- 3 bed house (or 2 bed with possibility to convert attic )
- Suitable for one adult and 2 teens/almost teens
- proximity to decent secondary school (mixed school) or close enough to public transport to allow travel
- close enough to a grocery shop / supermarket
- family friendly area (basically not a student party area)
- decent walking loop nearby (park, trail or something)
- House itself would need to be in decent state or lower priced so I could put some money in to upgrading
- within reasonable distance of third level (say around an hour or so travel, or less if possible - children will have to commute from home in few years)
- public transport or taxi journey to hospital - not urgent now but future proofing as will be planning to stay in this home for many years.
Someone has already mentioned Cabra, I would add Dublin 7 (Phibsboro, Smithfield, Stoneybatter etc) area in general. Looking at your list of considerations:
- plenty of public transport between bus & both luas lines (plus nitelinks)
- local schools - can't comment on quality, but transport available
- tesco, lidl well represented - not far from town as above
- family friendly - many former council estates in established areas
- parks - Phoenix park among others - great for cycling, summer events etc
- third level - Grangegorman campus, transport links to city and buses direct to UCD
- hospital - Mater, Rotunda, James's nearby
other - recycling centre, public libraries, cinema, gym/pools, local festivals
On your house size - 3beds in former council estates tend to be 2 medium size rooms, plus a small box room, handy for a WFH office, so just something to keep in mind if that's relevant to you when purchasing.