Moving to Belfast - how do I start looking for good schools, nice areas to live in?

hatsepsovet

:TThanks so much for everyones replies. We haven't decided on anything concrete at the moment. As we are not planning to move till next year (between Easter - summer hols) it's really a re-con mission at the moment.
I've had a drive around Belfast yesterday and came to realise, that it's very easy to get around and distances are not that massive from one area to the other. I really liked Stormont, Belmont, Gilnahirk and area near the Orangefield School - is this called Castlereagh? I drove few other nice areas but would't be able to tell where they were...but it was all in East/south Belfast.
I'm planning a visit to Bangor and Newtonabbey in the next couple of days.
My OH's job is not a typical 9-5 job, so he's not really that fussed about commuting so these two towns could well be an option. So once again, which primary schools and then secondary schools should I be looking at in these two towns or areas nearby?

I think I have narrowed down my search criteria: 1.very good primary school/secondary school, 2. four bed house with a garden within a walking distance to school (I currently drive my kids to school 10 miles each way) with a maximum budget of £700 pcm including rates 3. not bothered if in a town centre or a suburb but not in the middle of nowhere. 4. upto 1 hour commuting from the docks
Thanks once again for all the help and ideas. :T

tara747

hatsepsovet wrote: »

:TThanks so much for everyones replies. We haven't decided on anything concrete at the moment. As we are not planning to move till next year (between Easter - summer hols) it's really a re-con mission at the moment.
I've had a drive around Belfast yesterday and came to realise, that it's very easy to get around and distances are not that massive from one area to the other. I really liked Stormont, Belmont, Gilnahirk and area near the Orangefield School - is this called Castlereagh? I drove few other nice areas but would't be able to tell where they were...but it was all in East/south Belfast.
I'm planning a visit to Bangor and Newtonabbey in the next couple of days.
My OH's job is not a typical 9-5 job, so he's not really that fussed about commuting so these two towns could well be an option. So once again, which primary schools and then secondary schools should I be looking at in these two towns or areas nearby?

I think I have narrowed down my search criteria: 1.very good primary school/secondary school, 2. four bed house with a garden within a walking distance to school (I currently drive my kids to school 10 miles each way) with a maximum budget of £700 pcm including rates 3. not bothered if in a town centre or a suburb but not in the middle of nowhere. 4. upto 1 hour commuting from the docks
Thanks once again for all the help and ideas. :T

I hope you find the perfect place, there were lots of 4 bed houses with gardens up to £700 in my Ormeau/Stranmillis search so you will be fine. The rest of the city I don't know about, but I would imagine it would be as cheap if not cheaper.

Just a couple of other things:

• Rates are almost always included in rent :beer:
• Almost everywhere in NI is within 1 hour's commute of Belfast docks! :rotfl:

HTH!

caz2703

Can't help at all with Newtownabbey but can help a bit with Bangor. The two best schools as far as I know are Kilmaine Primary and Towerview Primary which are within a mile of eachother. The main areas around the schools would be Silverbirch and Towerview if you look at Google Maps. Not much to tell you rent wise as there's very little on at the minute in North Down at £700pm and 4 bedrooms so you may have to compromise. Do go onto https://www.propertynews.com and search rentals for the areas you mention so you get a better idea of what is out there.

As for secondary schools in Bangor I can't comment on high schools but I know for grammar there are 2 main schools - Glenola girls and Bangor Grammar boys which is moving to the Gransha Road on the outskirts of town from its central location but this will take at least 5 years.

To be honest, unless you're willing to drive you won't get primary & secondary schools both within walking distance unless you're in Belfast. For the 1 hour commute then the far side of Bangor is maybe just within reach during rush hour. We live on this side of Bangor but we travel across country to get to work so don't use the A2 main road that would lead from Bangor to the docks. I would think that Donaghadee/Groomsport would be just a bit too far and neither would provide a great selection of primary & secondary schools.

There aren't too many areas to avoid in East/South Belfast as with the type of house you're after you wouldn't be looking in those areas anyway. Just had a quick look at properties in the areas you've mentioned and most are terraced or townhouses. Again, something will have to give. If you want convenience you need to pay more in rent but if finances are set in stone then you need to move further out. As you've just noticed with our wee country, pretty much everything is within easy commuting distance. From the far side of Bangor (Silverbirch) to East Belfast (Holywood Road) is around 12 miles so your 10 mile journey would turn into a fraction of that even if you have to drive to get to a good school.

leftieM

Th OP should be aware that our secondary system differs from England. At the moment catchment area isn't a consideration when you are looking at second level education so you don't need to be close to the secondary school. Entry to secondary schools is by academic selection. Bangor kids routinely go to schools in Belfast and there are bus services to cater for this.

smokiewater

Just joining in on this one because our little tearoom is just round the corner from Orangefield Primary, Orangefield Secondary and Grosvenor Grammar Schools - this is a great area and I really couldn't say a bad word about any of the school children who frequent our shop, they all seem really happy at these schools.

We live outside Comber, near the Village of Lisbane, so it is really rural and the commute in takes us 20 minutes on a good run up to a max of 40 mins in really bad traffic, Ballygowan Road remains one of the best flowing routes into Belfast in the morning, in my opinion anyway. Houses in our area seem to start at around £450 per month up to £1500 for a mansion! Opposite the shop in Orby Drive a really nice semi has just been rented for £675 pcm including rates, but if you shop around you should find a bargain, my sister-in-law rents a fab 2 bed apartment on the Kings Road at Knock for an amazing £350 pcm including rates, and the apartment is massive!

I agree with everyone who says drive around and get a feel for the place, stop in all the villages for a coffee or something to eat and chat to the locals, we are all really happy to share our opinions!!!!! We used to live in Fermanagh, and still joke that there and Glengormley/Newtownabbey are the only places in NI where it always rains!

Just to never miss an opportunity - our wee tea-room can be seen on www.bakedinbelfast.com

caz2703

leftieM wrote: »

Th OP should be aware that our secondary system differs from England. At the moment catchment area isn't a consideration when you are looking at second level education so you don't need to be close to the secondary school. Entry to secondary schools is by academic selection. Bangor kids routinely go to schools in Belfast and there are bus services to cater for this.

That's a very good point actually. If schools went by catchment then imagine the kids in Inst or Methody! I went to one of the grammars in East Belfast and I was in the very small minority of pupils who lived close enough to walk. Most of my fellow pupils were bused in from Bangor, Ards, Comber etc.

tara747

smokiewater wrote: »

Just to never miss an opportunity - our wee tea-room can be seen on www.bakedinbelfast.com

Are you from Shazzam? I have bought lots of your stuff - pottery, jams and chutneys! Current fav is the Banoffee jam, yummers! Are you going to be at the Christmas market again?

smokiewater

tara747 wrote: »

Are you from Shazzam? I have bought lots of your stuff - pottery, jams and chutneys! Current fav is the Banoffee jam, yummers! Are you going to be at the Christmas market again?

Yes, Smokiewater is Suzanne from Shazzam!

If you mean the Christmas Market at the City Hall, no unfortunately we can't get into this one. We will have a stand in Connswater Shopping Centre from the 29th of November, will be at loads of craft fairs the length and breadth of the country before Christmas and you can buy the jams and chutneys from the shop - we are out of Banoffee at the minute though, will make more soon!

We met the lovely Jana and her three beautiful children today, hope the move all goes smoothly for you, and that you enjoy your cake!

hatsepsovet

tara747 wrote: »

Sorry, I was under the impression that the OP hadn't 100% decided on schools yet.

I totally see your points caz, but there is a lot more to South Belfast than cafes, it has some lovely parks and good schools. And it's close to the Lagan towpath, Lady Dixon Park etc. If you want to go to the seaside, Newcastle is close by. To get on the road to Bangor you only need to go a few miles round the Outer Ring. As for shopping centres, Forestside is brilliant and there is the huge Tesco at Knockbreda, just minutes away.

Most importantly, it's a safe area and very close to the city centre (20 minutes' walk) and means that you are less car-dependent - some people value this highly. The walk along the river is lovely and I enjoy watching the rowers from the boat club.

Anyway, I hope the OP finds somewhere nice!

I drove around the area yesterday and I was quite impressed; I also really liked Malone, but of course, who wouldn't?

We haven't decided on anything concrete at all; it's been great driving around most of Belfast and Bangor and seeing what the areas have on offer.

May I also highly recommend the www.bakedinbelfast.com for their cakes; they've just baked a birthday cake for my little one and it was the most delicious birthday cake ever!!!! The choc chips inside were a yummy surprise. DELICIOUS.
:T
Thanks everyone again for your replies