Commuter towns?

I am thinking of buying my first home, and with a mortgage approval of around 260K (FTB, buying alone) and a thing for green open outdoors and a 9-6 job in City Centre, what would be an ideal area to start looking at? I am more inclined towards the commute, as I was told homes in the commuter towns are much bigger and spacious, however, how would they fair (compared to city centre apartments, or houses in Blanchardstown or Lucan) when the inevitable higher interest rates comes into place and investors moves on to greener pastures?

Thanks in advance!

find a commuter town with a train service in to the side of the city where you work. otherwise your 9am-6pm day could become 6am-9pm

Unregistered said:

I am thinking of buying my first home, and with a mortgage approval of around 260K (FTB, buying alone) and a thing for green open outdoors and a 9-6 job in City Centre, what would be an ideal area to start looking at?

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The Phoenix Park is a big green open space smack in the middle of the city but I'm not sure what you might get for your budget in the surrounding areas.

however, how would they fair (compared to city centre apartments, or houses in Blanchardstown or Lucan) when the inevitable higher interest rates comes into place and investors moves on to greener pastures?

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What do you mean by "would they be fair..."?

If you are thinking of buying west of dublin be prepared for long commutes. The roads are heavily clogged every day. The N4 is terrible during the rush hour(s).

Have a look at greystones / charlesland areas.
Not without its issues, but has dart into town and a lot of outdoor activities.

Not sure where you work in town but I would look at somewhere like Cabra or parts of Inchicore / Kilmainham. The reasons are that you can still just about get a 2 bed in your price range, you'll have your own front door, front and back gardens probably, be v close to the phoenix park for the green open space requirement and be a walk (approx 30 - 40 minutes depending) or an easy public transport route to town.
I don't see the point in getting a bigger house with more space and then spending 2 hours a day in your cramped car.

What age are you? I think this should have a major factor in your decision, because the difference between living in the city or the commuter belt will have a massive impact on your lifestyle.

If you have kids or are planning on it soon enough then I can understand the need for the open spaces. If you are mid twenties with no kids and have an active social life then ask yourself where do you want to live – in the middle of nowhere (from a social scene point of view) or within a short distance of Dublin city which is where youre most likely gonna be meeting friends, heading to parties etc.

My sisters friend told me I was mad buying in D12 as you get less square footage for your money than in the commuter belt. IMHO you should decide where you want to live first and then figure out what you can afford in that area, not vice versa. The sisters friend bought in Prosperous, that’s 8 miles beyond Naas! And she told me its only 35 minutes to the city centre in the morning so I told her I didn’t know Kildare had a city centre. Seriously though, until now Ive been based 6 miles from Dublin city centre and I’d do well to get halfway into town in 35 minutes in the morning, so it must be a nice spaceship she has there. Thing is though, this person is only 26 yet can’t go out in Dublin city centre without going back to mammy and daddys place cos just think of how much a taxi to Prosperous would be even if they would take you there. But she does have a nice relatively big house though (even if it is a new build which I would avoid like the plague cos of the ridiculously low build standards these days, but that’s another days thread).

Whatever you decide to do base it on the facts and don’t be duped by the ads or stories from people too proud to admit it – traffic to and from the commuter belt at anything near rush hours (note plural) is mayhem and will have a significant impact on your quality of life if you cannot reschedule so that you work unusual hours to avoid the rush – or get the train as recommended above.

OhPinchy said:

If you have kids or are planning on it soon enough then I can understand the need for the open spaces.

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Not being smart but I don't necessarily see the link between wide open spaces (in the countryside I presume?) and having kids. In any case I'm not sure how many wide open spaces exist in commuter belt satellite towns of the major conurbations in Ireland.

First of all apologies if my first post was not very clear, and thanks a million all the suggestions!

I am 28 (feeling thirty already, IT job!!) but I wouldn’t bother too much about nightlife etc, as I tend to socialise outside the pub scene (unusually low tolerance to alcohol is not the only reason though). Kids are on the agenda around 2007 or so (as soon as we both finish our part time masters).

And yes, I wouldn’t commute by car even if someone pays me to do that – I drive to city centre from blanch, and I am wrecked before I get to work! I totally agree with eammon, fly, pinchy and others, driving into city is just nuts!! I was thinking more like trains when I mentioned ‘commuter town'. I work right in city centre, minutes away from O’Connell St, seconds from Luas stop etc.

Fly, Kilmainham sounds attractive enough, but last time I checked my budget is barely enough for a two bed apartment. I love Phoenix Park, I would have bought a similar apartment in The Village etc (Ashtown) any time for that money, but they are 300K and above!!

Clubman, let me rephrase it – my question was, how would properties in commuter towns (3/4bed house, close to railway line, half or one hour commute etc) do compared to Dublin properties, when property prices stabilize/appreciate/depreciate (based on known factors like interest rate increase, supply meets demands, downturn in economy etc etc).

Thanks again!!

Unregistered said:

Clubman, let me rephrase it – my question was, how would properties in commuter towns (3/4bed house, close to railway line, half or one hour commute etc) do compared to Dublin properties, when property prices stabilize/appreciate/depreciate (based on known factors like interest rate increase, supply meets demands, downturn in economy etc etc).

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Very difficult if not impossible question to give a meaningful answer to I'm afraid. Depends a lot on the individual areas themselves, the types of properties available, the immediately surrounding economy etc. etc. Too many variables to make any meaningful generalisations I reckon.

How about Drogheda/Dundalk as a long shot?

Both have train services into Dublin, ports, motorways, and are big enough for a social scene that doesn't involve pubs. The Drogheda train service into Dublin is meant to be pretty good (and will be upgraded in the future). I think there's even a private bus service from Dundalk, via the M1, into Dublin for 9am.

Various people/businesses/agencies in the Drogheda(?)/Dundalk/Newry area are trying to establish this region as a serious alternative to Dublin and Belfast. The cost of living and cost of doing business are much less than Dublin/Belfast but this region has several ports, excellent transport links, and is close to Dublin/Belfast airports.

Living in Drogheda/Dundalk could be like hedging your bets. Initially commute to Dublin (with a cheaper cost of living) but IF the region takes off, you could get a job locally. In fact, there is a Drogheda company that makes laptops (iqon??)

Well a bit closer to the city centre is Balbriggan. We're both originally from the Northside of the city, but had to move further north to get a reasonably sized house to match our budget; we wouldn't have got a 1 bedroom apartment in our home areas with the money we had.
For your money, you could get a 4 bed 1300 sq ft end of terrace house in a local estate with €10K spare change. Or a 3 bed semi-d with about the same spare change.
The town is being rejuvenated at the moment, with some things coming online faster than others. For example, local issues include; the state of the link roads to the M1 and lack of seats on certain rush hour trains. However, a new cinema is due for completion by the end of the summer, the local supermarket is being extended, as it the hotel. The Seal Sanctuary is due to be constructed in the next few years, and the local GAA club is in the process of being upgraded.
The cost of living is slightly less than that in the big smoke, take aways, shopping, childcare, beauty treatments and drink to name but a few. The seafront is amazing for long walks & you're closer in commute time to Newry than the city centre for shopping on a Saturday. Maybe I'm biased, but I can't speak highly enough for Balbriggan
It's a great place to bring up kids, as soon as the weather is good, Little Miss Mo is gone from one end of the day to the other, and there are loads of young couples around.
Sorry, i meant to say, I work in Ballsbridge and my commute to work takes approx 55 mins on the train, and i've spent longer on some buses to the city centre from Malahide!

I'd also recommend Balbriggan more so than Drogheda etc as it has a nightlink (and bus eireann nightrider) so it's easier to keep a social life in town!

I've only been to Newry once and that took over an hour whereas it takes me only 40 mins to get to work in the city centre every morning (train takes about the same time as the car unless there's a delay).

I heard from a builder that while a cinema is being built they can't find a buyer so it may be sold off as individual units instead - not sure how true that is. There's a dunnes stores and a few other shops being built at the back of a few new estates and theres planning permission for 52 shop units somewhere on the cr*p road between balbriggan and the M1.

There are 5 salons in the town at the moment which is great but no gym which is crap (unless you count the newly opened Haven Body but that's a bit like curves so wouldn't rate it myself).

There's only 1 Indian restaurant (in a pub) and it's not very nice at all unless you're starving and have never had Indian food before, so I find I have to travel a bit for a decent take-away!

Used to live in Blanch but wouldn't buy a house there because the commute to town just took way too long, it was ridiculous.

Why not check out daft.ie or myhome.ie to see what you can afford in different areas. I know that there are definitely houses available in Cabra for €260 (may require some work). It also sounds as if at some stage you will both be on quite substantial incomes, so you are probably looking at this next house for just a few years and then either upgrade to a bigger house or extend. Could be worth even considering renting until then, and really having your choice of location.
Also, Inchicore definitely has houses in your price bracket and is on the luas for easy access to O'Connell street - and its walkable as well.

Move to another country where there is a lot more choice and get much more 4 your money.

I find a sniff through the local paper will give you an insight into an area. For Balbriggan this would be the Fingal Independent available through Unison (registration required). For Drogheda it would the Drogheda Independent (duh) also available on Unison. Personally I think the DI tend to make news out of nothing and can dramatise the smallest incidents, its not a pleasant read, but living on the outskirts of Drogheda has been a pleasant experience. Do check into the local schools and available doctors and other services, the schools in Laytown/Bettystown are a bursting point.

Clubman,

Thanks for the thoughtful comment, and while I understand prices would depend highly on immediate surrounding, area and its growth, and house type etc, I guess I am still trying to understand how commuter town house prices would perform <b>on an average</b>, compared to <a>average </a>Dublin prices. I perfectly understand all replies will be biased, and pure speculation, but I am still curious!

Sluice, thanks for the post, and yes, Drogheda sounds very good to me. Dundalk may be a bit too far out, but with less than an hour (30-50 mins with Intercity) Drogheda looks very good! However, I hear horror stories about evening rush hour!

Mo3art and Cahir, thanks a million for the comments, very helpful indeed. Sounds like a lot of house for money in Ballbriggan. Fly, the other half is not very happy with some of the areas that you mentioned, bad reputation I suppose, thanks for you thoughts though.

Thanks for the comment Stobear, Drogheda sounds nice. Just wondering what are the living expenses in Drogheda like? I read there is a serious problem with schools etc, but how is childcare, crèches etc?

The other unregistered, good point, we have it in the back of our mind and we are hoping to move somewhere else around or after 2010 - 2015.

Thanks everyone, much appreciated!!

Unregistered said:

Thanks for the comment Stobear, Drogheda sounds nice. Just wondering what are the living expenses in Drogheda like? I read there is a serious problem with schools etc, but how is childcare, crèches etc?

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We do a monthly shop in Newry, v good value, there is a bit of a population explosion in the East Meath area so childcare is in high demand, we had to move further afield for childcare as the only creche in our area didn't take babies under 1 yr old. But some will see this as an opportunity to open a creche, there are very generous grants to be had in providing a service to a community.

Also have a think about Skerries - it's a beautiful place to live, has plenty of open green spaces, a great beach, and a quaint harbour.
For commuting purposes, the regular train service will bring you right to Tara st where you can easily connect to the Dart. The 33 bus also brings you straight into town in around 40 mins.
House prices there have started to increase and you should see a decent enough return on your investment should you decide to sell up in the next few years.

But isn't the morning and evening trains just stuffed on the way in a way out, you would never get a seat. The capacity is improving but dont assume you will get a seat everyday. Skerries is a lovely spot though, lovely village atmosphere. Rush and Lusk in my opinion are becoming overpopulated