Relocating to Belfast from London

[Newhorizons24]

Hi,

My family and I are planning a move to Belfast from London and we were hoping for some information particularly in relation to primary schools.

We are looking to be close to the city but not in the centre and have been looking at the South of Belfast around the Carryduff area. We haven't been able to find many reviews on the schools in this area so any advice or opinions on these would be greatly appreciated. We are a mixed race family (I'm Irish, originally from Dublin and my husband is South American) so looking for somewhere welcoming with little trouble and perhaps similar new families looking to create a community. Coming from London our daughter's school is very diverse and we are looking for something as similar as possible for her in Belfast, however we are aware that Belfast is typically a lot 'whiter' than London so know it will be a change for her.

Thank you very much in advance for any advice or information you can provide on areas or nice primary schools.

I have copied and pasted this from Chat as I noticed you said you would check in here. So, sorry about the two posts, but just in case the information is of any help to you.

I live in Carryduff @Newhorizons24. It is definitely becoming much more racially diverse and is a very safe place to live. We chose it because we are from two different religious backgrounds (although it should be irrelevant as we're both atheists!) and we have never experienced any issues with bigotry or sectarianism. I would say it's one of the most integrated areas in NI and has had that reputation for many years.

There is a lot of development happening at the minute and it's a popular area. I would say, however, that the facilities and infrastructure are pretty woeful, given the steep increase in population. A lot of people see it as somewhere you just drive through to get to somewhere else! The schools are generally excellent. There are no secondary/grammar schools in Carryduff itself, but easy access to loads of schools by bus. If your child lives more than 3 miles from their chosen school, they receive free transport, provided it is the closest school of its type (secondary, grammar, Catholic, state, co-ed, integrated etc) It sounds complicated. It IS complicated, but it's all we know😆 My son attends an integrated school and it is very diverse, religiously, racially and with regard to academic ability, having a grammar stream as opposed to simply being a grammar or secondary school.

I agree with pp that the traffic on the Saintfield Road into Belfast is horrendous, because it's the main route for all traffic coming from the surrounding rural towns and villages. Carryduff is a bottleneck during rush hour and there are often long tailbacks and delays.

Weirdly enough, we do have a fantastic water park though, after the local reservoir was put up for sale a few years back. There were worried noises about more development, but it's now a great spot, with waterslides, wakeboarding, camping pods, restaurants etc and a drive in cinema in the colder months.

Thank you so much for this very helpful response @DoNotIron and for posting on both threads to make sure we got the message, very kind of you 😊 It's great to hear that Carryduff is a safe area and becoming more racially diverse. The development in the area is a plus and a negative I guess, good because there may be other new families coming into the area in the same boat as ourselves but it is a worry if the facilities aren't there. I have read that the few primary schools in the area tend to be oversubscribed due to the increase in population in the area which may make it harder for us to get a school place. I've heard some talk of a Lidl opening up in place of the old shopping centre in the area (and perhaps some other retail units) but nothing of other schools or improvements to roads to ease congestion. I would imagine they would have to look at this down the line especially if the population is growing but not sure how far down the line that would be and if it would help the situation massively. If I was driving towards Belfast city centre, lets say from the roundabout at Carryduff, would you know roughly,in general, how long it would take? Also I heard there were roadworks on the Saintfield Road with the new housing developments being built which inevitably made things worse - is it much different without the roadworks there? There also doesn't seem to be a bus lane so I assume it takes the bus just as long if you were commuting into Belfast for work. Perhaps staggering start/finish times could help.

Yes we did see the water park when we last visited the area, it sounds amazing and great to have for the summer! Would there be a lot of noise from there? Is there much noise in the area or is it on a flight path? Our daughter is quite sensitive to noise so all things worth thinking about.

Travelling from Carryduff roundabout to the city centre takes 20-25 minutes at times of normal/light traffic. During rush hour, like a lot of places, it can vary depending on what time you start your journey. I rarely need to travel into Belfast during busy times thankfully, but it can easily take over an hour. That's just 7 miles! There is a bus lane starting at the Cairnshill park and ride, which is roughly 2 miles from Carryduff. It seems pretty well used, so I imagine people must find it quicker than going by car. Also it's cheaper than parking in the city centre, which can be quite expensive. The big development going up at the minute, near the water park, isn't causing too much disruption on the main thoroughfare. It's probably more annoying for people who live on the Mealough Road.

It's definitely quiet though. Probably not so much for people living on the front of the main road due to traffic, but we don't notice it at all where we are and DP is very sensitive to noise. I don't know of any complaints about noise from Let's Go Hydro. They have fireworks at Halloween and it's usually well publicised. There's a community Facebook page and all the complaints (about dog poo and bad drivers etc) are aired on there regularly😆

Carryduff is nice and safe but very suburban - so as child gets older you will ne a taxi driver. If you are looking for diversity, green park spaces, cafes, schools, pubs, museums etc in walking distance you could look in the ormeau road, Ravenhill, Rosettea areas.
Also North Belfast is becoming increasingly diverse, if you live in the Cavehill area for example you still live fairly central and are within walking distance to the Cavehill Country Park.
Anywhere outside the actual city public transport tends to be fairly poor.

Maybe have a look around ballyhackamore, handy for airports, travel to city centre, beach and forests about 15 minute drive away. Village feel with lots of places to eat and drink within walking distance and lots of good schools within walking distance. My DC primary class is really diverse with kids from india, africa, phillipines, eastern europe, and south america. It's one of the reasons we chose it and they've been really happy there. Feel free to drop me a DM if I can help

Ha, name change fail. I am DoNotIron🤣🤣

Wow @Tessisme - over an hour to get 7 miles up the road is quite a lot! Definitely something to think about, however it's reassuring to hear there is the park and ride where the bus lanes begin so I suppose there are options.
Also good to know the area is quiet off the main road and that the new developments haven't caused any major disruption so far. Nice to know there is a community facebook page - useful to have (rants about dog poo and bad drivers aside!😂) I guess we just need to decide if Carryduff is the area for us. We do want a more suburban feel and a better upbringing for our kids than city living in flats, however we have become so reliant on the convenience of having everything on our doorstep that we may struggle (although having everything on your doorstep can be just as much a curse as a blessing sometimes!😅) Everyone has been so helpful offering their opinions which are greatly appreciated, however we're slightly more confused now than we were before as it sounds like there are quite a few great areas to live! I feel like we should have done this research much sooner 😬

Hi again, I suppose one huge difference between Belfast and cities accriss the water is that generally families tend to live in houses rather than flats and that even inner city social housing tends to be houses, if built in the last 50 years or so they also have gardens.
It isbrather unusual for families with children to live in flats. Also house prices tend to be significantly cheaper, even nice period houses with gardens.
Also because of very limited and expensive parking in the city centre and poor to non existing public transport outside Belfast, congestion is horrendous.

Just for information on I am giving you a brief selection of houses currently on the market in North Belfast, in fairly mixed areas - with mixed I am not only catholic/protestant mix but also in terms of "ethnic mix" - it is an area that has recently become much more vibrant in terms of things like social enterprises for childcare, cultural stuff (there is a cultural centre in the 174 trust on the Antrim road), excellent schools etc but it is not (yet) gentrified the way Ballyhackamore and the Ormeau Road are.
Anyway, the website you want to look at is propertypal and here is a quick snapshot.
Each those houses are within walking distance to several good primary schools anda number of good post primary schools of all denominations, both grammar and non grammar. Also walking distance to shops and bus into city centre.
https://www.propertypal.com/80-north-circular-road-belfast/781200/photo-16

https://www.propertypal.com/76-victoria-gardens-cavehill-belfast/786915/photo-20

https://www.propertypal.com/18-westland-road-belfast/916454/photo-14

https://www.propertypal.com/169-cliftonville-road-belfast/899765/photo-12

OP what is your rough budget for housing and I'm sure we could show some good options

@Madwomanuptheroad29 Sorry it's taken me so long to respond but thanks so much for all your advice, it is very helpful 🙂 we have started looking at areas slightly closer to the centre - more around ormeau/stranmillis but we will definitely check out the other areas you mentioned too. And yes, a big reason for our move, other than wanting to be closer to family, is the cheaper house prices - the price of everything in London is spiraling out of control and we're fed up 'chasing the carrot' so to speak! Thank you also for the property listings, it's great to get an idea of what's out there for your money. I think that we will rent initially until we get a feel for the place and decide where we want to settle more permanently (assuming it all works out for us-fingers crossed!!)

Love your username by the way! Absolutely brilliant! 😆

Hi @Nyancat, sorry for the slow response! I think we will rent initially to get a feel for the place and see where we would like to settle but we'd be looking for a 3 bed house. From what we've seen they can be anywhere from around £850-£1400 + depending on the area

@Newhorizons24
I agree about looking in north Belfast or Jordanstown area. You'll get more for your money. Belfast Royal academy is quite an ethnically diverse school and is in north Belfast. If you want more suburban then Jordanstown offers lots- 15 minutes drive into town (a lot less traffic than other routes) plus a train station. Right by the sea and lots of local amenities. If looking in north Belfast for a more suburban feel you need to go further up the Antrim Road towards the zoo.

For your rental budget you might struggle in south/east Belfast unless you go quite inner city/ student areas. We made a similar move and the traffic in the south/ east Belfast put us off. I think there's very few rentals available generally in the Belfast/ greater Belfast area.

Thanks @mirror245 It's good to know the names of good schools. At the moment we need primary schools but also thinking long term for when that stage comes! Great to have a train link into town too if we need to commute in for work.

If you are looking North Belfast, there is a ramge of good primary schools - as you will know there is a religious divide into Catholic schools and protestant/state schools as well as some integrated schools. A lot of schools while having the label of one or the other are in fact increasingly mixed so you no longer need to be catholic to send your child to catholic school and there usually tend to be a couple of kids each year not doing their first communion so schools increasingly have got ways of coping with that without making those children feel excluded. Some of the primary schools in North Belfast (not exhaustive) include Hazelwood Primary (integrated), St Therese (catholic), Cavehill ps (state) and Cliftonville Integrated PS

I'm from Dublin and really recommend the Ballyhackamore or Holywood area. It's perfect. Great schools, good transport, by the sea, brilliant shops. My kids all love it too, older teens and one still primary. I'd deffo give it a good look.

Should have said, I used to live in Stranmillis, and much prefer Ballyhack/Holywood.