Of course, you have to want to move, be able to find good employment locally and have firm family support for such a big change in lifestyle, but the contrast in prices between large homes with big gardens in Dublin and properties in more rural areas is now phenomenal.

Ratholm Lodge is a beautifully styled and tastefully decorated lodge-style country home on 2.67 acres which was recently built with a very high-spec finish. It comes with an asking price that in some parts of Dublin wouldn't even get you a two-bed redbrick . . . 775,000.

"No expense has been spared on the internal finish and particularly the kitchen, " say Colum Murphy of agents Kehoe & Associates in Wexford. "It's hand-crafted with a solid marble worktop and Belfast sink."

The house is about 10 minutes' south of Wexford in Killinick village, and close to the beaches at Carne, Kilmore and Rosslare.

It is set back from the road and sits centrally on its 2.57 acres, at the top of a gravelled driveway. The lovely gardens are laid out in lawns, patios and deck, with scented walkways and a copse and orchard . . . the owners have planted some 1,500 trees.

First impressions are immediately positive with an elegant floating staircase giving great character to the large reception hall. The house also has hardwood sliding sash windows with granite sills throughout, which provide a traditional atmosphere while letting in lots of light. The floors in the hall and the main reception rooms are all wideplank French oak and add to the seamless flow between different spaces.

On the ground floor, the soft white-painted rooms all have 10ft ceilings and they include a drawingroom with three sash windows, a study, a fabulous kitchen/diningroom with tiled floor, Jotel wood stove and La Canche double oven, and a fabulous sunroom with double-height vaulted ceiling opening to the back garden.

Upstairs, there are four double bedrooms including a very large master bedroom and walk-in wardrobe en-suite and a family bathroom with gorgeous free-standing bath and sloping ceiling. All these rooms have very pretty countryside views.

Upstairs again in the attic space, the owners have put in a studio and games room, both with sloping ceilings and which provide access to attic storage.

Price: 775,000 Agent: Kehoe & Assoc: 053 9144393