Maynooth living?

ampleforth

During my current house-hunt (that was so far very focused on Dublin, where I work) my colleagues and friends mentioned to me that I should also consider Maynooth. It is close enough to Dublin (in terms of travel time), it is not a drop-dead-boring village as it has access to shops and (some degree) of entertainment (pubs, restaurants, etc.) and it even has a university and houses seem to come with bigger gardens (something I just like). I have had one house viewing and, while looking to view more, I would like to collect some insights from people here who know a lot more than little me...

What are your (current) thoughts about this little town? I found a few threads here, but they are all 6+ years old. How save is the town, house prices, quality of life, cost of living, etc. In particular, how does it pair up with Dublin and what do you see as the main advantages and disadvantages?

Thanks a lot for your comments and tips!

Lastblackdog

We were in a similar situation a couple of years age when we moved back to Ireland after living in England for eighteen years. We are both Dubliners born and bred.

When we returned our plan was to buy a house in Dublin. After much searching and not finding anything we liked that suited our needs we, by chance, saw an advert for a house for sale in Maynooth that looked promising.

Like you I tried to find out as much as I could on the town (good and bad) before we took the plunge. I have to say that I didn't find much - particularly almost nothing negative.

We went ahead and bought the house and have enjoyed living in Maynooth ever since.

Key points for us:
- easy access to public transport both bus and train
- choice of supermarkets on our doorstep
- restaurants and bars in abundance
- easy access to motorways and Dublin
- nice places for walks (The College and the Carton Estate to name two)

Not important to us but might be to you - schools. Seems like there are some good ones available including an Educate Together.

Negatives - the main one is traffic. The Main Street can be very slow, particularly at school times.

angeldelight

I would say the main issue as above is the traffic but there are back roads that can be used, and everything within the town is walking distance.

Some estates would have a lot of students, so it's worth while having a good look at any houses you're interested in at all times of day, especially from September when they're back in college

Moonbeam

"How save is the town, house prices, quality of life, cost of living, etc. In particular, how does it pair up with Dublin and what do you see as the main advantages and disadvantages?"

House prices for large 3 bedroom houses and 4+ are high and comparable with many parts of Dublin.
The quality of life is brilliant.
The cost of living is the similar to Dublin,you are within the Dublin commuter belt so commuting is the same price,eating out is cheaper and shopping is the same.
The main disadvantages are we have no cinema and no public swimming pool. If you want a place in the Gael Scoil or Educate Together school you need your child's name as close to birth as possible.
The advantages are you are that you are in a town but in the country,it is easy to commute to Dublin,there are amazing restaurants,great pubs,we have all the supermarkets,there are beautiful places to go for walks,there is loads of public transport,easy access to motorways and generally it is a lovely place to live.
The 1st time I was here as an adult was looking at houses:)

We left Dublin for Maynooth and have never regretted it.

Cakes and Ale

Would echo lots of the above. Generally a very safe town (albeit like most places these days house burglaries do happen). Traffic is a pain but even the further out estates have lots of people walking to school most days as it's about 20 minutes. Outside of term it is a little quieter and calmer, but even when the university is in full go it doesn't swamp the town. Lots of amenities and stuff for kids here and in the wider Celbridge/Leixlip area (Base, Playzone, Mill centre, Xcel Gymnastics) and many more a short hop away (Donadea, Wallaby Park, Clonfert, Maze). Decent pubs and lots of solid restaurants. Both train and bus to Dublin; direct bus to Airport too. Yeah there's no cinema but both Blanch and Liffey Valley are closeby. And because it's near the motorway, airport is half-hour, Dundrum about the same (without traffic), as is town (without traffic). Leixlip also worth considering as it's nearer in.

ampleforth

I just checked Leixlip. It seems that there is no much in the < 250k € section (for a semi/terrace/end-of-terrace). One terraced house also went from a price tag of 225k to 260k (according to agent). Does Intel and HP have a lot of influence on making the place a wild hotspot?

happiness10101

Hi all, myself and husband looking to buy and have been looking at Limetree. I just discovered there is a halting site out the road, it's also nicely omitted by the brochure lol. Has there been any trouble? Would it out you off from buying near there? I guess it's not that close but close enough at same time.

angeldelight

I've never heard of there being any trouble. In saying that there hasn't been people living near it before so that's something to bear in mind

happiness10101

Thanks.there are plans to build more houses out that direction in near future so we wouldn't be the closest then. Think you've found a house and then there is always something

ampleforth

I think this is the state of the universe. After buying one, you probably now a 100 more things that you think you should have looked for (and you will, next time )...

We only operate as good as we can in the moment we live. And that's that...

Still very interested in Cellbridge and Maynooth and think its a nice spot. Any more experiences from these areas are very welcome. After watching it for a few months, and viewing a view houses, I simply notice that there is very little offering in the <250k section, I guess I am operating on the low and, but I also think there is generally not much moving lately...

A.

boardbeer

angeldelight wrote: »

I've never heard of there being any trouble.

+1 Blacklion site is clean and quiet, you see the odd Sulky now and again, but that's a nice change from all the cars in the town. The only problem I know of with the halting site, is that the houses are unheated.

L1011

There's never been any particular hassle in the >20 years I'm here. There is another estate already under construction directly opposite it. Whether they'll plonk a massive logo over it on the aerial view like Limetree did is a different question!

The general issues with Maynooth are:

Traffic - its crap and will only get worse. The ringroad route is protected and sections of it will probably open within a few years but the most critical bit - the Dublin to Celbridge Roads - will take years.

Prices - it is a VERY expensive place to buy property due to Intel, college, schools etc. Most of the lower end properties are either student lets or only come on as probate sales. I wouldn't be able to afford to live here (with a dual income, younger end of tech industry wages household) except I bought a probate sale at the bottom of the crash. It was the second cheapest inhabitable house sold in the town during the period the price register covers!

Students - some estates are full of student lets. This can result in loud parties and generally extremely neglected houses. As landlords ran out of cash or whatever these have started getting sold off and nearly always end up becoming family homes again. Kingsbry, Meadowbrook, Cluain Aoibhinn and College Green would probably be the estates with the most - basically early 90s and earlier estates. There is large amounts of dedicated student housing built or planned that will help.

Moonbeam

I think Kingsbry is definitely worth looking in,there are loads of families and green areas and the houses are not as expensive as some of the other estates.

happiness10101

Appreciate all the responses and info everyone! Ample forth you are so right, there will always Be something no matter where we decide.
Still love maynooth and we might just go ahead with the house as planned as it ticks all boxes.. one more viewing tomorrow and it's do or die ;-)

mirrorwall14

I've been watching the property market in North Kildare for a year now (Leixlip, Kilcock, Maynooth and Celbridge). There is very little property in any of the above at <250 and prices are visibly rising in the period I've been watching. You are paying a premium for Maynooth but also for the surrounding areas. All of the reasons people have listed above are the reasons why the prices are high.

I would also say that traffic is bad and getting worse both in the town and on the commute if you plan on commuting by car

ampleforth

Can anybody explain the drastic price reductions that can be observed on Daft and MyHome? Brexit? Banks tightening up? Psychology?

I know this is a big question, but I wonder if somebody has discussion material about this...

L1011

Consumer confidence is down, spending is massively down (hence the exchequer figures yesterday) etc due to Brexit. Mortgages require huge deposits again (which is good).

ampleforth

Did the banks change their policies (i.e. 10% for FT Buyers up to 220k) ?

L1011

ampleforth wrote: »

Did the banks change their policies (i.e. 10% for FT Buyers up to 220k) ?

Those are Central Bank policies and set in stone. Last year they burnt through their exemption allowances way too fast and I suspect its happened again this year.

Most properties in Maynooth are either over 220k or well out of the reach of FTBs anyway so >10% deposits would be required in any case.

happiness10101

What drastic price reductions ? I haven't seen any

mirrorwall14

There's been a few but tbh we're currently buying and found Maynooth is way over priced for what you are getting. We're buying in Kilcock and saving at least 50k by doing so

yellow hen

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

There's been a few but tbh we're currently buying and found Maynooth is way over priced for what you are getting. We're buying in Kilcock and saving at least 50k by doing so

We had this debate last year and in the end felt that maybooth offered us a better quality of life than surrounding areas. Houses elsewhere were tempting and we have ended up with a house that needed more work than we'd hoped but I love that we're on the commuter train route, beautiful walks nearby, lots of restaurants, a bustling student town etc. personally I think a house is worth what the buyer is willing to pay so what's overpriced for one night be just right for another.

mirrorwall14

It is each to their own but the premium on Maynooth has gotten too high in my opinion. Traffic is truly awful in the town too. The students are a plus and a minus depending on your viewpoint. We are happy with Kilcock, it has the canal for walks and Maynooth is close by if we want more restaurants. We both commute by car so right now we don't need the commuter line, I can't remember when we last used it and if we ever do who knows it could be in Kilcock by then. Timeless cafe in Kilcock has been our go to place this summer for lunch as it beat everywhere in Maynooth for food. Some of the places we used to go regularly have gone downhill e.g. Chill. It now has Lidl and Supervalu and apparently Aldi is coming. Schools are decent. We're happy. And happy that our mortgage will be so much lower.

And now I'm craving black pudding hash. Darn. A trip to timeless is required. Seriously-try that place rofl

Oh and I get what you are saying in relation to needing more work on the house. Everything we viewed in Maynooth needed work and with our budget most of them needed a minimum of 20k of work at which point you are really taking a risk that there will be bigger issues in the house

yellow hen

Googling timeless now agree re chill.

mirrorwall14

yellow hen wrote: »

Googling timeless now agree re chill.

I was really sad because it was so baby friendly Timeless has some yummy stuff though. We fed both sets of parents and my sister there last week for lunch and they were impressed. And we hadn't prebooked but they had no problem with a table for 7 plus two babies!!

yellow hen

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

I was really sad because it was so baby friendly Timeless has some yummy stuff though. We fed both sets of parents and my sister there last week for lunch and they were impressed. And we hadn't prebooked but they had no problem with a table for 7 plus two babies!!

Going to go tomorrow. Thanks!

mirrorwall14

yellow hen wrote: »

Going to go tomorrow. Thanks!

Hope you like it. It will be busier on a Saturday I imagine!

Lasting31

Hello just moved to Maynooth, could someone recommend a good doctor taking on new patients? I am pregnant so will be looking for the combined care service, female doctor preferable but open to male if good!

Lastblackdog

Lasting31 wrote: »

Hello just moved to Maynooth, could someone recommend a good doctor taking on new patients? I am pregnant so will be looking for the combined care service, female doctor preferable but open to male if good!

I am male so can't vouch for pregnancy care but I use Kathleen Kelleher at Primacare, Manor Mills Shopping Centre. Telephone: 629 3040.
I am very happy with the treatment I have received so far.

Moonbeam

Dr Gaffney in The Glenroyal Medical centre is good . We used go use Prima Care but the doctors changed alot .

WestWing

Moonbeam wrote: »

Dr Gaffney in The Glenroyal Medical centre is good . We used go use Prima Care but the doctors changed alot .

PrimaCare is fairly poor*, but it's the only surgery in Maynooth that was providing free visits for under sixes, so we used if for a while.

A lot of doctors in Maynooth will not take on new patients.

*
Frequently left waiting for up to an hour after given appointment time.
Twice arrived to be told by receptionist that Doctor would not be coming in (it didn't even cross her mind to ring patients to let them know).
Have called in to collect prescriptions as agreed and they couldn't find them.
No continuity. Have seen four different doctors during last four visits