Clondalkin for first time buyer

[Purple]

If the OP wants to know if an area is good or bad then drive/ walk around it at night during the week and at the weekend. Do this three of four times over a few weeks.

The other issue is that in a softening market areas that have a bad name (whether justified or not) will loose value faster than those that have a good name.
The Op should also consider that the extra 100k needed to buy close to work will cost about €25 a day. The extra cost of commuting from Clondalkin need to be subtracted from this before the real cost can be seen.
I have been in some of the bad areas of Clondalkin and would not like to live there. That’s just my opinion though.

The major factor is the commute time. I would agree strongly with fintans that renting should be looked at. The rest of his post I will not comment on.

 

[Guest114]

Why not try looking at it from the other way, what about Wicklow? Maybe look at places in Bray and Wicklow and go in on the train?

Bray or Wicklow seem like a better bet to me. Wicklow is the better of the two. However, Bray wins it for Dart and bus connections to Bray.

I would steer well clear of Clondalkin. Open up the Herald any night of the week and look how many times Clondalkin is mentioned regarding crime. I know there are pockets of Clondalkin better than others but crime is like a cancer. You are bound to be affected by it in all parts of Clondalkin eventually...

 

[Purple]

In my opinion Bray is a bit of a kip as well. (I'm sure some of it is lovely etc but the Sea front is a kip).

 

[Guest114]

In my opinion Bray is a bit of a kip as well. (I'm sure some of it is lovely etc but the Sea front is a kip).

I agree with you there. However Bray is in the ha'penny place for crime compared to Clondalkin

 

[csirl]

A relative of mine who lived in Clondalkin for in excess of 10 years (until 2 years ago) told me that "....its reasonably safe.....as long as you dont get on the wrong side of anyone in the drug gangs and turn a blind eye to their activities.......never ever report anything to the Gardai, even minor non-drug stuff as you cant take the chance that the person you report is part of a gang...."

Also said:

"Clondalkin is a lot richer that most people realise.....there is a lot of money in the place and a lot of people there have a lot of disposable income, which trickles down into the local economy.......the place has got a lot richer since cocaine use among the middle classes increased...made members of the local gangs a lot richer...."

 

[ClubMan]

A relative of mine who lived in Clondalkin for in excess of 10 years (until 2 years ago) told me that "....its reasonably safe.....as long as you dont get on the wrong side of anyone in the drug gangs and turn a blind eye to their activities.......never ever report anything to the Gardai, even minor non-drug stuff as you cant take the chance that the person you report is part of a gang...."

 

[Purple]

A relative of mine who lived in Clondalkin for in excess of 10 years (until 2 years ago) told me that "....its reasonably safe.....as long as you dont get on the wrong side of anyone in the drug gangs and turn a blind eye to their activities.......never ever report anything to the Gardai, even minor non-drug stuff as you cant take the chance that the person you report is part of a gang...."

Also said:

"Clondalkin is a lot richer that most people realise.....there is a lot of money in the place and a lot of people there have a lot of disposable income, which trickles down into the local economy.......the place has got a lot richer since cocaine use among the middle classes increased...made members of the local gangs a lot richer...."

'nuff said!

 

[csirl]

To add to my previous post, my relative says that the areas near the canal, near Ronanstown/Neilstown, Kilmahudrick, Around the Green Isle hotel & off the Nangor Road are like the quotes I gave in the post.

Says Floraville and village end of the Monastery Road are a lot quieter with normal people.

 

[Guest114]

What a great advertisement for Clondalkin. First time buyer - are you willing to spend/waste €350k on a place with that level of trouble waiting for you ? If I were you, I would consider getting a place in Wicklow town. You'll be well away from all that nonsense

 

[boaber]

A relative of mine who lived in Clondalkin for in excess of 10 years (until 2 years ago) told me that "....its reasonably safe.....as long as you dont get on the wrong side of anyone in the drug gangs and turn a blind eye to their activities.......never ever report anything to the Gardai, even minor non-drug stuff as you cant take the chance that the person you report is part of a gang...."

Balderdash. If your relatives didn't like the area, why on earth would they stay there for "in excess of 10 years"

However Bray is in the ha'penny place for crime compared to Clondalkin

As with everything else you've said about Clondalkin in this thread, this is an incorrect statement. Bray has a population of nearly 32,000, whereas the population of Clondalkin is 57,000. Given that the population of Clondalkin is close to twice that of Bray, you would expect crime figure to be double also..but that's not the case based on the latest figures available per Garda District in the Greater Dublin area (which includes Bray)

Table 1 Recorded Headline Offences 2000 and 2004 in rank order of % increase

District 2000 2004 % ∆ 2000 - 2004
1 Blanchardstown 1821 3554 +95%
2 Coolock 1524 2529 +66%
3 Tallaght 2544 4183 +64%
4 Santry 1692 2411 +42%
5 Lucan 1504 2092 +39%
6 Fitzgibbon St 1872 2594 +39%
7 Crumlin 1240 1625 +30%
8 Bray 1507 1900 +26%
9 Donnybrook 1520 1909 +26%
10 Kevin Street 2189 2625 +20%
11 Raheny 1713 2030 +19%
12 Bridewell 1063 1220 +15%
13 Blackrock 1876 2083 +11%
14 Clondalkin 1913 2115 +11%
15 Terenure 1657 1809 +9%
16 Dun Laoghaire 1744 1894 +9%
17 Store Street 4885 4920 +1%
18 Pearse Street 5809 5294 -9%
TOTAL 38,074 46,787 +23%


Table 2 Headline Assaults recorded in 2000 and 2004 in rank order of %increase

Ranking Districts 2000 2004 % Change
1 Blanchardstown 30 146 +386%
2 Bray 15 70 +366%
3 Blackrock 12 46 +283%
4 Kevin Street 28 101 +260%
5 Tallaght 56 183 +227%
6 Dun Laoghaire 13 42 +223%
7 Lucan 34 103 +203%
8 Raheny 20 60 +200%
9 Donnybrook 13 35 +169%
10 Pearse Street 54 145 +169%
11 Santry 69 179 +159%
12 Bridewell 28 70 +150%
13 Fitzgibbon St 54 126 +133%
14 Store Street 39 89 +128%
15 Crumlin 33 71 +115%
16 Terenure 20 43 +115%
17 Coolock 46 86 +87%
18 Clondalkin 70 94 +34%
TOTAL 634 1689 +166%

have been in some of the bad areas of Clondalkin and would not like to live there.

Have you been in any of the good areas of Clondalkin? Would you like to live in these? What do you mean by "have been in"? Did you stay for long, or was it a drive by, I mean drive through? I'm not sure I know of anyone who would want to live in a bad area, be it Clondalkin, Bray, D4, Dun Laoghaire or anywhere else!

 

[Purple]

I don't want to get on the wrong side of you boaber, you live in Clondalkin and no one gives you any hassle so you must be mad hard!

I drive through Clondalkin about three times a month, usually early in the day. To suggest that the social problems there are comparable to Dun Laoghaire is ridiculous. I don’t live in either area so I have no agenda in saying that. I would not like to live in any area of Clondalkin and would certainly not like to raise my family there. That is just my opinion and others are entitled to disagree with it. This free speech; it’s great!

 

[boaber]

I don't want to get on the wrong side of you boaber, you live in Clondalkin and no one gives you any hassle so you must be mad hard!

I'm as hard as a tub of flora zapped in the microwave for 10 minutes

To suggest that the social problems there are comparable to Dun Laoghaire is ridiculous.

I wasn't... I was just asking the question who would WANT to live in ANY bad area WHEREVER it be.

I would not like to live in any area of Clondalkin and would certainly not like to raise my family there

To be honest, I thought the exact same a few years ago, but circumstances meant that Clondalkin was one of the areas I had to look to buy in. Glad I did!! My previous unfounded prejudices about the area were wrong.

 

[John Rambo]

Boaber, with all due respect you're not being entirely fair. Some posters have gone over the top but it is accurate to say Clondalkin is not a good area. Fair enough, you live there and you're going to defend it but the OP has a choice and given the choice there aren't many people who would want to live in Clondalkin. I mean, be reasonable, you said yourself circumstances forced you to live here. Try and be fair to someone who actually has a choice in the matter. I've read through this thread and what I'm hearing is the equivalent of "I've one leg too and it's grand, plenty of people are missing a limb...you should try it". Put simply, if you can avoid it don't live in Clondalkin.

 

[RonanC]

but it is accurate to say Clondalkin is not a good area.

That statement is not true at all!! Yes, some parts of the greater clondalkin area are not nice (socially deprived, forgotten about to some extent, no facilities for the young people at all, high unemployment and so on) but can you honestly say that the whole of clondalkin is not a good area?? No you cannot say that as there are alot of really nice parts of clondalkin.

There is alot of good in clondalkin, a lot more than what the papers write about too. They never write about the good things that come out of clondalkin do they? Only the bad, and thats what sticks in peoples heads. Clondalkin is a massive place, and if you took away Neilstown, Ronanstown and maybe Bawnogue and made them into their own centres, what would you think of clondalkin then?

And dont get me wrong, there are fantastic people living in Neilstown, Ronanstown and Bawnogue, I've friends living in all of those places, I've grown up with people from those areas. The bad apple always spoils the crop though and thats such a pity.

Im living 27 years in clondalkin, Im 27 years living on this planet so maybe I have a biased look on this, but I would continue to live in clondalkin, especially around the village (monastery, floraville, castle, st. bridgets, st. johns, newlands and so on......)

 

[N.I.H]

Boaber, with all due respect you're not being entirely fair. Some posters have gone over the top but it is accurate to say Clondalkin is not a good area. Fair enough, you live there and you're going to defend it but the OP has a choice and given the choice there aren't many people who would want to live in Clondalkin. I mean, be reasonable, you said yourself circumstances forced you to live here. Try and be fair to someone who actually has a choice in the matter. I've read through this thread and what I'm hearing is the equivalent of "I've one leg too and it's grand, plenty of people are missing a limb...you should try it". Put simply, if you can avoid it don't live in Clondalkin.

What rubbish? What the poster said was that before he lived in Clondalkin he had the same Evil Gerald fueled preconceptions as everybody else who hasn't lived here. But now after living in Clondalkin he knows first hand that the area is fine. Clondalkin is miles better than Lucan, and prices reflect this.

 

[John Rambo]

Look, this is a site which is supposed to help people. Telling people Clondalkin is a "good area" and that they should move there given the choice is bad advice. It is not a good area...nobody would choose to live there, they're there because of circumstances. There are plenty of similar threads discussing areas like Whitechurch or Ballymun with people claiming these areas are grand...well we owe it to people who have come here looking for advice to be honest. OP, read the thread in detail and make up your own mind. My own tuppence ha'penny worth is you should steer clear of Clondalkin.

 

[N.I.H]

Look, this is a site which is supposed to help people. Telling people Clondalkin is a "good area" and that they should move there given the choice is bad advice. It is not a good area...nobody would choose to live there, they're there because of circumstances. There are plenty of similar threads discussing areas like Whitechurch or Ballymun with people claiming these areas are grand...well we owe it to people who have come here looking for advice to be honest. OP, read the thread in detail and make up your own mind. My own tuppence ha'penny worth is you should steer clear of Clondalkin.

Opinion is not fact. I would like to know how you have formulated your views on Clondalkin? It is only fair to the OP.

 

[Importer]

I think the fairest summary I can make of this thread is that there are some parts of Clondalkin worse than others but the worst parts of Clondalkin are the worst in the whole city.

The OP ,depending on where they are considering purchasing will be living in a very rough area or very close to a very rough area.

There is a reason why housing is affordable here. Take a few bus trips around Clondalkin during the day. If you don't see anything that disturbs you either on the bus or outside the bus then buy away to your hearts content.

 

[fintans]

Never lived in c'dalkin but indeed I haven't lived in 99% of areas in dublin but still entitled to an opinion about it. My impression is that clondalkin is for the most part a pretty rough area that you would want to think long and hard about moving to is a pretty genuine observation that many would share. Sorry to be frank but I'd rather give someone an honest opinion than to pretend that clondalkin is an area where I would recommend someone buy a house.

I think my original comments started this unholy row! I stand by my comments that clondalkin is a bit of a hole and to be avoided if you have your head screwed on as a first time buyer. All of the 'clondalkin-heads' have said I don't live there so I can't give an opinion on it. However I don't agree with this.

That's like saying you can't have an opinion on New York, Ballsbridge or Paris because you haven't lived there. Of course you can if you wish and you have the intelligence to do your homework on somewhere and come to an educated opinion on it!! I drive through clondalkin regularly and do work out there in the field I'm in, but thank god I don't have to live there. I was advising the OP in good faith not to buy a property there because it's a dodgy part of dublin and I stand over that no matter what the good residents of clondalkin feel about it.

 

[boaber]

I mean, be reasonable, you said yourself circumstances forced you to live here. Try and be fair to someone who actually has a choice in the matter.

I never said I was forced to live in Clondalkin and I DID have a choice.

I looked at many areas and chose to live in Clondalkin after I had researched the area. Nobody forced me!