Commute - The Longest?

Mr Mac

Hi,

Does anyone know of people who do a daily commute to Galway from Dublin or visa versa?

Whats the longest commute you've heard anyone doing? Trying to make up my mind on a job decision.

MrM

oceanclub

Eh, just because there are people out there doing insanely long commutes, it doesn't mean _you_ should do it.

I just changed job to cut my commute from 2.5-3 hours a day to two 7-minute walks; best decision I've ever made.

P.

dame

Do you want to still have a life??? 3 hours commuting each way????????? Your sleep, health, diet, fitness, family and social life will all go down the drain. If you really really want the job then why don't you just travel down on Mon morning and back on Fri afternoon? Or better still, work very long hours and cut your working week down to 4 days if you can. To be honest, commuting like that every day is really not a runner and you shouldn't take the job unless it is so absolutely fantastic that you can't turn it down (and similar is not available closer to where you live).

I'm currentlydoing similar, commuting to a different city for a few days a week and staying there for the nights in between, but to be honest it just doesn't work. You miss out on far too much at home. I'm looking for a job closer to home now but I'm probably going to be taking a less well paid job and probably one which I am over-qualified for, but for me, the benefits of being at home when I'm needed far outweigh any extra pay or sense of achievement from doing a particular job.

mikemac

I once commuted from Belfast to Dublin by train.
Didn't last too long and I certainly couldn't drive that every day. Train service on the Enterprise is very good thankfully.

This was only a short term thing though. Now work is 4 minutes away on the moped:)

Edit, if you take the job OP, I'd recommend getting digs for Mon-Fri

kim_eire

I commute from Roscommon to Dublin every day.

seamus

To repeat myself: A commute that takes longer than an hour is a waste of your time. The petrol costs alone will wipe out a huge chunk of any potential pay increase.

To do that commute, I'd have to refill my car probably twice a week (Not to mention the increase in wear - more tyres, brakes, services, etc.). That's €100. So €400 a month of my after-tax income would be taken up by petrol costs. Or €4800 per year. Which would be the equivalent of an €8000p.a. salary increase.

Then of course you have the cost to you of your time spent commuting. What's that worth? Rising at 5am, to leave at 6 and be in the office at 9. Then leaving the office at 5.30, home at 8.30-9, just enough time to have dinner and go to bed.

Unless I was earning in excess of half a million, there's no way in hell I'd work those hours

kim_eire

It is the hardest and most soul distroying thing i have ever done in my life! sometimes i would love to pack it all in, esp on a Monday morning, but there isn't that many decent jobs in Roscommon! I'm in the Civil service so should be decentralising to the west in the next 18 months! And no matter what the mortgage needs to be paid!!
But if i had the choice again, i would NOT accept the job, nothing is more valabule than time!! and i don't even like the job, but once ya do a few years of something its easier to stick it out than quit!

syklops

I live in Ballsbridge, and I am going for a job in Citywest. It would be an extra 10k a year, and I would have the possibility to work from home occasionally. Despite that, I am still unsure about whether to say yes when they offer it or not. On a good day, it will be a 5-10 min walk to the bus stop, a 1 hour bus journey, and at the other end upto a 15 minute walk. I know people who drive from Kildare to Dublin probably think I am mad to say this, but I feel it may be too far. I am very envious of the guy who is a 4 minute moped ride from work.

My logic is this: I work for 7 and a half hours, will get 1 hour for lunch, thats 8 and a half hours, getting to work will be about 1 and a half hours each way, so I have now spent 11 and a half hours getting to work/ working. Add in a shower and a shave in the morning, and a seven hour sleep at night, that gives me 5 hours per day for socialising, reading, being with my girl friend, etc. Is it worth the money?

jester77

I have a friend who was doing Galway-Dublin, bloody nightmare. He commuted 4 days and spent 1 day at home. But the flights would often get cancelled due to crappy weather and he would often be unable to get to the office or would get stuck in Dublin. He gave up that job after 7 or 8 months for one nearer home. I've never had more than a 20 min. commute and will never take a position that requires further than that no matter what it is. Quality of life is more important than some numbers sitting in a banc a/c!

Saruman

I go from rochfortbridge in westmeath to Dublin every day. I drop the wife off in Blanch then go anywhere in the city im working, or to the office in Finglas.
Now its about 80km each way. However using the M4 toll road im only 35 mins or so from Liffey Valley. In the mornings i can get to work within an hour, to an hour and a half depending on traffic in Blanch. If there is no traffic i can do it in 45 mins.

I drive a company vehicle and have a fuel card so that makes a difference.
I stopped using the toll road as i realised it costs more than €100 per month!!
With the schools off im still able to get to work in the same time.

It was different for me as i had the job, i just moved to buy a house at a fraction of the price as i would pay in Dublin.

Saint_Mel

I used to commute from Athlone to Dublin for a few months.

It was an absolute nightmare, had to cycle from my house to the station at
unearthly hours of the morning and then after a days work and a smelly
uncomfortable train journey back ... had to hop on the bike again to get home.

Ended up having to work through lunch breaks so I could get out early to make
sure I got to the station in time to get a seat.

Ended up too tired to do anything in the evenings and then the odd evening
I'd go for a pint or 2, the next morning was hell on earth!

Worst few months ever.

zoemax

I commute from Tullow to South Dublin. I take a roundabout route to avoid traffic so its about 60 miles each way. This morning it took 1hr20mins, when the schools are on and the weather is bad it can take 1hr50mins. Getting home always takes 1hr50mins. I don't sit in any traffic so that's a bonus. It works for me as I work in the public service so get relatively well paid and I only have to work 32.5hrs per week. I can leave home at 6.30am, be in work just after 8am, do a seven hour day which includes a half hour for lunch and leave work by 4pm, and be home before 6pm. Don't know how sustainable this is but have been doing it for about 4 years and am happy with the situation. Don't think that I could do a longer commute though, I reckon I'm on on the limit (for me anyway).

zoemax

I commute from Tullow to South Dublin. I take a roundabout route to avoid traffic so its about 60 miles each way. This morning it took 1hr20mins, when the schools are on and the weather is bad it can take 1hr50mins. Getting home always takes 1hr50mins. I don't sit in any traffic so that's a bonus. It works for me as I work in the public service so get relatively well paid and I only have to work 32.5hrs per week. I can leave home at 6.30am, be in work just after 8am, do a seven hour day which includes a half hour for lunch and leave work by 4pm, and be home before 6pm. Don't know how sustainable this is but have been doing it for about 4 years and am happy with the situation. Don't think that I could do a longer commute though, I reckon I'm on on the limit (for me anyway).

Mr Mac

Wow, thanks for such a great response. I think I'll stay two nights to split up the week, Maybe a Monday and Thursday and then drive the rest. I'd love the job on offer....

Wonder if there is any way of saving money on the road or away from home?

I'm thrilled I'm not alone......

Bulmers

a guy who used to work with me travelled from ballinasloe to dublin...he done it for 3yrs, by the end, the job practically made him take job in west it was damaging his health so much..he used to get up a 4am, in for 7am, left work 4pm, home 7pm...i dont know how he done it...would moving to dublin not be an option if it's ajob u love that much?

Bulmers

syklops wrote:

I live in Ballsbridge, and I am going for a job in Citywest. It would be an extra 10k a year, and I would have the possibility to work from home occasionally. Despite that, I am still unsure about whether to say yes when they offer it or not. On a good day, it will be a 5-10 min walk to the bus stop, a 1 hour bus journey, and at the other end upto a 15 minute walk. I know people who drive from Kildare to Dublin probably think I am mad to say this, but I feel it may be too far. I am very envious of the guy who is a 4 minute moped ride from work.

My logic is this: I work for 7 and a half hours, will get 1 hour for lunch, thats 8 and a half hours, getting to work will be about 1 and a half hours each way, so I have now spent 11 and a half hours getting to work/ working. Add in a shower and a shave in the morning, and a seven hour sleep at night, that gives me 5 hours per day for socialising, reading, being with my girl friend, etc. Is it worth the money?

i was in same boat few weeks back, got offered job, more money but was based in sandyford, i live in blanchardstown...turned it down based on similiar reasons you mention above, didn't think worth it all the travelling..something else will come along...

Agent Smith

a girl i went to college with traveled from galway to dublin 5 days a week.
its doable, but you'll be have no social life whatsoever

MagicMarker

if you're going to be spending soo much time on the road and in Dublin then there is absolutely no reason to not just move to Dublin.

Dub13

MagicMarker wrote:

if you're going to be spending soo much time on the road and in Dublin then there is absolutely no reason to not just move to Dublin.

Some people simply cant afford to move to Dublin.

markpb

Dub13 wrote:

Some people simply cant afford to move to Dublin.

Age old argument coming right up.

If they factor in the monetary costs of commuting (car ownership, petrol, maintenance, etc) with the economic cost of time spent in the car, the social cost of not being able to socialise after work or spend time with friends or family at home and the health costs of sitting immobile in a car for several hours a day, I find it hard to believe how living in (or at least closer to) Dublin could not work out about the same.

Huggles

I went from Clontarf to Rathfarnham for two years.

In the morning it was 30minutes into town on the 130 then another 70minutes on the 16A.

In the evenings then it would be it could take easily an hour and forty back into town (Damn Wexford Street!) then another 40minutes home.

To say I was living a hell doesn't quite sum it up. I eventually cracked and now I am just a 20 minute bus ride away.

As a poster above said your quality of life will go down the pan in a major way.

eth0_

A few years ago I moved home to Drogheda for a year, and I commuted to Blanchardstown. I didn't have a car so had to use the bus.

Drogheda - O'Connell St would take around 50 mins (this was several years ago, it takes a lot longer now).

O'Connell St - Blanchardstown - at least one hour. Coming back into town in the evenings took even longer.

The commute nearly killed me. I'd be leaving the house before 6am, and wouldn't be home til well after 7pm and by that stage I would be too exhausted to do anything except go to bed.

How can anyone justify this? How can it be that it takes longer to travel 6 miles or thereabouts to Blanch, than the 30 miles to Drogheda?

Something needs to be done about this, not just by the council. The company I work for has a scheme in the US where they reward employee's for using public transport, and it has been very successful. Perhaps something should be implemented here, some sort of additional tax break for people who have those tax saver tickets?

Dub13

markpb wrote:

Age old argument coming right up.

If they factor in the monetary costs of commuting (car ownership, petrol, maintenance, etc) with the economic cost of time spent in the car, the social cost of not being able to socialise after work or spend time with friends or family at home and the health costs of sitting immobile in a car for several hours a day, I find it hard to believe how living in (or at least closer to) Dublin could not work out about the same.

Yes but the banks will not take this into consideration when giving a loan.You can factor in all the extra cost you like but if the bank will not loan you the cash to buy in Dublin you will have to move 'down the country'.

Raskolnikov

My 'auld fella did Gort to Donegal for about a month a few years back. Worked out at 8 hours driving each day. Needless to say; it wasn't long before he packed it in.

texas star

My god I never realised that people did that much of a commute:eek: Galway to Dublin sure us Dubs go on our holidays there. Janey mack I realise now how lucky I am to be able walk to work everyday. I hope the job is worth it,life is very short.Good luck anyway:)

NicOda

In the situation where I have been offerd a job in Dublin.
I am in Arklow at the moment and I have been offered a job in Blanchardstown Corporate Park starting on August 13th.I cant decide whether to commute or move up to the area.I would apperciate any info from people here who do that N11 run every day as to how long it takes etc at peak times.Cheers

nesf

My longest commute was walking for an hour to work every day. Nowadays, I've a 10 minute walk.

I can't understand people spending more than an hour travelling to work. That's just soul destroying stuff tbh.

patrickc

I commuted from Carlow to Mullingar for nearly a year i hated that so much plus the job wasnt as good as i initially thought it would be. I now commute Carlow to dublin but i work shifts so most days miss the major traffic so I can live with it, the cost of the commute is very expensive there, just glad I drive a diesel.

nesf

patrickc2006 wrote:

the cost of the commute is very expensive there, just glad I drive a diesel.

People who drive long commutes and drive petrol cars are nuts tbh. If you are going to be doing a lot of mileage you need diesel really.

Ishmael

I used to commute from Carlow to Swords for a While.

Left House a 5:30am
25min walk to bus stop
6am bus to Dublin
1hr - 1hr 15min on bus
the off that one and onto a 41/41c/33/43 on abbey street
40mins usually to swords.
another 20 min walk from swords to work

Usually got to work between 8:30am-9am

work 9 - 5:30pm

Usually 6-6:15 before i got a bus back to town
another 40mins-1hr

or Wait for a 41 to the Airport and get the bus from there which meant i had to wait for the last one to Carlow at 8pm.

if i was lucky i'd catch the 7:15pm bus but usually missed it and had to wait till 8:45 for the next one.

would get home @ 10:30 - 10:45, eat something and sleep.

So 2 and a half hours in the morning and around the same or more in the evening.

I had to stop or it would have been like the movie Falling Down.

Mr Mac

Wow, Ismael, that must be the longest commute I ever heard off. How long did that last?

BrandonBlock

[Brag]

I'm about 15 mins drive to work and the same coming home, with free parking.
Not working in Dublin City Centre ftw!

nesf

BrandonBlock wrote:

Not working in Dublin City Centre ftw!

You couldn't pay me enough to drive an hour to work in the morning. It just wouldn't be worth it from a quality of life point of view.

Mrs. MacGyver

Used to take an hoursto get in to work during school term from Darndale to City Centre. Now live ten mins from work, could even go home for lunch if i wanted to. I see people who commute from Balbriggan/Blanch to my job an they are absolutely wrecked ...and thats from commuting within Dublin..taking around a hour and a half each way.

eth0_

NicOda wrote:

In the situation where I have been offerd a job in Dublin.
I am in Arklow at the moment and I have been offered a job in Blanchardstown Corporate Park starting on August 13th.I cant decide whether to commute or move up to the area.I would apperciate any info from people here who do that N11 run every day as to how long it takes etc at peak times.Cheers

I don't know how anyone in their right mind could even consider commuting from arklow to blanchardstown. Driving would be an absolute nightmare. On the train you'd have to go to Connolly and then walk up to Mounjoy Sq area to get the bus to Blanchardstown (which takes an hour).

NicOda

eth0_ wrote:

I don't know how anyone in their right mind could even consider commuting from arklow to blanchardstown. Driving would be an absolute nightmare. On the train you'd have to go to Connolly and then walk up to Mounjoy Sq area to get the bus to Blanchardstown (which takes an hour).

Wouldnt be using public transport Ill be driving. I just need to sit down and work out the pros and cons of both...Dont really fancy living in Dublin as I would have to share a house with strangers:( , but i dont know if ill be able for the commute every day. Ill fill you in when I start:)

jester77

NicOda wrote:

Wouldnt be using public transport Ill be driving. I just need to sit down and work out the pros and cons of both...Dont really fancy living in Dublin as I would have to share a house with strangers:( , but i dont know if ill be able for the commute every day. Ill fill you in when I start:)

Nothing wrong with living with strangers, great way to meet new people and it's more fun than being stuck in traffic for a few hours everyday! But if you are against living with others you could just rent a place by yourself but you could end up feeling lonely that way!

loyatemu

train from Arklow at 0613 would get you to Coolmine at 0829 (change at Pearse)
return journey dep Coolmine 1813, arr Arklow 2008

even with traffic you'd probably be quicker driving (which just demonstrates how sh!t slow the south-eastern rail service is).

golden

NicOda wrote:

In the situation where I have been offerd a job in Dublin.
I am in Arklow at the moment and I have been offered a job in Blanchardstown Corporate Park starting on August 13th.I cant decide whether to commute or move up to the area.I would apperciate any info from people here who do that N11 run every day as to how long it takes etc at peak times.Cheers

.

I'm originally from Kilmacanogue and would advise to relocate to Dublin if you can. The N11 from anywhere from Kilmac can be a bit of a nightmare espeacially if there is a crash and they are happening more frequently. There was a 12 mile tailback two days ago due to a crash in near Fassaroe (the Enniskerry Junction).

On a good day it would take 1.5hours to get to Arklow, but the N11 is getting alot heavier now than it used to be so maybe the 1.5hours is to short.

I now live in Clare and used to commute Monday to Friday to Dublin and had digs up there so not to commute every day. I gave the job up for health reasons and now my health is sort of gone back to normal touch wood. commuting on a daily basis does take an awful lot out of you.