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!

@DonnaHadDee I suspect you and I are from the same place, more recently known as Port Devine!
I'd live there in a heartbeat if I could persuade my husband but in the meantime I have to settle for regular visits to see my parents and browsing on Property Pal.

OP to give you another perspective on the health service side, a lot of areas in NI are under pressure and it can be impossible to get GP appointments. Where I am in Dublin I have to pay but I am luckily relatively healthy and so I can get a GP appointment fairly quickly and I have health insurance to cover any major issues. I think it worth looking at this stuff closely and asking around. I know in Bangor & Holywood there is a big GP practice closing down soon.

Meant to add. Killaloe in Clare and surrounding areas in Tipperary really popular - great water sports and swimming, seems a lovely community and handy to Shannon airport.

Well, because some areas are full of small minded bigots.

@Ahnobother , yes Port Devine looks stunning :)

Carlingford would be my choice if I were you.

Oh yes we are definitely looking in this area, although it’s quite far from the airport…

I love carlingford but I'd check internet speed if that's important.

I had heard (via BBC NI) that NI NHS is in fairly dire straits! There was a feature not too long ago where they were showcasing patients who had accessed their treatment in Dublin via some cross border treatment purchase scheme. I was amazed ! I was thinking things must be bad if they are shipping their patients down south! Usually the other way round!

would avoid ni.
donegal is great, as is waterford.

Well OP is from N Ireland so I'd say she knows the local political geography so to speak.

Had to laugh at some of the posts enthusing about the number of non Irish people in West Cork. It's true of course - I'm from there originally but I couldn't afford to buy or rent there now , short of winning Euromillions!

Jordanstown is a university base isn't it? And v handy for Belfast Airport.