firsttimebuy
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- 129
A friend of mine is thinking of buying an apartment in the IFSC, would anyone recommend buying there? Are there any social problems in that area?
Ifsc
- Thread starter firsttimebuy
- Start date
Very convenient, but I wouldn't live there (even though I work fairly close at hand). Apparently a bit dead at the weekends, but there are certainly a lot more shops/restaurants than there were 4/5 years ago. I would imagine that apartments would be "pricey", especially give the size of cc apartments, but that's my own belief, others may differ. I don't know if there are too many/any "social problems".
jellyshots
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- 54
I recently lived there for a year and while I loved it there are a few things to keep in mind;
1. The nightlife in the area is crap the bars are dead after 9 in the evening (when the office crowd head off) and are absolutely empty at the weekends but I actually liked this because it meant the area was quiet at night and it's only a 10min walk to O'Connell bridge when you want to party.
2. Most apartments are set well back from the quays so you don't have any worries with noisy traffic going past your window and the apartments are spacious and well built not like some of the cardboard they stick up today.
3. Seemed to be a lot of people renting like me and moving in/out so you will never really get to know the neighbours which would bug me a little if I was buying there but may not bother other people, I suppose it's part of apartment life these days.
3. Everything is on your doorstep Centra/Marks n Sparks, a college, gym, some nice restaurants and while the bars are quiet they are nice and because it's quiet you get to know the staff easily.
4. Here is the weird part though, it was quite possibly the safest place I have ever lived because there are cameras/security guards everywhere due to all the banks/offices BUT i was often woken up by joyriders smashing up stolen cars in Sheriff Street right behind the apartment. The police helicopter was even out a few times complete with huge spotlight and that fecking thing is loud.
All in all I loved it there and would be back tomorrow if I won the lotto.
1. The nightlife in the area is crap the bars are dead after 9 in the evening (when the office crowd head off) and are absolutely empty at the weekends but I actually liked this because it meant the area was quiet at night and it's only a 10min walk to O'Connell bridge when you want to party.
2. Most apartments are set well back from the quays so you don't have any worries with noisy traffic going past your window and the apartments are spacious and well built not like some of the cardboard they stick up today.
3. Seemed to be a lot of people renting like me and moving in/out so you will never really get to know the neighbours which would bug me a little if I was buying there but may not bother other people, I suppose it's part of apartment life these days.
3. Everything is on your doorstep Centra/Marks n Sparks, a college, gym, some nice restaurants and while the bars are quiet they are nice and because it's quiet you get to know the staff easily.
4. Here is the weird part though, it was quite possibly the safest place I have ever lived because there are cameras/security guards everywhere due to all the banks/offices BUT i was often woken up by joyriders smashing up stolen cars in Sheriff Street right behind the apartment. The police helicopter was even out a few times complete with huge spotlight and that fecking thing is loud.
All in all I loved it there and would be back tomorrow if I won the lotto.
Rockahoola
Registered User
- Messages
- 14
firsttimebuy
I have lived with my wife in the ifsc for 5 years. Have loved it.
Pros
- Facilities on my doorstep that are rivalled nowhere to my mind: Marks and Spencers; A large Mace supermarket; Spar; AIB Bank branch; Pharmacy; Medical Centre (including minor surgeries done in-house); Barber (and hair salon/beauty centre, Therapie, for the girls..and I'm sure some guys!); Gym and swimming pool in Clarion Hotel; Florist; One of the best wine shops in Dublin, Cabots; 2 Dry Cleaners; Restaurants/Cafes (too many to mention but best are Milano and Il Fornaio for the cheap and cheerful pizza/pasta&wine; Espresso cafe for the classy brunch; Il Corte for the best coffee in town; D1 for the upscale evening experience - the best views in Dublin to my mind; Harbourmaster for the football and roaring fire on the weekend; 7th Heaven for super-healthy lunches; Kudos in Clarion Hotel for a quick Thai dish in the evening and lunch); New business supplies/stationary shop just opened up; Creche.
- 5-10 mins from anywhere you need to go in city centre
- No traffic to endure as you can walk everywhere.
- 15 minutes walk from work (but that's shorter for anyone I know who lives here as they actually work in the ifsc). And yes, it's great getting up every morning at 8.20am.
- Quiet in the evenings/weekends, so none of the noise/crap on your doorstep that you might have to put with in, say, temple bar. I can't understand why the people below think a quiet place near to the city centre is a bad thing! It's ideal!!
- New bridge means you are 5-10 minutes from Merrion Square, National Gallery etc.
- Two hotels to put up anyone you can't accommodate in the apartment!
- Unrivalled views for the St Patricks Day fireworks.
- If you are into theatre, in the last few years the location of the fringe festival spiegeltent and the Footsbarn theatre in the ifsc has been fantastic. We spent many great evenings at the fringe festival recently, and only 3 minutes from home. And the latest is that the Abbey will relocate to the ifsc (not that it's too far away anyway).
- IFSC is on the waterfront and most places are south-facing (can enjoy the sun when it comes out!).
- The government are spending a fortune redeveloping the docklands, so the best is yet to come. It's not like any other are where you're 'stuck' with what the area has. Every few months, the DDDA come out with something new development or enterpries - it's great. Spencer Dock hasn't even started yet... it's a whole new area about to come on-stream. And it's a joy seeing the rest of the quays developing before our eyes every evening when we come home
- The city centre is right beside you. It's alive, it edgy, it's breathes.... it's not boring old humdrum suburbia where 'bland' prevails (but that's just mu opinion!).
Cons
- You can't join in the 'traffic was terrible this morning' conversations in work.
- You don't get to listen to the radio in the morning, because you haven't sat in a car for most of it.
- You have no idea what the intersections are on the M50, because you have no reason to go out there.
- You occasionally are a bit tired at work, having been out the night before in town.
- On the 'social problems' front, I'm not entirely sure what you mean. Let's be straight, there are a good mix of people living in the ifsc. So it ain't malahide-central uniformity. You have the 'locals', the 'social housing', the 'foreigners', the 'yaws', the 'hotel guests', the 'renters', the 'suits', the 'country-renters', the 'gym crowd', the 'tourists' etc. etc.. You get a full range of accents from 'hardest dub-a-lin' to 'Fionn and Yasmin from Dalkey in their pied-a-terre 5th floor soopah apartmento', and everything in between. The cars in my apartment block were 'done' once, but no more. We have a local guy in minding the place, and it's been kosher since. No apartment in my block has been robbed. That is an excellent track record for anywhere in the city centre. It is city centre though, so you are security-conscious anyway but we're talking pure common sense here. The sheer range of people is what I love about living here. It's alive! There are no 'problems' unless you make them.
I have lived with my wife in the ifsc for 5 years. Have loved it.
Pros
- Facilities on my doorstep that are rivalled nowhere to my mind: Marks and Spencers; A large Mace supermarket; Spar; AIB Bank branch; Pharmacy; Medical Centre (including minor surgeries done in-house); Barber (and hair salon/beauty centre, Therapie, for the girls..and I'm sure some guys!); Gym and swimming pool in Clarion Hotel; Florist; One of the best wine shops in Dublin, Cabots; 2 Dry Cleaners; Restaurants/Cafes (too many to mention but best are Milano and Il Fornaio for the cheap and cheerful pizza/pasta&wine; Espresso cafe for the classy brunch; Il Corte for the best coffee in town; D1 for the upscale evening experience - the best views in Dublin to my mind; Harbourmaster for the football and roaring fire on the weekend; 7th Heaven for super-healthy lunches; Kudos in Clarion Hotel for a quick Thai dish in the evening and lunch); New business supplies/stationary shop just opened up; Creche.
- 5-10 mins from anywhere you need to go in city centre
- No traffic to endure as you can walk everywhere.
- 15 minutes walk from work (but that's shorter for anyone I know who lives here as they actually work in the ifsc). And yes, it's great getting up every morning at 8.20am.
- Quiet in the evenings/weekends, so none of the noise/crap on your doorstep that you might have to put with in, say, temple bar. I can't understand why the people below think a quiet place near to the city centre is a bad thing! It's ideal!!
- New bridge means you are 5-10 minutes from Merrion Square, National Gallery etc.
- Two hotels to put up anyone you can't accommodate in the apartment!
- Unrivalled views for the St Patricks Day fireworks.
- If you are into theatre, in the last few years the location of the fringe festival spiegeltent and the Footsbarn theatre in the ifsc has been fantastic. We spent many great evenings at the fringe festival recently, and only 3 minutes from home. And the latest is that the Abbey will relocate to the ifsc (not that it's too far away anyway).
- IFSC is on the waterfront and most places are south-facing (can enjoy the sun when it comes out!).
- The government are spending a fortune redeveloping the docklands, so the best is yet to come. It's not like any other are where you're 'stuck' with what the area has. Every few months, the DDDA come out with something new development or enterpries - it's great. Spencer Dock hasn't even started yet... it's a whole new area about to come on-stream. And it's a joy seeing the rest of the quays developing before our eyes every evening when we come home
- The city centre is right beside you. It's alive, it edgy, it's breathes.... it's not boring old humdrum suburbia where 'bland' prevails (but that's just mu opinion!).
Cons
- You can't join in the 'traffic was terrible this morning' conversations in work.
- You don't get to listen to the radio in the morning, because you haven't sat in a car for most of it.
- You have no idea what the intersections are on the M50, because you have no reason to go out there.
- You occasionally are a bit tired at work, having been out the night before in town.
- On the 'social problems' front, I'm not entirely sure what you mean. Let's be straight, there are a good mix of people living in the ifsc. So it ain't malahide-central uniformity. You have the 'locals', the 'social housing', the 'foreigners', the 'yaws', the 'hotel guests', the 'renters', the 'suits', the 'country-renters', the 'gym crowd', the 'tourists' etc. etc.. You get a full range of accents from 'hardest dub-a-lin' to 'Fionn and Yasmin from Dalkey in their pied-a-terre 5th floor soopah apartmento', and everything in between. The cars in my apartment block were 'done' once, but no more. We have a local guy in minding the place, and it's been kosher since. No apartment in my block has been robbed. That is an excellent track record for anywhere in the city centre. It is city centre though, so you are security-conscious anyway but we're talking pure common sense here. The sheer range of people is what I love about living here. It's alive! There are no 'problems' unless you make them.
