Is Cork really that bad?

[NaiceLemonCat]

Hi! I'm wanting to go to uni in Ireland and UCC seems like such a nice school with a good community and a program I really like, but I've been reading reddit posts on what it's like in the actual city, and everyone is saying it's run down and not very safe....is that true?

Well it’s a good bit safer than Dublin.
What are you comparing it to?
UCC is a lovely campus.

Can you visit before you decide? Where are you based?

https://www.tourismireland.com/international/en-us/news-releases/article/national-geographic-names-cork-city-on-best-of-the-world-2025-list

I lived in Cork for ten years and loved it. Its much nicer and safer than Dublin. I did leave a decade ago though so it may have changed, but why not visit and see for yourself?

We visit cork from England every year. It’s a fantastic city with some very beautiful local coastal towns. It’s nothing like Dublin. We always feel safe there

UCC is a lovely welcoming campus and very central, well integrated into the life of the city. Cork is way safer than eg Dublin. Cheaper than Galway. And just a lovely place. There are homeless people...like everywhere else alas.

Well, I can see the UCC campus out my window as I type, and I can assure you that we do not live in a dystopian fiesta of rioting and lawlessness. Cork is an ordinary Irish city, with the same problems thst affect any small city. I mean, it wouldn’t occur to me to take Reddit remotely seriously about any major decision facing me. Last time I looked at the Cork Reddit, it was the same seven guys posting from their bedrooms.

I chose to move back here from abroad years ago, and I like it. Good cultural scene, lots of festivals (film, literature, music, marine etc), and spectacular coast and countryside on your doorstep whichever way you leave the city. (The campus is in the city, as well — not sure if you realise. )

What it does have is a big lack of student accommodation.

I feel extremely lucky that I went to UCC many years ago. It's a stunning campus walkable to the city and in a safe part of the city. I moved back to Cork to settle here and raise my family and am very glad i did. I absolutely love Cork city, admittedly I live in the leafy suburbs so my experience of the city is the occasional night out or shopping trip. I don't find it rough, but certainly it can be if you are unlucky or in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'm not saying these problems don't exist, but the people I know who say they won't go to the city because it's rough are the same people who don't like travelling because it's too scary or dangerous. Accommodation will be your biggest issue, it's near impossible these days to find something and there is no point in moving here if you end up in a town 40 minutes away commuting on a bus.

I went to UCC and I loved it! I also loved Cork and hope to move back there again some day. Honestly it's an amazing and lively city that's very student orientated. I graduated in 2017 I think it was and I loved my time there

I'm from Cork (live in UK now) , so biased but I think it's fine. It does have some problems with being rundown but these are the same in all smaller cities in western Europe since the rise of online shopping I find (eg lots of charity shops, empty units). The high street has improved in the last year and is filling up again.
UCC is a fantastic university and Cork is very compact, you can have a nice urban lifestyle there and can get to beautiful scenery fairly easy.

I'm from Cork and I live outside the city in a commuter town and go into Cork very regularly. I grew up close to the city centre and I went to UCC. I had a great time there. My son is in UCC now and he's enjoying it as well. My daughter is in MTU and is also enjoying herself. She goes out very often all hours of the day and night.

I think that the city centre went through a difficult time during the Covid years. The closure of Debenhams was a big loss as it was a focal point on Patrick Street. It was previously Roches Stores. It was the biggest and busiest shop in town. I think some other retailer is going to take over the premises soon.

Personally I don't go out late at night. When I ask DD how she finds it, she says she rarely has any hassle. Only one time recently her friends had trouble from this guy while they were sitting outside at a pub and they called security who removed him. I think she keeps her wits about her. I definitely see a difference in the city but I'm comparing it to living there during the nineties so that's not relevant any more. Personally I think an increased garda(police) presence would be good but whether Cork is any worse than anywhere else? Probably not. I have noticed a lot of homeless people, unfortunately.

It's a compact city and the locals are friendly. UCC is also compact and the campus is beautiful. Accommodation could be difficult to find.