€1m for forever home, where to live that's commutable to Dublin?

ciaradx

How about Dun Laoghaire?

On the seafront, lovely town and good transport links into Dublin. You would have access to some great schools around South Co Dublin too.

Lumen

Moonbeam wrote: »

I would be looking in Maynooth and Greystones and maybe down as far as Ashford.

Mr.S wrote: »

Commuting every day to Dublin? :eek: you'd go nuts.

I made this choice recently, moving to somewhere near Greystones.

I alternate cycling and motorbike to Dublin city centre. It takes ~40 minutes by motorbike and 65-90 minutes by bicycle depending on route. Both are pleasant, though may be less so in winter.

It may seem like a massive pain in the hole to spend 3 hours on a bicycle a couple of times a week, but for me that's a positive choice - I like cycling. Yesterday I almost ran over a peacock. You don't get that in Ranelagh.

We were seriously considering Meath/north Kildare, e.g. this:

http://www.coonan.com/coonan/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/2764cb75-1a5d-4458-822f-34dac05b5b9e.pdf

(apologies for PDF, it seems to be gone from myhome)

...but they wouldn't budge from asking and IMO it was too far out to command that sort of money.

North Wicklow has the advantage of better weekend recreational activities (cycling, walking etc).

Also, when the kids are 18 I want them to be so bored they leave home. Greystones is incredibly dull and so fits the bill perfectly.

I did consider places around south Dublin (e.g. Kilternan, Rockbrook) and Kildare (south of Maynooth) but there was always some combination of remoteness (=no broadband, kids have no independence), lack of school choices or unbearable flatness that put us off.

The most surprisingly good thing about Greystones that I hadn't appreciated until I moved there is the total absence of traffic jams. You just move from one place to another in a predictable amount of time.

Howth is nice but we discounted it because it's impossible if you rely on a car for work (Mrs Lumen works all around the southeast).

Anyway that's my take. I'll probably hate it come winter. :pac:

Straffan, Co Kildare. €850,000

http://www.daft.ie/kildare/houses-for-sale/straffan/castlewarden-straffan-kildare-1271697/

hanna200

OhBlaDee5 wrote: »

We're in the very fortunate position to be moving back to Ireland and have a house budget of 1m. We're both Irish but been living in the US for past 10 yrs. Need somewhere that's commutable up to an hour to Dublin city centre. We're looking for the dream house. We have young children, looking for somewhere that has a nice community feel, good schools, reasonable transport links, and is generally a decent area to bring up a family. Would really appreciate suggestions. Looking at South/North Co Dublin, parts of Meath and Wicklow but tbh I feel I've been gone for Ireland for so long that I don't know areas anymore (granted I never really knew Wicklow). Thanks!

If I'm you, I would rent for at least 6 months in the proposed are to check and see if the surroundings and other aspects (commuting) are really what you think it is

Elliott S

The Killiney house posted seems like the best of both worlds!

OP, this comes down to what you value more, the space or the good location.

Other locations not yet suggested; Lower Glasnevin and Upper and Lower Drumcondra are very nice, have some lovely housing stock and are near town. You might also get a bigger property in these places then in some of the leafy southside locations. Clontarf is also nice as it's close to town but also sea adjacent. If I had your budget to spend, I'd be looking in these locations. I'd also be looking in Fairview, Phibsboro and Dublin 8 but I suspect these places are not ritzy enough for this thread. But they might offer space and a good location so they are worth considering. I lived in a lovely big house in Phibsboro for five years that has recently gone on the market for €700,000. It had on-street parking though but that makes me think if you add on the extra €300,000, you might get that extra space.

SarahMollie

Elliott S wrote: »

The Killiney house posted seems like the best of both worlds!

OP, this comes down to what you value more, the space or the good location.

Other locations not yet suggested; Lower Glasnevin and Upper and Lower Drumcondra are very nice, have some lovely housing stock and are near town. You might also get a bigger property in these places then in some of the leafy southside locations. Clontarf is also nice as it's close to town but also sea adjacent. If I had your budget to spend, I'd be looking in these locations. I'd also be looking in Fairview, Phibsboro and Dublin 8 but I suspect these places are not ritzy enough for this thread. But they might offer space and a good location so they are worth considering. I lived in a lovely big house in Phibsboro for five years that has recently gone on the market for €700,000. It had on-street parking though but that makes me think if you add on the extra €300,000, you might get that extra space.

This place has the potential to be a serious forever home in the right hands. I'd say theres room to move on the price also, as there'd be a limited number of buyers who could afford it and also do the work required - I'd be inclined to be cheeky!

http://www.myhome.ie/residential/brochure/25-seafield-road-west-clontarf-dublin-3/3617613

I also like this one - potential to make it more of a dormer, its on a very nice site. Its got a horrid extention currently by the looks of it but could be made fabulous - you can see what the neighbours have done from the pictures taken from above.

http://www.myhome.ie/residential/brochure/177-seafield-road-east-clontarf-dublin-3/3705360

Sleepy

With that budget I'd be looking at Clontarf.

StupidLikeAFox

Use the €1m to get a mortgage of €5m. Build a couple of housing estates and turn the €5m into €20m. Before you know it the boom is back!

4ensic15

4ensic15 wrote: »

............. Living in a remote area brings a requirement for reliable cars and economy greatly increasing the capital outlay require.

€20k gets an almost new Octavia, Corolla etc.

4ensic15

4ensic15 wrote: »

It is difficult to recommend a house without knowing if there is income available for maintenance or transport costs. A bigger house with land costs more to insure and maintain. Motoring is considerably more expensive in Ireland than in the States. there is no point in spending €1m only to find the upkeep too expensive. I know a guy who bought a house in the dublin Mountains and then discovered that the exterior lighting system and the internal air condition system installed by the previous owners was costing several hundred a month in electricity costs that he couldn't afford.
Many people who live close to the City Centre are able to manage with a runabout or banger. reliability is not such a big issue nor is fuel economy. Living in a remote area brings a requirement for reliable cars and economy greatly increasing the capital outlay require.

If I'm spending 1m on a house I sure as hell won't be driving around in a banger if I'm living in a rural area or right in the city centre. In fact I wouldn't drive a banger if I was spending 1/10 of that on a house.

Macy0161

Marcusm wrote: »

Paolo Tullio's house. A friend who lived there before splitting with his wife was forever having hassle in winter with effective road closures due to people skidding on ice. Snow was rare enough but ice frequent enough. He never skidded or call Asher but was frequently delayed by those who did. Having recently returned and bought a D6 redbrick it's an easier spot to reconnect with people. That being said I coveted plenty of places in north Wicklow.

They're pretty much on top of gritting the roads these days, even compared to when I moved to the area around 15 years ago. During the winter of 2010, the R755 was fine, and that house is on the main road. Assuming heading to Kilmac, I wouldn't have too many concerns in all but snow tbh.

However, it's more than an hours commute even this time of year. In fact, it's probably an hour even outside of rush hour.

Interesting to see the different perspectives though. I grew up in the suburbs of the city, and I always saw it as the worst of both worlds! I always insisted I wanted either City or Country not suburbs.

riclad

Look in clontarf ,howth, fairview ,drumcondra ,whitehall .look for house, with garden on both sides .
Look on daft.ie , myhome put in price , 700k , Dublin or meath.
see whats on the market.
ignore dublin 8 .you are looking for surburban house.
i don,t recommend wicklow , theres a limited choice of schools there .
Many rural area,s have low acess to broadband ,
or its very slow like 2meg per second .

Marcusm

Deleted User wrote: »

Straffan, Co Kildare. €850,000

http://www.daft.ie/kildare/houses-for-sale/straffan/castlewarden-straffan-kildare-1271697/

I'd have to knock that down and start again. It's not so much the decoration (either charmless or hideous depending on the room) but the house and especially the Windows don't seem to relate to the site/location.

Ush1

I'd go for Rathmines, Rathgar, Ranelagh direction, possibly even closer to the city. A fully renovated Georgian would do nicely!

Something like this:

http://www.myhome.ie/residential/brochure/72-ranelagh-road-ranelagh-dublin-6/3395153

corkres1989

I'd recommend the closer to Dublin City centre the better without actually being in the city centre as commuting is a nightmare unless you live on the Luas line which again is quite expensive to use on a daily basis..... I'd go for Howth, Clontarf, Drumcondra (certain areas, be sure to stay well away from the Summerhill end of Drumcondra), Clonskeagh, Churchtown, Dundrum, Milltown, and Ranelagh. Coming from America depending on what part be sure to expect to downsize in general.

Theboinkmaster

ciaradx wrote: »

How about Dun Laoghaire?

On the seafront, lovely town and good transport links into Dublin. You would have access to some great schools around South Co Dublin too.

Dun Laoghaire main street is an absolute kip full of knackers, if I had €1m I'd avoid big time.

Personally I'd go a nice red brick in Rathgar but all depends on requirements, I'd rather be in the city than out in the country.

Someone suggested renting in the area first and that's absolutely what I would do - move back to desired area for 12 months and rent and as you settle in if you like it buy in that area.

There's no way I'd spend €1m on a house without renting in the area, especially if you're coming from abroad.

selous

http://www.daft.ie/laois/houses-for-sale/killenard/hillcrest-killenard-laois-959889/

http://www.daft.ie/laois/houses-for-sale/portarlington/freeze-lane-lea-road-portarlington-laois-1108054/

Only an hour from Dublin, and loads of money left over, I do it, although I'm gone at 5am.

The best of luck in your hunt.

Theboinkmaster

selous wrote: »

http://www.daft.ie/laois/houses-for-sale/killenard/hillcrest-killenard-laois-959889/

http://www.daft.ie/laois/houses-for-sale/portarlington/freeze-lane-lea-road-portarlington-laois-1108054/

Only an hour from Dublin, and loads of money left over, I do it, although I'm gone at 5am.

The best of luck in your hunt.

Why the fvck would they buy in Laois when they have €1m and want to be near Dublin :eek:

Lumen

My point was that Greystones is (in my opinion) boring for young adults. That's a positive for me, because I want my kids to leave home when they reach adulthood, to go out into the world and explore.

Uriel.

PhoenixParker wrote: »

Something like these

http://www.daft.ie/dublin-city/houses-for-sale/sandymount/?s%5Bmnp%5D=700000&s%5Bmxp%5D=1000000&s%5Bsort_by%5D=price&s%5Bsort_type%5D=d

I know location, location, location etc but I'd be depressed spending that kind of money for those houses...

Lumen

Uriel. wrote: »

I know location, location, location etc but I'd be depressed spending that kind of money for those houses...

Also, such a "forever home" may end up underwater. :pac:

The residents of Sandymount appear to believe either (a) that their property is so valuable that it will be protected by the State at all costs, and/or (b) if they go down, Dublin is going down with them so what the hell.

I've always been a hill troll but horses for courses.

Elliott S

Dunno about anyone else but I'd much prefer a handsome 4-bed city red brick or townhouse to a countryside mini-mansion. I actually don't like the idea of having a very large house and hate gardening so the less, the better!

riclad

Anyone with kids needs a garden , you have to think how long does it take to go to school,
My friend lived on estate about a 15 minutes walk from town ,
When her kids reached 18 years old, she sold up,
bought a large house with 3 acres on it ,3 miles from town.
4 times bigger than the old house .
old house was 1000 sq ft.
Her kids could cycle or walk to visit friend s or go to a shop from the old house .
now it takes 15 minutes to drive to town .
Think how much time you spending driving to school, gym, football matches .
sports events if you live in a rural location.

the_syco

morrga wrote: »

Depends what OP what wants. City pad with limited space, traffic, noise or a country style mansion with huge gardens, peace and quiet of the countryside.

The latter, with a nearby train station that has trains regularly to Dublin, and that is also on the Dublin Nightlink service.

Eric Cartman

If you have 1m for a house , howth, portmarnock, malahide, skerries, dun laoighre, blackrock . Irelands east coast suburbs are your best bet. Wouldn't bother with the city as you get so much more house by only being 20-25 minutes by dart outside.

All irish houses have pretty awful sound insulation. I don't care what anyone says, spending anywhere near a million let alone over it on a house attached to , or within 10ft of another house , is a complete waste of money here. Its just not practical, especially if your children ever develop musical tendencies, or you like entertaining guests in the evening.

if you prefer a more rural vibe but very close to a village then this would be my pick : http://www.daft.ie/dublin/houses-for-sale/skerries/windermere-milverton-skerries-dublin-1191251/

if you want all the services on your doorstep then id be going for this : http://www.daft.ie/dublin/houses-for-sale/blackrock/virginia-seapoint-avenue-blackrock-dublin-1271501/

athtrasna

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Elliott S

Eric Cartman wrote: »

All irish houses have pretty awful sound insulation.

All? I lived in a red brick terrace where not only could I not hear anything from next door, I couldn't hear anything from our sitting room next to my bedroom, even if someone was watching television in there. I now live in an apartment where the only time I hear the neighbours is when they are in the common hallway in front of our front door. And they have a baby!

Arcade_Tryer

Eric Cartman wrote: »

if you prefer a more rural vibe but very close to a village then this would be my pick : http://www.daft.ie/dublin/houses-for-sale/skerries/windermere-milverton-skerries-dublin-1191251/

That is fabulous. Good taste.

Marcusm

Arcade_Tryer wrote: »

That is fabulous. Good taste.

Part two storey, part dormer but looks like it was constructed at the same time? Bizarre choice of construction.

lollpop

With that budget I would definitely go for Dublin. Commuting from the surrounding counties when you have children (and have creche/school drop offs and collections) can be very stressful. I'd look for somewhere on a train line. I'm not that familiar with the areas on the south side but on the north side Clontarf & Raheny would be good choices, also Malahide is lovely but it's a little further out. They have good schools and plenty of outdoor places (parks/beaches) for kids. For that budget you'll get a pretty good size house, particularly if you're prepared to buy something around the 500-600 mark and add an extension/do it up yourself. A lot of the houses in desirable parts of these areas are old and being sold by elderly/deceased people so they need some work to bring them up to a modern standard.