Move to Dublin - Help no idea of areas

[PoppyandPickles]

Hi,

I may potentially have a new role in Dublin , Ballsbridge, i would fly out on a mon morning and then bk on a thurs eve to begin with b4 uprooting our family

I no very little about the area but just from googling it seems to be the posh area -

i want to rent a very cheap room just for the four days i am there - any suggestions where and easily it is to commute to Ballsbridge? ideally no more than 40 minutes?

Thanks

Dublin is quite small geographically. 40 minutes will get you anywhere in Dublin really. Probably the best thing is to go to Dublin and try out the commute options for yourself, its very different to the Uk (I'm presuming that's where you'll be moving from).

But yes Ballsbridge would be a posh area, think lots of embassys (?), big homes in leafy suburbs type places.

Balls bridge is very posh (and expensive, naturally), but it's within walking distance of the city centre, so you're spoilt for choice really.

We just moved to Dublin in June. We live close to Ballsbridge (but dh's employer pays our rent). As far as I can tell the public transport runs North to South so depending where you are working in Ballsbridge you would maybe want to look at commuting on either the luas or the dart. Tbh there are lots of nice options locally where you could walk/bike to work (Sandymount/ranelagh/Donnybrook are all lovely) but they are expensive.

Loads of buses go through BB and there's a few close DART (train) stations nearby (Lansdowne Road, Sandymount, Sydney Parade) depending which bit of BB your office is. Personally would choose a suburb on the DART line to live in for easy transport and nice proximity to the coast. But maybe not the cheapest option.... Enjoy!

There's a lot of fuss about the north / south divide but anywhere on the Dart (along the coast) is generally more expensive than inland suburbs such as tallaght. If you can afford to be near Ballsbridge then well and good, you'll be able to walk in to Dublin! I used to occasionally when I lived their in my youth. If you have to rent further out, then think about what bus routes go through the areas you're considering. www.dublinbus.ie might help. www.daft.ie is a good site for houses. The 145 bus goes through Donnybrook and that is a very regular bus. You could definitely walk from Donnybrook to Ballsbridge if you can put one leg in front of the other. I prefer Donnybrook. My aunts used to live there and it has a nice villagey feel to it for a place so close to Dublin. Ballsbridge is just overtaken by the Bank Of Ireland HQ imo. Take a look at Donnybrook, Fewer embassies, more coffee shops.

Bear in mind Dublin is easily congested so living 20 minutes away might mean 40 minutes

Try daft.ie

Actually just thinking about when I return home from dublin airport, the blue aircoach goes through Donnybrook village. I know that's not the cheapest bus as it's a coach not a bus, but you wouldn't have to change in the city centre.

Traffic around Ballsbridge can be hideous during rush hour so commuting by car is a total pain in the bum. Buses are reasonable, and as Trick says the Dart runs along the coast to you could also live north of the city centre.

Further south might be a good option. Suburbs (they often call them villages here) such as Blackrock, Monkstown, Stillorgan, Foxrock are all doable to BB either by Dart or bus within 10-15 minutes. The main dual carriageway into the city centre form the south (N11) has a dedicated bus lane so the buses don't end up sitting in traffic very often. Dun Laoghaire is a very nice suburb and is about 15 minutes by Dart to BB, or you could go even further south if you're happier with a longer commute. I would say, even though rent seems to be cheaper on the north side, don't live there side unless you live close to a bus route or Dart station.

The Aircoach has various routes going through most of the places I mentioned above so will also be convenient.

The Luas (tram) is good but doesn't go anywhere near BB.

Dublin Bus has a good route map system showing all the routes and is worth a look for potential areas.

I'd say, if you see anywhere that sounds like a potential, have a look at it on GoogleMaps/StreetView. Posh is a relative term; what I think of as vaguely middle class in the outer London suburbs seems to be considered posh over here. The areas with lots of embassies and big houses round BB don't really feel like liveable suburbs to me and most of the properties are occupied by businesses from what I can see.