Irish/Aussie: Retirees from Oz need info on Portlaoise

Black Sheep said:
As you are retiring to Ireland I think there are a few things you should take into account (which you may or may not have thought about) re the location of your new home.
You will have more time to visit your family than they have to visit you so think about the journey by public transport
As you both like to travel and husband is a Dub. choose a home close to a bus or train station.
Once you are age 66 and permanently resident in Ireland you will have a Free Travel pass for all public transport.
By the way there are a few other perks for pensioners but that can be checked out when you arrive.
Good luck with the move!
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Hi Black Sheep
Thanks for your advice. We have looked into that and we are aware of the perks. The good train service was one of the reasons we considered Portlaoise. We are in the travel pass age group(don't tell anyone). We are well acquainted with pensions, health care etc. We have been back to Ireland several times and all entitlements have been looked into. You see we are seasoned travellers- lived Dublin, England, Kildare, Sydney, Perth, &, presently Bunburywhich is South of Perth. Life is about adventure but set goals and know what you want!
You know Black Sheep, we want to return to Ireland to meet people like you, and, the other participants who have bothered to give me their support. Do you Know how caring you are? That's the kind of stuff we miss! Irish people don't even know their unique qualities - it comes naturally.
Black Sheep, you are a very practical person. I like that. I think you should change your title to Golden Fleece.

Have a great day and take care.
IrishAussie
 
Deirdra said:
Hmm, a few people leaving Ireland and heading for places like Australia. Sounds like it will be a big culture shock moving back to Ireland. Would you consider doing a house swop before committing to a permanent move?
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Hi Deirdra

Yes, it will be a change coming back. We are somewhat apprehensive but my motto is "feel the fear and do it anyway". We have a huge extended family in Ireland and will get a lot of support. The big shock will be the weather!
Immigrating to Australia, with 4 children, was a big move and we gained a lot of experience from that.
If you believe in yourself and have faith in your own capabilities you can succeed at anything. As some wise man said "If you think you can you are right,and, if you think you can't you're right".
We haven't come to this decision overnight we have been working on it for quite a while, planning and looking at the pros and cons.
In answer to your question re house swap, no, we will not be doing that. We will be selling our home, as, it is much too large for us. We have to downsize regardless of where we live.
Are you thinking of coming to Australia Deirdra? It's a great country, and, is a very good move for young people with skills, and, a determination to succeed. The Aussies love the Irish. Sure why would'nt they, we are a grand lot!
Deirdra, thank you for your input to my enquiry, it is much appreciated.
Take good care of YOU.
IrishAussie
 
My wife and I are currently looking to buy in the Portlaoise area (for work reasons) and have been exploring the environs for the last 18 months or so. Property prices have not really begun to reflect whats happening on the ground (as yet), so we haven't bit the bullet.

We went to Esker Hills, Lake Drive and a whole lot of the other "new" estates, to try to get a feel for the area. From a personal perspective- it seems that Portlaoise is sprawling in an impossible manner- with bizarre amounts of new housing after having gone up. Some of the new apartment blocks are being gutted and refitted as office space, as its obvious that they are totally unsaleable.

If you have lived in Naas or Kill previously- Portlaoise is nothing whatsoever like they are. Its a town whose main employment is the public sector (which does insulate it somewhat from the carnage in the private sector)- but which has grown exponentially in size over the past couple of years with what appears to be next to no planning, or investment in facilities and amenities for teh explosion in its population (with the exception of childcare- it has a strange number of creches / kindergardens facilities). The major delineation in the town is the railway line- the bulk of the development has been to the Abbeyleix side of the line. Superquinn are due to shortly open there, and there is the obligatory warehouse area with its Homebase type units etc.

Most of the new properties have impossibly small gardens- which is a major deciding factor for us, but a plus is that they tend to be equipped with fast broadband and/or cable (which older areas are piggybacking onto). If you're looking at an older property be aware of sewage facilities- just because its almost right in the town does not mean it doesn't have a septic tank in the garden....... (as we discovered on several properties).

We have already pretty much ruled out living in Portlaoise proper and are looking at the surrounding towns- most notably the Heritage town of Abbeyleix just down the road. Abbeyleix has a bad name as a major bottleneck on the Cork road- but a bypass is due to open in a couple of month's time, which should transform the place. There are also a few interesting developments over towards Hill60, Killminchy etc.

If you are looking at Portlaoise from a transport perspective- the railway link is really good- but if you go up the road a little to Portarlington you get a much more frequent service (or indeed next town up the road Monasterevin you get the Dublin Arrow trains (? so I've been informed)). There is also motorway the whole way to the M50- so potentially you could be in Dublin city centre in under an hour and half (depending on the time of day).

Before committing yourself to anything- I'd suggest you rent for a while and get a better feel for the area.
 
Hi smccarrick
Thanks for your very informative response. There seems to be pros and cons about living in Portlaoise according to the advice I've got so far. I have had some very sound advice from a few PM's who live in Portlaoise and gave me detailed information on the best suburbs and the "no-go" areas to avoid. I found their advice to be almost identical re the best suburbs to live in. They really knew what they were talking about.

The general trend seems to be WAIT as the real property downturn has not started to hit yet. We are biding our time and will watch the market closely.
Our preferred option would still be Naas, if, and, when the price is right. They are really holding out in that area. A friend of my son's, who has long associations with the building business, sent us a message to hold out until at least the end of 2009.

smccarrick, if I can give you some advive from a distance, you too would be wise to move cautiously and play the waiting game.
Whatever your decision I wish you the best of luck. Thanks again for taking the time to reply to my query-much appreciated.
Have a great day.
IrishAussie
 
Hi there,

I have just moved away from Portlaoise and sold my 4 bedroom semi detached house for €240k. The house market is really bad at present and no matter what any estate agent says houses just aren't selling it took us 6 months to sell and the asking price was €260k to start with. Our house was in Forest Park and it was in a nice area lots of green areas, also we found there was a nice mix of young and old and the bungalows are really nice.

We moved away as the travelling to Dublin was to much everyday for work and glad we sold when we did as we moved to the Jersey and house prices are still rising here.

I honestly think you should be able to get a 3 bedroom detached bungalow in Forestpark at present for around €215k next year I think you will be able to get one for €195k although this is guess work but I seen a three bed semi detached house sell for €180k recently as the seller wanted a quick sale.

My advise is just don't rush into buying at the moment as you may be able to buy in the area you want next year, but Portlaoise is very central if you have family all over Ireland.

I wish you all the best on your move.
 
weak aud in mind, you might be best looking at a target exchange rate if you are sending money back rather than let the bank give you poor rates. aud is very weak at the moment but has recovered from 2.05 to 1.9, thats over 7% movement in the week
 
Big Jimmy said:
Hi there,


I honestly think you should be able to get a 3 bedroom detached bungalow in Forestpark at present for around €215k next year I think you will be able to get one for €195k although this is guess work but I seen a three bed semi detached house sell for €180k recently as the seller wanted a quick sale.

My advise is just don't rush into buying at the moment as you may be able to buy in the area you want next year, but Portlaoise is very central if you have family all over Ireland.

I wish you all the best on your move.
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G'day Big Jimmy,
Thanks for the detailed info. As you advised, we have decided to wait until next year as that seems to be the advice from most people. Portlaoise seems promising and is very central as you say. However, we would still love to live in Naas. I am keeping a close eye on the market and Naas seems to be holding fast to their high prices. They don't seem to get the message that the buyers are not very active at present. We live in hope!

May I take this opportunity to wish you the best of luck in your move. Why Jersey?
Have a great day and many blessings come your way.
IrishAussie
 
We moved to Jersey as the tax benefits are much better and a job offer also I had bought a block of flats many years ago in Scotland which a developer wanted to buy from me and the Capital Gains Tax is nil in Jersey. I had only been in Ireland for a couple of years and to pay the Tax would of been more than I earned in a year.

Also no more commuting to Dublin or worrying about house being broken into and always ensuring that the house alarm is set when leaving in the morning. We didn't buy a house in Jersey though, we bought in the Isle of Man as again it has low tax and we lived there for 11 years before going to Ireland, also property is affordable we bought a 3 bedroom bungalow for £300k. We move over to the Isle of Man next May and it easy for us to visit Ireland as there is a good plane service to Dublin

I am glad I went to Ireland but lot more happier to have left, my wife is from Laois and she was glad to leave as she said it wasn't the same place that she left 15 years ago.

I personally would rent when you move over, it will make things very easy if you decide it is not for you.
 
mooney76 said:
weak aud in mind, you might be best looking at a target exchange rate if you are sending money back rather than let the bank give you poor rates. aud is very weak at the moment but has recovered from 2.05 to 1.9, thats over 7% movement in the week
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G'day mooney76
Thanks for your input. Yes, I agree the Aus$ is not good at present. Our daughter is a bank manager and will be advising re financial matters.
This is not the time to move by the looks of the present situation in Ireland. It's a wait and see game.
It is a very big step to take, we have got positive and negative comments from people, but, ultimately everyone has their own reasons for making a major life changing decision. We made a major leap in '86 when we went to Australia with 4 children in early teens. The children went through a very tough time adjusting-it was a real culture shock for them! No friends, adjusting to new schools etc.
After that experience returning to Ireland will not be too daunting. I could write a book on that- we learned a lot the hard way. Too far to run home to Mammy- this was make or break time! We made it, and, we all love Australia. We met so many amazing people of all Nationalities. The Aussies are great and it's an amazing country! So you ask, why are we returning!

We are now all over the world i.e. USA, Australia and Ireland. So we want to return to family- Ireland is still in our blood. Yes, we know Ireland has changed but so have we. The Irish are still so caring, friendly and always ready to lend a hand. Come on give yourselves a clap in the back. What a sense of humour! Look, you joined in on this blog to give me advise- as well as the other lovely people on this forum. That's what the Irish are all about. You automatically give - you are the most generous people in the world.! Up Ireland!

We would love to hear from other Retirees who have made the return trip.
Anyway mooney, I must leave you now with an Irish blessing.
"May you live as long as you want and never want as long as you live."
Have a great day,
IrishAussie
 
Big Jimmy said:
.
Also no more commuting to Dublin or worrying about house being broken into and always ensuring that the house alarm is set when leaving in the morning. We move over to the Isle of Man next May and it easy for us to visit Ireland as there is a good plane service to Dublin

I am glad I went to Ireland but lot more happier to have left, my wife is from Laois and she was glad to leave as she said it wasn't the same place that she left 15 years ago.
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Hi Big Jimmy
Well I hope all goes well for you in the Isle of Man. You seem to have it all worked out. You are leaving Ireland for your own special reasons and we are going there for our special reasons. Are there no burglars in the Isle of Man? No alarms to set! Or, are you trying to tell me Ireland is not too safe?
Driving to Dublin every day from Portlaoise would be rather stressful I'd imagine. The traffic problems in Ireland are pretty bad.
Laois will have changed a lot in the past 15 years - nowhere stays static. It is now multi-cultural which is a new experience for Ireland. Times they are a changin'.
Well Big Jimmy I wish you well on your journey and "As you slide down the Banister of Life May the splinters never point in the wrong direction"

Regards
IrishAussie
 
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