WHY WATERFORD WORKS
I
ROB CASS HAS LIVED ALL OVER THE WORLD, BUT CHOSE TO RETURN TO WATERFORD TO RAISE HIS FAMILY. HE EXPLAINS WHY, AND WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO MAKE THE CITY EVEN BETTER.
Entrepreneurial n 2021, Waterford City was voted ‘Best place to live in Ireland’ by The Irish Times, and it has
Creativity and entrepreneurship are in Waterford’s
also been voted most affordable. So, what are the factors that put Waterford at the top of the
DNA. Food and beverage entrepreneurs like
list, and what can be done to make it one of the best in Europe?
Waterford Whiskey, Metalman and Thin Gin are all now globally pushing boundaries. On the tech side
Best place to live
are pharma and tech clusters that go about
Waterford City is compact with some of the best public realm in Ireland. It has a pedestrianised core with
changing the world for the better. NearForm was
no car access to the high street, high-quality public buildings such as in the Viking Quarter, and over the
behind the HSE Covid app, Redhat/IBM leads the
last 10 years the Council has done immense work on the public realm, such as trees in the city’s main
world in open source software, and Bausch +
street and stunning cobblestone in the Viking Quarter. You can cycle the whole city within 20 minutes
Lomb has been a stalwart of the City since the
and exit to green countryside. Waterford has also set out to be Ireland’s first climate-neutral city within
1980s, now joined by Crystal Valley Tech, and
two decades.
Sedicii.
Affordable
Cultural
The average house price in Waterford City is €199,000, 50% less than Cork City and 100% less than South
Waterford also boasts a flourishing arts and
Dublin City. Rents too are far more affordable than elsewhere. Creches are some 30% cheaper as well,
culture scene. Festivals such as All Together Now,
a significant saving that has implications in particular for women in the workplace and female
the West Waterford Festival of Food, Spraoi,
entrepreneurs.
Winterval, and the Lismore Towers and Tales story
The average commute in Waterford is 10 minutes versus Dublin’s 40 minutes a day, which is not just
festival combine with a superb art and music
good for quality of life, but means a lower cost of commuting, and lower carbon emissions.
scene, meaning that there’s always something going on, somewhere.
Beautiful Waterford City has over 30km of beaches within an
SCSI REPORT Rob Cass Real estate development
28
SURVEYORS JOURNAL Volume 11, Issue 4, Winter 2021
hour’s drive, and the mountains are just 20 minutes away. The UNESCO Copper Coast and the 45km greenway allow city dwellers to take advantage of scenery, fresh air, and peace of mind.
