'Dublin life is unsustainable' - meet the professionals who left for the Mid-West....

Comhrá

A somewhat rare and welcome positive feature on life in Limerick in today's Sunday Indo:



http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/dublin-life-is-unsustainable-meet-the-professionals-who-left-for-the-midwest-to-enjoy-a-better-quality-of-life-35923655.html

seachto7

Good article, but for many sectors, Limerick is still a non runner unfortunately. What I do, jobs only pop up from time to time, but that's the way it goes I guess...

It's not that I'm highly skilled either. Overall I'd agree with the article. I'm in Dublin currently, but won't settle here.

zulutango

Seems like an effort to sell Limerick as 'The Midwest', which is lamentable but also understandable. When I worked in Dublin I was amazed at how negative and skewed the impression people had of our city. In my own business we're short-staffed but there's little we can do to attract people to come here. They'd rather pay enormous rents and spend a long time commuting in Dublin than live in Limerick. We have a very big obstacle to overcome, imo.

Tabnabs

I commuted from my home town of Limerick to Dublin for almost three years on a weekly basis, travelling up early Monday mornings and back late Friday nights. For me it was unsustainable.

Well duh, how was that ever going to be sustainable?! He's living in cloud cuckoo land if he thinks that won't affect his health, his family life and his bank balance. They couldn't have picked a worse candidate for living and working in Dublin...

seachto7

zulutango wrote: »

When I worked in Dublin I was amazed at how negative and skewed the impression people had of our city. In my own business we're short-staffed but there's little we can do to attract people to come here. They'd rather pay enormous rents and spend a long time commuting in Dublin than live in Limerick. We have a very big obstacle to overcome, imo.

I work in Dublin now, and there's no reference to Limerick ever at work. None of our business is based in Limerick. It's not on the radar. Nothing outside Dublin, in general, in the business I'm in, is on the radar, or else we're dealing with head offices in Dublin and that's it.

dominatinMC

seachto7 wrote: »

I work in Dublin now, and there's no reference to Limerick ever at work. None of our business is based in Limerick. It's not on the radar. Nothing outside Dublin, in general, in the business I'm in, is on the radar, or else we're dealing with head offices in Dublin and that's it.

Stating the obvious here, but Ireland being so dependent on Dublin is one of the biggest problems in modern Ireland, and is an indictment of previous government policies. The whole economy is just so Dublin-centric. Look at all the issues in Dublin; housing crisis, homelessness, traffic congestion, etc. I would argue that all these can be attributed to the fact that Dublin has reached (over)saturation point. There are too many people living and working there for the current infrastructure to manage. These problems are only going to excaberate with Brexit. The government should offer incentives to entice any prospective banks/financial institutions to relocate to Limerick/Cork/Galway, instead of Dublin. I know these cities may not seem as "attractive" compared to Dublin, but only through investment (in terms of people, as well as capital) will they become viable alternatives.

keane2097

We made the move from Dublin to Limerick about three months ago for the lifestyle reasons mentioned in the article. Very happy with the decision so far.

John_Mc

Moved down to Limerick after 10 years in Dublin in February and it's ok, but not what that article is promising. Yes the commute is shorter every day, but so are the job opportunities. I did get one fairly easily when we moved down but there's less competition between employers so salaries are substantially lower.

Rent is a bit lower but it's not proportionate to the lower salaries and everything else besides rent costs the same so you're not better off.

Having done the move we're actually considering moving back up there, and the only thing stopping us is the fact that we would have family in Limerick to support us if we have children.

Meet the professionals not from Dublin who left for the mid west........... "I commuted from my home town of Limerick to Dublin for almost three years on a weekly basis, travelling up early Monday mornings and back late Friday nights"


............

"Both my fiancé and I are originally from Kerry and were working in Dublin for eight years when we decided to leave Dublin to be closer to our families"

..........

"Daniel Smith, Professional Services Manager at Action Point moved back to Limerick after spending time in Australia during the recession in Ireland."

The heading isn't at all representative of the detail, people from area move back after years away, shocker :rolleyes:


I'm from Cork and work in Dublin at the moment. Plenty of work in Limerick in my game, I wouldn't consider moving there at all tbh unless I hooked up with a Limerick lady and was essentially mandated to

testaccount123

Tabnabs wrote: »

Well duh, how was that ever going to be sustainable?! He's living in cloud cuckoo land if he thinks that won't affect his health, his family life and his bank balance. They couldn't have picked a worse candidate for living and working in Dublin...

What a stupid article. Of course commuting to Dublin from Limerick every day isn't sustainable.

keane2097

testaccount123 wrote: »

What a stupid article. Of course commuting to Dublin from Limerick every day isn't sustainable.

He was travelling to Dublin on Monday and back to Limerick on Friday, if you read it closely.

seachto7

dominatinMC wrote: »

Stating the obvious here, but Ireland being so dependent on Dublin is one of the biggest problems in modern Ireland, and is an indictment of previous government policies.

Do you think it's just down to the size of Ireland and the thin spread of people once you get out of Dublin that leads to some of this?

If we were the size of Belgium, would we have the same problem. I guess there would be more of a concentrated population, so it would be a very different scenario.

Imagine it on a grander scale. Australia. Fair to say that it's all weighted towards Sydney? Maybe that's a bad example! Is it the same in any big country though?

I agree though. Cork or Galway should be promoted long term as stronger business hubs to entice people away from Dublin.

Or maybe Athlone, somewhere in the midlands.

testaccount123

testaccount123 wrote: »

What a stupid article. Of course commuting to Dublin from Limerick every day isn't sustainable.

Depends surely? There's plenty who get a bus/train from 7am onwards to get to Dublin. There's bits of "Dublin" that could be driven in that time.

myshirt

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Depends surely? There's plenty who get a bus/train from 7am onwards to get to Dublin. There's bits of "Dublin" that could be driven in that time.

I think you lads are in for a shock when you find out the amount of people doing a daily commute. Because people are doing it. Look at Dublin Coach and Irish Rail at 6a.m.

I myself was doing it for 2 years, 3 days a week, but was driving.

myshirt

myshirt wrote: »

I think you lads are in for a shock when you find out the amount of people doing a daily commute. Because people are doing it. Look at Dublin Coach and Irish Rail at 6a.m.

I myself was doing it for 2 years, 3 days a week, but was driving.

I did a 7am bus for college on and off for a long time. Pain in the arse and wouldn't be up for it again but I saw the same people at the end as when I started so I wouldn't have thought a 2 hour commute would be "unsustainable" for plenty.

testaccount123

myshirt wrote: »

I think you lads are in for a shock when you find out the amount of people doing a daily commute. Because people are doing it. Look at Dublin Coach and Irish Rail at 6a.m.

I myself was doing it for 2 years, 3 days a week, but was driving.

Who is surprised? The whole country is full of people who felt they absolutely had to buy a house, bought an 'affordable' one somewhere hours away from where the work is and burned away their time and money commuting for 20+ hours a week. Now we get to listen to them moaning in the national press every few months.

Deleted User

Deleted User wrote: »

................. I wouldn't have thought a 2 hour commute would be "unsustainable" for plenty.

4 hours a day commuting?
That's unsustainable if you are sane.
It takes me 45 mins to drive to work at the moment, it's easy driving though, only about 35kms. Still a pain in the arse

kilburn

Only in the Limerick forum can we whinge about a positive article for the City

the-island-man

Changing the capital and the place of government somewhere else such as Athlone could help in counterbalancing Dublin. 

There's plenty of examples of other countries where the economic powerhouse is not the capital:
New Zealand
Canada
Australia
USA
Switzerland 
Brazil

Augeo

Augeo wrote: »

4 hours a day commuting?
That's unsustainable if you are sane.
It takes me 45 mins to drive to work at the moment, it's easy driving though, only about 35kms. Still a pain in the arse

Plenty doing it and doing it long-term. Wouldn't be for me though.

seachto7

I know a few commuting to Dublin. One did it because they got a free train every day. Not sure if they still do it.
Another can't move due to mortgage etc, so is contracting in Dublin.

Mc Love

Augeo wrote: »

4 hours a day commuting?
That's unsustainable if you are sane.
It takes me 45 mins to drive to work at the moment, it's easy driving though, only about 35kms. Still a pain in the arse

I know folks in London that do the same if not more (4 hours commuting) It's hard on them especially with kids but they have more affordable housing and better opportunities for their kids. They'd love to move here but for the lack of jobs. When I was unemployed for a while, Dublin has all of the jobs I was interested in except for a few in Cork, and even less in Limerick.

dominatinMC

Mc Love wrote: »

I know folks in London that do the same if not more (4 hours commuting) It's hard on them especially with kids but they have more affordable housing and better opportunities for their kids. They'd love to move here but for the lack of jobs. When I was unemployed for a while, Dublin has all of the jobs I was interested in except for a few in Cork, and even less in Limerick.

Isn't that the issue though; that they HAVE TO commute those 4 hours? Crazy stuff IMO, if government policies distributed investment more equally (locate more companies outside of the capital), then there would be a greater choice of jobs in the other cities and, thus, people would have a choice to move.

FWIW, I would gladly take a pay-cut/less senior job and move to a smaller city, if I was in a scenario where I had to commute 4 hours a day to work. More to life than a good salary.

Mc Love

dominatinMC wrote: »

Isn't that the issue though; that they HAVE TO commute those 4 hours? Crazy stuff IMO, if government policies distributed investment more equally (locate more companies outside of the capital), then there would be a greater choice of jobs in the other cities and, thus, people would have a choice to move.

FWIW, I would gladly take a pay-cut/less senior job and move to a smaller city, if I was in a scenario where I had to commute 4 hours a day to work. More to life than a good salary.

Exactly, why I chose to remain in Limerick. I have a family and house here, and all my relatives are close by. Takes me about 10 mins to get to work max 15-20 mins.

Idbatterim

Stating the obvious here, but Ireland being so dependent on Dublin is one of the biggest problems in modern Ireland, and is an indictment of previous government policies. The whole economy is just so Dublin-centric. Look at all the issues in Dublin; housing crisis, homelessness, traffic congestion, etc. I would argue that all these can be attributed to the fact that Dublin has reached (over)saturation point. There are too many people living and working there for the current infrastructure to manage. These problems are only going to excaberate with Brexit. The government should offer incentives to entice any prospective banks/financial institutions to relocate to Limerick/Cork/Galway, instead of Dublin. I know these cities may not seem as "attractive" compared to Dublin, but only through investment (in terms of people, as well as capital) will they become viable alternatives.

but there are simple solutions, like actually not starving Dublin of infrastructure funding. Like allowing reasonable densities! The place isn't bloody hong kong! Dublin is our only city of any scale, which is why the vast majority of companies and people want to live here...

um7y1h83ge06nx

I love Limerick, been here for 16 years now, ever since I started college.

The property market is crazily different. My brother very recently bought a fairly old terraced house, 920sq ft in a decent area of North Dublin. Decent place, sound structurally, would need about 10k to spruce it up and improve the finishing including a new kitchen.

2 years ago I bought a modern 3200sq ft detached 2 storey on 3/4 of an acre within 15 minutes of the city. Turn key condition finished to an extremely high standard with expensive finishing - granite in kitchen and all bathrooms, top end appliances etc. Only paid 3k more for that than the brother did for his.

Obvious location, location but a big difference.

Sure I could earn more in Dublin but I love the lifestyle here. Living in the country but could be in town ordering a pint in 20 minutes.

jackofalltrades

dominatinMC wrote: »

Crazy stuff IMO, if government policies distributed investment more equally (locate more companies outside of the capital), then there would be a greater choice of jobs in the other cities and, thus, people would have a choice to move.

But what policies can the government bring in to locate more companies outside of Dublin?
Short of forcing companies to setup in regional towns and cities, there's not really a lot you can do.

adaminho

Idbatterim wrote: »

but there are simple solutions, like actually not starving Dublin of infrastructure funding. Like allowing reasonable densities! The place isn't bloody hong kong! Dublin is our only city of any scale, which is why the vast majority of companies and people want to live here...

I'm sorry but Dublin isn't starved of infrastructure funding. You have two luas lines (about to be joined) a Dart and motorways to pretty any part of the country! Meanwhile the second and third largest cities in the country are linked by what can only described as a glorified country road!

Cookiemunster

adaminho wrote: »

I'm sorry but Dublin isn't starved of infrastructure funding. You have two luas lines (about to be joined) a Dart and motorways to pretty any part of the country! Meanwhile the second and third largest cities in the country are linked by what can only described as a glorified country road!

Actually the whole country is being starved of infrastructure funding. Dublin is choking and badly needs Metro North and DART underground amongst other projects. There is money being spent outside of Dublin with the M17/18, the N25 New Ross bypass and the M11 Gorey to Enniscorthy. However the rest of the country is also badly in need of other infrastructure such as the M20, Corks Northern ring road and Galways bypass.
The issue is that FG don't like spending on Infrastructure anywhere.

mishkashubaly

adaminho wrote: »

I'm sorry but Dublin isn't starved of infrastructure funding. You have two luas lines (about to be joined) a Dart and motorways to pretty any part of the country! Meanwhile the second and third largest cities in the country are linked by what can only described as a glorified country road!

It is for it's population. The Dart and Luas serve small catchment areas, for a start. All approaches to the city are gridlocked morning and evening, M50 is at capacity, busses to outer suburbs (where luas/dart don't serve) frequently pass people at stops in the suburbs full in the mornings and depart the city terminus full in the evenings and take an age due to said traffic and zero bus priority infrastructure.

Metro/underground was needed a decade ago, never-mind now, but will never be funded unless Dublin gets autonomy on how to spend money it generates. Gov will spunk money on more motorways in the back arse of nowhere no problem though.

Limerick's population is less than Tallaght ffs, ye are a city in name only.

jjjd

jackofalltrades wrote: »

But what policies can the government bring in to locate more companies outside of Dublin?
Short of forcing companies to setup in regional towns and cities, there's not really a lot you can do.

It just needs good marketing by the government and the IDA. No need to force companies to set up in the area if that's not what they want to do. Just look at what the Wild Atlantic Way had done for tourism in this country. The scenery was always there, it just wasn't marketed in the right way, both domestically and internationally. The very same could be done with the Midwest, a good marketing campaign both here and abroad may make companies choose to locate in the Midwest.