Buying house in East Wall? Advice?

mayanna

I'm currently househunting. Looking for a two bed with some sort of backyard. Recently I came across a house on Caledon Road and fell in love with it. I really liked the area and the realtor said its a real community with neighbours looking out for each other which is what im looking for! Currently I'm renting in Ranelagh. Im aware that the areas drastically differ but will never afford to buy here. Anyone I talk to is really against East Wall saying its really rough and dangerous. Im female and buying on my own and haven't decided if ill rent the second room. Im not originally from Dublin and feel they're being over dramatic. Is East Wall really that bad?

athtrasna

Moved from Accommodation and Property. Dublin city forum charter applies.

Billy Reid

It's a good solid working class part of the city.

spurious

East Wall is fine. Few kids hanging around shops, like you get anywhere.
These 'East Wall is rough and dangerous' folk - have they ever lived there?

You will have no bother getting someone to share. Walkable to the IFSC. Great spot - almost as good as North Strand.

Alicano

mayanna wrote: »

I'm currently househunting. Looking for a two bed with some sort of backyard. Recently I came across a house on Caledon Road and fell in love with it. I really liked the area and the realtor said its a real community with neighbours looking out for each other which is what im looking for! Currently I'm renting in Ranelagh. Im aware that the areas drastically differ but will never afford to buy here. Anyone I talk to is really against East Wall saying its really rough and dangerous. Im female and buying on my own and haven't decided if ill rent the second room. Im not originally from Dublin and feel they're being over dramatic. Is East Wall really that bad?

It is the opposite of what you're being told. Very safe area actually and yes it has a strong neighbourhood quality. You will rent that room no problem. I bought in East wall in 2015. Like you, there are other spots I'd love to be able to afford, but I couldn't find a genuine fault or reason not to buy in EW. I would stress though, that I had no need for huge space, 3 bedrooms, gardens or schools etc. That would turn a lot of buyers off. But as an area. It is safe. Surprisingly quiet. Very well located to city and coast. And since I've purchased there has been a steady stream of 'Sold' signs and renovations going on which is positive. Just to clarify, I am being slightly biased
But I think it is one of the few places in Dublin City still offering relative value for money for those of us earning average industrial wage or below.
Best of luck with whatever you end up doing.

odyssey06

Just dont walk through Fairview Park after dark... probably same goes for most Dublin parks but maybe double for that one.

tricky D

There's a big East Wall thread which is worth reading; http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=205297

Billy Reid

You will always be a blow in too!

sheepo

Just to add to this OP, the people telling you East Wall is rough and dangerous don't have a clue what they're talking about.

I bought here 3 years ago, I'm from "the country", and I absolutely love it. Location can't be beaten, decent facilities in terms of shops etc., that's improving all the time. I find the locals very friendly and welcoming. No one's ever said boo to me or my girlfriend who walks around on her own all the time.

North docklands is about to explode with development, no better time to buy.

Lady is a tramp

I found it a lovely area to live in, definitely a strong sense of community. I joined the Sheriff St badminton club when I lived there, as well as a WeightWatchers group in East Wall, so I got to know quite a few of the local people. They were extremely friendly and welcoming. I'd quite happily live there again. I lived on East Road, I think that's very close to where you're considering. I used to regularly run/walk from there to Drumcondra and back in the evenings, always felt quite safe even after dark. You're only a couple of minutes away from the Luas Red Line, plenty of buses etc too.

Chuchote

Maybe one thing to consider, though, and that's the level of particulate pollution. This is a trafficky area, and it's low-lying, which means you get pollution clinging to the ground. If you or anyone in your family has asthma, bronchitis, any other respiratory problems or eczema, think carefully.

yosser hughes

Nobody who lives there will tell you the truth.Property values etc.
My sister lived there for several years and always went on in the same vein as the posters above, talking up the whole community thing and supposed friendliness of the locals.
Once she sold up and moved on; the truth emerged. She hated living there and could not wait to get out. A lot of anti-social behaviour. A 16 year old boy shot and killed a man 200 yards from Caledon Road a few years ago.
What do you expect your 'realtor' to tell you?

sheepo

yosser hughes wrote: »

Nobody who lives there will tell you the truth.Property values etc.
My sister lived there for several years and always went on in the same vein as the posters above, talking up the whole community thing and supposed friendliness of the locals.
Once she sold up and moved on; the truth emerged. She hated living there and could not wait to get out. A lot of anti-social behaviour. A 16 year old boy shot and killed a man 200 yards from Caledon Road a few years ago.
What do you expect your 'realtor' to tell you?

Nonsense. How well do you know the area or are you just going on your second hand info from your sister. Property prices are going to increase in the area anyway, and there are houses constantly being sold in EW, regardless of what people post here on boards.

I consulted Boards a lot when I was house hunting and got loads of good info and it's only fair for me to be honest when other people are looking for the same.

That shooting was in 2008.

OP, I can only speak for myself to say I have experienced zero ASB since moving to East Wall, unless like some posters, you consider young lads doing wheelies on bicycles to be anti-social.

Chuchote

When Dublin abandons its car-centric culture, East Wall will be a really pleasant place to live. But at the moment, I think, you'd be living in the farty particulates shed by herds of cars as they transit the city.

odyssey06

Chuchote wrote: »

When Dublin abandons its car-centric culture, East Wall will be a really pleasant place to live. But at the moment, I think, you'd be living in the farty particulates shed by herds of cars as they transit the city.

I think the port tunnel has made a big difference no? At least the trucks aren't going through East Wall any more.

whiskeyman

odyssey06 wrote: »

I think the port tunnel has made a big difference no? At least the trucks aren't going through East Wall any more.

Some difference, but the traffic surrounding East Wall has gone crazy over the past year or so and is likely to get worse.

More and more offices moving in around the area and the road infrastructure can't cope with the volume.

Chuchote

odyssey06 wrote: »

I think the port tunnel has made a big difference no? At least the trucks aren't going through East Wall any more.

My throat starts rasping when I enter the area. Far too much traffic - in an area where most workers should be able to cycle to work. A quietway would lessen the pollution and make it a much nicer place to live (apart from the good side effect that cyclists are eyes on the street, all cycleways tend to gentrify neighbourhoods, retailers and cafes do better in cycleway areas, etc).

AnnaSophia

Lived in East Wall since 2012, and the only bit of bother I've had was some kids throwing a water balloon at me as I walked to the bus stop (and that was in 2013!)

I'd never hesitate to recommend the area to someone, people are friendly and location is fantastic.

VW 1

My mother's side of the family are from there and living there since the early 60s with the family home still there.

Very friendly community and a great area. Major shift from the original corporation population that was initially on the east side of church road in recent years to young professionals and families working in East Point and the IFSC.

If working relatively locally then walking/cycling to work or walking to the luas to get to city centre is great, other than that traffic in and out can be very heavy at peak times.

I wouldn't hesitate to live there myself.

Esel

How much of East Wall is prone to flooding?

Serious question.

P_1

Esel wrote: »

How much of East Wall is prone to flooding?

Serious question.

Been there two years now, not a sign of any floods. It seems to have been rectified since the last bad one.

sheepo

Esel wrote: »

How much of East Wall is prone to flooding?

Serious question.

DCC undertook major works following the floods in 2002 with the result that there was no flooding in East Wall during the next big flood, can't remember what year that was.

That said, getting home insurance was a bit more effort than it would have been in other areas because they still have it marked as a flood risk. It wasn't more expensive when I did get it, but a good few companies just turned me down flat.

VW 1

sheepo wrote:

DCC undertook major works following the floods in 2002 with the result that there was no flooding in East Wall during the next big flood, can't remember what year that was.

This isn't true, there was extensive flooding on seaview avenue at least twice since 2002, with residents in some houses being out of their houses for up to 6 weeks.

Caledon road should be far enough from the tolka to be away from flooding danger.

P_1

Chuchote wrote: »

My throat starts rasping when I enter the area. Far too much traffic - in an area where most workers should be able to cycle to work. A quietway would lessen the pollution and make it a much nicer place to live (apart from the good side effect that cyclists are eyes on the street, all cycleways tend to gentrify neighbourhoods, retailers and cafes do better in cycleway areas, etc).

Not sure how a quietway would work in East Wall mind. There's only 4 (5 at a push) routes out of it and they're all fairly backed up at rush hour. Besides, bar East Road and East Wall Road the streets are pretty calm.

Chuchote

P_1 wrote: »

Not sure how a quietway would work in East Wall mind. There's only 4 (5 at a push) routes out of it and they're all fairly backed up at rush hour. Besides, bar East Road and East Wall Road the streets are pretty calm.

People drive too much. Walk down the road looking into the cars and you'll see that virtually all have just one person inside. And 40% of journeys under 5km in Ireland are made by car - that's a journey that would take 20 minutes to cycle. We're wrecking our health and our cities with laziness.

P_1

Chuchote wrote: »

People drive too much. Walk down the road looking into the cars and you'll see that virtually all have just one person inside. And 40% of journeys under 5km in Ireland are made by car - that's a journey that would take 20 minutes to cycle. We're wrecking our health and our cities with laziness.

You're preaching to the converted here mind you may be a bit more evangelical than I would be mind

Alicano

Chuchote wrote: »

My throat starts rasping when I enter the area. Far too much traffic - in an area where most workers should be able to cycle to work. A quietway would lessen the pollution and make it a much nicer place to live (apart from the good side effect that cyclists are eyes on the street, all cycleways tend to gentrify neighbourhoods, retailers and cafes do better in cycleway areas, etc).

You must start rasping just about everywhere in Dublin so? And what's so different about cyclists eyes on the street as opposed to pedestrian or motorists eyes?

Alicano

Esel wrote: »

How much of East Wall is prone to flooding?

Serious question.

At my time of purchasing (2015), a condition of house insurance was minimum of 200m from the river. It is a flood zone according to the maps. But so are many places. Like another poster mentioned, there was a lot of flood defense works done by DCC after the last bad hit.

Chuchote

Alicano wrote: »

You must start rasping just about everywhere in Dublin so? And what's so different about cyclists eyes on the street as opposed to pedestrian or motorists eyes?

What's different is that cyclists look around. Pedestrians do too, but they don't go as far. Drivers tend to look only at the road, which is commendable when you're in charge of two tons of dangerous machinery. Cyclists have to watch the road (potholes) other vehicles (cars, vans, buses, trucks), people (pedestrians who might step suddenly out in front of them); they also do a… sorry, arithmetic isn't my thing, but about 60 degrees out to the left and the same to the right… back-and-forth scan almost unconsciously. And they notice things that jar, because these are things that might become dangerous to them. So, for instance, if they see two teenagers who are looking around rather more beadily than the other drifting pedestrians, they'll notice that. If one of those teenagers shifts a backpack from one shoulder to the other, they'll notice that something inside it clanks.

For instance, from an English local paper after a cycleway was installed in Horham:

“This close has had a number
of burglaries because most people
go out to work during the day.
Since the cycle path has been in
place there are a lot more people
using the close and this may act as
a deterrent to burglars.”
Mrs Hartigan,
Freshfield Close, Horham

Incidentally, if I sound evangelistic it's because I'm asthmatic. Your fumes are going to kill me.

Alicano

Chuchote wrote: »

What's different is that cyclists look around. Pedestrians do too, but they don't go as far. Drivers tend to look only at the road, which is commendable when you're in charge of two tons of dangerous machinery. Cyclists have to watch the road (potholes) other vehicles (cars, vans, buses, trucks), people (pedestrians who might step suddenly out in front of them); they also do a… sorry, arithmetic isn't my thing, but about 60 degrees out to the left and the same to the right… back-and-forth scan almost unconsciously. And they notice things that jar, because these are things that might become dangerous to them. So, for instance, if they see two teenagers who are looking around rather more beadily than the other drifting pedestrians, they'll notice that. If one of those teenagers shifts a backpack from one shoulder to the other, they'll notice that something inside it clanks.

For instance, from an English local paper after a cycleway was installed in Horham:



Incidentally, if I sound evangelistic it's because I'm asthmatic. Your fumes are going to kill me.

RE: Cyclists looking around. I fully expect they would. But so do motorists. They/we don't fixate straight ahead at the back of the car in front. I too would be observing footpaths and movements behind cars, buses pulled in etc. Like you said it's all very automatic and done without conscious effort. Granted motorists can't hear the little things like cyclists and pedestrians. Personally, I would put motorcyclists at the very top of the awareness tree. They are watching everything. Similar risks associated with the cycling fraternity but at much higher speeds and very little reaction time to those things you mentioned like a ball rolling out or car door opening. I'd like to think we're all acting safely though.

I don't buy the argument that cycle ways make an area safer. The example you've given is of a two road village in the U.K. Not comparable with a busy place like EW (location in OP question) which has constant footfall. No harm in having extra eyes of course but there's nothing really to support that idea. Regarding safety in EW. I remember doing a lot of stakeout work prior to bidding on the house. Parked up on Friday/Saturday nights with the GF. Got out and walked around lots of the streets for close to an hour.All I got was "Hello's" from locals thinking I was local It's no safer or less safe than any other Dublin City location. The potential for risk exists everywhere in my opinion.

I'm sure you feel pollution a lot more being Asthmatic. And I sympathise with that. Just your original sentence seemed to suggest you were fine cycling around anywhere else apart from EW. I do think Dublin will become very inaccessible to cars. You can see that in the city center already. And I think that will spread outwards. The more the North Docklands develops, the more restrictions will be put in place. And I can (hopefully) see EW becoming a village again with the majority of movement being pedestrian and cyclists.
Maybe then we will be neighbours

mherlihy

Hi there,

I'm bought a 2 bed terraced house on Caledon Road at the end of 2015. I'm a single female in my early 30s. Prior to moving to East Wall I had always rented on the south side - in Ranelagh & Sandymount respectively.

I absolutely love living in East Wall & could not recommend it more highly. I'm from down the country originally but have also lived in the UK for almost 10 years for college/work. This northside/southside divide in Dublin is a bit ridiculous I feel. Before I moved to Dublin all I knew of the city was Grafton Street & everyone I spoke to told me to steer clear of the Northside.

Having now lived in East Wall on my own for almost 18 months I can honestly say that its a great place to live. I work pretty long hours & i walk/cycle home every evening whatever the season & never worry re safety. My neighbours are fantastic (to the point of washing my windows & changing the flat tyre on my car!), there's a real sense of community here and I've not seen one ounce of trouble. The location is so handy & to echo what some other people on here have said, with all the development thats going on nearby & in the area, I feel it is a good investment as well as a home.

When I started looking for a house, I briedly considered Stoneybatter - until I quickly realised how overpriced it is. East Wall has a lot of housing stock that is very similar to "trendier" areas like Stoneybatter but the prices are still affordable and in a great location - near town, the luas & the port tunnel. I think the more affordable prices are partly due to the fact that a lot of people still turn their noses up at this area - I know a lot of people who wouldnt buy here. I understand that it may not have had a great reputation in the past, but I see no reason why someone would choose not to live here now.

Best of luck & I look forward to welcoming you to Caledon Road should you take the plunge to buy! 😊

yosser hughes

mherlihy wrote: »

Hi there,

I'm bought a 2 bed terraced house on Caledon Road at the end of 2015. I'm a single female in my early 30s. Prior to moving to East Wall I had always rented on the south side - in Ranelagh & Sandymount respectively.

I absolutely love living in East Wall & could not recommend it more highly. I'm from down the country originally but have also lived in the UK for almost 10 years for college/work. This northside/southside divide in Dublin is a bit ridiculous I feel. Before I moved to Dublin all I knew of the city was Grafton Street & everyone I spoke to told me to steer clear of the Northside.

Having now lived in East Wall on my own for almost 18 months I can honestly say that its a great place to live. I work pretty long hours & i walk/cycle home every evening whatever the season & never worry re safety. My neighbours are fantastic (to the point of washing my windows & changing the flat tyre on my car!), there's a real sense of community here and I've not seen one ounce of trouble. The location is so handy & to echo what some other people on here have said, with all the development thats going on nearby & in the area, I feel it is a good investment as well as a home.

When I started looking for a house, I briedly considered Stoneybatter - until I quickly realised how overpriced it is. East Wall has a lot of housing stock that is very similar to "trendier" areas like Stoneybatter but the prices are still affordable and in a great location - near town, the luas & the port tunnel. I think the more affordable prices are partly due to the fact that a lot of people still turn their noses up at this area - I know a lot of people who wouldnt buy here. I understand that it may not have had a great reputation in the past, but I see no reason why someone would choose not to live here now.

Best of luck & I look forward to welcoming you to Caledon Road should you take the plunge to buy! 😊

Wow! You registered on boards.ie especially to write that. You are so thoughtful. All the much vaunted east wall friendliness has rubbed off on you!

Alicano

Hey OP. Just wondering how you got on or what happened in the end?

superman28

For me EastWall is a bit of a hidden gem (and for me the only part of central Dublin where there is still a bit of value left in the Property market).

As mentioned, Its an up and coming place.. I agree it is like Ringsend used to be or Stoneybatter.. I walked through here for 4 years on my way to and from work. It has a nice community feel about the place.

Just look at all the development in Dublin, from the New Central Bank down towards the Point Village Shopping Centre (currently empty apart from a cinema).. This whole area is being redeveloped and will be shortly full of young professionals all looking for a place to live.

And those little terraced houses have a little garden and plenty of parking.. so what more do you want..

There are a few empty Nama Office blocks around East Wall,, these will also soon be full I'm sure,,

yer man!

Yeah there hints of a new gym going in over LIDL and the large office block beside island key is being fitted out at the moment. It's a grand area but the one thing I dislike is the rubbish all over the place, it really upsets me as it's such a simple thing that just drags an area down a bit.

sheepo

yer man! wrote: »

Yeah there hints of a new gym going in over LIDL and the large office block beside island key is being fitted out at the moment. It's a grand area but the one thing I dislike is the rubbish all over the place, it really upsets me as it's such a simple thing that just drags an area down a bit.

I actually rang DCC about a load of rubbish dumped on East Road recently and they had it cleared up in a few hours fair play to them. It obviously could have been in their sights already but I was still impressed. It looked like there was a lot of documents and stuff in the pile so hopefully a few fines get dished out.

yer man!

Yeah to be fair it is cleaned up quickly. Just really annoys me when I see people walking down the street on East road and throwing rubbish on the ground. Usually it's kids but I've seen a lot of older adults doing it too. Someone discarded an entire mattress on the footpath a few months ago. I'm sure when the office block is finished and Facebook have moved in the place will be cleaned a bit more regularly.

KerryConnor

We moved to East Wall 9 years ago and it's definitely not rough and dangerous. That sort of snobbery is annoying! The only real issue we've had is about 5 years ago someone tried to steal our car and a neighbour scared them off and rang the Guards. But nothing other than that. I wouldn't walk home from town alone at night but then I wouldn't have done that when we lived in Dublin 8 either. It's about as strong a local community as you can get. Very good community centre, the Sean O'Casey with lots going on.

The location is the big thing for me though. City center is 25 mins walk, IFSC 15 mins. The coastal cycle path to Sutton starts on East Wall road which I love. We have spent a lot of time in Fairview park since having kids and it's a great city park. You would have some characters hanging around sometimes but I would expect that from any city park.

Good luck with your decision!

mayanna wrote: »

I'm currently househunting. Looking for a two bed with some sort of backyard. Recently I came across a house on Caledon Road and fell in love with it. I really liked the area and the realtor said its a real community with neighbours looking out for each other which is what im looking for! Currently I'm renting in Ranelagh. Im aware that the areas drastically differ but will never afford to buy here. Anyone I talk to is really against East Wall saying its really rough and dangerous. Im female and buying on my own and haven't decided if ill rent the second room. Im not originally from Dublin and feel they're being over dramatic. Is East Wall really that bad?

dutch.irish

Hi,

I am getting a 2 bed mid terrace house in Caledon Court, East Road, East Wall and it's around 310k. I wanted to know if it is safe to buy the house? My plan is to live there for few years and then give the house to a family on rent as I will be moving to my home country. I am mainly concerned with safety as I found the place dark and not well maintained when i went to visit and also its looked like a industrial zone, may be that particular road was like that but I do want to know about the safety aspect of walking alone at night or my wife late commute by bus. I am looking in EW due to my restricted budget and my need to rent in future otherwise I would have bought a bit far from city to be more safer. We are from India.

RasTa

It's not worth that price

dutch.irish

dutch.irish wrote: »

I wanted to know if it is safe to buy the house?

I am looking in EW due to my restricted budget and my need to rent in future otherwise I would have bought a bit far from city to be more safer.

Safety wouldn't really be the primary concern I'd see here. As a city centre location there's always a small risk, but generally I don't think it's an unsafe area. I'd love to live in East Wall - it's a great area for professionals working in the IFSC, walking distance to town, and the older terraces are a well established community.

That said, it does sound a little misaligned with your needs. You're paying a huge premium for a city centre location, but you say you're on a restricted budget. I'm not sure paying so much for location is an efficient use of your funds. A couple of reasons:

1. The value of the area is greatly inflated by the stream of businesses flowing into the IFSC - something which is now threatened by the future of working from home. Working from home is highly accessible to people in financial and tech roles, which also happen to be two of the major industries in the area.
2. You specifically want to rent to a family in the future. There are plenty of families living in East Wall, but most people I know want to live in the city centre when they're in their 20s starting their career and then tend to want to move further out as their income improves and their priorities move towards starting a family.

If you're locked into a sale I wouldn't want to deter you, but if you're still looking around I do think you could benefit by looking around a bit farther from the city.

I'd be very interested as to how you ended up choosing East Wall on a restricted budget - perhaps it was due to work location?

Jizique

dutch.irish wrote: »

Hi,

I am getting a 2 bed mid terrace house in Caledon Court, East Road, East Wall and it's around 310k. I wanted to know if it is safe to buy the house? My plan is to live there for few years and then give the house to a family on rent as I will be moving to my home country. I am mainly concerned with safety as I found the place dark and not well maintained when i went to visit and also its looked like a industrial zone, may be that particular road was like that but I do want to know about the safety aspect of walking alone at night or my wife late commute by bus. I am looking in EW due to my restricted budget and my need to rent in future otherwise I would have bought a bit far from city to be more safer. We are from India.

I think you are nuts...
If you return to India, you may never see any rent; what will you do when your tenant decides not to pay? Also, there are tax issues with non-residents.
There may well be issues of an Indian family living in East Wall - it is a close knit local working class community with some of the challenges that brings

dutch.irish

true-or-false wrote: »

Safety wouldn't really be the primary concern I'd see here. As a city centre location there's always a small risk, but generally I don't think it's an unsafe area. I'd love to live in East Wall - it's a great area for professionals working in the IFSC, walking distance to town, and the older terraces are a well established community.

That said, it does sound a little misaligned with your needs. You're paying a huge premium for a city centre location, but you say you're on a restricted budget. I'm not sure paying so much for location is an efficient use of your funds. A couple of reasons:

1. The value of the area is greatly inflated by the stream of businesses flowing into the IFSC - something which is now threatened by the future of working from home. Working from home is highly accessible to people in financial and tech roles, which also happen to be two of the major industries in the area.
2. You specifically want to rent to a family in the future. There are plenty of families living in East Wall, but most people I know want to live in the city centre when they're in their 20s starting their career and then tend to want to move further out as their income improves and their priorities move towards starting a family.

If you're locked into a sale I wouldn't want to deter you, but if you're still looking around I do think you could benefit by looking around a bit farther from the city.

I'd be very interested as to how you ended up choosing East Wall on a restricted budget - perhaps it was due to work location?

Hi, thanks it was due to my long term need to rent it out as I will be eventually moving out to my home country.

dutch.irish

Jizique wrote: »

I think you are nuts...
If you return to India, you may never see any rent; what will you do when your tenant decides not to pay? Also, there are tax issues with non-residents.
There may well be issues of an Indian family living in East Wall - it is a close knit local working class community with some of the challenges that brings

Hi, yeah that's why I had put the question. Thanks.