How is the economic recovery going for you?

RHJ

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finisklin

Definitely newer cars on the road in Mayo and the more upmarket models seem to be back in vogue Audi, Mercedes, BMW. It is reported that new car sales are falling and that the sterling exchange rate is encouraging people to import cars from UK.

godskitchen

The businesses I work for have all said they are less busy than last year, I have a pretty diverse customer base.

The amount of houses being build will tell you all you need to know.

Westernyelp

New car sales are falling because there is great value in nearly new models across the border and in Britain. Can't go for lunch in Castlebar these days without fear of not getting a seat if that's any indicator

yop

If we are looking at the period been 10 years then they way I look a this.

Work - Still nothing local, aside from a few jobbridge or one or two paying 1/2 the money. Still travelling over 2.5 hours to and from.
House - Now paying property tax, water tax on hold, house insurance up, electricity up.
Broadband - Still the same provider and zero complaints with them, but no wired BB and currently looking at another 3 yrs, yet I live 4km from Cbar town.
Travel/Transport - Much the same, insurance and cost of fuel very little difference.
Lifestyle - 2 kids now, so there is little to none!

Overall - The work situation is a killer, it has a massive impact on life balance, traffic to Galway has increased greatly meaning starts are earlier and home later. Too many white elephants and nothing concrete which is a disappointing. That aside we still live it a great county so wouldn't change it.

Xenji

People seem to have a bit more disposable income where I work, but more and more are choosing to buy online nearly exclusively with the weak Sterling and services like Parcel Motel, its easy to see in Castlebar that this year has not been kind on independent traders with quite a few closures.

RHJ

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Dudda

Westernyelp wrote: »

Can't go for lunch in Castlebar these days without fear of not getting a seat if that's any indicator

Couldn't agree more with this. The better half leaves for lunch 5 minutes early so she can get a seat places are so busy.

RHJ wrote: »

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Some do and are surprisingly good. I was looking for something plumbing related for the house and came across it cheapest on a plumbing website https://www.plumbingproducts.ie/ Went to the contact page and saw it was Hurst* only 5 minutes away under a different online name. Was so happy when I discovered that. You can't compete with Amazon but if you specialize, eg. plumbing, you can do well.

I'm one of the people who purchase a lot of stuff online and currently have three things on route from China through Aliexpress. Sometimes it's very difficult or impossible to get things I want locally and huge savings can be made online.

*I’ve no connection with the shop, owner, etc.

CiniO

While I was spending some time in the area before, it wasn't really until 2008 until I moved properly to South West Mayo.
At that time, property boom has bubbled already, and job situation was getting worse and worse.
I managed to keep the job (in tourism industry as there's not much more than that here), and I was happy out through the years. From 2008 my salary stayed the same, but shop prices went down, rent prices went down a fair bit, and generally cost of living has plummet, so I was better off around 2013-2014 than around 2008.

From around 2015 we can see increase in employment, increase in property prices, and increase in rent. Also food prices has gone up a bit, but that's common to the whole country I believe.
However my rent didn't go up at all since 2013, so what I'm paying now for 3 bed house might sound absolutely ridiculous to someone renting 1 bed apartment in Dublin for 5x that amount.
Cost of living is generally very reasonable here, but that is reflected in salaries which don't compare with Dublin.

I still love it here and love the peace of living in here.


BTW - yop complained about lack of wired broadband, but for me it's been nothing but upgrade.
Started with 0.5mbit/s from Westnet in 2008.
Then 1mbit/s from Eircom in 2009, increased to 3mbit/s in 2010 and then 6mbit/s around 2012 afair. Up again to 16mbit/s around 2014 and 40mbit/s from 2016 through fibre (FTTC). Really happy with that considering how far from big urban areas I live.

RHJ

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6541

A bunch of us have discussed this recently. We note that whilst some optimism had returned we feel that it was a temporary bump. Castlebar retail is dying on its knees. Loads of the youth have left. You need the youth to make a place viable. Zero house building in Castlebar. I am afraid the recovery is on the eastern seaboard.

Asmodean

However my rent didn't go up at all since 2013, so what I'm paying now for 3 bed house might sound absolutely ridiculous to someone renting 1 bed apartment in Dublin for 5x that amount

Have to agree there. I moved from Galway to Castlebar a year ago for work and our rent for a large house with a big garden is about half of what it would cost in Galway for a much smaller house with no garden. Lucky I got out of there before the rent turned absolutely bonkers, its almost as bad as Dublin now and due to get a lot worse.

We can afford to live comfortably here on my salary alone, as my wife is at home with the kids and I'm very grateful for that.

PARlance

I returned from Dublin just under 2 years ago with my young family and am still delighted with the move. Things aren't as good as they could be but they're certainly not as bad as some people would lead you to believe.

For a non-tourist town, Castlebar has survived the bad times fairly well imo. There are 3/4 large carparks in the town and it's hard to get a spot in them most days, that's a fairly good (basic) indicator imo. Shops and restaurants are closing but new ones are opening, Castlebar isn't immune to retail trends.

It's nothing like the recovery in Dublin but it was never going to be. All in all, a great place to live for a young family anyway.

I still wouldn't fancy being 19 and living here though. The Welcome Inn not being sold to a new buyer will go down as the biggest missed opportunity for the town imo. Serious investment in a new nightclub that young people wanted to go to would have given a boost to nightlife all across the town.

irishgeo

i think more development might be going on in castlebar if it wasnt for mayo co co demanding huge money in car parking levies.

arent some new house going up in the gladesville estate and the elms estate seems to have houses being built. probably finishing off the estate though.

PARlance

irishgeo wrote: »

i think more development might be going on in castlebar if it wasnt for mayo co co demanding huge money in car parking levies.

arent some new house going up in the gladesville estate and the elms estate seems to have houses being built. probably finishing off the estate though.

On that note, Jackita Ltd just won an appeal to have their Mayo Co Co Development Contribution levy on a proposed development on Main St reduced from 144k to 97k as the Co Co had wrongly applied their levies.

Either sum is a nice chunk of money to be handing over before a block is laid. Article on The Connaught Telegraph facebook page.

The article doesn't state the people behind Jackita Ltd but a quick google shows it's the Stauntons.

irishgeo

PARlance wrote: »

On that note, Jackita Ltd just won an appeal to have their Mayo Co Co Development Contribution levy on a proposed development on Main St reduced from 144k to 97k as the Co Co had wrongly applied their levies.

Either sum is a nice chunk of money to be handing over before a block is laid. Article on The Connaught Telegraph facebook page.

The article doesn't state the people behind Jackita Ltd but a quick google shows it's the Stauntons.

how many other projects have had their levies misapplied.

PARlance

irishgeo wrote: »

how many other projects have had their levies misapplied.

There should really be certain incentives to develop within town centres rather than levies. Or if levies are needed, they should be split out over X years to promote development.

yop

PARlance wrote: »

On that note, Jackita Ltd just won an appeal to have their Mayo Co Co Development Contribution levy on a proposed development on Main St reduced from 144k to 97k as the Co Co had wrongly applied their levies.

Either sum is a nice chunk of money to be handing over before a block is laid. Article on The Connaught Telegraph facebook page.

The article doesn't state the people behind Jackita Ltd but a quick google shows it's the Stauntons.

Ita Staunton has a pharmacy, Jack must be another relation.

Wonder can those who paid 7k for the same fees on our own self builds get our money back

Xenji

Some notes from the Western Development Commissions new report, taken from http://www.con-telegraph.ie/news/roundup/articles/2017/11/07/4148166-mayos-employment-growth-second-lowest-in-state/

Employment in Mayo grew by just 4.8% in the past five years - the second lowest growth in the State (after Sligo) and below the national average of 11%.

The share of people in the labour force, those either working or looking for work, is also notably below the national average. Mayo is one of only six counties where the labour force shrank - by 1.5% over the five years from 2011 to 2016. This compares to a national increase of 3.2%.

These figures are according to a detailed analysis of the county’s labour market by the Western Development Commission (WDC), based on data from the Census of Population 2016.

The data also shows that Mayo had a total population of 130,507 in 2016, down 0.1% on 2011 figures. Mayo and Donegal are the only two counties nationally where the population declined.

The WDC analysis shows that the county has a labour force of 60,030, or 57.7% of the county’s adult population. The labour force includes both the number of people at work and those looking for work.

This figure is notably below the national average of 61.9% and represents a decline of 1.5% on the previous Census, compared with 3.2% growth nationally.

Mayo is also one of just six counties where the labour force shrank. Other counties in the western region where the labour force declined were Roscommon, Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal.

The number of persons at work, at 51,439, represents 49.5% of the adult population, compared to a State average of 53.4%.

Commuting is an important factor and almost 10% of those employed commute outside of the county for work.

At 8,591, the 8.3% share of the county’s adults who are unemployed is higher than the national average of 7.9%.

The number of retired in Mayo is the highest in the State, accounting for 19.3% of all adults compared to a national average of 14.5%.

Said Pauline White, policy analyst with the WDC: “From these figures, it’s clear that Mayo has not benefitted to the same extent from the recent jobs recovery. While the situation has improved since 2011, with strong growth in manufacturing and health, other sectors such as agriculture, retail and knowledge services have not performed well.

“Out-migration of young people has reduced the county’s labour force and available skills. Supporting these young people to return to set up their own business — and showing potential employers that there’s an appetite to return to Mayo if jobs are available — could help stimulate growth.”

The top three sectors for employment in Mayo are: Wholesale & Retail; Industry; and Health & Social Work, which account for 36.5% of all jobs.

Employment in the health sector grew by 15.7% compared with a national rise of 13.4%, and is the county’s strongest growing sector. An additional 593 jobs in the residential care field during this period reflects the county’s older age profile.

Almost twice the national average (8.5% compared with 4.4%) are employed in agriculture but employment in this sector has plummeted. There are over 1,000 fewer farmers now than five years ago, representing a decline of 17.9%, compared to an average State decline of 2.6%.

Since 2011, employment in the accommodation and food service sector is up 11.7%, now representing 7.6% of the total workforce, compared to a national average of 5.8%.

The WDC analysis also shows employment in public administration declined more in Mayo than elsewhere, dropping 10.1% in five years compared to a 6.3% national decline.

Construction jobs were up by 8.4%, compared to a national increase of 16.6%, but it still remains a significant employer in the county, accounting for 6.3% of all jobs.

Mayo saw its biggest jobs loss, an 18.8% decline, in financial services, compared to a national decline of 1.3% in the same sector. This is linked to the closure of bank branches and other financial institutions.

yop

Good report that or not in many ways.

It shows the balance in my own experience of the number of people retiring from other counties and countries to Mayo. Looking at where my parents live they have 12 houses on their left and 10 on their right which are holiday homes, with no neighbors. All of these houses bar one were previously occupied until the people passed away, now are left to people who use them as holiday homes.

It also adds to the threat of closure to 2 local national schools as young people aren't in the area or can afford to compete for the houses.


The 18% decline in financial jobs goes to show the ripping apart of the banks and post offices, some of it for a move to a more technology base but also around a removal of rural services.
If you think that 6,000 people commute outside of the county on a daily basis to work, its pretty nuts. Based on traffic in the last few months I'd say that has increased again.

RHJ

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godskitchen

RHJ wrote: »

I was going to ask this in the work and jobs forum, but instead I thought I would ask it here.

Are me and my girlfriend mad for considering moving to London at the end of January to seek work?

I can understand her perspective. She is sick of working part-time with little prospect of more hours with her work experience and third level qualifications. I'm sure she'll have no trouble picking up something. As for me, the only qualifications I have are 2 FETAC level 5 qualifications and just over two years of experience both in unpaid voluntary work.

Has anyone made the move over recently to London, or know anyone that has if so, how are you or they finding it in terms of finding employment?

Also, finally, just a quick favour to ask if anyone has a a few minutes to spare can I PM you a link of my CV just to get your thoughts and opinions on it.

Peace out all.

I am over and back to London a lot. You won't have trouble finding work. What type of work are you looking for?

Are you set on London? The cost of living there is worse than Dublin. You will find accommodation easier than Dublin but it's expensive. Somewhere like Reading is close enough to London to be able to commute (especially once crossrail/Elizabeth line opens) rent is much cheaper and you would eventually be able to buy somewhere. A town like Reading also has enough of its own employment so you wouldn't even have to commute. You won't be buying a house in a decent area in London for less than £500k.

PM me your CV.

RHJ

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