Where to move to in Ireland, and would you move now?

[Costacoffeeplease]

A friend is looking to relocate to Ireland, has an Irish passport, so no issue there, no kids to consider and she’s retired.

Would like to be amongst nature but not too isolated - maybe west coast, Galway/Mayo? Or any better suggestions? And would it be a sensible move at the moment (thinking economy, house prices etc)?

I live in Dublin but I think advice about where to move is useless without knowing a person. Has she family here? Definitely move near them. Does she need to fly back to UK often? Then it is crucial to be near Knock (Mayo) airport or Shannon in West of Ireland, Kerry has a small airport with direct flights to London while Cork airport is much bigger with a wider selection of routes. She should rent for first year before committing to buying. That will also dictate her choices because there are so few rentals available nationwide. If she does move, best way to get to know people is a local part-time job if she is semi retired. Personally, I'd move to somewhere hot like Spain if I was retired instead of the rain soaked west of Ireland. Much cheaper to live in Spain, Portugal etc too!! Best of luck with whatever she decides.

I’m in Belfast. Well just outside Belfast. She should check out Holywood or Jordanstown if she wants something quiet but accessible. (Both around 4-5 miles from the city). East Belfast is also fab.
The North Coast is beautiful. Places like Castlerock or Portrush. Don’t underestimate Northern Ireland.

She has lived in Portugal for years, and has got a bit tired of the heat and tourists and lots of other things that start to grate after a while

Does she have any links to Ireland, it would be logical to start with a place she's familiar with.
House prices are extremely high but I would recommend Waterford as being better value than some of the other counties. Daft is the biggest property website in Ireland so it's worth doing a search there to see what she can get for her budget.

What is she looking for - city, country, scenery, proximity to trains, outdoor exercise, gyms, any specific sports or other interests (art, book clubs, ICA, music, bingo)..

As I said, she’s not close to her family there so would rather be in a different area.

I think she’d like to be close to the countryside but also to normal amenities like shops, cafes, restaurants. A welcoming area, friendly, but not particularly touristy, so with places open all year - just a normal kind of town.

Shes not particularly sporty, more interested in arts and crafts, maybe a choir

Most decent sized towns would have active retired groups that would offer those kinds of activities.

When I said links I just meant somewhere she has been that she liked that you can look near to, like if she visited the Burren, Fota Wildlife Park or John F. Kennedy Arboretum and thought it was nice and would like to revisit. Or if she always wanted to visit a certain area that would also help narrow it down.

If she likes the outdoors perhaps look at towns near greenways.

Carlow, Kilkenny, and Waterford are all decent towns that are not very touristy. Carlow and Waterford both have third level colleges and Kilkenny has a university extension. Wexford is home to an opera festival, Middleton in Cork has a nice choral scene..

Thanks. All very useful advice that I’m passing on, she’s very grateful

We came in the summer, rented air bnbs in three different areas and travelled around those. We fell in love in the North and bought a house 20 mins from where we stayed in the summer. We knew the area from holiday which made it easier to “land” here for the first few weeks. My advise is to have an extended holiday and enjoy. We had traveled for 15 months and it was Ireland that stole our hearts! We love it :-)