Best town in Ireland to live in

Kia_Kaha

+1 for Clonakilty!

- Great pubs and live music
- Amazing beaches
- People are very friendly
- Airport / Cork city not too far away

I'd move there in a shot!

Mantis Toboggan

Think it's safe to say all the good towns are around the coast.

PMBC

Skibereen, Kinsale, Carrick on Shannon, Carrick on Suir, Maynooth, Galway City (summer only), ditto Clifden, ditto Kilkee

CorkonianBoy

Zelda247 wrote: »

CorkonianBoy wrote: »

I think it depends on how you define best? Best for beauty, best for work, best for convenience, best people?

My favorite towns are Killarney, Kinsale and Killorglin all for different reasons (although they all start with a K).

Kinsale for example is beautiful but also very accessible to Cork City, Cork Airport and the high tech jobs nearby so it works well on many levels. Any other towns like that come to mind?

You are kidding me.... .KILLORGLIN..... no way! Why on earth is it one of your favourite towns... please tell me.....

Well, when I say Killorglin I really mean the Killorglin area. There is Caragh Lake which is so beautiful. Killorglin Town has less to shout about except for the annual Puck Fair which I hear is amazing (I will try to go this year). Also, Killorglin is in close proximity to great beaches, famous golf courses, Kerry Airport, Killarney Town and the Dingle Peninsula. For my interests, that's a lot of beauty and fun to be packed in one area.

Mac_Lad71

I would go for Glanmire area just north east of Cork city. Good schools, good transport links, pubs, even got Aldi and Lidl. What more could you want.

catbear

Kilkenny. Loads of good coffee shops and pubs, great summers with all the festivals but the winters can be a bit boring.
Could do with some third level course although Carlow and Waterford aren't far, plus there's great all most hourly transport links to Dublin and the airport.

left Dublin in the 90s, would never go back.

lookslikely

Definitely Killaloe/Ballina...fabulous central location, delightful restaurants, lovely pubs - my favourite, Flanagans on the lake - beautiful scenery on the banks of the river Shannon adjacent to Lough Derg. Steeped in history too , Killaloe was the former seat of High King Brian Boru.
Stunning hill and forest walks on the doorstep and a great place for messin about on the water, sailing, fishing, cruising, jet skiing - you name it!
But shhh! don't tell anyone - Killaloe is one of Ireland best kept secrets!

tayto lover

Big town -- Dundalk and Cavan.
Medium sized town -- Carrickmacross and Newcastle, Co. Down.
Villages -- Carlingford is out on its own.

Zelda247

PMBC wrote: »

Skibereen, Kinsale, Carrick on Shannon, Carrick on Suir, Maynooth, Galway City (summer only), ditto Clifden, ditto Kilkee

Carrick on Shannon and Carrick on Suir, that's a new one....

Zelda247

CorkonianBoy wrote: »

Well, when I say Killorglin I really mean the Killorglin area. There is Caragh Lake which is so beautiful. Killorglin Town has less to shout about except for the annual Puck Fair which I hear is amazing (I will try to go this year). Also, Killorglin is in close proximity to great beaches, famous golf courses, Kerry Airport, Killarney Town and the Dingle Peninsula. For my interests, that's a lot of beauty and fun to be packed in one area.

I agree the area around Killorglin is lovely but the town is a bit of a dump, a lot of the shops are derelict and there are a couple of very shabby and iffy burger bars, plus a couple of the pubs are dire.

Zelda247

catbear wrote: »

Kilkenny. Loads of good coffee shops and pubs, great summers with all the festivals but the winters can be a bit boring.
Could do with some third level course although Carlow and Waterford aren't far, plus there's great all most hourly transport links to Dublin and the airport.

left Dublin in the 90s, would never go back.

I have heard lots of great things about Kilkenny, I have never been there but its on my list to visit for sure.

Zelda247

tayto lover wrote: »

Big town -- Dundalk and Cavan.
Medium sized town -- Carrickmacross and Newcastle, Co. Down.
Villages -- Carlingford is out on its own.

A lot of people seem to think Dundalk is a bit of a dump.

Larbre34

Tyson Fury wrote: »

Think it's safe to say all the good towns are around the coast.

Agree with that. There are a few exceptions like Kilkenny, but most of the prosperity and hence the facilities and the energised communities and the best all round environment are in some of our coastal or near coastal towns.

I'm a fan of Dungarvan, has most things you would need to live comfortably and never leave, lovely hinterland, handy to Cork and Waterford for healthcare, shopping, transport links.

Within Dublin where I live now, its hard to beat Howth, Clontarf or Blackrock

gizmo555

Everyone knows it's Westport

catbear

I am a fan of Westport and dungarvan but realistically I couldn't live move than an hour and half drive/bus to an airport with lots of euro connections. Perhaps if Waterford airport grew more I'd be enticed to the coast. Actually I'd probably just stay in Kilkenny.

I will say though that if it continues as is Kilkenny is likely to become victim of its own success. Its a small place and last summer it got very crowded. Thats why locally the rhythm n roots is the local favourite as its outside the tourist season.

Spanish Eyes

Chapelizod in Dublin. Strange name but a nice little village atmosphere. Pubs, shop, chemist. Twenty minutes to town by very frequent bus. Two minutes to the Pheeno, lovely walk/cycle along the Liffey, ten minutes to LV Shopping Centre and M50. Twenty minutes to airport, five minutes to Heuston and the Luas.

Palmerstown, just up the road (the old part) is very well kept too, older population now. Ideal too with the express bus to town.

Now why am I saying all this I wonder LOL. ( I grew up there, but cannot afford to live there now!!)

Zelda247

gizmo555 wrote: »

Everyone knows it's Westport

Thanks for this. Although in my opinion Killarney is way over rated.

Mantis Toboggan

Westport is overrated also, they buy those titles every year. It's a nice town but not in the same league as some of the towns mentioned on this thread.

gizmo555

Tyson Fury wrote: »

Westport is overrated also, they buy those titles every year.

What titles, from whom, for how much and who are "they" anyway?

IvoryTower

Zelda247 wrote: »

A lot of people seem to think Dundalk is a bit of a dump.

He/she is probably from Dundalk. You'd sooner see it on a top 10 worst towns list!

dennyk

lookslikely wrote: »

Definitely Killaloe/Ballina...fabulous central location, delightful restaurants, lovely pubs - my favourite, Flanagans on the lake - beautiful scenery on the banks of the river Shannon adjacent to Lough Derg. Steeped in history too , Killaloe was the former seat of High King Brian Boru.
Stunning hill and forest walks on the doorstep and a great place for messin about on the water, sailing, fishing, cruising, jet skiing - you name it!
But shhh! don't tell anyone - Killaloe is one of Ireland best kept secrets!

Yep, and it's ten minutes to the M7 and only 25 minutes or so to Limerick. And there's 100Mbit fibre broadband in town, a decent farmer's market every Sunday throughout the year, and lots of retail stores (grocery, pharmacies, hardware, etc.). Don't think I could have picked a better place to move to, overall.

Actually I think I'ma go down to Flanagan's right now and have me a burger and a beer by the river and enjoy this awesome weather...

Stig Inge

Longford ofc. We are very sophisticated

tayto lover

Zelda247 wrote: »

A lot of people seem to think Dundalk is a bit of a dump.

It got a bad name during the troubles but is a great place to live now. It has everything and is close to Dublin and Belfast. Lovely scenery, walks, sports facilities, schools and loads of shopping centres. The middle of the town could do with a few new businesses though to freshen it up.

Zelda247

tayto lover wrote: »

It got a bad name during the troubles but is a great place to live now. It has everything and is close to Dublin and Belfast. Lovely scenery, walks, sports facilities, schools and loads of shopping centres. The middle of the town could do with a few new businesses though to freshen it up.

Its a shame that Councils are not obliged to fine owners for not keeping their properties at least clean if not painted and its not fair to those shop owners who make an effort.

ongarboy

Tralee gets an awful unfair reputation but I think it's a great town to live in and bring up a family. It's my original home place and I love going back as often as I can.

It's a larger town so it has many facilities and amenities you'd normally only see in cities but still has that rural town ambience. It's location is perfect for leisure/tourist activities with mountains, forests, beaches, lakes all within 30 minutes drive. It has most of the major retail stores for shopaholics (Debenhams, TK Maxx, Next, Penneys, Shaws, Argos, Boots etc). It has lots of old windy streets, squares and Georgian terraces that give the town a unique visual charm.

It has a very active Tidy Town committee that has seen it's ranking on the tidiest towns list soar in recent years. There is a very positive can do spirit among the local businesses via a recently formed Tralee Chamber Alliance which has introduced lots of fresh and innovative ideas, solutions and improvements.

While second to Killarney and Dingle in the tourist stakes, it's gateway location and many recent tourist amenity additions has meant the town is always buzzing with visitors and hence there are dozens of bars, restaurants, cafes to choose from as well as 12 hotels.

The Tralee IT gives the town a good student vibe also. Granted, Tralee does have some anti social behaviour problems but for a town of about 25000 people I think it's a great and constantly improving place. A dual carriageway bypass opened recently also that has helped reduce congestion.

Irish_rat

I'd imagine Clonakilty is up there and has a lot less tourists than many of the alternatives.

Zelda247

Irish_rat wrote: »

I'd imagine Clonakilty is up there and has a lot less tourists than many of the alternatives.

Yes Clonakilty is indeed a lovely town, its a pity it has not got a train station though.

Hollister11

Baldoyle, Sutton, Howth.

Moonbeam

Hollister11 wrote: »

Baldoyle, Sutton, Howth.

I grew up there and I loved the beach and the Dart but although beautiful I prefer Maynooth .

Hollister11

Moonbeam wrote: »

I grew up there and I loved the beach and the Dart but although beautiful I prefer Maynooth .

I was brought up and currently live in Baldoyle. The dream is to move to Main Street Howth. I love it so much.

I have never been in Maynooth, but the college looks incredible.