Where should we live?

[gelatogina]

like many people, I’m planning to return to Ireland after a long time living in the U.K, with my English husband.

we are trying to decide where to live! It’s exciting because we have so many options, but also difficult to pin down the perfect place.

im originally from Northern Ireland but open to anywhere north or south.

Work from home.
no kids and not planning any so schools not important.
We need to be no more than 1hr from an airport as travel abroad frequently.

Rural, we do not want close neighbours. We love swimming so near a lake or coastal preferred. Or access to a town with a swimming pool.

dublin area would be too expensive. we are leaning towards north east Antrim or county down at the moment.

any suggestions appreciated!

Hillsborough, hands down.

Lovely village, great community and good facilities (GP surgery, schools, bars and restaurants). Only 25 mins to Belfast, handy enough to the Belfast Airports and only 1 hr 20 mins ish to Dublin’s.

Forest Park is lovely, and there’s Hillsborough Castle which has lots of foodie seasonal events throughout the year.

Neither DH or I are from here originally (Belfast and Dublin respectively), but we wouldn’t live anywhere else now.

Thank you, this is exactly why I posted for suggestions! I hadnt really considered that area as not being rural/coastal enough but it’s good to know that its worth looking into.

Clare or Limerick. You would be close to Shannon and the countryside is beautiful.

Ballyvaughan and around that area in North Clare is stunning.

If you're looking towards county Antrim then Jordanstown is a good bet. 10 minutes from Belfast, next to the sea (where people do sea swimming), lots of nice walks etc.

If you want to go further north then Ballycastle is lovely too. I also made a similar move with my English dh so feel free to DM.

I’m from near to Jordanstown, we definitely want to be more rural than that.

will look into County Clare suggestions thanks!

Second Hillsborough as being a fab place. Not from there but am from NI living in Dublin and have lots of friends there and around Co Down.
Also look at the Ards peninsula / strangford area for some beautiful coastal villages and reasonable prices in a rural setting.
North Down coast is lovely but can be comparatively pricy to rest of NI.
Other side of the border places like Carlingford, Blackrock outside Dundalk are within an hour of Dublin airport but higher prices than NI.

Down, especially Ards peninsula is a wonderful location. I'm biased :) You'll find price varies a lot by location though, and there might be limited options in a region you especially like. Belfast Airport is very easy reach, and even Dublin Airport is not too bad a drive (I commute to that area for work regularly).

As previous poster stated, Hillsborough is nice too, probably ideal for both Dublin and Belfast airport access. Not sure about swimming though?

Of course, with respect to politics in NI you'd really want to know/understand the area you are moving to. It can be a significant factor. I moved to my "home" area so knew the situation very well there, i.e., not a mixed community, few incidents even in the bad times, obvious sectarianism but it does not impact our day-to-day lives.

I'm from NI, I wouldn't go back. I lived in Cork for 10 years though, that was pretty good, although quite difficult to make friends as an outsider. But a lot depends on your job. If I could work remotely I would go to West Cork, its so beautiful there.

Following on from previous posters.
Previously lived in Hillsborough- It is nice but "a bit up it's own hole" to be honest. Especially since it's now Royal Hillsborough.
If I were moving I would be looking a bit more rural but still close (by GB standards) to main roads & airports.
Few suggestions- Ards Peninsula- Ballywalter, Greyabbey, Portaferry.
Lecale- Villages around Downpatrick, Dundrum, Newcastle
North Coast beautiful but becoming V. popular and expensive- Ballycastle, Castlerock. Check out propertypal.com who do NI listings.

Oh and I'm from North Antrim. Part of it are very beautiful but I wouldn't want to live there, or at least I would be careful where you choose.

I’m interested in why you say that? I’m from east Antrim originally and that’s where all my family are too, so I do know those areas quite well.

Thanks everyone, all your suggestions are really helpful and I’m looking into them all.

Any part of West Cork ,

Clonakilty in particular is by the coast,with 7 beaches within 5 miles of the town, 45 minutes drive to the airport, lots of non Irish people living there, great restaurants and bars, the local supermarket is a visitors destination in itself!!

I would go with West Cork too. We regularly visit and it is beautiful, easy to get to the airport which is fairly well connected and doesn't have the awful security situation you get at Dublin airport.

It's so cosmopolitan, lovely restaurants and incredible scenery. Lovely exploring too, into Kerry at weekends.

It depends on your budget, county down generally is more expensive, Hillsborough is beautiful but very expensive. If you want to be no more than an hour from an airport then Dublin airport flies to far more destinations than Belfast city or international at a cheaper price. Although we are in Belfast and flying from dublin is fine for us

North Down coast is lovely as other posters mentioned. I really don't understand how more people don't know about the area. I lived there for a decade, and am back there from time to time visiting friends, and can imagine moving back in retirement. I love to be near the coast (I'm not now!).

You really do need to know the area, and spent some time. For example, central Bangor around the marina itself is really run down and grotty. Newtownards is only a 15 min drive away, but is like travelling 100 years back in time culturally (fully appreciate that some people would love that!). But the general area is fantastic, both coast and countryside.

I'm English, appropriate accent, Unionist leanings, so I'd feel very happy there. But if I were Catholic/Republican it's not a place I'd live ... @gelatogina you're from Jordanstown so you probably know what I mean :)

One additional factor you might need to consider, depending on age/health, is the medical system. People complain a lot about NHS, and it is decaying, but still good. In ROI they have serious problems with the health system, and many people have/need private insurance to get priority access to services.

Totally understand what you mean @KnightKnurse!

we are planning on living rurally, mostly keep ourselves to ourselves but it’s definitely a consideration.

west cork is gorgeous but I think maybe a little too isolated.

does anyone know much about Killinchy or the area south of Comber?

Different people will have different opinions, but I personally would not like Comber (or newtownards) area. I had a few school mates from that area, and they were nice, but even though I'm on the Unionist side of things that is not my cup of tea :)

I've driven through Killinchy area many many times, mostly with visitors after Mourne Coastal drive. It's certainly very rural, so that may be a really good option to consider. There is the kayak place and the yacht club, but I'm not sure on swimming? It could be interesting to drop by those places, speak with a few people, and check it out.

There is a bit of a disconnect between the desire for accessubility to airports and the desire to be quite rural and near the sea. I am in Sligo and I think it sounds perfect for you - and not too far from N Ireland either - but flights are limited from Knock and Dublin is a solid 2.5 hours from most of the county. Ditto parts of Mayo, Donegal etc.

Never lived in Killinchy area but a few good restaurants Daft Eddie's & Poachers Pocket.

We’ve just bought in Ballycastle, it’s beautiful and such an amazing community!

Yes I agree with this! ⬆️ Ballycastle is a gem, lovely community and close enough to Belfast if you need it.

Anywhere along the Antrim coast! Ballygally is beautiful

Antrim Coast (or hinterland). Further South Co Clare, Limerick, Galway or Waterford. Near enough to Shannon or Cork Airport. Plenty of rural options but still near enough airports and coastline.

Just make sure the actual road surface isn't too shite 😂 Always a fear