Buy Closer to Work or Friends/ Family?

If your family are from Dun Laoghaire and you can't afford to buy there then it kind of makes up your mind for you.

In the grand scheme of things, none of these areas are particularly far away from each other. They're far enough away that you can't just 'pop in' after work for a few minutes, so I suppose it depends how important that kind of a thing is to you. As mentioned above though, if you can't afford to buy close to them then it's a bit of a moot point either way.

I bought in D7 and my family live in Bray. Still see them fairly regularly, they either pop into town or I go out to visit them in Bray.

How old are you? Ie how close to retirement?

If less than 10 years to retirement buy to live in

If more, buy for work location.

(Very rough rule - refine as per what leisurecia important to you )

Don't think it's a remotely difficult decision. You can rule out Dun Laoighre because you said it's too expensive.

Based on the evidence you're working a 9-5. I.e key commuting hours.

You would do better to live closer to Tallaght (any of the areas you listed) and have 5 easy work commutes weekly and suffering rush hour for a shorter trip.

You're going to be meeting your family/friends outside of work hours, and I would imagine fewer than 5 days a week, so the longer trips (they're not that long anyway) won't be nearly as bad because they'll be outside those rush hour periods.

29 min (37.3 km) via N11 and M50er

I would buy somewhere new like this and suck up the commute a bit, if you could afford it, it puts a divide between work and home and you would be in Bray and Dun Laoighre in no time.

29 min (37.3 km) via N11 and M50

Realistically these areas are all within 20 mins of each other outside of rush hour.

if you can't afford to buy in Dun Laoghaire, buy closer to work, you're 20 mins from home.

There are so many factors here at play really.

I've some great friends out in Bray and didn't see much of them the last couple of years I lived there as they were in the throws of bringing up children.

I now live in town and see a lot more of them that their kids are a bit older.

You're right though in the sense that there's far less 'ad hoc' pints and the likes with those people, it's more of an event with them coming into town or me popping out to Bray. that's nice in it's own way too though.

In the meantime I've made a rake of new friends in my new location that I can call around to or head out on the spur of the moment for a pint. If anything, living in town has made me even more social.

Honestly it's a good idea to spread your wings out a bit and move out of your hometown, I reckon so anyway. Ultimately I've a much wider circle of friends as a result.

Does entirely depend on your personality I suppose.

I really am not getting the fear in moving a little further out. Do people really need to be living in the pockets of their family/ the people they grew up with? Is it not a nice thing to cut the apron strings even just a little?

Again, we're not talking about moving hours and hours drive away here, it's all practically in an around the m50.

Theres no fear. The poster asked would someone rather stay close to friends or move to the other side of town. I gave reasons why I think they might prefer to think more about proximity top friends and family (which seems important to them) than proximity to their job (which is more likely to move over the years).

How often is he going to convince his friends to go for last minute pints when they're settled with kids anyway! far more chance of last minute pints with work colleagues.

it's not even far!!

OP just so you know the 75 bus route goes from tallaght village to dun laoghaire- it takes an hour to get there but it’s PT so good if your meeting someone for pints and can’t drive.

As others have said, outside of rush hour, tallaght is 20 mins from DL.

Some parts of tallaght are lovely and quiet with great amenities.

I wouldn't go with the Newtownmountkennedy option that someone else suggested. While it may be half an hour to Tallaght outside of rush hour, those parts of the N11 are a nightmare at times.

But, is there an option closer to Dun Laoghaire and/or Bray that's on a decent public transport link to work, that might be in budget? That way you can make your commute a bit easier, and still be closer to friends and family. Looking at that 75 bus route above, it does seem to pass through the more expensive areas, but there might be another option?

We went with the "closer to family and friends option". Not that we see them all much with everyone having kids and the various activities, but it does mean that spontaneous things are a little more possible. I WFH a few days a week too so that decreases the commute stress. (I could drive to work but I don't, much happier driving to the park and ride and then getting on the semi-decent PT option, husband battles the M50 daily, but has managed to make his hours work so that he isn't on it at the worst of times). I know you said you didn't want to change jobs, but are there options for WFH or flexible hours that might make the commute more bearable?

Firhouse/Knocklyon are nice enough areas and close to Tallaght. You're also pretty close to the city centre so there's a lot commutable by bike or bus and you are on the M50 in no time.

Traffic can be a pain in a few spots in the morning, but not by bike!

All depends on the posters budget really.

Maybe step outside of the box for a second and stop looking at this from a work/friends/family thing.

Where would you 'like' to live? Obviously working within your budget, but that aside, is there any place that ticks both spots equally but the thought of waking up there on a saturday morning or driving towards it on a winters evening gives you a warm feeling, or a feeling of dread.

Because while the commute and socialising are important, you will spend most of your time in your own space and in your own company and that should be what leads the decision making I think.

Not suggesting you buy in Wicklow because you like to hike for example, but the vibes you get when you think of calling a place home should give you a strong lead on where best to look.