Have you been to Galway?
Did you like it?
Do you think it would be a good place for a small family with a child to live?
Was it expensive (relative to Dublin)?
Is the weather really as crappy as I’m imagining?
I’m asking because we’re considering moving (if hub gets a job offer) there. I don’t know anyone who has spent a signficant amount of time there, do you?
I only know Galway from weekend parties really.
It is a small town with a quite young population as it has a Uni there. The weather is fairly crappy yes, but this is Ireland. The negative aspects of it being a small town would, imho, be offset by the fact that you get easy access to the countryside, beach (heheh irish beaches…) etc. The city itself has (or had, I haven’t been there in a few years) a great cultural life and night life.
I love Galway, it’s like what, 3 hours in a fast car from Dublin. You only have to hop on a bike and go 20 minutes before you get an “I am out in the wilds of the west coast” feeling, while still being only 20 minutes from a decent caff with normal people in it.
There were some really nice little jazz bars when I used to hang there, it was common for friends studying at the Uni to invite us all out for a party for the weekend, and we would just hop on the buss, 5 quid return 
My WAG is that it is much cheaper than Dublin, but I could very easily be wrong there. My other WAG is that yes, it would be a lovely place for a kiddy to live. Yes, the weather is (it bears repeating) crap. This is not a G this is a fact.
Thanks, Iteki. I’ve been looking at rental accomodation, and it’s cheaper than Dublin, but I’m not sure how much cheaper. I like that it’s a Uni town, that’s a definate positive!
I appreciate your opinion, or FACT!
mrs jjimm is a Galwegian (well, actually from Connemara next door) so I spend a lot of time there. Galway’s my favourite Irish city. It’s clean, compact, and there’s a lot to do. It’s well positioned for visiting much of the West, and Connemara is minutes away. The café/pub scene is great - lots of good music, and lots of excellent food.
It is cheaper to live there - commodity prices, rent and property are lower than Dublin, though they are rising. As for kiddies - I haven’t a clue about kids, though if you lived down the coast of Galway Bay I think you’d have a fantastic environment for children, though they would probably be educated in the Irish language.
On the negative side, there’s a growing bad element downtown with quite a few after-dark violent incidents in the city centre in recent years. And the weather is, as you guessed, atrocious.
jimm, we expected to have offspring(s) educated in Irish. After all, all those years of study have yeilded in my husband the ability to ask to go to the Gents. Well done, Irish Educational System!
Joking aside, I appreciate your input. If he gets the job, I’ll post back with questions about where exactly to live. I’ve seen Loughrea, Salthill and a few others when looking for rental accomodation, but it’s all just names to me.
Thanks for your input!
Salthill is a dump.
Care to elaborate? Or are you too busy planning your lucrative career as Ireland’s next big boy band member? Gowan. Tell me WHY?
(Really, though, love, tell me. Salthill is where most of the houses for rent are located.
Part of Salthill is a crappy seaside resort, very run down, with terrible amusement arcades and bad pubs. Some of the housing is pretty bad. However, IIRC Salthill is quite a large district, and some of the housing is really rather nice; West Salthill is also very posh, and the coast road has luxury hotels on it. There’s also a swimming pool with a water slide - you know, for kids!
On behalf of Twisty, who is having trouble with the hamsters…
“I don’t like the town, but some of it is nice. Oranmore is nicer.”
I lived in Galway city for a year after college and had a great time. I second jjimm on the cleanliness and compactness of the place. It has pretty much everything that Dublin has but in a smaller and easier to navigate way. Renting a house in the city cost a fair amount (and there were six of us!) so just for a family it could be expensive. Its a little cheaper than Dublin but not much but it would be IMHO a better place to raise a family although the city centre can be dangerous at night. The weather is probably a bit worse than Dublin but it does see some sunshine too!
Outside Galway city all I really know is that Loughrea is a major bottleneck for traffic but I think they plan to bypass it soon. Its a smallish town with one main street and its about 25 mins away from the city by car.
Salthill is pretty big and down by the promenade it can be very touristy with amusement arcades etc but there are nice areas. Its only 5 minutes from the city centre so its a very good location in that respect.
Hope this helps!
Thanks, Neeve, that is very helpful. It’s so nice to hear positive things. I’m still apprehensive about the weather, but I’m sure if it’s a good place to live otherwise, I’ll adjust!
I’m still a regular (bi-monthly) visitor to Galway as I managed to acquire an SO while I was there. He’s originally from Galway and still lives and works there so I could ask him for the inside info if you had any other questions. I really do love the place and would consider moving back there at some point. In terms of culture and scenery and friendliness its one of the best…and the galway accent is lovely!
The World Championship Oyster Shucking contest is held there.
Tibs.
Tiburon, even more important than that, its the GUINNESS Oyster Festival!!! :faint smiley here:
The accent is lovely? Are you joking Neeve 
It’s just about the worst accent in Ireland IMHO …
I liked Oranmore when I was there.
Well I’ll admit to being somewhat biased, but its not the accent you hear in the city I like but the country one.
Let’s keep this up. I’m “ommming” for good karma. We’ve had a string of bad disappointments and if John gets this job, it’ll be the first really good thing that’s happened since yesterday, when I read Steve Wright’s wedding story.
Also, for your info, his job is through NIUC but he’d be working mostly at Mace Head.