Ireland Liveability Index
Are you looking to move location or purchase a holiday home but are not sure where to look? We aim to take some of the guesswork away and provide you with the information to make an informed decision. The Ireland Liveability Index ascribes scores to each of the 26 counties of the Republic of Ireland* for the parameters that will influence your decision on the location of your ideal home. These parameters include house prices, sunshine, proximity to a city and natural amenity or scenery.
House Prices
Few of us have unlimited financial resources with which to purchase our ideal home, therefore, the cost of housing is one of the most important factors to consider when planning your next move. There is considerable variation across the country, click here to find out which counties offer the most affordable housing.
Sunshine
As a nation of sun worshippers, we depart in our droves to foreign climes every year for our ‘sun holidays’. But did you know that there is considerable variation in sunshine levels across our island. The far south east receives more than 1600 hours of sunshine per annum. This contrasts with 1000 hours in the more mountainous areas of the west. Visit our ‘Sunshine‘ page to compare the average hours of sunshine that each county in Ireland receives per annum.
Proximity to City
We might dream of getting away from the hassle of city life but many of us like having the facilities and convenience of a city nearby. The ‘proximity to city‘ page evaluates the distance that the average person in each county must travel to their nearest city.
Natural Amenity
The natural amenities of a location refer to the natural physical characteristics of an area that enhance the location as a place to live. We have developed a scale that reflects the physical characteristics that most people prefer. This scale attributes positive values to topography and bodies of water and negative values to urban landscapes. Visit the ‘natural amenities‘ page to see the scores for each county and the methodology used for calculating scores.
Overall
The individual scores of each county for house prices, sunshine, proximity to city and natural amenities were combined to give an overall ranking for each county.
* We haven’t forgotten the six counties of Northern Ireland, we’re working on it!