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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Moving to Ireland - help!
Hi -
Not sure if I'll get any responses, but I figure this is a large network of people - might work.
My
husband's job got relocated to Dublin (actually Blanchardstown). We are
moving in three weeks with our 20 month old for six months. I've been to Ireland several times (and studied abroad in college), but all west coast. I feel lost about where to start.
Re: Moving to Ireland - help!
Hello! We just moved back to the US from Dublin a few months ago, and we lived in the city centre (Grand Canal Square/Docklands). Dublin is divided by the River Liffey, and it's separated by North and South Sides. The North Side has odd zip codes (1, 3, 5, etc) and the South Side has even zip codes (2, 4, 6, etc.) We were in D2/D4.
There is some debate that the South Side is better than the North Side (depending on what area you are in.) By 'better,' I mean cleaner, nicer, less risky, less crime, and a better quality of life. I'd agree. Blanchardstown is on the North Side, and there are quite a few businesses there. We lived on the South Side, and it was fabulous. We lived close to good parks, and it was easy to walk around safely. It was not nearly as gritty as the North Side. If you want to be close to where your husband works, check out Phibsboro. If you don't mind taking a train into the city centre, look at places closes to the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit) like Malahide, Howth, & Sutton. Stay away from Ballymun and Finglas, they're not good areas.
If he doesn't mind a commute, I'd suggest living anywhere in the south city centre. D2, D4, D6. Ringsend/Irishtown is probably the cheapest on the south side, but you get what you pay for. (We lived near Ringsend.) Ballsbridge is good, Donnybrook is great, and Ranelagh is great (and on the LUAS line.)
If you live anywhere around D2, D4, and D6, you'll be close enough to everything to be able to walk anywhere in the centre (Grafton St, etc), and since your husband wi'll have the car, he'll have a decent commute. (Everyone is going IN to the city centre for work, and he'll be going out.)
Good luck!!
Hi there,
I live in Dublin and have done a lot of my life.
If your DH is going to be working in Blanchardstown, (know to locals as just "Blanch") which is to the west of the city, I would suggest that you live in that direction (though I wouldn't live in Blanch itself - some areas are a little rough around the edges.)
A nice place would be Castleknock. I know a few people living out there and they seem to like it. The village itself is very nice and a good selection of shops. There is a frequent bus route to the city centre and it is very close to the Phoenix Park (which is the largest enclosed park in Europe!) which is lovely and the zoo is there - they have done great work on the zoo in recent years and you can get an annual ticket which could be good for the summer with your lo.
Of course, Blanch is just beside the M50, which is the arterial route around Dublin so if your dh didn't mind a commute other areas would open up - though the M50 can become a bit of a carpark in rush hour.
A good place to start looking for accommodation is www.daft.ie Nearly all the accommodation on the rental market is posted there. They show properties with maps so you can see where they are. Don't bother (in general!) looking at the ads without photos - there's a reason they don't have a photo!
Rental property can be hit and miss in Dublin. There isn't the same rental tradition in this country that there would be in others. In general, Irish people prefer to own their homes so family rental properties can be hard to come by. We decided to rent a house last year (to move from our unsold apt before baby arrived) and spent a month looking for the right place...
Even though it is a city "Dublin" is really a series of villages that have sprawled into each other over the years. (the city centre is really the centre of it all!) And there really is a village centre for most areas. Some areas are linked by endless housing estates that may or may not have good local amenities - the housing popped up over the last decade but just be careful you don't end up in the middle of an estate with a single shop, everyone out to work during the day and then you will become isolated. The villages tend to be better as such...
That's just a quick overview but if there is something more specific you would like to know just drop me a PM and I'll try to help you.
Good luck with the move!
Hi, I'm Irish born and living here too. Location is everything. Blanchardstown is technically west. It all depends on your budget. Remember if your H needs to use the M50 there's a toll just before Blanchardstown exit which at 3 euro a go adds up.
If he's travelling through town or if you move north it's not a concern.
My areas of preference are in the following descending order:
Southside: Ranelagh, Rathmines (both D6), Ballsbridge, Donny brook (Both D4), Terenue, Templeogue, Dundrum (these are heading west, close to the M50 but not near Blanchardstown). Further again are nice south areas like Blackrock, Dalkey, Killiney.
Northside: Howth, Sutton, Swords. All quite nice areas. If possible stick to luas or dart lines. It makes things easier.