Are you happy with where you live?

Deer

My current dwelling drives me insane, two bed terraced with an attic conversion because there are six of us living here. However the location / area is great. We have lovely neighbours, it's very near kids school, very quiet and close drive to lots of shopping centres, pubs etc.

We are moving though this day next week. Moving to a five bed detached in a commuter town with a short walk to shops, park, river walk. It will be a further drive to schools and if I go out for the night in the city centre it will be an expensive taxi home. But finally we will have space, and be able to park car in our own driveway and a nice garden. And if it's rainy the kids can run around the house and not drive me mad like in the teeny house. It's been a long wait but so worth it. I hope the neighbours are just as nice as the current house !

OldNotWIse

Deer wrote: »

My current dwelling drives me insane, two bed terraced with an attic conversion because there are six of us living here. However the location / area is great. We have lovely neighbours, it's very near kids school, very quiet and close drive to lots of shopping centres, pubs etc.

We are moving though this day next week. Moving to a five bed detached in a commuter town with a short walk to shops, park, river walk. It will be a further drive to schools and if I go out for the night in the city centre it will be an expensive taxi home. But finally we will have space, and be able to park car in our own driveway and a nice garden. And if it's rainy the kids can run around the house and not drive me mad like in the teeny house. It's been a long wait but so worth it. I hope the neighbours are just as nice as the current house !

Good luck in your new home!

Kai123

I flat-share with my landlady. A slight personality clash but being the super introvert I am, give me a room, PC and a full kettle and I am very happy.

I live next to Blanchardstown Shopping Center, which means everything I need is in one place which has made life for the moment very boring. I miss town but have no need to do in. I'd love to live in town, even a bedsit but then commuting to work becomes impossible.

Its 25 minute walk to work (or 15 minute cycle after buying a new bike last week). I want to live on my own in Ongar but I'd need to get a car which is something I am not willing to do whilst saving for a deposit. If there were more one bedroom apartments around Waterville or Mulhuddert I'd be very happy. Life is on hold until I can buy a property which might not be until the middle of next year.

_Kaiser_

Upside;
- Nice 2 bed apartment in a nice quiet estate
- 5 mins drive to all the major shops, pubs, takeaways etc
- Motorway is 5 mins the other way
- Costs less than half the price to rent than it would for a similar place in Dublin

Downside:
- 1000km weekly commute to work (but at least I have flexible start/finish times)
- Cost of that (diesel/extra wear and tear on the car) isn't cheap (but still cheaper than living in Dublin)
- It's nowhere near family or friends (but then they live all over the place anyway since the Good Times)

... all told it's worth it. Ideally I'd live closer to family/work but most things in life are generally a compromise.

air

1000km of commuting a week is insane IMHO.
You've got to be putting in an extra 3 hours a day at least on top of the normal 8.
When you factor in that you're working 55 hours per week for 40 hours pay and the 10k+ of net income you must be spending to do it, there's surely a better way!

NIMAN

No great shock that most people like where they live, especially if you are the house owner. Its rare you'd end up putting so much money into a house in an area you don't like.

Renting might have higher numbers admittedly. But again, unlikely to rent in a location you don't like.

Pretzill

NIMAN wrote: »

No great shock that most people like where they live, especially if you are the house owner. Its rare you'd end up putting so much money into a house in an area you don't like.

Renting might have higher numbers admittedly. But again, unlikely to rent in a location you don't like.

I don't know if that is totally true - I have stated I love where I live but I cut my cloth I didn't spend a fortune on a mortgage - bought a small house - probably at the time didn't think it would be a forever home - but the economy had other ideas - but I'm so happy that I choose a lovely place to live at a price that I can afford without too much worry.

Yes I would love a bigger house - but having more doesn't consume me - I think there is a lot to be said for making the best of what you have and making some sacrifices too. A lot of people mentioned pluses and minuses - I mentioned harsh winters - lack of public transport. I think in essence you move into a house and you have to make it a home. This can take a while.

Lia_lia

I'm renting with my OH in Cork City. Pretty much in a city centre, a couple minutes walk away anyway. We are quite lucky as the house is very nice for Cork city rental.

It was knocked down and completely done up only about 8 years ago and the landlady lived here until a couple of years ago. It's also in a gated area and we have a load of old retired men living around us who are basically a neighbourhood watch! Rent is very reasonable also. I reckon she will put it up a good bit this year though. Close to work for both of us also. Within walking distance (40 mins) for me and bus for himself.

Parking is a nightmare, however. I have a parking permit but there is never anywhere to park my car near my house on the street! Sometimes I can get lucky if a car is driving off, but it's rare. Usually end up parking my car a 10 minute walk away. But sure it's grand, that's what you get when you've a car in the city.

boobar

Small village with pubs, shop, school all within walking distance.

When we moved in ten years ago, thought that the quiet life would be very dull. Two years later a kid comes along and now it's the best place we ever lived.

Nice neighbours that are now friends. Plus a big town only 10 minutes drive away. Happy as Larry.

sparksfly

I live in the countryside, its only 5 minute drive to M7 and nearest town but unbelievably rural. My house would have approx 4-5 cars pass daily and apart from neighbours and relations, the road is totally free from traffic.The only sounds we hear are neighbours children, weather and animal life.
Having to drive everywhere can be a hassle, but for walking, cycling and zero crime and great sleeps, its perfect.

jayjay2010

Bought a 2 bed apartment in April this year.

I love the apartment and its in an area that is full of amenities: shopping centre/gym/buses/luas etc.

Literally 3-4 minute walk to work.

I got very lucky as the location I got I didn't think I'd be able to afford as the demand is high and every other property I viewed went well over my highest bid.

If I am fortunate enough to buy another place in a couple of years, I'd love a 2 bed apartment beside Dundrum shopping centre (I like the convenience of having one nearby!). I'd love that area because 1. its upmarket and 2. green line luas handy into town

Thargor

awec wrote: »

So-so.

Positives are it's a 10 minute walk from my work, a 30 second walk to a green luas stop and decent sized.

Negatives are that the area itself is very quiet (you can't really walk to a pub), we don't get much sun (sun gone by 7pm in the summer) and it's an apartment that is overlooked by offices (hence why the area is quiet in evenings and weekends).

If you are where I think you are you might be getting a town the size of Bray dropped on your head in the next decade or so...

fro9etb8j5qsl2

Bought our first house 6 months ago. Didn't like it at all when we went to view it first. Then the vendor dropped the price and made us an offer we couldn't refuse and it didn't seem too bad at the second viewing. We took a big risk buying it but it turned out it just needed a bit of a facelift and we love it now

45 minute walk from town, 10 minute walk to lidl/dunnes/tesco and schools/amenities. Luckily we have great neighbours and a relatively quiet neighbourhood. Our garden is small enough but we're a 2 minute walk from a large park. I would love to be a bit closer to town (our last place was only a 25 minute walk) and have 1 extra room to use as a play room but tbh, I'd rather build an extension than have to go through the hassle of buying/selling and moving again.

I was reared in the country and as much as I would love country living- detached house, large garden, chicken coop etc, it would drive me mental to be away from shops and not be able to walk everywhere. There's a lot to be said for footpaths!

Emme

sparksfly wrote: »

I live in the countryside, its only 5 minute drive to M7 and nearest town but unbelievably rural. My house would have approx 4-5 cars pass daily and apart from neighbours and relations, the road is totally free from traffic.The only sounds we hear are neighbours children, weather and animal life.
Having to drive everywhere can be a hassle, but for walking, cycling and zero crime and great sleeps, its perfect.

That's similar to me but I am not happy I bought an old house that has been in the family for years. I'm 5 minutes from the M9 and about 10 minutes from 2 different towns. There's a village 5 minutes from me. The road I live on is rural but reasonably busy. It can be nice in the summer and there is a woodland walk nearby. It's good for cycling in the summer but on dark evenings you can't walk the roads for traffic. Oncoming cars tend to turn their headlights on walkers/cyclists which can be dangerous and makes anything but driving unpleasant. I find it hard to get to know the neighbours even though I would have known some of them as a child. Crime is high in the area and farmers are always being robbed. I was robbed myself 2 years ago - my fuel shed was broken into and my garden equipment taken.

I used to rent in Dublin and I really miss the convenience of being so central and being able to meet friends at the drop of a hat. I haven't managed to make friends as easily where I live now. Unfortunately I could not afford to buy anything in Dublin at any time. My life has gone downhill in every way since I moved and I have put on 2 stone through comfort eating and not having as much time or opportunity to exercise as I did in the city. Ironically some locals who were great friends when I was in Dublin aren't so friendly now. I guess I don't have a pad in town where they can crash anymore.

Some people say life is short and to move back to Dublin. If I could move back to Dublin I would do so in the morning but there are certain circumstances which make it impossible at the moment. I consider living here to be a sort of purgatory.

Maximus_1

Yeah thankfully, got lucky with a nice large (1900) sq ft detached house in 2012 when the market was low so have a small mortgage of <600. No shop in the village but doesn't bother me as I didn't grow up near a shop. 2 good pubs though which is great!

House is great and its in a nice quiet estate of 20 whcih I like, there ar epeople around but not too many if you know what I mean. Only thing I don't like is rear garden overlooked but am working on that by planting trees!

_Kaiser_

air wrote: »

1000km of commuting a week is insane IMHO.
You've got to be putting in an extra 3 hours a day at least on top of the normal 8.
When you factor in that you're working 55 hours per week for 40 hours pay and the 10k+ of net income you must be spending to do it, there's surely a better way!

See you would think that on the surface but ..

- it's all motorway. Off peak it takes 45-50 mins each way (you'd spend that getting out of town to say Blanch at peak)
- flexible start times means I miss the traffic at both ends. Plus I manage teams in the US and elsewhere so the later finish actually suits better. I usually also work from home one day a week.

Yes if I was tied to a fixed 9-5 it'd be a massive pain with commuter traffic but I generally breeze in for 10 having left just after 9, and can leave at half 6/7pm and will be home in just under an hour I'd say there's many people living within the city limits that take longer than that to get around!

Eric Cartman

renting 1/4 of 2500sq ft on 2 acres , <10 minute walk to the pub, UPC broadband , cheapest rent in anywhere on a dublin bus route (thats not in a war zone) I can find and have plenty of driveway space for my cars and mates coming over.

downside is its a stone building built pre 1900 and you have to use oil rad's for heating but thats a minor concern.

would consider myself pretty happy.

gabsdot40

I like where I live, 3 bed semi in suburban Dublin. Everything we need is nearby. I like our house and garden and the estate we're in. But when my kids have left home I'm moving to Chapelizod, I love the river.

blackbelted

Very satisfied with the house I rent, not very happy with the location where it takes at least 40-45 mins to work. If I get the same house closer to work, in a nicer place, it would double the rent.

Sala

Location is perfect, accommodation is not. I can't afford to buy anything near here though so I'll be moving

VisibleGorilla

Renting an apartment in Dublin paying way too much for way too little.

Not happy at all, will move out of the city centre when the rent is raised.

Eleysian

I love where I live now. It is where several generations on my mother's side lived and I have many happy memories. My OH and I emigrated, moved back and lived in some very mixed places. A few years ago, when we got the chance to move here to a great house, the OH became ill. Thankfully we are just through it now and will finally celebrate our first Christmas together here. I don't mean to sound all twee/smug but there is not a day that we don't say to one another how lucky we are - that he is here, we live in house we love and in a great location for us. We appreciate it all.

Sleepy

I love the location but the house is small, old, poorly insulated and even with all the issues it has, I'd need a lotto win or a large inheritance to buy it or anything else in the neighbourhood. Will stay as long as the rent stays reasonable but dreading a rent review letter / notice that it's being put up for sale as we'd need a miracle to be able to afford anything else in the area.

pwurple

Love our location. Walking distance to absolutely anything we could want. City center, shops, pubs, restaurants, a little dock for my kayak, sports clubs, bus routes. Children can walk to school without even crossing a road. It's really a gorgeous part of the city.

Garden is big, would have liked maybe a slightly bigger house, kids to have their own bedroom maybe, but sure we can extend in a few years maybe. Bought the best we could afford in a great location for us.

awec

Thargor wrote: »

If you are where I think you are you might be getting a town the size of Bray dropped on your head in the next decade or so...

I don't own the apartment though and have no intention of staying here for another 10 years.

Will hopefully move in 2 or 3.

NIMAN

When I listen to the AA Roadwatch each night and hear the Headford Road, the Red Cow, the Loughatolly (spelling?), Newland Cross etc etc pop up every night I am always glad I don't live in Dublin and Galway and have to deal with traffic, not a fan of it.

Don't get me wrong, I love Galway and Dublin as cities, love to visit them, just glad I don't live there.

Jamsiek

NIMAN wrote: »

When I listen to the AA Roadwatch each night and hear the Headford Road, the Red Cow, the Loughatolly (spelling?), Newland Cross etc etc pop up every night I am always glad I don't live in Dublin and Galway and have to deal with traffic, not a fan of it.

Don't get me wrong, I love Galway and Dublin as cities, love to visit them, just glad I don't live there.

I would imagine most of the people on those roads are commuting and don't live there
Maybe if they did live there they might not be stuck in traffic so much.

NIMAN

Of course, but I meant I don't live in a place that I have to commute through city centre traffic.

pwurple

NIMAN wrote: »

Of course, but I meant I don't live in a place that I have to commute through city centre traffic.

Commute is a killer for people, I live fairly close to work, my husband has a 15 minute drive... But when you live in the city, often you are commuting in the opposite direction to the heavy traffic. If he was going the other direction (commuting inbound), it would be a different story.

El_Dangeroso

NIMAN wrote: »

When I listen to the AA Roadwatch each night and hear the Headford Road, the Red Cow, the Loughatolly (spelling?), Newland Cross etc etc pop up every night I am always glad I don't live in Dublin and Galway and have to deal with traffic, not a fan of it.

Don't get me wrong, I love Galway and Dublin as cities, love to visit them, just glad I don't live there.

It's Lough Atalia

I live in Galway and my commute is 30 mins walking or 12 mins by car. Like someone else said it's the people living outside the city that get stuck in the worst of the traffic.