So tired!

Local Goddess

I really like working in town but my god the commuting has me worn out completely! I don't know how people come up from the country every morning and work a full day then have to travel home, they must have no time to do anything! I was talking to a girl the other day and she lives down the country. She has to get up a 5!---5, I just wouldn't be able!

sceptre

Nuts. Me, on working days I get up half an hour before I'm due to work and still have just enough time to find socks, shower, eat sparingly and drive four-odd miles safely under the speed limit. Of course starting work before 8 helps. Not being in Dublin helps as well.

In the good old days, when i was working in town it used to take me four minutes to saunter to work. That's my yardstick on how close I'd like to be to where I work. Unfortunately, this also meant it was far too easy for me to drop into the office to get a few things done on weekends, evenings, 4am and so forth. There's probably a happy medium between the two to be found somewhere. I do like the idea of walking to work.

Takes me somewhere between 8 and 45 minutes to drive to college though. Could do without that as I could walk it in 35 if I didn't have to carry the car on my back.

This friend of yours that gets up at 5 - how long does she spend in the car? Bit rich coming from me who almost never has any time off and is probably three steps from the wibble farm as a result but does she have any quality of life at all?

the_syco

I know of some people who live in Cavan, or all places, and work in Dublin city centre. Madness. Live near a train station, tbh, and get the train in, is my solution.

Tizzy

I have the joy of waking at 5.30 am....get to work for 8...and get home for 7.30pm......crazy but has to be done .....

seamus

I get up at 9, have a shower, iron my shirt and leave the house around 9.20, arriving into work at around 9.30. And I'm still knackered in the evenings.

I acutally preferred commuting half an hour in and out of town on a motorbike. In the morning it woke me up within about 30 seconds, and quickly focussed my mind. On the drive home, I got to unwind and forget all about work. Slept much better back then

leeroybrown

I cycle to work most of the time. It's under 10 minutes in the morning and about 15 home in the evening. As far as I'm concerned that's ideal.

My previous job involved a 35 minute drive to work in the morning and anything between 45 and 90 minutes in the evening depending on traffic. That's about the limit of what I was willing to put up with.

Tizzy

Tizzy wrote:

I have the joy of waking at 5.30 am....get to work for 8...and get home for 7.30pm......crazy but has to be done .....

not half as crazy as waking at 05:15 AM work for 8 stay at work till 07:30 AM then home by 10:00 AM hopefully. Night shift man off sick:mad: muggins here ends up with a double shift:eek:
KNACKARD!!!!!!:(

Tom Dunne

I've only recently started commuting on the train and I have to say I love it. It's just under the hour, and where I get on, I am always certain of a seat. I get to work nice and relaxed.

It would probably take me 2 hours to drive to the city center where I work. I just don't know how people do that twice a day, five days a week.

kluivert

More and more people travel long distances to work in Dublin each morning because have loans and debt up to their necks and need a job that will maintain the repayments. And the only place where jobs pay well is in Dublin.

Instead of travelling I work two jobs, am an accountant from Mon - Fri and then work in a bookies Sat and Sun. I have been doing it for the last three years and I am totally sick of it now.

Ill never get those weekends back.

Its not about having a big house, a nice car, the lastest fashion, its about enjoying the simple life that we have with our friends and family and taking pleasure in the simple things in life.

All of the above helps to enjoy a luxury in life but if you bust your backside and work yourself to death you wont have time to enjoy these luxuries.

tunney

the_syco wrote:

I know of some people who live in Cavan, or all places, and work in Dublin city centre. Madness.

Do people like this *actually* exist? That must be 4-5 hours of commuting a day? What quality of life could you possibly have?

Tazz T

kluivert wrote:

Instead of travelling I work two jobs, am an accountant from Mon - Fri and then work in a bookies Sat and Sun. I have been doing it for the last three years and I am totally sick of it now.

Ill never get those weekends back.

Its not about having a big house, a nice car, the lastest fashion, its about enjoying the simple life that we have with our friends and family and taking pleasure in the simple things in life.

Cant be much time to enjoy the simple things in life if yoiu're working a 7 day week.

I moved back to Ireland from London cos I was sick of the commuting. I've spent the last six years walking 20 minutes to work but now that we've bought a house, it's back to the commuting. Thing is, at the moment I get up at the same time I got up in London, as there, because of commuting most companies expect you to start working later (I started at 9.30 there). Here they don't (8.45).

So now I have the prospect of the commute to work and an early rise jsut to own a house. We are really going about things to the wrong way in this country. Another generation and we'll all be souless robots, dropping out kids in creches at 7am and working our asses off too tired and short of time to do anything in the evenings except go to bed. It's not the way it was meant to be, I tell ya! Roll on retirement.

kluivert

Tazz I love London, my dad is from Surrey and love getting over there as much as possibly.

I was there for the two weeks in the summer and was looking for accounting jobs and theres loads, then i started looking at house prices. 300000e in Ireland in Monaghan would buy you a three bed semi, in Surrey it would buy you a 1 Bed flat.

It all boils down to Property doesnt it - at the the end of the day.

I live a five minute walk to/from work and a 15 minute drive at the week ends to Dundalk for the part time job.

Its easy - no traffic, no hassle but no weekends.

I think if people downgraded their house and cars their loan repayments would be less and therefore they would be able to take up a job more locally. But that would be the easy thing, but jobs are not as easy to come by in the north east as in the capital.

Catch 22 isnt it.

jester77

I've come to the conclusion half the irish population must be absolutely mad and gullible at the same time for falling for the "I must have my own property". Life is short, I don't get why people want to be up to their eye balls in debt and spend so much time stuck in traffic jams :eek: I'm in my late 20's and have lived in 4 different cities (some outside Ireland) due to different job. I'm sure lots of others would be the same. Buying a house either ties you to a place or gives you a nice long trip if your personal circumstance change. I don't see myself buying a house/apartment until I finally find the place I want to live and retire. Enjoy life people... I left Ireland a while back and don't regret it. I get up at 7 in the morning, workout for an hour, nice brekkie, leave the apt at 8:40 and I'm sitting in my office at 9 and I'm usually sitting back on my couch again at 5:30. Nice evening with time to do something. Don't need a car as there are 2 metro stations within 5 mins of my apt and the airport is just 15 mins away when I need to escape. Why are so many people willing to sacrifice their quality of life

Tom Dunne

Wow, Galway has come a long way since I was there.

jester77

tom dunne wrote:

Wow, Galway has come a long way since I was there.

I keep meaning to update that.... give me a minute

TempestSabre

Working long hours and commuting is fine until you have a problem, you get sick, or a family member gets sick, or you get married have a family, and then it becomes impossible. It really should only be a short term arangement that you are working/planning towards getting out of.

seamus

TempestSabre wrote:

Working long hours and commuting is fine until you have a problem, you get sick, or a family member gets sick, or you get married have a family, and then it becomes impossible. It really should only be a short term arangement that you are working/planning towards getting out of.

That's the theory, but the crux of the matter is that a lot of the people doing the long commutes are those with families. Unable to afford a semi/detached house in Dublin, and perhaps unhappy at the idea of children sharing bedrooms, couples will both work their asses off paying a mortgage on a large 4-bed in the commuter belt when they've only got two young kids, and a small two- or three-bed closer to Dublin would be the same price and closer to work.

Many school teachers (particularly those in younger primary) are becoming increasingly frustrated by parents telling their kids to wait in school for up to an hour afterwards, effectively treating the school like a creche.

homeOwner

jester77 wrote:

I don't see myself buying a house/apartment until I finally find the place I want to live and retire. Enjoy life people...

Thats fine if you dont plan on having a family. But if you do, you will realise why so many of us have bought houses or want to buy, even at crazy prices.

You cant move around all the time if you have kids, its just not fair to them. They need stability and the chance to settle into a school and if you are renting in Ireland unfortunately you are at the mercy of a landlord to not increase the rent every year, you cant make any changes to a house to suit your family and you may be turfed out if the landlord decides to sell, or if the rent becomes too expensive. In France & Spain you can rent enormous apartments in the city centre on a 10 year lease at a fixed rent. You cant do that here. The only hope most parents have of eventually being able to retire and enjoy some of life before they reach 65 is to buy a house and pay off the mortgage as quickly as they can and remove the drain on their income.

jester77

homeOwner wrote:

Thats fine if you dont plan on having a family. But if you do, you will realise why so many of us have bought houses or want to buy, even at crazy prices.

You cant move around all the time if you have kids, its just not fair to them. They need stability and the chance to settle into a school and if you are renting in Ireland unfortunately you are at the mercy of a landlord to not increase the rent every year, you cant make any changes to a house to suit your family and you may be turfed out if the landlord decides to sell, or if the rent becomes too expensive. In France & Spain you can rent enormous apartments in the city centre on a 10 year lease at a fixed rent. You cant do that here. The only hope most parents have of eventually being able to retire and enjoy some of life before they reach 65 is to buy a house and pay off the mortgage as quickly as they can and remove the drain on their income.

Fair point. I probably will be the same when I decide to have a family. But I don't plan on having a family until I can afford one. I don't know if that sounds selfish but that's how I see it.

But it's not just families that are doing this. I have lots of friends back in Ireland that have bought property with their partners and they have no quality of life. They are lucky if they can go out once a week or take a holiday. I don't get it. They could easily rent for less and have a much better standard of living while they are still young and have the time. What's the rush I think there is too much focus on having to buy your own place.

kluivert

Invest your money in alcohol...where else would you get a 40% return.

Well property in Dundalk, I was reading the Argus last night which detailed all the housing estates in Dundalk average increase in value since 2003 was 60%.

But if you sell up and move on that increase in value is worth feck all.

Please dont turn this into another property discussion, even though I did start the rant on property.

I think travelling in a car for up to 30-45 mins is acceptable. But each person is different. Travelling for hours each day is not right in my opinion but if people are happy doing that then let them away at it.

To the OP, if you are getting tired of travelling, you will find that you get stressed out more, cant relax, lack of concretration or focus etc, then you should consider looking for a job closer to home.

TempestSabre

jester77 wrote:

Fair point. I probably will be the same when I decide to have a family. But I don't plan on having a family until I can afford one. I don't know if that sounds selfish but that's how I see it.

If only it was that simple. Who's to know if you will be able to have kids on demand, or that your financies will always be the same or better?

jester77 wrote:

But it's not just families that are doing this. I have lots of friends back in Ireland that have bought property with their partners and they have no quality of life. They are lucky if they can go out once a week or take a holiday. I don't get it. They could easily rent for less and have a much better standard of living while they are still young and have the time. What's the rush I think there is too much focus on having to buy your own place.

Becuase I guess most people are thinking of the future not living in the now.

jester77

TempestSabre wrote:

If only it was that simple. Who's to know if you will be able to have kids on demand, or that your financies will always be the same or better?

True, no one can predict the future.

TempestSabre wrote:

Becuase I guess most people are thinking of the future not living in the now.

But they are struggling in the now for a future that can't be predicted. It's not the way it should be.

TempestSabre

seamus wrote:

That's the theory, but the crux of the matter is that a lot of the people doing the long commutes are those with families. Unable to afford a semi/detached house in Dublin, and perhaps unhappy at the idea of children sharing bedrooms, couples will both work their asses off paying a mortgage on a large 4-bed in the commuter belt when they've only got two young kids, and a small two- or three-bed closer to Dublin would be the same price and closer to work.

Many school teachers (particularly those in younger primary) are becoming increasingly frustrated by parents telling their kids to wait in school for up to an hour afterwards, effectively treating the school like a creche.

For some its working their asses off for a small two- or three-bed outside of Dublin. People are not just doing it to make themselve better off but because its so expensive to live that you have to do it just to get by, even after accepting all the compromises of living far outside of dublin and less of everything. Itsa lifestyle choice for some but for others it not.

TempestSabre

jester77 wrote:

True, no one can predict the future.

But they are struggling in the now for a future that can't be predicted. It's not the way it should be.

I agree, its not. Also theres no point working towards retirement if you might not make it that far.

Catch 22 definately.

Local Goddess

I'm just sick of it and I do find that I am stressing a lot more lately, but need the money and it's a good job, but I'm determined not to do this for the rest of my life, just could'nt. I really feel so sorry for the people who really have to do it, they must have no quality of life. You have to ask yourself, is it really worth it. And I know loads of people have no choice, they have to, just feel sorry for them.

Vikings

Commuting has you tired? Try a job which involves little or no traffic...night shifts!! Celbridge to Park West - 15 minutes on the way to work, and 15 minutes on the way home!

Though you will still be tired as you have to try and juggle the rest of your life on 4 or 5 hours sleep a day...but it means not sitting in traffic for hours each day!

ThrownAway

Haa haa for me it's a 10 minute walk and I could get a lift but I rather walk to get some fresh air in the mornings

daveirl

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TempestSabre

Yeah Tizzy why don't you work a "normal" (normal = daveirl routine) ? :rolleyes: