Buying house in Newbridge - kildare or newtownmountkennedy - wicklow ? suggestion pls

Prasannaraju

Hi,

Please suggest whether to buy house in newbridge - kildare or newmountkennedy - wicklow ? I have two option to choose, one in newtownmountkennedy and another in newtownmountkennedy. The house in kildare is bigger than wicklow one and located near to station, but lot of commute to my work (1 hour 45 mins). Wicklow is less commute (30 mins) to my work. Please advice which area is better. Appreciate your suggestion.

peter_dublin

Wicklow all day long. Assuming that's your total commute. That's 5 hours and 15 minutes a week extra time, or basically three full work days a month you are getting back to live your life. Also factor in if you change your job down the line in terms of access to employment areas. Have a look on here about getting from Naas to Sandyford for example where a lot of tech employers are based.

Prasannaraju

Thanks peter_dublin Appreciate your response! I work at leopardstown and i may need to travel to office 2 to 3 days a week. As per google maps the travel time from kildare to my work place is nearly 1hr 45 min (one way) by public transport. I am happy with my employer and wont be thinking for changing the job for at least another couple of years. Area wise whether Newtownmountkennedy or newbridge is good to live-in with family.

ec_pc

Personally, I think you would be doing well to get from Kildare to Leopardstown in 1h 45 using public transport. You would be looking at a train from Kildare to Connoly (or Heuston and Luas to Connolly), Dart to say Blackrock and then bus to leopardstown?

In non covid times I drive from near Kildare town to Blackrock and it is about 50 minutes drive before 7 am and maybe 1h10-20 about 4 pm in afternoon.

Lots to consider! Quality of life!

you2008

newbridge - is not in the train zone, the closest is Naas - just keep that in mind also.

Prasannaraju

Could you please elaborate, Newbridge has a train station and that's near to the property i am interested.

Muahahaha

Prasannaraju wrote: »

Could you please elaborate, Newbridge has a train station and that's near to the property i am interested.

Newbridge is outside of what is called the 'short hop zone' for trains whereas Naas/Sallins just a few kilometres up the train line are inside it. This means a train ticket from Newbridge is more expensive than from Naas/Sallins just up the road. As far as I know there is a campaign to get Newbridge included in the short hop zone but it hasnt happened as yet.

Given you are working in Leopardstown then Newtownmountkennedy would seem the better option. It is 28km from Leopardstown whereas Newbridge is 55km, almost double the distance which means more hours commuting for you every week.

Also Newtownmountkennedy has the Wicklow mountains on its doorstep and is close enough to the sea and beaches too. Newbridge in Kildare is a long way from any beach.

There is one train in the morning from Newbridge that is an express to Hueston. Once you get on it the train does not stop at all, I think it takes about 24 minutes from Newbridge to Hueston which is really fast as Irish trains go. However then you have to get a Luas from Hueston and then a bus or Luas to Leopardtown. It is just too much hassle and would drive you mad after a few months of doing that kind of commute. If you were working in the city centre it wouldnt be too bad but Newbridge to Leopardstown is too much hassle on public transport. So for those reasons I would go with Newtownmountkennedy even if the house is a bit smaller than the one in Kildare. Theres no point having a bigger house at the expense of spending 3+ hours per day on trains and buses.

Prasannaraju

Thank you so much for your detailed explanation and advice! It's really helpful.. Thanks again!

Red Albey

Prasanna, have you brought the house in Wicklow?