‘Even if I wanted to live in Dublin, I couldn’t afford it’, says influencer James Kavanagh

Influencer James Kavanagh has said “even if I wanted to live in Dublin, I couldn’t afford it”, after buying a new home with his partner in Co Kilkenny.

Mr Kavanagh has been house-hunting for the past year, but said that what he wanted in a home was out of reach of their budget in Dublin.

Along with partner William Murray, they filmed their search for the TV show, The Great Inspo Home Adventure with James Kavanagh, which wrapped up on Virgin Media One on Sunday night.

The couple spent time touring houses around the country before settling on a home in Graiguenamanagh, Co Kilkenny, and will make the move next month.

Mr Murray, a Ballymaloe-trained chef, established a Dublin-city food truck business alongside Mr Kavanagh, and co-wrote a cookbook named after his hometown of Curraghbinny.

The long-term couple, who met online twelve years ago, are hoping to shake off the shackles of city life in the capital, having resided in Phibsboro for the last eight years.

“William and I kind of honed in on the fact that we wanted to live in the countryside,” Mr Kavanagh said.

“I’m fortunate because I’m not being driven away from Dublin, but even if I wanted to live here, I couldn’t afford it.”

Mr Kavanagh said they were influenced by visiting his partner’s family home in the quiet village of Curraghbinny, Co Cork.

“We’ve already kind of tested it, and I think I’m ready for the chicken and vegetable patch chapter of my life,” he added.

Despite originally setting their sights on Cork, he’s pleased with how the search turned out, with their final destination not too far from city life if needs be.

One of the lessons they learned on their year-long adventure was that thinking they could afford more in the countryside with a “realistic budget” of €360,000, wasn’t necessarily true.

Mr Kavanagh said that, during the filming of the show, prices were going up “in real time” and it hasn’t stopped.

The TV presenter and social media star said they hope to move in before the summer, and their jobs will allow them to work from home.

“We’re delighted, it really ticks a lot of boxes for us with a massive garden and polytunnel so we can grow our own food and have chickens,” he said.

“We want to do a bit of renovation work on the house, in the garden, but it has a great structure and we’re going to start living there during the summer.

“Once we get a feel for it, hopefully, we can renovate over the winter and maybe do a season two of the series, which would be all about the renovations.”

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