Rathnew or Rathdrum Co. Wicklow

M

Mag2006

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Guys,

A mate of mine has an offer accepted of €380k on a 2nd hand 4 bed semi in Rathnew but they have also seen a new estate in Rathdrum and they are €378k for the 3 bed semi. They are FTB's.
Which is the better option?. Finance wise they are saving €11k on stamp duty if they go with the new house, mortgage wise it's much the same repayments.
They both work in Sandyford and have too drop their baby off to creche in Bray each day & pick up.
They like Rathdrum as it seems like a pretty village and a nice area to live in but not great on amenities but it's not a bad run off the M11 really, straight thru Glenealy and onto Rathdrum is about 20 mins apparantly.
Rathnew is a straight run from door to door really.

Anyone any advice on what the best option for them is??
 
Dont know Rathdrum but Rathnew is a truely frightening place. Had a deliverancesque moment in the Rathnew House and I think I was lucky to get away with my life.

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If your friend is not from the area I suggest he/she look elsewhere
 

Good to see a balanced opinion.....
There are plenty of negative stories available about every town/village in Ireland, I don't think that highlighting this story is of particular benefit to anyone.....

Anyway back to the original question.
Rathnew, as you rightly point out is far more convenient than Rathdrum.

Neither place would have a large selection of retail facilities, Arklow / Bray and to a much lesser extent Wicklow would be the closest.

Rathnew is almost merging with Wicklow with the amount of new developments being built
There was a recent issue in Rathdrum that although houses were built they couldn't be occupied because the sewerage system hadn't been upgraded to cope, not sure whether this has been remedied.

A new school is being built on the back road between Wicklow & Rathnew which wil cater for pupils from both places.

A new enterprise park has recently opened in Rathnew which is hoped will provide some local employment.

Here is a previous post about Rathdrum
http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=18202

And Rathnew
http://www.askaboutmoney.com/archive/index.php/t-21278.html
 
This post will be deleted if not edited immediately those articles about that pub which is actually nearly opposite to the housing estate she is looking at are frightening and would put me off but in saying that the estate is small and very mature so could be okay but I worry about what would be living near you especially with small kids.
Rathdrum...ummm interesting yet confusing no solid info really on the place, it looks nice but amenities wise it's a bit bare and she is like me loves her shops and out doing things. It's a very quick drive to the motorway and to go to Dundrum or Cornelscourt anyway. We don't like shopping in Bray it's a bit crappy and Tesco is horrible.
It's a hard one, I would be afraid that she would find it hard to sell her house in years to come if she wanted to in either area coz of a bad name in one and nothing happening in the other. They are going down again today to decide what's the best option.
 
As far as I know neither the victim or assailant in that specific case lived in Rathnew at the time of the assault.
All I'm saying is don't write off a place becasue of one incident, this particular incident shouldn't imply that Rathnew is a dangerous place to live, I'm sure that a lot of towns/villages across Ireland that have a few pubs have one of them which is a less salubrious/desirable place to have a few pints.

If the estate your friend is looking at is 'Woodside' there are far worse places to live
 
Yes it is Woodside and it looks okay, some of the houses look really well maintained, other ones look in tatters and nothing done with them, it could do with an active residents association but it also seems like alot of vans/trucks hanging around the place which could be a nightmare in an estate scenario, heard stories of those cases before.
It's a hard one for her as she really knows nothing about Rathdrum and is afraid they would be too isolated and she is afraid she will hate Rathnew. I said it to a bloke I know thru my job yesterday and he vigorously shook his head when I said Rathnew and he is a born and bred Wicklow man and he said Rathdrum is far nicer!!. Oh the confusion.
 
Well they are going to buy the house in Rathdrum, it's alot nicer really and it's a new build and more affordable on the repayments plus the sewrage situation is sorted out now so it seems that alot is going to happen down there over the next few years. Personally, I think she made the right descision it's a lovely wee village and equally lovely house to start off in and it's not far from the M11. Took them 35 mins to get there from Sandyford today, great going and far nicer than Rathnew.
 
thanks for the tips guys, if you had seen the emails flying to each other this morning you would have thought we were nutters!!!.
 
They made the right choice. We live near Rathdrum and it's a nice little village currently underoging some much needed upgrading.
Rathnew seems a bit 'soulless' and we never liked it.

Which development in Rathdrum did they buy into?
 
They moved into The Woods a month ago and they love it, have to say the house is fab and it's a gorgeus location and only 15 mins from the M11. That village is lovely aswell, it's going to be a great place to live and lots of development going on there at the moment.
 
I am moving to Rathdrum this Sunday and wondering, what to do in such a little town? I will be an au pair and would like to sightsee so I am mainly interested in buses, trains etc
Also what can a young person do in Rathdrum? I might be thinking upon taking an extra summer job, are there any facilities is Rathdrum to give that opportunity?
In general I did find little about the town on google etc. so I am interesting in hearing locals' opinions
 
Hi AuPair,

Welcome to Ireland !

I'm not from Rathdrum but from Wicklow Town and use the train quite a bit:

Rathdrum has a railway station - there are trains to Dublin at 6:32, 7:19 and 9:27 (weekdays). These pass through Wicklow Town (4th biggest town in County Wicklow), Greystones (2nd biggest town) and Bray (biggest town).

There are also trains that go in the opposite direction (at 8:51 and 12:57) to Arklow (3rd biggest town in County Wicklow).

All these towns are roughly 15 mins by train away from each other.

So using the train would mean you could try and get part time work in these towns ?

As I mentioned above, I can't give you any advice about Rathdrum itself but anytime I've gone through it, its seemed nice and quiet..

M.
 
Thanks for that detailed response! I have been to Wicklow last year and it seemed beautifull! Unfotunately I didn't have a chance to go around the city, it was more of a beach trip with my hosts.
I would like to travel to Wicklow, Arklow and Avoca maybe, not mentioning Britas Bay which is my main goal on a sunny day!
You mentioned these trains, do they go further on? Or if I wanted to visit Wexford or even Cork I'd have to go to Dublin and switch there?
Gosh, I am going to win Mizz stupid questions contest today
How expensive are these train ticket, btw?
 
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Yes, it's a lovely part of the country - if only the weather would improve

Yes, the trains continue on - the north bound go on to Connolly Station in Dublin City Centre. The south bound would go onto Wexford Town and Rosslare (ferrys leave from here).

Brittas Bay - if you are using public transport, what I would do is either:
1) From Rathdrum, get a train to Wicklow and cycle down the coast road to Brittas Bay - its about 15Km.
2) The other way is getting the Dublin - Rosslare Harbour Bus (route no.2) from Wicklow and getting out at Jack Whites on the N11. Brittas Bay would be 3 or so Km form here.

Cork - No direct trains unfortunately - you would have to go North to Connolly Station, take the Luas tram (Red line) to Hueston Station (West City Centre) and then there is a very good train link to Cork.

I'm not sure of the costs but public transport tends to be expensive in Ireland. If you are a student, you can get an ISIT card from USIT which allows you to get student fares. If you aren't a student, you should get a Weekender Card - these cost 7 euro but you get reduced fares for journeys taken at the weekend to tuesdays..

Hope this helps !
M.
 
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