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Sandymount / Blackrock for young families

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  • 21-06-2023 10:19pm
    #1
    Kitski
    Registered Users Posts: 1 ✭


    Hello all!

    I'll be moving with my young family (3 kids under 6) to either Blackrock or Sandymount.

    Let's not start on the rental issues at the moment (I know, I know :)) but I'd really appreciate some feedback on what both areas are like for young families. Not schools - just whether there are lots of young families living in both areas (I think there are in Blackrock - I'm less sure for Sandymount) and whether there are things for kids to do in both areas (parks, swimming / drama classes, cycling areas etc).

    We currently live in London so are good with an urban area but just want to make sure that wherever we move is family friendly.

    Thanks so much for any feedback!



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    #2
    francois
    Registered Users Posts: 3,468 ✭✭✭francois


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058301886/sandymount-blackrock-for-young-families

    Both areas have plenty of stuff for Kids, Dart for public transport and easily accessible parks and the sea is nearby. Sean Moore park has a playground in Sandymount. Blackrock has a nice market at the weekends, you are spolit for choice as both are nice areas with good amenities, Sandymount is much closer to the city though



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    #3
    joop
    Registered Users Posts: 7 ✭joop


    IMO Sandymount has an older more settled laid back community feel than Blackrock village which is due to undergo a public realm upgrade soon. With sandymount you definitely feel closer to the city in a good and bad way. Blackrock feels like the last village/town before you are in Dublin City. Sandymount green is gorgeous and there seems be lots of community activities going on there. Blackrock has more fancy cafes/ restaurants ( again imo). Sandymount has a much bigger range of shops than blackrock but the two shopping centres in Blackrock are handy for food shopping. The park in blackrock has recently been upgraded with a new bike track and basketball court. I think you tend to get bigger houses/ gardens in blackrock than sandymount but sandymount has a lovely mix of old houses/ apartments. Blackrock has a huge number of schools in its vicinity but easily commutable to. Sandymount seems to have more families with younger kids whereas in Blackrock the kids are a bit older/ teenagers. We use railway union in sandymount for sports and tennis club. We live between sandymount and blackrock.

    Post edited by joop on


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    #4
    gaiscioch
    Registered Users Posts: 1,531 ✭✭✭gaiscioch


    While Blackrock village is small enough, Blackrock is a significantly larger postcode than Sandymount going all the way to the N11 so, yes, under the latter "Blackrock" there are more young kids. Generally speaking the further you move from the multi-million euro houses on Waltham Terrace/Cross Avenue/Avoca Road, the more young children you will find.

    There really aren't that many kids in Booterstown or Blackrock playgrounds on an average day. Although for the past number of years, homeless people are sleeping under the slides in Booterstown at least if you arrive early in the morning. There might be more kids in Carysfort playground or Springhill (Deansgrange, Blackrock). Sandymount's new playground between the Clanna Gael GAA club and Sandymount Strand is, aside from being the best in the area (in Dublin?), far busier, and I'd be fairly certain from listening to the accents that many of those kids are coming from the cheaper homes in Ringsend and Irishtown. The fee-charging schools in these areas are getting far more of their students from outside the area.

    Honeypark out in Sallynoggin, or Glenageary as they're now calling it, is possibly the busiest playground in the wider area. The playground in the People's Park in Dún Laoghaire is also busier, again taking in a far wider socio-economic area. Clonmore over in Stillorgan also has a fair few kids for your kids to make friends with. Bun na Coille/Fernhill Gardens in Stepaside is also new and has a big slide coming down from the athletic track so that's getting the kids (again, there are more younger kids in that rapidly growing area). Still, back in Blackrock etc there's often a hunger in parents to exchange numbers just so their kids can come back at an arranged time to play with another kid. You'll have plenty of elderly ladies to marvel at your kids, though!



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    #5
    Hotblack Desiato
    Registered Users Posts: 34,881 ✭✭✭✭Hotblack Desiato


    I'd be fairly certain from listening to the accents that many of those kids are coming from the cheaper homes in Ringsend and Irishtown.

    The cheek of them. Maybe some form of entry permit / internal passport could be introduced.

    The Dublin Airport cap is damaging the economy of Ireland as a whole, and must be scrapped forthwith.



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    #6
    Bluefoam
    Registered Users Posts: 7,740 ✭✭✭Bluefoam


    I'm from Blackrock, it suffers from an elderly population occupying houses more suitable for young families. The village used to be buzzing in the evening... there were queues outside the pubs, no longer as they population is older. HoneyPark is young enough and has a large proportion of social housing with great facilities. Allot of houses I've seen go up for sale in the general area are going to Chinese buyers. There is a very significant amount of Indian families in the general area who seem to be employed by the tech companies... They are generally lovely and are bringing young people back to the area. It's a lovely area, has a good mix of people, but if you are looking for areas with a high proportion of young families, then the northern or western suburbs are where people move to, partly due to affordability.



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    #7
    TM2015
    Registered Users Posts: 55 ✭✭TM2015


    We lived in Sandymount for over a decade before moving to Blackrock last year. Also have a couple of young kids.

    Sandymount - pros: the sea and the city. The playground in Irishtown is great. The Railway Union Sports Club has soccer, hockey, cricket and tennis, you also have a couple of other rugby, hockey and cricket clubs in the area. Can't fault any of the local schools. But Sandymount Green is crap. It certainly is not the asset the locals often think it is. Dining out options are limited. The roads are "mature", you don't really have the feel of an estate with a green where young kids can just go out and play.

    Blackrock: It is vast and some parts of Blackrock aren't as accessible. Anything outside the triangle of Mount Merrion Ave, Carysfort Ave and Stillorgan Park Road is just a pain. Kids sports are all over the place. Has a couple of swimming pools. Schools are great. Lots of options for dining out and shopping. The parks are very good too (Carysfort, the one along the coast and also Rockfield). Plenty of very mature roads and also estates.

    Overall, I miss Sandymount because of how close it is to everything. You should also consider Booterstown right between Sandymount and Blackrock, St Helens Wood (Hamptons) and Fosterbrook are nice estates and full of families.



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    #8
    PaulieC
    Registered Users Posts: 6,193 ✭✭✭PaulieC


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120943556#Comment_120943556

    Jesus, what a pr*ckish, snobby thing to say. Imagine the absolute cheek of people in Irishtown using a playground in Irishtown.

    OP: a large reason for not moving to Sandymount is because of people like this poster, who think property value and wealth is more important than anything else. Sandymount, as a village, is fine. It's the people who live there that ruin it.



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