ie/en/newsandevents/pressreleases/2012pressreleases/pressreleasecensus2011profile6migrationanddiversity/

All squonk said is that Galway is more cosmopolitan than Limerick. Bringing up that is only has one street isn't really relevant.

zulutango

Procasinator wrote: »

No, a place that embraces it's multicultural demographics is.

According to census of 2011, "Galway City was the most multi-cultural with 19.4 per cent of its residents recorded as non-Irish."

http://www.cso.ie/en/newsandevents/pressreleases/2012pressreleases/pressreleasecensus2011profile6migrationanddiversity/

All squonk said is that Galway is more cosmopolitan than Limerick. Bringing up that is only has one street isn't really relevant.

I think you're on the wrong track as well though. The dictionary throws up these synonyms for cosmopolitan. I wouldn't think they apply to Galway very much. Multi-cultural and cosmopolitan are not the same thing at all.

cultivated, cultured, sophisticated, suave, urbane, polished, refined;

squonk

In fairness zutango you only quoted the parts of that definition to support your own beliefs.

cosmopolitan
ˌkɒzməˈpɒlɪt(ə)n/
adjective
1.
familiar with and at ease in many different countries and cultures.
"his knowledge of French, Italian, and Spanish made him genuinely cosmopolitan"
synonyms: worldly, worldly-wise, well travelled, knowing, aware, mature, seasoned, experienced, unprovincial, cultivated, cultured, sophisticated, suave, urbane, polished, refined; More
antonyms: provincial, narrow, unsophisticated
including people from many different countries.
"immigration transformed the city into a cosmopolitan metropolis"
synonyms: international, multiracial, worldwide, global, universal
"the student body has a cosmopolitan character"
having an exciting and glamorous character associated with travel and a mixture of cultures.
"their designs became a byword for cosmopolitan chic"
2.
(of a plant or animal) found all over the world.
noun
noun: cosmopolitan; plural noun: cosmopolitans
1.
a cosmopolitan person.
"there were also cosmopolitans who spoke both Spanish and English and travelled in the worlds of both Puerto Rican and white Holyoke"
2.
a cosmopolitan plant or animal.

zulutango

The other synonyms are adjectives for describing a cosmopolitan person. It wouldn't have made sense to include them.

Is Galway particularly cosmopolitan. No, I don't think you can reasonably say it is. Is it more multi-ethnic, multi-cultural than Limerick. Yes, probably, and the CSO stats seems to back that up.

Silentcorner

Procasinator wrote: »

No, a place that embraces it's multicultural demographics is.

According to census of 2011, "Galway City was the most multi-cultural with 19.4 per cent of its residents recorded as non-Irish."

http://www.cso.ie/en/newsandevents/pressreleases/2012pressreleases/pressreleasecensus2011profile6migrationanddiversity/

All squonk said is that Galway is more cosmopolitan than Limerick. Bringing up that is only has one street isn't really relevant.

Bringing Galway into this discussion is irrelevant. The question asked was about life in Limerick v Dublin.

Limerick until this year with the amalgamation of the City and County was a statistical anomaly...Cork and Waterford are the same, as indeed is Dublin. Galway is a great tourist town, in fairness I can see the attraction for tourists, it's main street is very nice, it is like a big Dingle, it has multi national residents, just like all Irish cities, but I do not buy into that whole cosmopolitan/arty/hippy/cultural nonsense....it is getting out of hand. It is a one trick pony, if fairness it is a good trick.

Totally Tropical

Procasinator wrote: »

No, a place that embraces it's multicultural demographics is.

According to census of 2011, "Galway City was the most multi-cultural with 19.4 per cent of its residents recorded as non-Irish."

http://www.cso.ie/en/newsandevents/pressreleases/2012pressreleases/pressreleasecensus2011profile6migrationanddiversity/

All squonk said is that Galway is more cosmopolitan than Limerick. Bringing up that is only has one street isn't really relevant.

Your post and the other Galway posters posts are irrelevant to this discussion.I lived in Galway for many years.It's alright but apart from the nightlife i found the place to be very limited.It's just a bigger version of Ennis (Ennis is a great town with great people so i don't mean that as a slight.I like Ennis a lot.) with very badly planned urban sprawl on the outskirts and for architecture and sightseeing it doesn't come close to Limerick.Limerick is a much more interesting urban genuine and authentic city than Galway in my opinion.That's all i will say on the matter.As i already said yourself and Squonks posts are irrelevant to this thread.I just get the impression that people like you don't like it when people speak fondly of the city of Limerick and it's people.Between the recent stats with regards to tourist safety and the reviews that Limericks hotels are getting on tripadvisor from tourists from all corners of the world.There's a lot of happy visitors that leave the city of Limerick with a very positive impression.

Pissy Missy

I was there for 2 years for college, I lived in Castletroy, safe and nice however had three bikes stolen on me, I thinks overall it's a nice place to be, just took me a year to get comfortable was all

BelleOfTheBall

I'm a limerick lassy I have to say with all good points above.we are v welcoming people and neighbours are next to none! To be honest nice to know ur people to call upon.u wouldn't get that anyway else. Also v v v important we are home of rugby and limerick gaa only a thrown stow away from the city centre. I'm sure they would warm to that idea-great atmosphere around.

seachto7

BelleOfTheBall wrote: »

Also v v v important we are home of rugby and limerick gaa only a thrown stow away from the city centre.

What if they're not into rugby or GAA?

Silentcorner

seachto7 wrote: »

What if they're not into rugby or GAA?

Well then there is hockey/rowing/kayaking/rock climbing/swimming/golf/martial arts/boxing/gyms/camogie/equestrian centres/tennis/yoga/dance/athletics/badmington/soccer/pitch and putt/softball...to name but a few.

If the kids aren't into sport, there is not a musical discipline that is not practiced or taught in the city, I have enjoyed performances of all kinds this year in particular, ranging from Harpists to opera singers, to cellists/pianists/pipe organists/choir groups/pipe bands/string quartets/not to mention Limerick's excellent home grown music scene.

If sport and music aren't your thing then there are several art classes for kids from the Hunt Museum to Limerick City Art Gallery, along with acting/drama groups.

If you can't find things to do in this city you are not trying hard enough.

Procasinator

Totally Tropical wrote: »

.I just get the impression that people like you don't like it when people speak fondly of the city of Limerick and it's people.

You have the wrong impression. I am a Limerick person - at least, since I moved here as a teenager. I think Limerick, like any city, has it's good and bad qualities, but overall I am fond of where I live.

I disagreed with one posters point, because I honestly think his rebuttal to squod took the word cosmopolitan wrongly. I didn't pull Galway into this thread, I simply left a small remark.

Vanquished

Galway is a fine city to visit for a weekend or whatever but I do find that many people tend to go way overboard when singing its praises. It's certainly not the utopian paradise that many claim! I always cringe when I hear Galway being described as "cosmopolitan" and "bohemian!" It would appear that experimenting with multicoloured hair and sitting outside "trendy" cafes in Aran jumpers watching the world go by constitutes cosmopolitanism these days!

Although I must say that one aspect that irritates me about Limerick is the over-eagerness to promote the city as Ireland's rugby capital and to reference Munster rugby at almost every opportunity! The reality is that rugby is a minority sport in global terms and most tourists don't know anything about it. The city has tonnes more to offer in a wide variety of spheres!

Totally Tropical

Procasinator wrote: »

You have the wrong impression. I am a Limerick person - at least, since I moved here as a teenager. I think Limerick, like any city, has it's good and bad qualities, but overall I am fond of where I live.

I disagreed with one posters point, because I honestly think his rebuttal to squod took the word cosmopolitan wrongly. I didn't pull Galway into this thread, I simply left a small remark.

Fair enough and people are entitled to their own opinions but i don't know what Squonk was at referencing Galway in a thread about the merits of Limerick compared to Dublin.

zulutango

I'm with you on the rugby thing. Fine, we've a decent team and a grand stadium but it's tiresome the way our rugby pedigree is pushed front and centre when singing the praises of the city. It's almost as if it's the only thing we have when really there's so much more. And, as you said, rugby appeals to a tiny proportion of the potential visitor market for Limerick. We're really selling ourselves short by focussing on the rugby.

Procasinator

Regarding the OP, my advice would be similar that of bazz26. Employment will be a important consideration. Ireland in general was hit by the recession, with Limerick City in particular suffering high unemployment rates. If you can get a good position, great, your purchasing power may stretch further. But there does tend to be less opportunities in the first place.

Another thing would be city living. City centre living Limerick will be vastly cheaper than Dublin (and good value compared to Cork and Galway too). However, some would say Limerick city centre has what is called a doughnut effect. This does tend to mean that employment opportunities and retail in the actual city centre is lacking, especially so if compared to Dublin. Of course, the doughnut effect has been created by strong suburbs which offer their own advantages, it's just something to take into account.

zulutango

Procasinator wrote: »

Regarding the OP, my advice would be similar that of bazz26. Employment will be a important consideration. Ireland in general was hit by the recession, with Limerick City in particular suffering high unemployment rates. If you can get a good position, great, your purchasing power may stretch further. But there does tend to be less opportunities in the first place.

Another thing would be city living. City centre living Limerick will be vastly cheaper than Dublin (and good value compared to Cork and Galway too). However, some would say Limerick city centre has what is called a doughnut effect. This does tend to mean that employment opportunities and retail in the actual city centre is lacking, especially so if compared to Dublin. Of course, the doughnut effect has been created by strong suburbs which offer their own advantages, it's just something to take into account.

The OP seems to imply that his friend has job opportunities in Dublin and Limerick, so the discussion is really about which is the best place to live if employment isn't an issue.

The doughnut effect is marked alright, but it's such a small city it's not a huge issue. I'd choose city centre-ish living myself over suburban living any day though.