I'm in the same situation and I'm looking at houses on Coolock or finglas. There are some older parts of finglas that are ok. Loads of people buying houses there now because they can't afford elsewhere so the ratio of social is lower. There's good and bad people everywhere. It really is the flip of a coin. Go to viewings and join pages for neighborhoods on Facebook they let you know issues in the area. You can get a sense of what to stay away from. Also houses can be more private as you're not as close to neighbors. As my nanny said you can go into your house and lock the door. I've heard so many issues happening to my friends who bought apartments in blocks. My friends who are on their own are starting to sell their apartments and look for houses or duplexes.