Living in Mayo, Working in Dublin

finisklin

Hi folks,

I am curious to see if there are many people that live in Mayo and work in Dublin? This may mean that you leave home in Mayo early on a Monday morning for work in Dublin and return to your family in Mayo on maybe a Thursday or Friday night having earned your crust in the big smoke for the week.

I am interested in finding out the impact on family life especially young families and how the other half cope's at home.

I may be facing this prospect in the future, hence the query.

I can recall many years ago working with an accountant from Balla who did this - spent Monday to Friday in Dublin and then home at the weekends to his young family. It is only now that I appreciate the effect of this on the quality of family life and time together.

John mac

I did it for 3 years,
left @ 9 on a sunday evening and got home at 4pm on friday.

had to stop when my daughter didnt know me used to start screaming when she saw me (she was only 14months at the time)

When my wife had a chance of a job we weighed up the pros(more time with the family) and cons (a lot less money) and went with it,

so she is now the earner and i am at home with the 3 kids doing the school runs, etc.
Works for us, and a lot less stressful.

Neworder79

I know of a nurse who commutes Mon & Friday staying in the city during the week. I also know someone who commutes to London and return home weekends.

I've worked remotely from Mayo for a Dublin company and commuted a few times a month by train/air, worked out very well for both me and the company. Always made meetings and used commute time to work, but I had a flexible employer which made things a lot easier. It depends on the nature of your work but the train can be good for laptop based work with power and 3G now available and early-bird trains.

But I'd say it's a different story for full time work in Dublin with a 3+ hour drive, definitely would need to stay in Dublin part of the week to preserve your sanity, and much more difficult with a young family.

Might be worth exploring a more flexible arrangement with the employer if possible, no harm in asking and Irish businesses are becoming more open to this (well they were before the recession anyway).

finisklin

John mac wrote: »

Ihad to stop when my daughter didnt know me used to start screaming when she saw me (she was only 14months at the time)

:eek: That is scary.....better not show this to my other half!

I think the current economic environment is forcing families to rethink their career choices......the trade off is not a happy one!

yop

Currently do and have been for the last 4 months. Neccessitity in that I had to do it as there isn't anything down here in the IT sector I am in.

I got work for 2 and 3 days a week with a company up in Dublin and now in the last month I have been given remote work. So I can do 2 or 3 days from home here in Mayo and then I spent the other 2 or 3 days in Dublin depending on requirements.
But its definitely 2 days a week anyway in Dublin.

Its working out fine now, there is security and I am on the road at 5.55am each morning I am going up, back home again at 7.45pm on the evening I am coming home.
1 or 2 over nights so far is ok, we are due our first in January so it won't be nice but am afraid I have to do it.

dollybird2

This is my situation with OH due to work at the moment. At first it impacted negatively as it was a shock to the system - we were used to spending a lot of time together. I hated the arrangement, but with no jobs here and OH having been out of work before this job we didn't really have any other choice.

Over the last year we have become used to it and when the weekend comes we make an extra effort to do something nice together and it makes the time really worthwhile and I look forward to it. Added a bit of spark.

We have no children. Don't know how I would feel if they were in the equation.

Paul4As

I've been travelling back and forth from Belfast for the past 6 years. As Dollybird2 says you get used to it.
Wife is happy with her job in Mayo...I'm happy with mine in Belfast.
Only when it is icy or snowy does it bother me...a 3 and a half hour journey can turn in to a 4 stroke 4 and a half one being cautious.
If you are were the army serving abroad or a long distance lorry driver...now that would be cause to complain!

kippy

My father used to do this from the early eighties right up until the mid nineties, from Achill to Dublin (and Waterford/Cork/Meath at times).
He's a father of five.
This commute was done when the roads were nowhere near as good as they are now either by the way so it was a 5-6 hour trip on a good day.
My mother basicilly brought us up during the week, dad came home on a Friday and went back either on a sunday evening or early monday morning.
Didnt effect us and but the food on the table. Mum was pretty much the "bad cop" during the week. Dad was the "good cop" coming home at the weekends.

The family didnt really notice, it was normal and at the time dad did mind doing it but didnt really have a choice.
Fair play to anyone that can do it. It's tough on both parents and takes a lot of work/adjusting.
I really appreciate what he did every time I think about my own job and I have to say he always pushed us to education and getting a "non physical" job where you could get to and from it easily.

Muchos thanks and respect to my mum and dad and anyone that currently does this.