Recommendations for a newcomer relocating and looking for an appartment

_Jacob

Hello all!,

I got a job in a company located at Raheen Business Park and we will be relocating in Limerick in August. We couldn't have more questions and we are quite stressed.

I am afraid that, being Limerick a city with university, flats will disappear pretty quickly. I will be relocating with my wife, but she will be only half of the month. The other half I will be alone. The Human Resources dept. of my new company talked to me well about living in Raheen, but I don't know if it could be too lonely without things to do or shops near. Also, I was planning not having a car, and I don't know if living there would make it more complicated.

I have seen that most of the rentals require 1 year minimum, something that I guess I won't be able to avoid (it would be always better be able to change if you don't like the zone or similar).

Do you think that Property Management Agencies will be open to show different apartments in one day?. We were planning to stay for a few days before finally moving, but don't know if it will be easy to see different flats and making a decision. I will have my job offer with the start date signed by the company.

Also, I've seen that some properties include internet and refusal management. We don't know if it's something that we should consider as important or it is easy to get it otherwise.

I have had a look at properties at these places:

- Lissanalta, Dooradoyle
- Old Windmill Court, Lower Gerald Griffin Street
- Chapel Court, Cathedral Place

My budget would be 800EUR tops. Any opinions?. Are they safe?. What would you say is the nicest part of the city?.

Really, thanks a lot for your time. I'd really appreciate if somebody could put some light over here .

Special Circumstances

Raheen Dooradoyle ballycummin are the areas to look for apartments close to work. If you want to live in the city centre to be near nightlife and restaurants I'm afraid I don't know much about which apartments are good or bad.

Life is much easier with a car in Ireland but it is a significant expense here. Apartments in the city centre may not have a guaranteed parking space.

If you want/need a bicycle for commuting or recreation or fitness you should ask your new employers about the cycle to work scheme - tax free bikes so a potential saving of 520euro on a 1000 euro bike.

What are your interests/hobbies - someone may be able to suggest a club so you don't feel bored/lonely.

There may already be many people from your home country here in limerick!

celligraphy

You would be better off finding an apartment in ballycummin , two minute walk to business Park if you take the shortcut through the fence you ll find a nice decent apartment there for about 600- 650. But if you're feeling that you might be lonely would it not be better to roomshare?

I live in raheen have no car and doesn't bother me bus is quick, reliable and great place to live if you have anymore questions feel free to pm op

Treepole

The industrial estate in Raheen is well served by buses so would be no problem getting to work from the city center but finding a nice apartment in a nice complex within budget might be trickier.

Would definitely be cheaper and better quality accommodation to be had in Raheen/Dooradoyle.

Limerick is small and not much happens in the city center other than drinking after 7pm. At least in Raheen you have the shopping center, cinema and eh... hospital.

ShatterProof

Forget city centre, stay around ballycummin/ raheen/ dooradoyle and you will be well catered for.

City centre is not exactly the most exciting place in the world !!!

bazz26

If you are going to be working days with evenings off then I'd forget about living in the city centre. It tends to get very quiet there after 6:00pm except at the weekend.

Fireball07

Of the ones you mentioned, Lissanalta would be the best. The nearest to the Industrial Estate and it's a nice enough area too. As other have said, there's as much going on in the Dooradoyle/Raheen/Ballycummin area as there is in the city centre... Cathedral Place isn't supposed to be great at all, I'm not sure about Gerald Griffin Street but the suburbs are probably a better place to actually live.


€700 a month is probably what you could expect to pay. The shopping centre in Dooradoyle is very big and the area isn't really lacking in amenities. Bus service is fairly alright too, it's only a short ride into town; even within walking distance (well 30 minutes or so).

stefanovich

I wouldn't limit yourself to apartments either. For 800 you could get a 3 bed house.

_Jacob

You can't imagine how much I appreciate your messages.

Well, something that seems to be pretty clear is that I should avoid city centre. Ballycummin, Raheen and Lissanalta seems to be the most popular suggestions.

My problem is that when I enter to rent.ie, for example, I don't see properties. Only a few and they are sometimes pretty old. Should I look for a best webpage for renting?. I'm looking for apartment because I'm interested in something small and functional, as I will be part of the time alone. Is that impossible?.

Also, according to your comments, seems that I won't have problems shopping if I'd live for example in Raheen.

Again, thank you so much.

PS: When I was talking about being lonely, I didn't mean the strict sense of the word. I guess I'll be fully focused on my job, but It'd be nice to see people in the streets and to have places nearby to do the groceries (is this the correct expression?).

Special Circumstances

daft.ie is the best place to look for accommodation.

_Jacob

Sorry, my mistake.

I meant daft.ie

mgbgt1978

daft.ie....limerick suburbs.....click on both Dooradoyle and Raheen


The Mulcair road, Willsbrook, and Heather Grove properties are all an easy walk to Raheen Business Park.

edit; The Willsbrook apartment might suit better. Decent shop directly across the road, Bus-stop 50m away, 7 or 8 minutes walk to a major shopping centre.
Have a look on google maps for any of the properties you find in this area. Some of them are further away from decent amenities than others, especially if you don't have a car like yourself.

Special Circumstances

You will have to be pretty general with your searches, and always assume the person who posted the advertisement is a complete moron - many people submitting to daft seem to have a very poor grasp of geography so a lot of properties are not submitted in the correct areas.

That said, there is a serious lack of quality rental properties. It will begin to impact employers prospects of attracting good staff soon if it hasn't already.

bazz26

Appartment in Lissanalta:
http://www.daft.ie/lettings/lissanalta-dooradoyle-limerick/1570407/

House in Glencairin:
http://www.daft.ie/lettings/heather-grove-glencairin-dooradoyle-limerick/1571396/

stefanovich

bazz26 wrote: »

Appartment in Lissanalta:
http://www.daft.ie/lettings/lissanalta-dooradoyle-limerick/1570407/

House in Glencairin:
http://www.daft.ie/lettings/heather-grove-glencairin-dooradoyle-limerick/1571396/

Jaysus the prices are up.

Louche Lad

OP, I don't know the areas so can't advise which one to choose.

However, if you've the opportunity to get a place within 10-15 minutes' walk of work, you might find that works best. I've twice been able to work within 10 minutes's walk of home and it made a huge difference to my quality of life: no stressful commuting, a lot more 'me time', and the ability to go home for lunch meant I saved a lot of money.

_Jacob

Well, thanks again to everyone.

All the apartments that we like are rented pretty soon. As Special Circumstances said, it really seems that there is an important lack of properties. And we are a bit afraid because we will be there August 15th aprox. (we can't be there earlier) and it really seems like the offer was decreasing dramatically.

Will keep you informed .

L.T.P.

_Jacob wrote: »

Well, thanks again to everyone.

All the apartments that we like are rented pretty soon. As Special Circumstances said, it really seems that there is an important lack of properties. And we are a bit afraid because we will be there August 15th aprox. (we can't be there earlier) and it really seems like the offer was decreasing dramatically.

Will keep you informed .

PM sent!

czarlz

Hi Jacob.

You are in a pretty much the same situation that I was not long time ago. I moved to Limerick in the end of June, started new job on 1st July, in Raheen. Same as you, I was not planning to buy a car. I spent few days on walking and discovering the city.. and I recommend you the same. You need to feel if the place is good, I think. You will not feel it by looking on the map.

Finally, I am living 8km from Raheen, close to Parkway Shopping Centre. There will always be some trade-offs.

BTW. 301 and 304 buses go to Raheen, so you can look somewhere close to their routes. Ticket = 2 EUR, monthly ticket = ~70 EUR.
BTW2. Buy an umbrella. A good one, not from Tesco for 3 EUR. Heavy wind&rain is the only problem in commuting to work.
BTW3. Good places on daft.ie or rent.ie disappear very quickly. You can set an email alert on those websites, so that you will get an email immediately once something appears.

Regards,
Cezary

Special Circumstances

Coca Cola bikes may help with exploring, bear in mind that there are no bike stations in the suburbs so you are likely to exceed the "free 30mins".

zulutango

I think it makes sense for him to live near where he works considering that he's got no car, but I really disagree with those who decry the city centre. I much prefer it to living out of town. I agree that more could be going on but it isn't nearly as bad as some posters have implied. It's very quiet in summer time alright.

The attitude that the city centre is best avoided is exactly what's wrong with Limerick, in my opinion. The more people think that way, the more right they will be.