An idyllic place to live - and cheap!!!

anotherginger

ognum wrote: »

Give me a smaller house close to the centre of a thriving town in the UK any day!!

Northern Ireland is in the UK.

I'm a Northern Irish person in England and can't wait to get out of here. There's just no craic! :beer:

tiff

ognum wrote: »

Having spent a lot of time working in Ireland there is nothing that would encourage me to live there.

It rains constantly, it's depressing and gray, it's 30 years behind the times. Give me a smaller house close to the centre of a thriving town in the UK any day!!

They will have you believe they have caught up, not 30 years behind the times. Agree its depressing, grey and expensive. Not to mention dull in the town our family is from anyway.

Lots of ugly bungalows all over the place, I am talking about Ireland though, not NI.

tiff

anotherginger wrote: »

Northern Ireland is in the UK.

I'm a Northern Irish person in England and can't wait to get out of here. There's just no craic! :beer:

Everyone knows the craic is in Ireland, whyever did you come here??

Kellygreen_2

Well, I meant to post my views on the "Northern Ireland House Price Crash" site and somehow got myself into the wrong forum. Anyway, the thread there is that house prices have been going up in NI despite the markets saying prices are falling. I agree about the ugly bungalows scattered around the countryside. Luckily many of the more modern builts are so much more attractive.

londonlydia

I'm sure it's very pretty, but I shuddered at the thought of living there at your description. Generally speaking, i you're a rural dweller at heart, you will never be happy in the city. If you're an urbanite, the reverse is true. I come from the very heart of London, and having spent my uni days in picturesque Durham, I grew incredibly claustrophobic, bored and panged for London.

Whilst I think these contry views are lovely, I would holiday there, not live there. For me, I'm happy when I see the haze of lights, hear the cars and people....it makes me think of all the life bubbling around me. I like living with my neighbours all around. I like a 24hr bus service, and having a bus every 20mins at 2am if I wanted to stay up town. And, generally speaking I've found city living more culturally diverse...and I like going to all the culture festivals, eating the incredible variety of food etc. And, I myself find great beauty in urban landscapes....but then I work in a technical profession and I'm amazed by the engineering etc going on.

But then there will be many for whom my paradise is their hell...

lazer

Kellygreen wrote: »

Mid Down, Northern Ireland

Something the English discovered years ago, but somehow has escaped the attention of the people of Northern Ireland. Rural living beats the lifestyle in towns and villages hands down. And unlike in England, rural houses are cheaper rather than pricier to buy. House price crash? I’d say consider trading the so-called convenience of town living and move to the Irish countryside whilst prices remain low. The quality of life is incredibly high and sooner or later that will be reflected in the prices.

Our garden: Its larger than we’d get in town. It has space for kids to play, plenty of patio area for tables, chairs and the barbecue, a variety of low maintenance beds and one ‘experimental’ bed, lovely trees offering shade and softening the surrounding, daffodils , snowdrops, tulips and crocus’ providing early colour after the winter and lovely shrubs providing year round interest. We’ll often see hares in the garden by day and a badger or a fox by night. There is an amazing variety of bird life.

Our house: Again, it is much, much larger that we’d afford in town. It has bedrooms that are twice the size of bedrooms in most modern houses. We’ve both a large lounge and a snug meaning adults can have their own space without exiling the kids to their bedrooms. The huge dining area is fantastic for the mass family get-togethers. We’ve done 15 without thinking about squeezing. The kitchen is a family gathering area with space for a large table for casual dining and more cupboard space that even the avid cook could fill. We’ve also a utility room meaning all that dirty laundry, etc can be kept out of the way. The house is modern with good insulation and zoned heating meaning bills can be kept low. And the double garage means there is loads of space for the tools, bicycles, toys and cars.

The surround: Well we don’t have streetlights so we can actually see the sky and stars at night. We aren’t kept up at night by traffic sounds and our pets are safe on the streets by day. We feel like we are a lifetime away from the rest of the world yet can reach Belfast in 30 minutes, Lisburn in 20 and Dublin can be reached in only 90 minutes.

The neighbours: The closest is a five minute walk away. They are there when you need them but non- intrusive. The local farmer is always available to help plough the roads when needed, tow a car, lend a skip or trim a hedge. Another neighbour is good with cars and always happy to ‘take a look’ or give advice. Within a mile live a builder, a joiner, a teacher and a lawyer. We once attended a 21st birthday celebration. There were over 40 people there, the majority in their early twenties. There was limited alcohol, no smoking, no swearing, no rudeness. Party-goers played volleyball and other games, laughed, sang and chatted. They were all clean and sensibly dressed. Amazing what clean, country living can produce.

In the evening when the weather is fine, we’ll see many of the neighbours out walking or riding (horse and bicycle). Adults walk with children and they all seem fit and healthy. Walk on your own a meet and child and you’ll always be greeted with respect and a smile. There are no sullen and incommunicable teenagers in the area.

Do they gossip? Show me anywhere that doesn’t! Somehow our neighbours always know when we are away (even when we didn’t tell them) and on return we find that everyone was ‘keeping an eye on the place’.

Yes, we’ve an extra 10 minutes to get to the supermarket. No problem as we’ve enough room for the big fridge and freezer meaning a weekly shop is sufficient. Plenty of storage space means we can take advantage of mass buying of half-prices deals on all sorts of things. It more than makes up for the extra petrol costs. The local ‘quick stop shop’ 2 miles away stocks all the essentials such as milk and other staples.

Those 10 minutes also provide the transition period from ‘town mode’ to ‘country mode’. You can feel the stress lift from your shoulders as you head home.

I saw a police car on our road once. I think he was lost.

I completely agree - grew up in what was basically a farm laborouers cottage, then went to uni in Belfast, stayed there for 10 years (and had the cheek to get upset when my parents moved out of the country into the town (and a housing estate, although a relatively small one). They have adjusted to town life now, and despite over 50 years in the country (for my mum anyway) my mum now wouldn't move back to the country - she loves the convience of the town (its only a small market town - so probably a small county village by English standards)

I have now moved to my home area again, into a hamlet really, semi detached was all i could afford to buy, but its on a lane of only 4 houses, so still quiet. Look out every morning to see the mourne mountains, hear the birds singing, pleasant places to walk, and yet only 3 mile from the town - could walk if i wanted to.

I would never move back to the city (hopefully anyway - getting married and fiance lives in a housing estate in a city and we haven't made a decision on where we are living yet!)

nomoneytoday

How is your internet connection

Angelicdevil

deannatrois wrote: »

......The same people probably were/are the kind of bratty teens u talk about or are envious lol.

:rotfl: Oh to have the luxury of being a bratty teen!

Most definitely not envious either

lazer

nomoneytoday wrote: »

How is your internet connection

My intenet connection is fine thank you - honestly i'm not sure of the speed, but it doesn't seem slow to me anyway.

I can watch bbc i player fine, and general browsing is fine too.

I would sacrifice good internet speeds for rural living anyday.

SailorSam

bluestarlight wrote: »

Sounds like the worst 21st birthday party ever.

I've been to a 21st much worse than that.