County Cavan/Leitrim

Hello,

My husband & I are moving back to Ireland this year from the States and are considering County Cavan or Leitrim as a place to live and was hoping to get people's opinion on any areas to avoid. Husband is in construction (carpenter, foreman) so hopefully he will be able to get work within a 30 mile radius. I work in Human Resources/Payroll and think I may have a hard time getting work so will consider other jobs. We like hiking, biking, swimming, boating and walking our dogs and that's really it! Social life, we would go out for dinner maybe once a week and rarely go to Cinema or Theatres. We are used to travelling long distances to get to work or shops as have been doing that in US for over 8 years so lack of public transport not a problem for us. We like a feeling of space and nice sceanery and a biggish house not on top of each other which is why we don't want to live somewhere like Dublin. Visited Cavan for a couple of days over Christmas and Virgina seemed to be the nicest area and thought Kingscourt and Ballyjamesduff seemed a bit rough and dirty. Have only seen Leitrim via the internet and Carrick on Shannon and Drumshambo look nice. Any views greatly appreciated. We will be renting for a year to see if we like it etc. Thank you.

I was driving from Donegal to Dublin at the weekend and when going from Virginia to Kells I took a detour around by Mullagh and Moynalty to avoid some football match traffic. I was very impressed, lovely area. Both villages have Tidy Towns awards and are very well kept. The one thing that would be missing for me is the sea but lots of towns etc in the area - Cavan, Virginia, Kells etc - lots going on there.

If you don't have to commute to Dublin in my opinion you couldn't get two better counties in value for money terms than these two. However if the building trade takes a downturn in the future your husband may be stuck for work. Cavan is getting more and more built up itself and even though Virginia is a lovely spot there is a phenomenal amount of house building around that area due it it being, believe it or not, now in the commuter belt (from Dublin). I would consider Leitrim, it really is one of the most beautiful counties and pretty much undiscovered. Have you considered Donegal??

Or Mayo or Sligo.

Leitrim has a lot going for it but consider Mayo and County Sligo as well - Leitrim only has a mile of coastline so as AnnR mentioned, you'd be missing the sea if you like doing your swimming and boating in the sea instead of lakes. In terms of HR and payroll jobs - there might be something in the area or something related in Carrick-on-Shannon or Sligo town.

Thanks for all the replies. Please keep them coming!

I'm from Sligo originally and am familiar enough with Leitrim although I wouldn't be there very often so some of my information is bound to be out of date!!

Dromahair village in Co. Leitrim is a very pretty village - very old-fashioned kind of place on a river, with beautiful countryside around it. There have been at least three new developments of detached and semi-detached houses very close to the village recently so that has diminished its attraction somewhat. There might still be sites available further out of the village though.

I've also heard some good things about Manorhamilton - bigger town (population of around 1500 or so) so more going on like restaurants and I think they have a theatre but I'm not sure. Should be good for hiking and fishing too.

Ballinamore is nice too - more built up than the other two but it has more facilities. Has a lake or a river too - can't remember which.

There's probably more information on leitrim.ie.

Not sure if you're aware of this or not but there were huge tax incentives for developers who built in Leitrim and people who bought new houses there benefitted as well. But I believe that the downside is supposed to be that many of these houses stand empty and that many villages, like Dromahair, have been subjected to a large increase in houses and population in a very short space of time, without the village being equipped to deal with the increase!

Carrick on Shannon is nice, but not all that cheap; plenty of work around there though, and also lots of opportunities just down the road in Sligo. New road from Carrick on Shannon to Sligo, and also good rail connection.

Have you thought about Boyle in North Roscommon, ten miles from Carrick on Shannon in the Sligo direction. I know someone who bought a house there a few weeks back and it was surprisingly cheap -- very nice 4 bed/2 bath home on over an acre with stables etc for 220k! Lots of places for sale there and appears to be very much a buyers market.

I was in that area a week or so ago and I was amazed at Carick on Shannon in particular -- loads of new stores, all the big names, and a great quality of life. Are we all mad, living on the expensive east coast?

Cavan has 365 lakes one for each day of the year. Very nice lakes around Bailieborough, Virginia and Shercock. Good for boating and fishing. People are commuting to Dublin from all of these towns. All are within easy reach of the bigger towns ofCavan, Kells, Navan, Dundalk and of course Newry in northern Ireland. Good luck with your search.

Virginia is indeed a lovely town and as one contributor said, has experienced phenomenal growth in the last decade which puts shops, schools and other (non-existant at the moment) recreational facilities under immense pressure. I love the town and have often considered moving back there (i grew up there) but the lack of a social scene and lack of privacy (its still a small place!!) also makes it less attractive. Remember what you see on a sunny weekend driving through is not what you see on a wet mid week dark evening.

Also, i feel that the huge number of tradesmen in these areas will lead to significantly reduced incomes in future years as building in the area slows down. Already people i know commute to Dublin everyday for plumbing and electrical work.

We could all sit here and offer opinions on a place but who knows what your needs are really. Whatever you decide, good luck with it and i hope it works out.

Thank you all so much for your input. I am still trying to decide between Cavan and Leitrim but we are lucky in that we can rent in one area and if we don't like it we can try another area later. I know we want to avoid Dublin at all costs. Both of us grew up there and just don't like it at all, we are not big city people. Nothing against the place or people who live there, but as people have said it just depends on what you are looking for in a place and Dublin or other large cities, like Galway, are just not what we are into. We are much more into the great outdoors than a lively night life. I know the job scene is not as good outside of Dublin and the social life is not as lively but then our idea of hell is to be in a noisy pub or Grafton Street! What is the crime like in Cavan or Leitrim? Is petty crime still a big problem? We are worried that our dogs might be stolen from the garden or car robbed etc. Despite the fact we live in the States, we never worry about that or locking our cars or doors etc. Might worry about getting shot but not being robbed!!! Once again thanks for everyone's comments, I really appreciate it.

I think there's a case for being within relatively easy reach of a large-ish town to facilitate access to shopping, trains, schools, hospitals, etc while living out in the country itself. Carrick fulfils the requirements. Get a map and look at towns/villages within say an 8-mile radius. I know Drumshanbo very well over many years and although I thought it was getting very run-down in recent years it seems to be picking up a bit lately. Like a number of places in that vicinity it suffers from an over-supply of holiday houses but nothing like as bad as Leitrim village or places along the Shannon such as Dromod. Somewhere along the Ballyconnell canal like Keshcarrigan is worth a look also.

I don't think that security is a problem as it would be in Dublin for example but I do know that there have been break-ins in Dunquin in Kerry which is as isolated a place as you'd get. Unoccupied holiday homes seem to attract burglars who are highly mobile nowadays so I'd advise that you assume that you have to take reasonable care anywhere in modern Ireland. An enquiry to the nearest Garda station to your area of interest could prove beneficial.

I live in Carrick on Shannon, and its a very pleasant place to live. From what you have said I suggest a few miles outside Carrick would be what you are looking for. The town has got very built up, but the facilities are finally arriving. We have a theatre, cinema, sports complex and plenty of restaurants. Crime is present but house breakins still make front page news in the local newspapers. There are a huge amount of places available to rent in the town, but I'm not so sure about further out. I suggest Arigna which has spectacular views over Lough Allen. It is a mountain village with a church, shop, pub and lovely mining museum with a coffee shop. It is about the only place I can think of that doesnt have a new housing estate plonked in it. It is 12 miles from Carrick and 4 from Drumshanbo.

Hi Colorado, Leitrim is a lovely county to live in. It's got lovely mountains and forests for walking and climbing. Plenty of lakes for watersports and the coasts of Sligo and Donegal are both within easy access for trips to the beach for swimming,surfing, diving, boating and canoeing.
Most towns appear to have a theatre, art gallery and a travelling cinema which is quite quaint.
As for security concerns, I leave my car key in the ignition all the time and our door to our home is rarely locked. Thankfully, we've never been witness to any crime, petty or otherwise.
Leitrim tends to be quite 'arty' with a nice mix of people from all over the place.
Also has a great organic centre which runs courses throughout the year.
Hope this has been of some help. Best of luck with your decision, Priscilla.

Leaning towards Leitrim now! Used to work in theatre and teach ballet so the "arty" aspect of Leitrim appeals to me. Also a big fan of mountains, hence the reason I am currently living in the Rocky mountain foothills! Really am learning a lot from all of your replies and getting very excited about moving back to Ireland. Cheers.

hi colorado,

I grew up in and around Virginia Co. Cavan moved away a couple of years ago. I would never go back. It is a lovely spot, it has got very built up in the past few years. Where my parents house is the amount of huge houses been built on that road is unreal.They dont even know half the people living on it now whereas years ago everyone knew everyone! It seems to be mainly the dubs moving down, and communting every day. Alot of good towns around. Navan is great for shopping only 30mins drive from virginia. Hope ive been of some help.

Just reading this thread, there is a theatre in Virginia now which does get some pretty good acts/shows. It can be rented and i think ballet would be new to the town so your arrival could be very good.

I heard of late there was a few burglaries in virginia but I think this was only 'big news' because normally it is so quiet

Know cavan fairly well - it's mostly nice with Cavan town being the obvious centre to be near(ish) more expensive than it once was though...

Don't know Leitrim very well other than Carrick-on-Shannon but everyone I know who knows the county will confirm the attractive arty/hippyish aspect.

Carrick -on-Shannon is a nice town - strangely cosmopolitan given it's small size (architecture/Lebanese restaurant) - lovely in the summer with the barges etc - and property is I think still relatively cheap. I think Leitrim is officially the least populated county? This has it's good and bad points...

good luck with the move!

Hello again Colorado

Strangely, have just been informed we're going to Leitrim this weekend(!)

Will be staying in Carrick-on-Shannon area but will be doing a bit of driving around - will be happy, as an outsider, to provide unbiased feedback on my return!

Hi Caveat,

Thanks for the input. That would be great if you could provide feedback on Carrick and Leitrim after your trip this weekend. Hope you have fun and the weather is nice - I see Ireland has had the warmest April on record.