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Dublin-Belfast car commute

  • 11-04-2011 9:12am
    #1
    Dualtha
    Closed Accounts Posts: 15 ✭


    Hi there,

    I am considering moving to Belfast with my family later this year and I work just off the Red Cow so a commute seems forthcoming. Does anyone presently do this or have opinions on it? It would be a three day commute only as I have an option of working from home Mondays and Fridays and staying with family close by any day I need to.
    I'd be interest in actual drive times and I only do this drive on weekends but find it easy enough if boring as hell....
    Any thoughts?


Comments

  • #2
    amacachi
    Closed Accounts Posts: 23,316 ✭✭✭✭amacachi


    M50 to Sprucefield would be under an hour and a half at an easy 100 km/h. I don't know what traffic from Sprucefield to Belfast is like and the M50 depends when you're hitting it.


  • #3
    Dualtha
    Closed Accounts Posts: 15 ✭Dualtha


    I'll be hitting the M50 soon after 4pm on those days I drive. Only 10 mins from Sprucefield so not too bad. I am hoping there might be some car pooling also...


  • #4
    Cookie_Monster
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 24,537 ✭✭✭✭Cookie_Monster


    IMO that's an insane distance to commute and the fuel bills will be huge, even 3 days a week. Sure it's doable but why would you want to really, maybe look at renting a room somewhere for the nights so you only have to go down once and back once...


  • #5
    Dualtha
    Closed Accounts Posts: 15 ✭Dualtha


    I've considered renting on those 3 days and I'll probably stay with family 2 days out of the 12 commutes so its approximately 10 day commute month.
    Renting would cost me than fuel surely?
    A guy commuting similar distance from Longford is paying 300 approximately month in diesel for 1.9 diesel car also and he says that includes weekend driving.
    We are probably spending close that anyways on short trips.
    Tolls would be approximately 160 month also to factor in.


  • #6
    Cookie_Monster
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 24,537 ✭✭✭✭Cookie_Monster


    Dualtha wrote: »
    Renting would cost me than fuel surely? (plus tolls)

    Possibly but you'd have more free time rather than being stuck in the car. Depends how you value the time tbh, if you feel 3 hours a day is worth it to see more of your family for those days then do it or if it's better to get those hours to yourself during the week to get stuff done: work, exercise, whatever. It may be worth the extra expense to stay down tbh.


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  • #7
    amacachi
    Closed Accounts Posts: 23,316 ✭✭✭✭amacachi


    Cookie_Monster wrote: »
    Possibly but you'd have more free time rather than being stuck in the car. Depends how you value the time tbh, if you feel 3 hours a day is worth it to see more of your family for those days then do it or if it's better to get those hours to yourself during the week to get stuff done: work, exercise, whatever. It may be worth the extra expense to stay down tbh.

    If it's 3 hours total for the two door-to-door trips it's not that bad though.


  • #8
    serfboard
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,739 ✭✭✭serfboard


    Cookie_Monster wrote: »
    IMO that's an insane distance to commute and the fuel bills will be huge, even 3 days a week. Sure it's doable but why would you want to really, maybe look at renting a room somewhere for the nights so you only have to go down once and back once...

    Agree. Go down Tuesday mornings, back Thursday evenings. Stay with family/friends/hostel/B&B/hotel - anything really. Don't just look on it from a financial point of view ... even though the drive is straight-forward enough it's still tiring, and with the cost of fuel going up, depreciation on your car, and tolls I'm not sure that you will be financially better off. You'll spend two nights away from home, but five nights at home, and without the hassle of having to cope with various idiots on the road.


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