Moving out of Dublin, to Kerry.

bemak

Hi all, looking for some advice from people who may have done the same.

I'm from Kerry but I've lived in Dublin for the past 7-8 years for work. I'm married and have a young daughter with another on the way. With the housing situation the way it is, my wife and I are starting to think seriously about moving back down to West Kerry. We currently rent a two bed which feels like it's closing in on us more every day. The benefits of moving down for us are as follows:

We could move into my grandparents old house with loads of room, great garden and a great place to raise kids. Plenty of site options to ultimately build if we feel that the move is right for us.

better quality of life.

Loads of support from my family which would be great.

Reduced cost of living.

Potential to save - wouldn't have to pay rent.


That's all well and good but I'm an architect so the work opportunities down there are limited enough and should another recession hit, places like Kerry will be the first to feel it. Also, the work down there wouldn't be as exciting as what's being done in Dublin. This isn't too big a deal for me, I'd be happy out to work in smaller scale stuff but the design quality wouldn't be the same as you'd get up here.

My wife is a teacher so she could take a career break so work isn't as big a deal for her. On paper I think we could easily give it a go, it's pretty low risk but I just wanted to hear what other people thought all the same.

bobbysands81

bemak wrote: »

Hi all, looking for some advice from people who may have done the same.

I'm from Kerry but I've lived in Dublin for the past 7-8 years for work. I'm married and have a young daughter with another on the way. With the housing situation the way it is, my wife and I are starting to think seriously about moving back down to West Kerry. We currently rent a two bed which feels like it's closing in on us more every day. The benefits of moving down for us are as follows:

We could move into my grandparents old house with loads of room, great garden and a great place to raise kids. Plenty of site options to ultimately build if we feel that the move is right for us.

better quality of life.

Loads of support from my family which would be great.

Reduced cost of living.

Potential to save - wouldn't have to pay rent.


That's all well and good but I'm an architect so the work opportunities down there are limited enough and should another recession hit, places like Kerry will be the first to feel it. Also, the work down there wouldn't be as exciting as what's being done in Dublin. This isn't too big a deal for me, I'd be happy out to work in smaller scale stuff but the design quality wouldn't be the same as you'd get up here.

My wife is a teacher so she could take a career break so work isn't as big a deal for her. On paper I think we could easily give it a go, it's pretty low risk but I just wanted to hear what other people thought all the same.

You've put up a strong argument to move and a very weak one to stay in Dublin.

There's nothing stopping you to move down for a number of years and move back to Dublin if it doesn't work out.

Write down the pros and cons of staying in Dublin and the pros and cons to moving to Kerry. Weigh up the results.

bemak

Ya I've done that, everything points to Kerry bar work. I have a lot of friends up here too (from home). I really like what I do and I would love to move office into one that's more design focussed. If I move to Kerry I definitely wont get that. Not that I'm the best designer in the world. Far from it, I have a lot to learn but in order to become good, you need to work for people who are on top of their game and those people are in Dublin (generally speaking). If there was a really good office in Kerry I think I would be gone down in the morning!

CeilingFly

Spread your work wings into Limerick - even from Cahirciveen Limerick is less than 2 hours away.

Some professions "co locate" and base in one area a couple of days a week and another for the remainder.

bemak

CeilingFly wrote: »

Spread your work wings into Limerick - even from Cahirciveen Limerick is less than 2 hours away.

Some professions "co locate" and base in one area a couple of days a week and another for the remainder.

4 hour commute! It's not quite that bad yet in Dublin. That's the thing with Kerry I suppose, it is remote which is good for the lifestyle and pace of life but terrible for work

LirW

How about a compromise location wise? Some town in Kerry that's as close as possible to Limerick?
Would you willing to compromise work-wise for a certain period of time until you work something out? Did you explore the alternatives of being self-employed (I have certainly no idea how the demand for architects in Kerry is) for example or working as co for someone else?

Masala

You could look a moving to Kerry and working in London

I believe it is being done by a number of professionals using the Stansted And Luton flights direct from Kerry Airport with Ryanair

Not saying it's for everyone but it us being done....could give you a year in Kerry to get used to it and your experience/ money could progress faster than a small practise in limerick that takes 4 hrs everyday travelling!!!

LadyBetty

It sounds like you are 95% convinced about moving back!

I have done similar, moved from Dublin to the Midlands to where husband is from. We now have a child and are currently building a house.

Everything has turned out as expected except for work. My professional career has hit the skids. I have been unemployed a couple of times, can only find bits and pieces of contract work. It is tough, damaging both my self esteem and my CV. The longer it goes on the harder it is to get a proper, decent job. I am looking in all surrounding counties and will possibly have to look at commuting to Dublin. Hardly the work/life balance I moved away for:mad:

So you are correct to be concerned about work, once you're out of the big cities it's a case of "take what you can get".

Best of luck OP.

bemak

Thanks for the replies. I think the idea of moving somewhere in between would improve the work situation but all the other positives would take a hit. Hadn't thought about London, that's definitely thinking outside the box! I suppose I could always work in cork and stay down for 3 nights of the week. Not the worst really considering it's only 2 hours from home.

I'm looking into the possibility of working remotely for another architect. I do a bit for them already outside my permanent job so that would keep things ticking over.

I think LadyBetty what you are saying is probably my fear. The risk of the cv taking a hit. If we wanted to move back to Dublin that could pose an issue for me. As you say I'm probably 95% sure of the move. Apart from the job situation, are you glad you moved to the midlands? Has it ticked the other boxes for you? Must be great to have the support of your husbands family close by?

LadyBetty

Overall it's been a good move; I often think if I just had a good secure job it would be perfect. My husband is working steadily now but had lost his previous job, so he has had to branch out into a new industry to get work.

Cost of living is a bit cheaper.

Rural upbringing for the children was important to us.

Yes it is good support having his parents a few minutes away, we still pay for creche but they help with wraparound care.

I miss the variety of shopping, nightlife and general buzz of Dublin at times so visit every month or two, catch up with friends and all that. It balances out the quiet slow pace of life here, which I also enjoy to be fair.

Honestly I think you are in a good position to risk moving back to Kerry, if you can line up some work before you leave the big smoke.

(Just a thought; is your wife also from Kerry, will she have friends near there? I am a blow-in here and have no friends of my own, but many of my husband's mates from school live here so I socialise with their wives. Without a job it is hard to meet new people so just a thought if your wife is not a local, will she be happy on her own initially.)

bemak

No she's from Meath but she's as keen as I am to move down. We go down all the time so she knows loads of people down there already which is great.

All in all

Made a similar move to Tipperary 3 years ago and has worked out great. I had a job before we moved which has worked out great. My wife was on maternity at the time and approached work about working from home which they agreed, initially it was a day a week in Dublin but is now once or twice a month. Is home working something that you could explore?

For us it was definitely the right move, and it is great having the support of grand parents which we missed in Dublin.

We were at a stage in Dublin where we were trying decide to buy a house or move towards home and definitely feel it was the right choice. Cost of living is definitely cheaper (for example crèche fees half what they would have been in Dublin), and we have been able to buy a house that we couldn't have in Dublin.

Work is definitely the trade off, there isn't the scope for progression or change, but I know for me at the moment that is fine as I am happy to work reasonable hours and be home in the evenings with the family.

bemak

All in all wrote: »

We were at a stage in Dublin where we were trying decide to buy a house or move towards home

This is exactly where we're at. Looking to buy a house as we've zero space but the prices are extortionate at the moment and I don't particularly fancy taking on a 400k+ mortgage. In simple terms, if we could get a house for 250k in Kerry that's 150-250k (taking interest into account) less than what we'd have to payoff/earn in our lifetimes! I know that's it's not as straightforward as that as there are other considerations but that's the reasoning we're arriving to.

I think if I got 5-10 years of work in Kerry, my profession would allow me to go out on my own if I wanted to and if the work was there. Obviously there are risks with this, especially if things take a downturn again but if we have less overheads then it might be a possibility. Just have to take it as it comes!

All in all

bemak wrote: »

This is exactly where we're at. Looking to buy a house as we've zero space but the prices are extortionate at the moment and I don't particularly fancy taking on a 400k+ mortgage. In simple terms, if we could get a house for 250k in Kerry that's 150-250k (taking interest into account) less than what we'd have to payoff/earn in our lifetimes! I know that's it's not as straightforward as that as there are other considerations but that's the reasoning we're arriving to.

We knew living in Dublin we would both have to work to service larger mortgage and childcare costs, however with a smaller mortgage we can get by with one salary if necessary and it allowed my wife to take additional leave with our second child, and will hopefully allow us to take parental leave, etc as needed.

In fairness I am totally biased as to what you should do largely because it worked out for us. Prior to our move I had lived nearly half my life in Dublin but for me it never totally felt like home and wasn't particularly where I wanted to raise my family.

Captainsatnav

Landlord in Dublin gave me and fiancé notice of termination today so his daughter could move in. I'm done. 34 years of age and having this cr@p hanging over us. We've decided to look for another rental box, stick it out for 18 months or so then I think we'll move to Cork. Has the buzz but not the prices and bullsh1t of Dublin. If Ireland 2040progresses as well Cork will be a genuine counterweight to Dublin soon. 2500jobs announced in last 4 days by 2 foreign companies? The f@ck are they all gonna live/commute to work?! No thanks. I'm done!

OMM 0000

I think it sounds like it's worth a shot.

What's the worst case scenario? You've got to move back to Dublin and pay expensive rent again. It's not the end of the world.

Question:

Let's say you're struggling to get architecture work, would you be willing do to other jobs to make ends meet? If you are, I think that's another plus for moving to Kerry.

bemak

I ended up taking a job in Maynooth not so long ago. Must say I'm enjoying the 15 minute commute. Home for 5:15 - can't beat it.

I still haven't given up the Kerry idea. I just needed to do something because it was tough going before the move. Kerry will always be there. I would definitely be up for doing something else if the Architecture work dried up - probably move into something tourism based, like open a high quality hostel or something. We can always dream!

OMM 0000

bemak wrote: »

I ended up taking a job in Maynooth not so long ago. Must say I'm enjoying the 15 minute commute. Home for 5:15 - can't beat it.

I still haven't given up the Kerry idea. I just needed to do something because it was tough going before the move. Kerry will always be there. I would definitely be up for doing something else if the Architecture work dried up - probably move into something tourism based, like open a high quality hostel or something. We can always dream!

Yeah is there anything you could do to help make the dream come true?

For example, as you suggested earlier, start working for various remote firms. Even if the pay wasn't as good as normal office full-time work, if you could develop a relationship with a few of these clients, you could then in theory work from anywhere. So you could spend a few years trying to make this a reality.

juneg

Captainsatnav wrote: »

Landlord in Dublin gave me and fiancé notice of termination today so his daughter could move in. I'm done. 34 years of age and having this cr@p hanging over us. We've decided to look for another rental box, stick it out for 18 months or so then I think we'll move to Cork. Has the buzz but not the prices and bullsh1t of Dublin. If Ireland 2040progresses as well Cork will be a genuine counterweight to Dublin soon. 2500jobs announced in last 4 days by 2 foreign companies? The f@ck are they all gonna live/commute to work?! No thanks. I'm done!

Sorry to hear that's happening to you, what a dose! Come on away down to Limerick. Loads of jobs and houses and colleges here and it's a great place to live, work and rear a family

sheesh

bemak wrote: »

I ended up taking a job in Maynooth not so long ago. Must say I'm enjoying the 15 minute commute. Home for 5:15 - can't beat it.

I still haven't given up the Kerry idea. I just needed to do something because it was tough going before the move. Kerry will always be there. I would definitely be up for doing something else if the Architecture work dried up - probably move into something tourism based, like open a high quality hostel or something. We can always dream!

Dingle has gone quiet upmarket in the last few years so that is a possibility!

bemak

OMM 0000 wrote: »

Yeah is there anything you could do to help make the dream come true?

For example, as you suggested earlier, start working for various remote firms. Even if the pay wasn't as good as normal office full-time work, if you could develop a relationship with a few of these clients, you could then in theory work from anywhere. So you could spend a few years trying to make this a reality.

This is actually what I'm doing. Moved to a smaller office where I hope I will learn a lot about winning clients, residential work etc and I also do remote work on the side for other people. So I'm slowly starting to build. I suppose it takes time but I don't think that's a bad thing either.

Captainsatnav

juneg wrote: »

Sorry to hear that's happening to you, what a dose! Come on away down to Limerick. Loads of jobs and houses and colleges here and it's a great place to live, work and rear a family

Was only there for the Match on Saturday! However a few of my friends and hers actually have moved to Cork from Dublin recently for better life quality. So even from a social scene pov it seems attractive. Would only be 1.5 / 2 hours from family in Waterford too.

juneg

Captainsatnav wrote: »

Was only there for the Match on Saturday! However a few of my friends and hers actually have moved to Cork from Dublin recently for better life quality. So even from a social scene pov it seems attractive. Would only be 1.5 / 2 hours from family in Waterford too.

True. The road from Limerick to Waterford is brutal