Travelling for work from Ballina to Westport every day

johnohero10

Hi all,
I am looking at a job in Ballina and was wondering whether any of you could give me some insight as to whether you think it would be wise to get an apartment/house in Ballina or go somewhere like Westport where there's a bit more happening.

I'm 25 and don't know anyone from either areas. It says the drive is about 50 minutes on Google maps but wondering if you know if there's any common headaches on that journey that could make it longer.. or just your opinions in general on if you'd stay in Ballina/go to Westport.

I visited Ballina town. It was grand, seemed clean enough but there didn't seem like there was much going on.

Thanks in advance. Any advice or suggestions is really helpful.
Cheers,
J

Tell me how

Surely you don't need to commit to moving there right up front.
You could start by travelling and see how that works out, then may looking at short term rentals to give you an idea what living there is like.
Or, which I would probably do, start by staying Monday to Friday in a long term 2-4 weeks B&B place for the first month or 2 so that you can focus on the job and then consider if you are up to travelling or would prefer to stay local.

In this situation, don't be surprised if the job is put on hold or start date is postponed for a couple of months. Good luck with it.

sharpish

johnohero10 wrote: »

Hi all,
I am looking at a job in Ballina and was wondering whether any of you could give me some insight as to whether you think it would be wise to get an apartment/house in Ballina or go somewhere like Westport where there's a bit more happening.

I'm 25 and don't know anyone from either areas. It says the drive is about 50 minutes on Google maps but wondering if you know if there's any common headaches on that journey that could make it longer.. or just your opinions in general on if you'd stay in Ballina/go to Westport.

I visited Ballina town. It was grand, seemed clean enough but there didn't seem like there was much going on.

Thanks in advance. Any advice or suggestions is really helpful.
Cheers,
J

Depending on where you are from but Sligo town might be an option too. Westport is beautiful but it's long commute on ****e roads. Enniscone would be my first choice but I'm different age bracket

PARlance

You might hit a bit of traffic in Castlebar coming back in the evening but it's never going to be too crazy. Getting in/out of Ballina may add a bit of time too, if working standard hours.

It might be an age thing but if I had the choice, I wouldn't be opting for spending close to 2 hours a day in the car. It's not the type of drive where you can just kick back and relax either. You've got the extra costs in terms of fuel, insurance, wear and tear on the car etc but the main cost for me would be commuting for close to 8 hours every week. An extra day in "work" every week.

Nightlife better in Westport but maybe check to see if buses go to/from Ballina at the weekend. Plenty of buses go from Castlebar to Westport bringing people to/from the nightlife so there's probably a few going from Ballina as well.

If work has a young crowd, who socialise in Ballina, then you'll be missing out on that side as well.

I returned home to Mayo to get away from communiting and am at a different stage of life so feel free to ignore

redbuck

johnohero10 wrote: »

Hi all,
I am looking at a job in Ballina and was wondering whether any of you could give me some insight as to whether you think it would be wise to get an apartment/house in Ballina or go somewhere like Westport where there's a bit more happening.

I'm 25 and don't know anyone from either areas. It says the drive is about 50 minutes on Google maps but wondering if you know if there's any common headaches on that journey that could make it longer.. or just your opinions in general on if you'd stay in Ballina/go to Westport.

I visited Ballina town. It was grand, seemed clean enough but there didn't seem like there was much going on.

Thanks in advance. Any advice or suggestions is really helpful.
Cheers,
J

I live in Ballina and the nightlife is pretty boring to me and I’d rarely venture out now, the icy roads in the morning can add a bit of time on the journey in the winter.

Westport is good craic but everywhere can be jammers there in the summer, I know Allergan in Westport are hiring for the production line if that would be of interest to you.

Westport is a nice place with a good atmosphere around and plenty to see and do but personally I’d hate that commute everyday and private buses go from Ballina to Westport on Saturday nights. That being said if I was 25 again I’d probably live in Westport too😉

MacDanger

Short answer for me would be to stay in Ballina even though Westport definitely has better nightlife. The reasons being:

- If you don't know anybody currently, the people you're likely to get to know will be through work - chances are they'll be living in or around Ballina and will be socialising there. This is the main reason imo
- Ballina has some very good pubs, not as busy as Westport but better than Castlebar (if you were considering that as a halfway house)
- Rent will be cheaper in Ballina, this plus the cost of commuting means you'll have a good but of extra cash

Good luck with it

AllForIt

You would be crazy to live in Westport and drive to Ballina for work.

Westport yes has a good nightlife, but it very dull during the day/weekdays when all that nightlife stuff isn't active.

The general Westport populace is quite old, and you will hardly see many young ppl around the town weekdays except in the weekend evenings, when the nightlife comes alive, and that is due to many young ppl traveling there for the clubs, mostly from Castlebar and ppl traveling there from other parts of the county for a short getaway.


I would advise living in Ballina, and travelling for your nights out rather than the other way around.

detoxkid

Hi op. I was in the same situation when I was around the same age. A long time ago now! I moved to castlebar as a halfway house. Never fully settled there but did meet some good friends through living with people. Wasn't mad on ballina and I'm glad I didn't move there. Loved Westport and in hindsight should have moved there - but yes the commute will be a killer. And you will really have to work on getting to know people in Westport since you won't know people through work.