North or West Cork?

CopperLady

Hi everyone, my husband and I are currently scoping out areas to house hunt in and I was wondering if anyone could recommend any particular areas to live in North or West Cork? We've been living in the city for a while but want to move to a much more rural spot.
We're fairly quiet people, non-drinkers and have no children so we're mostly just looking to find a peaceful rural location to settle down. School and pub access etc isn't an issue but we do work from home so an area with decent internet and phone signal would be important.
We've been looking around Clonakilty, Bantry and Rockchapel so far.
Any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated!

daphil

CopperLady wrote: »

Hi everyone, my husband and I are currently scoping out areas to house hunt in and I was wondering if anyone could recommend any particular areas to live in North or West Cork? We've been living in the city for a while but want to move to a much more rural spot.
We're fairly quiet people, non-drinkers and have no children so we're mostly just looking to find a peaceful rural location to settle down. School and pub access etc isn't an issue but we do work from home so an area with decent internet and phone signal would be important.
We've been looking around Clonakilty, Bantry and Rockchapel so far.
Any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated!

If you want to be near the sea, it would have to be West Cork. Skibbereen is a Digital hub, (handy for working from home), while Clon has good links as well.

CopperLady

daphil wrote: »

If you want to be near the sea, it would have to be West Cork. Skibbereen is a Digital hub, (handy for working from home), while Clon has good links as well.

Great! Thank you, we'll definitely check around Skibbereen.

Newbie20

I’d agree with previous poster, I’d have to pick West over North. It’s a far prettier part of the county and has some lovely towns and villages. I wouldn’t be too sure on the internet side of things tbh in either. I would think Rockchapel is very rural but then if you are looking for something quiet it might good for you too. The only thing is I’m not sure how suitable Rockchapel would be for working from home. I really like Clonakilty and Rosscarbery.

Fiftyplus

I would agree re Skib, though Schull trumps Skib in terms of scenery and has decent enough broadband in certain areas and a good local wireless operator in Digital Forge.

Balmed Out

CopperLady wrote: »

Hi everyone, my husband and I are currently scoping out areas to house hunt in and I was wondering if anyone could recommend any particular areas to live in North or West Cork? We've been living in the city for a while but want to move to a much more rural spot.
We're fairly quiet people, non-drinkers and have no children so we're mostly just looking to find a peaceful rural location to settle down. School and pub access etc isn't an issue but we do work from home so an area with decent internet and phone signal would be important.
We've been looking around Clonakilty, Bantry and Rockchapel so far.
Any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated!

School and pub access isn't an issue but what is?
How far from a town, hospital, restaurants, beaches, parks, woodlands?
Do ye like to garden? certain rural especially coastal areas can be v windy.
What is the budget - West Cork particularly Kinsale and Clonakilty will cost far more than north Cork.
If ye havent lived in a rural area I would recommend trying to stay within walking distance if possible of town.

Edgware

The problem with West Cork is that there is a demand for holiday homes with a resulting premium on price. North Cork say from Kanturk east to the Waterford border can still be fairly rural. Villages like Ballyclough, Doneraile Castletownroche etc would have a share of properties in their hinterland without being isolated. Like it or not you will always needto access a motorway, railway, hospital, airport all of which are within 20 miles of above villages

darash

Villages, small towns etc in North West Cork have a lot of houses for sale now.
Most of that area is approx 60 mins drive from Cork/Limerick city, 25 from Killarney & Mallow, 40 from Tralee.
Great communities if you want to get involved, plenty of essential shops, etc.
They may not have the 'sea view', but other than that I think most areas are the same.
Also, if you do need to see the sea, you're only approx 1 hour drive to the beaches in North Kerry from most villages in the Kanturk/Millstreet area😊

It really depends on what exactly you are looking for.

Edgware

darash wrote: »

Villages, small towns etc in North West Cork have a lot of houses for sale now.
Most of that area is approx 60 mins drive from Cork/Limerick city, 25 from Killarney & Mallow, 40 from Tralee.
Great communities if you want to get involved, plenty of essential shops, etc.
They may not have the 'sea view', but other than that I think most areas are the same.
Also, if you do need to see the sea, you're only approx 1 hour drive to the beaches in North Kerry from most villages in the Kanturk/Millstreet area😊

It really depends on what exactly you are looking for.

I agree. I know that area well from work and there is so much going for it. The Ballyhoura Hills, Doneraile Park, Fermoy, Mallow etc are all great areas to visit. West Cork has always
got the tourist numbers but those areas all have good vibrant friendly communities with folk groups, choirs, amateur dramatics always willing to welcome newcomers.
Check out Daft to see what is available in the housing line. You might start rearing chickens and goats etc yet.

Balmed Out

The tourism in West cork brings with it a wider variety of bars and restaurants then other areas and a more cosmopolitan atmosphere with far more non locals then more inland areas, it also means higher house prices. Really depends on what ye want on your doorstep. All areas have their advantages and disadvantages and no one can really make a recommendation without knowing more about ye.