thinking of buying in Littlepace

Fair point. But bear in mind that a house there will probably keep the value difference (to a degree, anyway) over time, so it's not like you won't see the money again. Which is why it could make sense for you to go for it, if you really wanted to.

Personally, I wouldn't like to live in a richer area, because while you might not suffer from the snob factor, a lot of your neighbours may well, and you'd be surrounded by that culture while you live there.

Agreed - also why I am a bit nervous about it. Genuinely never expected to find myself in this position and now I don't know if I want to raise my kids in a very well off area (I didn't grow up in one). Ridiculous thing to be worrying about I know but having said that our next move will be for a long time and have to think carefully. Ah well we'll probably view the house and not like it and be back to square one again anyway.

Ann,if its for the long haul,then go with Castleknock,spend the money now instead of in 3-5 years from now when you realize that Clonee was always going to have problems with in because of its massive sprawling of estates mixed with a very high number of poorly maintained rental properties.

Walk through any estate there and you can almost spot the rentals at a glance.

Swallowbrook and Castaheaney are very nice estates,Swallowbrook are all 4 beds and its built around a nice green area and has no through traffic as its a cul de sac.A nicely presented/finished house sold there recently for around €190k,which considering they sold for circa 420k at the top of the tiger seems like good value.

As regarding snobbish attitude,funnily enough I have always found that the people that would,have a right,for want of a better word to be snobby are usually the most grounded pleasant people,its the people who have nothing to be snobby about are the ones with the long noses.

Knuttel

You make good points. If we were going to stay in Clonee it would be Castaheany or around Pace Ave. I haven't had a look at Swallowbrook.

Bit of inverse snobbery going IMO. Thats not to say there aren't snobby area's there are, but theres lots of decent joes who live in all areas too. But rather than being hung up on what something is called. You should drive around and find the location you want, and that you like the look of. The conditions of the houses, gardens cars, local shops tell their own story. Also most important see if the location works for transport links for you and at peak times. Check the enrolment policies of schools if that's a factor, the catchments are not that logical. Personally I'd want my kids going to school and being friends with their own peer group. Can be hard on kids if there's a mismatch either way there. Also the standard of construction varies enormously, even in the most expensive areas. You don't want to by buying a 10yr DIY project either.

Yep - realistically there's so many factors to consider, which is why no one on an internet forum is going to be able to answer your questions for you, just impart their own opinions, which may or may not be true in your case (e.g. my own "inverse snobbiness" may well be divorced from reality).

Stay informed, keep learning, have a checklist, keep discussing it with your family, view lots of houses and eventually the choice will become clear.

annR,
Really curious to see whereabouts you ended up buying? I find myself in literallly the same position as you were in 2012.... looking at similar locations,kids to think of etc; and basically stressing out a bit now! Found the dream house but not sure if it's the dream location, well I suppose let's face it my dream location is out of our league!
So annR I suppose I'm wondering what was it that finally decided it for you? Any advice you'd like to offer?!
It's hard to say NO to this house but there's a nagging little voice at the back of my head saying location, location, location!

Hi Mollyblue
What a surprise to see this thread resurrected. We ended up in Riverwood and are very happy with the house and area.
Without going too much into detail about it all, we decided to move out of Clonee because we thought that although some estates / houses are lovely, the broader area seemed to be going downhill a bit and we wondered where it was going long term. Having said that I still think it's a nice area now. The kind of house we were looking for was way out of our range in Castleknock. We nearly bought in Luttrelstown, but it needed a lot of work, would push us financially and we decided against it. Ended up with a nicer house in Riverwood for 100k less and just down the road, basically the same area.
Very happy with the area and I would second what someone else said on this thread - location is everything. Because you can trade up to something bigger in the same location later if you want as you'll always be able to sell. We ended up having to rent out our house in Clonee - couldn't sell it at the time.
The school catchment thing - I can see that some people would pay 100k to be in Luttrelstown so their child could attend St Patricks NS and then Castleknock CC. My children will go to Scoil Choilm CNS and then Luttrelstown CC. Time will tell if our decision was right I suppose but for now we are very happy.

My advice? Don't let your emotions get the better of you - don't get stuck on something. I got stuck on Luttrelstown but I'm glad now we didn't. Keep a cool head and be open to possibilities you mightn't have thought of.