The Commute

Yahew

Yahew wrote: »

And for some people they want to play hurling at the weekends. This is horses for courses, but only one side is getting heated about it.

You've missed the point. Of course people can fly home every weekend if they want to. What I have no time for is the whining about it, the tone of the documentary, as if I'm supposed to feel sorry for such people. As if life has dealt them a bad hand and they're doing what they have to do. In most of the cases, they've chosen to be in that situation. Most of the people featured were childless. If you live in rural Donegal, of course you're not going to have your pick of bloody jobs. That has been obvious for at least the last five years. If you choose to fly home every weekend from London, of course it's expensive and tiring. The logical option is to move for the job, but they chose not to. If some people believe driving 4 hours a day or flying to London every few days is better than relocating, fine, but they can stop whinging about it. Some of my coworkers constantly say how lucky I am because I have a 'short' commute, but they're not prepared to pay a fortune to live in a shoebox like I do. I'd love more space and a garden, but no way am I getting up at 5am. Nobody gets to have their cake and eat it.

The only person I really felt sorry for was the nurse and only because she was so clearly unhappy and trying to help the family, but I don't understand how she makes any money. Flying to London and back every week, staying in a flat/hotel 3 or 4 nights a week....how much do nurses get paid?

Yahew

Yahew wrote: »

This kind of ( well -thanked) comment.

People building bungalows in the arse end of nowhere and commuting for five hours a day thinking they are improving their quality of life.

generally indicates a Dubliner.

Projection much? That's my opinion and I'm not a Dubliner. I think most people in the world would agree that sitting in a car for five hours a day is hellish and insane. Any benefit to living in a nice bungalow in the country would be outweighed by arriving home shattered at 9pm and going straight to bed. I don't understand how that can possibly be a decent quality of life.

Yahew

Ok, well I didn't watch the documentary ( I thought you were in London by the way?). However, a weekend commute makes sense to me. I met a taxi driver in London who lived in Kerry a few months back. His car is kept at his brothers house, he flies in Monday, stays with the brother, drives the car around making the bucks, and flies to Ireland at weekends. The cost is a return ticket, and London cab drivers can do quite well. You would consider that sad if he were Irish, but he isn't and nor is his wife. They just think that they get a better standard of living in Ireland - i.e. bigger house, country living ( which is for the rich in the UK) etc. He also has friends he meets in the pub.

Whatever works.

Degringola

If he stays with his brother he probably has little or no rent to pay. I wonder how it would stack up if he had to rent a room for himself?

Yahew

Amiya Wailing Speedometer wrote: »

Projection much? That's my opinion and I'm not a Dubliner. I think most people in the world would agree that sitting in a car for five hours a day is hellish and insane. Any benefit to living in a nice bungalow in the country would be outweighed by arriving home shattered at 9pm and going straight to bed. I don't understand how that can possibly be a decent quality of life.

But why do people care so much? If someone wants to spend 5 hours on a train every day ( which is the extreme argument, anyway) for a bigger house, a house closer to extended family or friends why the hostility?

When I last worked in Dublin, i worked in Kilbarrack. The only Southsider we worked with continued to live on Southside, and took an hour to get to work, on a good day, and 90 minutes on a bad one. I took ten minutes because I rented close by and don't have that snobbery. I presume his reasons for not moving were related to wanting to be around his own type. He did live at home, right enough. Someone from the country is doing the same thing, but garnering more aggression.

Yahew

Yahew wrote: »

Ok, well I didn't watch the documentary ( I thought you were in London by the way?).

Never heard of RTE Player?

However, a weekend commute makes sense to me. I met a taxi driver in London who lived in Kerry a few months back. His car is kept at his brothers house, he flies in Monday, stays with the brother, drives the car around making the bucks, and flies to Ireland at weekends. The cost is a return ticket, and London cab drivers can do quite well. You would consider that sad if he were Irish, but he isn't and nor is his wife. They just think that they get a better standard of living in Ireland - i.e. bigger house, country living ( which is for the rich in the UK) etc. He also has friends he meets in the pub.

Whatever works.

But is he on TV whining about how unfair it is that he 'has' to commute and pointing out how awful it is?

Yahew

Amiya Wailing Speedometer wrote: »

Never heard of RTE Player?

I never use it. I am more integrated than thou.

Yahew

Yahew wrote: »

But why do people care so much? If someone wants to spend 5 hours on a train every day ( which is the extreme argument, anyway) for a bigger house, a house closer to extended family or friends why the hostility?

When I last worked in Dublin, i worked in Kilbarrack. The only Southsider we worked with continued to live on Southside, and took an hour to get to work, on a good day, and 90 minutes on a bad one. I took ten minutes because I rented close by and don't have that snobbery. I presume his reasons for not moving were related to wanting to be around his own type. He did live at home, right enough. Someone from the country is doing the same thing, but garnering more aggression.

Who is hostile? They can do what they want, so long as they don't whine about it. I'm saying I don't understand how it could possibly be considered a good lifestyle. Feel free to explain. Your colleague was probably living rent-free and was happy to make the sacrifice. An hour isn't too bad, especially on public transport. 3 hours in a car, concentrating the whole time? Different kettle of fish.

Yahew

Yahew wrote: »

I never use it. I am more integrated than thou.

That was actually the first time I've watched it and probably the last. RTE broadcast some awful sh1te.

Yahew

Amiya Wailing Speedometer wrote: »

Who is hostile? They can do what they want, so long as they don't whine about it. I'm saying I don't understand how it could possibly be considered a good lifestyle. Feel free to explain. Your colleague was probably living rent-free and was happy to make the sacrifice. An hour isn't too bad, especially on public transport. 3 hours in a car, concentrating the whole time? Different kettle of fish.

Well, I wouldn't do it. But that's 90 minutes a commute, which is common enough within cities. ( however I would only use public transport for that kind of commute).

John_Rambo

I know people who do this. They have land with a promise to build their one off mansion. They won't rent cause it's "dead money" (in their opinion), they reckon they are saving by commuting from Dublin to a long long long way, arriving to their folks house to their kids at nine at night, leaving in the small hours of the morning, they barely see their kids. It would be very very hard for them to give up the notion of the free land and an opportunity to "design" their own house.

They live in their cars.

When they build their mansion they won't be able to walk anywhere as the area isn't serviced, the road is too dangerous for kids to walk or cycle.

They will continue to live in their cars.

Sometimes you gotta bite the bullet. The cities are not that bad, for the money these guys save and spend on fuel they could live in an amazing, child friendly part of Dublin.

Reloc8

Stark wrote: »

Take you to court, have you thrown in jail.

No can't be done.

HavingCrack wrote: »

To an extent I always wonder what the point of this is, I don't see how putting someone in jail helps the bank recoup their money.

Don't worry it can't be done.

Snakeblood wrote: »

pour encourager les autres

Can't be done.

markpb wrote: »

Take you to court, get a judgement order against you, take the house and sell it and, if they don't cover the remaining mortgage, have you declared bankrupt.

^This

Stark

Reloc8 wrote: »

No can't be done.

You sure about that? I mean if you're declared bankrupt and unable to pay, you're not going to face a prison service. But if the court decided that it was within your means to pay, but you stuck up your finger to them (as the poster was suggesting) wouldn't you be in contempt of court as a result?

Cartman78

This documentary was a missed opportunity by RTE - there was an interesting programme to be made here about people having to travel for their jobs but tbh I thought the people featured weren't representative in any way of most commuters.

The hurling guy in London was quite infuriating - he looked to have a decent job in a fairly decent school but travels home every weekend. To play hurling. For Westmeath. Makes no sense whatsoever in my book and he was in no position to be whining about it on national television. If he loves hurling so much then why not play for one of the growing number of clubs in London?

The Cork mid-wife case a bit odd as well. Did it mention in the programme what qualification she had? I doubt if she was dual-qualified (ie. a nurse and a mid-wife) or else she would have had more employment options. I would guess she spent a fortune on doing a fast-track mid-wife course and probably due to a gigantic mortgage and large family is under financial pressure. Hard to know what would be the best option for her but unless she's on huge money in London, what she's doing makes no sense.

The builder guy in London - get the plane home. Simple. Why spend 15 hours travelling by boat etc. to spend 1 day at home?

The Limerick commuting train gang - 6 hrs a day on the train is ridiculous. This might be feasible for a short period with a view to sorting something out (ie. working from home a couple of days, getting a job closer to home). I know a few people from Limerick working in Dublin and they do the sensible thing of travelling up early on Monday and back down on Friday evening. Not easy either but better quality of life than stuck on a train for 30 hrs a week.

I know all of the people featured in the programme are facing difficult decisions and situations. But the information that the viewer was given and the way the people were represented made their actions seem illogical

Reloc8

Stark wrote: »

You sure about that? I mean if you're declared bankrupt and unable to pay, you're not going to face a prison service. But if the court decided that it was within your means to pay, but you stuck up your finger to them (as the poster was suggesting) wouldn't you be in contempt of court as a result?

Alright so I was being very general. Basically as long as you are a Freeman of the Land and refuse to accept admiralty jurisdiction you'll be fine.




















Ah no only messing.

This applies :http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2009/en/act/pub/0021/sec0002.html#sec2

Imprisonment can happen after an installments order is made (which is obliged to be consistent with means of the debtor) only in case of wilfull refusal or culpable neglect, where the debtor has not goods which could be taken in satisfaction of the monies owed.

But no, you can't just be locked up because you owe the Bank money and its nothing to do with contempt of court.

Hope that clarifies.

Miss Olenska

The guy travelling to Dublin from Limerick and back every day made no sense. Book a B&B and chat to your wife and kids on Skype. You'd probably see more of them that way then arriving home when they're heading off to bed.

The lad travelling back to play hurling every weekend - it's not like you're even from a big hurling county. Maybe I'm blinkered though because I would never give the GAA that much of my time.

unklerosco

Having spent a few years with reasonably long commutes I consider myself fairly lucky to only have a 5 second commute from my house to my office in the garden. My wife works about a 60 second drive from the house.

unklerosco

unklerosco wrote: »

My wife works about a 60 second drive from the house.

Do you mean a five minute walk or does she use the car for such a short journey!

unklerosco

Walks, cycles, drives.. Depends on weather she's to bring gear to work or not.

Snakeblood

Miss Olenska wrote: »

The guy travelling to Dublin from Limerick and back every day made no sense. Book a B&B and chat to your wife and kids on Skype. You'd probably see more of them that way then arriving home when they're heading off to bed.

The lad travelling back to play hurling every weekend - it's not like you're even from a big hurling county. Maybe I'm blinkered though because I would never give the GAA that much of my time.

I would see the point of the guy going back to play hurling every weekend. It's not really something he can get where he is, and he really likes it, and he doesn't seem to have dependents. The success level of the county doesn't really come into it for me.

Edit: Not that I feel sorry for him, but I think he's doing a thing he thinks is worth doing.

slapbangwallop

As someone that lives "abroad" I am considering moving my famiy "home" and entering into a similar arrangement to what that lady in Cork is doing.

Whilst I feel sorry for all (except the GAA player) the programme was called the Commute. It aint a commute if you spend the majority of the nights of the week away from where you consider "home"

The only commuter on that programme was the man from Limerick.

The guy from Sligo was an emigrant in denial.

inforfun

Had to do a Dublin - Cork round trip this weekend. leaving friday around 4.30 pm was a disaster. Coming back saturday evening was ok.
But anyone doing that trip every day by car just for work is not sane in the head.

Have to say that years ago was considering renting cheap here and fly back every weekend to where i come from. Just didnt work out with the time tables but 4 plane tickets a month would easily have been paid out of the savings i would have made in rent.

flash1080

Got a months holidays coming up soon, might just stay in Ireland at the end and not go back to the ****hole that is the UK.

Noffles

flash1080 wrote: »

Got a months holidays coming up soon, might just stay in Ireland at the end and not go back to the ****hole that is the UK.

You'll find that ireland is a far smaller but more successful at being a ****hole..

Noffles

Between my wife and myself we spend up to €5000 a year on travelling to Dublin.. with the train service being so mind blowingly slow, 2 hours to get from Gorey to Dublin (WHAT!!) and the bus service still difficult we have decided to look to rent an appartment in 12-18 months as this can't continue.. Fuel is going up again soon...

Ireland and it's commuters are simply not good bed fellows, the cost of the fuel and the ****ty infrastructure make it slow and costly... very irritating that I fall into this ****ty group.

Gyalist

My son has a classmate whose father has a big job in The City and commutes to Dublin just after lunchtime on Fridays and returns early on Monday mornings. He's been doing this for as long as I know him (about 11 years). I've never heard him complain about the commute and over the years he always seems to be at the Christmas plays, Sports Days, etc. I just don't know how he does it!

keithclancy

Show was pure and utter shíte, all it was missing was some violins.

If you can't handle your commute then come up with a solution.

A 1 hour commute is pretty common here in the Netherlands and Germany, car ownership is expensive. Allot of lads I work with commute every week from the UK to Germany, I myself travel 128 km each way to Work, If I get the train is 3 and 1/2 hrs each way.

Before seeing that, we didn't think that we were Tv Show material

If it bothered me that much i'd move or get a job closer to home, but I love my job and tbh theres not much difference than working in a city and spending 30 - 45 minutes on Public Transport, to spending 1hr and 15 mins in the Car to get to work door to door.

Working in one country and living in another brings up a whole load of problems though, the commute would be the least of my worries, especially with UK and Ireland, your wages would be all over the place with the exchange rate.