House purchase/commuting advice

Ardent

We're on the verge of a house purchase and have to make a decision between two properties that fall just within our budget.

One is on the north side, not too far from Malahide, but not within walking distance of the train station. Lovely house with plenty of living space and a large garden.

The other property is in Leixlip. Smaller house and small garden but reasonably close to the train station.

We love the first house but the major downside is how long it would take both of us to get to work. My wife works in Ballyfermot and I work near St Stephen's Green. She would have to pretty much travel the length of the M50 every day and it's a scary prospect for her. I would have have to walk 15 mins to the Malahide Rd to catch the 42 bus, but that's do-able.

With the other property, she could get to work by car in 20 mins on a good day and I could take a 35 min train journey into Connolly.

An important factor in all this is that we have very young kids going to a childminder currently. With the first property, it's a real headwrecker trying to figure out how we would manage the childminder and getting to work situation, given the poor public transport options and ultimately longer commute.

Interested to hear peoples opinions - particularly from those who travel the M50 to work - would you settle for an inferior house if it meant less travel time and more time with your family?

castle2012

Ardent wrote: »

We're on the verge of a house purchase and have to make a decision between two properties that fall just within our budget.

One is on the north side, not too far from Malahide, but not within walking distance of the train station. Lovely house with plenty of living space and a large garden.

The other property is in Leixlip. Smaller house and small garden but reasonably close to the train station.

We love the first house but the major downside is how long it would take both us to get to work. She works in Ballyfermot and I work near St Stephen's Green. She would have to pretty much travel the length of the M50 every day and it's a scary prospect for her. I would have have to walk 15 mins to the Malahide Rd to catch the 42 bus, but that's do-able.

With the other property, she could get to work by car in 20 mins on a good day and I could take a 35 min train journey into Connolly.

Interested to hear peoples opinions - particularly from those who travel the M50 to work - would you settle for an inferior house if it meant less travel time and more time with your family?

Reading your post . It seems like your mind is made up . Option one is the no brainer

aaakev

South bound M50 is horrible, the reports every morning are usually over an hour from junction 5 finglas to junction 10 ballymount and that's on a good day. I travel north from the n7 to finglas which moves fine most days but the south bound traffic always seems to be sitting still. Same problem reversed in the evening on the way home

dori_dormer

I'd do less of a commute personally. How much extra time will you spend away from your children due to it? How much more money will you spend on a childminder?
I'd keep looking in leixlip, there's some good deals to be had, and with 2 train stations you have options of most of the town

Mrs OBumble

It doesn't sound to me like either of the houses meet your needs.

The only question would be - is the 2nd one good enough? It may not be perfect, but is it good enough?

With the first one, if you cannot see how to get your kids to childcare, I don't see that it's even an option.

jlm29

I used to a long commute, with a small child, and I would never ever do it again. For anything. It costs a lot, both in terms of money and quality of life.

bilbot79

I hate to break it to you but you should be in castleknock before you are in malahide

April 73

I think Malahide is a mistake based on the commuting times & journeys.
Other nice houses will come along. Don't jump into a purchase without it being right.
It doesn't sound like either of these houses are good enough.

Stheno

There is a large car park in malahide dart station

Ardent

Thanks all for the feedback. It's a really tough but crucial decision. We don't want to make a mistake we'll regret for the rest of our lives.

I suppose I'm downplaying the house in leixlip a little, it's a nice house too but doesn't represent value for money like the other property does.

If we don't go for either, we'll have to press the reset button and start looking all over again in January. The quality of housing stock around Dublin within our budget is pretty poor at the moment.

Ardent

Stheno wrote: »

There is a large car park in malahide dart station

That's good news for me but of little consolation to my wife!

whiskeyman

You need to think long term also.
Do you both see yourselves working in the same jobs and same location?
Which would provide best options should that change?

The Mulk

Ardent wrote: »

That's good news for me but of little consolation to my wife!

A larger house in Malahide is worth less then a house in Leixlip?
When you say close to Malahide where do you mean.

CreepingDeath

If this is not your "forever home" then you must consider it's resale value to other commuters.

But long commutes will sap your energy for family life.

Depending on both your jobs, you may want to compromise your location based on who can move jobs easier, or had better salary.

If you need two salaries then you need to decide whether that will change when kids go to school, if one needs to be closer to drop off/collect kids etc.

Moonbeam

Is there a reason for these 2 areas?
I like Malahide but I am not too keen on Leixlip as an area to live in.
We bought this house 6 years ago and both areas were on my list,Our money would go further in Leixlip but I feel it is very build up with little to offer.
We looked in Seabury in Malahide too but decided that Maynooth was a better decision with kids.
If you can stretch to Malahide then I would hold out for a better property that suits your needs better.

cassid

Malahide close to the sea, great little town at weekends loads of shops/restuarants/ walks/schools and beside the beach at portmarnock.

There is a back way a friend took me once avoiding the M50, started in Blanchard and ended up at Clarehall. I can't remember the route exactly but there is a way

BabySlam

OP, I think the shortest commute time possible i.e. living close to work is the best option for family. You could get a mansion further out for the same money - the farther out you go the cheaper they get, but I recommend you try to be as close as possible to work locations, both for convenience and cost.

CollyFlower

BabySlam wrote: »

OP, I think the shortest commute time possible i.e. living close to work is the best option for family. You could get a mansion further out for the same money - the farther out you go the cheaper they get, but I recommend you try to be as close as possible to work locations, both for convenience and cost.

Can one of you get a work transfer? Or one of you give up your job to look after children?

Sorry, didn't mean to quote you BabySlam.

ladyella

Ardent wrote:

Interested to hear peoples opinions - particularly from those who travel the M50 to work - would you settle for an inferior house if it meant less travel time and more time with your family?

Yes, yes I would. I commute kildare to dublin every day and now with 2 smallies it's a nightmare. By the time we get home I'm so short tempered with the kids it's unfair on all of us. And with traffic volumes getting worse by the week so will the commute

the_syco

Your wife can grab a 66 to Chapelizard, and there's another (frequent) bus from there to Ballyfermot. You can stay on the bus, get off on Nassau Street, and walk up. The 66 goes from Maynooth, via Lexilip, Lucan, etc. The 67 from Celbridge also goes via Chapelizard, and again, onwards to Dublin.

However, the Malahide or Leixlip choice has me confused. Why such a large either/or choice?

Stheno

the_syco wrote: »

Your wife can grab a 66 to Chapelizard, and there's another (frequent) bus from there to Ballyfermot. You can stay on the bus, get off on Nassau Street, and walk up. The 66 goes from Maynooth, via Lexilip, Lucan, etc. The 67 from Celbridge also goes via Chapelizard, and again, onwards to Dublin.

However, the Malahide or Leixlip choice has me confused. Why such a large either/or choice?

I'd be confused too, the differences in the area are amazing.

I currently live in Swords and spend a huge amount of my time at the weekends taking advantage of what Malahide offers, partly why I live in Swords is access to the likes of Malahide and Howth at Swords prices.

Can't imagine comparing it to Leixlip tbh

CreepingDeath

I just moved from a handy 30 min commute from Lucan to a not so handy 80 min commute from Drogheda. (One way)
But it only negatively affects me, not the wife/kids so I was willing to take the hit for a better quality of life, huge family links up there, nicer house etc.
Also I'd have no trouble moving jobs if necessary to somewhere handier.

But if both you and your wife are negatively impacted by longer commutes is that too much? If ye are tied to your current jobs it may be.

It all depends on if you can move jobs to handier locations, work from home a few days a week, or if ye could take the financial hit of your wife giving up her job to mind the kids.

Too many unknowns to give definitive answers/opinions.

Also why limit yourselves to only those locations?
E.g. Around Leixlip is Lucan and Maynooth.

Have you ever just performed a broad search of all of Dublin for eg a 3 bed semi in Dublin for under €280k and browsed the results?

Also consider that Maynooth to Ballyfermot might mean paying €6.20 per day on the East/West link toll bridge.

goal_kicker

Ardent wrote: »

We're on the verge of a house purchase and have to make a decision between two properties that fall just within our budget.

One is on the north side, not too far from Malahide, but not within walking distance of the train station. Lovely house with plenty of living space and a large garden.

The other property is in Leixlip. Smaller house and small garden but reasonably close to the train station.

We love the first house but the major downside is how long it would take both of us to get to work. My wife works in Ballyfermot and I work near St Stephen's Green. She would have to pretty much travel the length of the M50 every day and it's a scary prospect for her. I would have have to walk 15 mins to the Malahide Rd to catch the 42 bus, but that's do-able.

With the other property, she could get to work by car in 20 mins on a good day and I could take a 35 min train journey into Connolly.

An important factor in all this is that we have very young kids going to a childminder currently. With the first property, it's a real headwrecker trying to figure out how we would manage the childminder and getting to work situation, given the poor public transport options and ultimately longer commute.

Interested to hear peoples opinions - particularly from those who travel the M50 to work - would you settle for an inferior house if it meant less travel time and more time with your family?

malahide is a more sought after location than leixlip , unless its a major problem , id always chose the more valuable location from a long term perspective

the_syco

CreepingDeath wrote: »

Also consider that Maynooth to Ballyfermot might mean paying €6.20 per day on the East/West link toll bridge.

DA FUQ? Toll bridge? Wat?

There's a toll on the M4 at Kilcock, and another toll South of Blanchardstown on the M50.

If going from Maynooth to Ballyfermot, you won't go through either of these.

goal_kicker wrote: »

malahide is a more sought after location than leixlip , unless its a major problem , id always chose the more valuable location from a long term perspective

Although Malahide is most likely better from a very long term perspective regarding house prices, the daily commute that the wife will be taking will be along the M50; can anyone say how long that'd take? Google maps says that the commute to be in Ballyfermot at nine, can take an hour from Malahide, or 20 minutes from Leixlip.

Liam2012

If you have a 15 min walk to the 42 bus you're obviously talking about an address off the Malahide Road. Doesn't sound like it is Malahide despite what the EA or vendor might claim. Still close enough to enjoy the many amenities there. Is it near Swords? Drynam? Holywell? The Swords Express passes through here and is a good service for the city centre.
I drive the M50 daily and if you're not on it by 7am the delays can be infuriating. It will only get worse. And I'm only going as far as the N3. I wouldn't fancy going beyond that. Add to that the tolls each way.
As others said, neither of these address look like they are suitable. If you or your wife are leaving before the kids get up and getting home as they are going to bed it really isn't worth it in my view. I'd look to move jobs or look elsewhere. Would somewhere on the Luas line suit your commutes better?

the_syco

Liam2012 wrote: »

If you or your wife are leaving before the kids get up and getting home as they are going to bed it really isn't worth it in my view. I'd look to move jobs or look elsewhere. Would somewhere on the Luas line suit your commutes better?

On this note, southside may suit you well. Getting a house that is served by the 18/76/79/a (all go via Ballerfermot), and one that goes nearby the city centre may save on travel?

lollpop

Myself and my husband both commute around 40km each way every day and have a smallie at home. It's a nightmare and very stressful. I feel like I hardly ever see the little one and i'm always rushing. I spend a lot of time sitting in traffic because creche drop offs/pickups mean I can't leave early enough to avoid the traffic. I'm hoping it's only short term for me, I absolutely would not consider it long term. No point in having a nice house if you're never there to enjoy it.

I would think about whether you see you yourself in your jobs long term...if you had an option for example to look for work around airside then malahide might be more feasible.

Jen44

I just moved back to Raheny following 10 years commuting from Drogheda! To be honest i didn't mind the commute at all till we had a baby! It then just became so tough and stressful. We had to take our baby out of her cot at 6:30 every morning which led to a very upset cranky baby and by the time we got home in the evenings it was quick get the baby her tea and bath then straight to bed then we had to make our own dinner and sure by the time all that was done it was time for bed! We got to spend no quality time with our little one. My husband is from Malahide so i understand the draw there it is a fab village however i would be very very wary about long commutes!

A Shaved Duck?

I recently gave up on the M50 in the mornings for the same reasons most are outlining, 2 kids under 2 and creche dropoffs/pickups then 70+ minutes going from blanch to clonskeagh was horrible.

Ended up getting a job 5 minutes from my house with a small drop in pay that will be balanced off with less petrol/tolls and also the fact that im seeing the kids an extra hour in the morning and evening which is worth more than a few grand in wages.

I suggest trying to simulate the commute for your wife so you get a real sense of what she would be committing to, the m50 is a carpark at the best of times and is only going to get worse over the next few years.

mahoganygas

The parking at malahide train station is very cheap.
If you get the 8:07 dart to Pearse, you will be at St. Stephens Green by 9 on the button.

I can't comment on the M50 commute, although everyone is saying southbound from Malahide exit is getting worse, with no sign of it getting any better.

Ardent

I see another collision and major delays on the M50 again today. Urgh.

Unfortunately, my wife can't change jobs, there are few opportunities out there in her line of work. And she needs the car as part of her daily duties.

Such a pity, the property near Malahide was ideal in every other way.