Relocating from Dublin & remote working

irishguy

I am considering relocating from Dublin 6 (Wifes Idea not mine, closer to her family). I would like to keep working in my current job from Dublin (Sandyford). 2 days/1 night in Dublin and 3 remote.

Would be looking at living in the Salthill/Knocknarea/Barna area, leaning more to something within walking distance to town/sea front.

Has anyone here done this? Do you like Galway? Whats the commute like (Pre COVID) could I leave at 7am to get to Sandyford for before 10am?

What do you miss from Dublin? Is there much to do in galway (We have 2 young kids)

What the job situation like there?

sgthighway

You will get there easily at that time. I commute to St. Vincent’s the odd day. No traffic anywhere. You won’t have any traffic between the East Side of Galway and the Motorway at that hour of the morning.
Probably worth getting a toll tag for N6.
Parts of Knocknacarra are a long walk to the City Centre and Sea side.

Best of Luck in your decision.

Goldenjohn

B warned house prices are Gone bananas in Salthill/ Barna / knockers atm examples in Salthill 100k above their asking ����

GalwayGrrrrrl

One thing to watch out for is good broadband. The city is fine but some more remote areas like the edge of Barna could be less well served.
Loads to do for children - pre-covid there were all the sports, more music/drama/arts groups than you’d ever need and plenty of beach/woodland/parks for outdoor exercise.
Put names down in primary and secondary schools as soon as you arrive as it can be hard to get places in your chosen schools. Look at going for the “feeder” primary school for your chosen secondary school.’
I’ve brought up two children in Galway - it’s an amazing safe, creative, friendly spot for families.

bobbyy gee

I would not recommend commute 4 hours 20 minutes minimum a day. By next year there will not be work from home so you will be doing that nearly. Everyday if your away. From your family 4 hours a day you. Will be divorced in 2 years time if you have not died in car crash. An hour drive each way. Is ok but not more you would need to find a job in galway

biko

Just driving through the city from Barna to the east side will take more time than you think.

Look at eastern Galway instead, Ballinasloe etc.

dastardly00

bobbyy gee wrote: »

I would not recommend commute 4 hours 20 minutes minimum a day. By next year there will not be work from home so you will be doing that nearly. Everyday if your away. From your family 4 hours a day you. Will be divorced in 2 years time if you have not died in car crash. An hour drive each way. Is ok but not more you would need to find a job in galway

What.
The.
Fcuk.

beardybrewer

I would echo biko's comment that just getting from knocknacarra/salthill to the motorway can take 20-30 minutes. It might be quiet enough in the morning but the last thing you need after a long day is struggling to get home.

I think you guys should spend a few long weekends here and get more familiar with the place. See if it does anything for you. It sounds like you have doubts and there's no point signing up for hassle and expense unless you're reasonably sure you will be happy too.

JoeA3

You really should look at the east/north side of the City as others have mentioned. Oranmore area is lovely and you’re on the M6 in minutes. Crossing Galway city at the “wrong” time on a wet Friday evening would put years on you.

Mrs OBumble

beardybrewer wrote: »

I would echo biko's comment that just getting from knocknacarra/salthill to the motorway can take 20-30 minutes.

It's a solid 15 min drive when there's minimal traffic. Add traffic, which will come back, and you can be a hour.

I'd also question what happens if the work-from-home policy changes, or you need to change company. Can you get work elsewhere here?

I would strongly echo others, if you are going to Dublin regularly then you need to be on the east of the Corrib.

You should literally try out the drive and come off the motorway at about 5pm and go to Barna.

irishguy

Thanks for all the replies. I would only be looking at going to Dublin once a week, possibly once every 2 weeks. No way I'd do it every day. I can start late 10ish and finish early 4/4.30ish on the travel days. So would be getting off Galway motorway about 6/6.30. I assume it would be quick enough getting a cross Galway at that time? I would hope it should be <3hrs door 2 door

I have a good job which I like, stable employer, so would be happy there for a good while. Company has always been very flexible around WFH, but obviously if that changes I would need to find a job in Galway. I work in IT so I'd say Id get something, but there are obviously less opportunities, less money and the roles don't look as interesting there. I would have to look for something more junior.

Obviously East Galway would be better commute wise, but we want to be by the sea in a nice area, walking distance to shops/cafes/restaurants etc and have a good bit more space in the house.

45mhrc7evo1d3n

irishguy wrote: »

Obviously East Galway would be better commute wise, but we want to be by the sea in a nice area, walking distance to shops/cafes/restaurants etc and have a good bit more space in the house.

Oranmore, on the East side of the city, has all these facilities. There are numerous housing estates in the village and on the Maree Road within walking distance of the village.

irishguy

irishguy wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies. I would only be looking at going to Dublin once a week, possibly once every 2 weeks. No way I'd do it every day. I can start late 10ish and finish early 4/4.30ish on the travel days. So would be getting off Galway motorway about 6/6.30. I assume it would be quick enough getting a cross Galway at that time? I would hope it should be <3hrs door 2 door
.

Traffic can still be very heavy from Terryland, back over the bridge and along westside at that time especially on wet evenings etc.

As others have said you really should consider the east of the city or even the county but on the east side. You would have a very handy drive to/from Dublin with no traffic worries at at all in either direction (on the Galway side).

Knocknacarra etc are very nice places to live and since it is only one commute a week I assume (I.e. drive up/ stay the night/ drive down the following night) it wouldn’t be too bad but you could have a few frustrating evenings.

Also you would be walking distance from a fairly limited number of resturants living on the west side too - the city isn’t really walkable, there is Sheridans which is very nice and then you have capones but no where else comes to mind you would have more walkable living close to oranmore. There are a few cafes alright I think but again very few bars.

JoeA3

Galway isn’t too bad either for good IT jobs, if you did need to change. There’s a number of large (ish!) employers that I know are decent places to work with good benefits, such as Fidelity, Cisco, MetLife, EA Games, Avaya. And several smaller places and startups too.

I work for one of the larger places myself and with WFH being the norm, my actual location is fairly irrelevant. Even before covid, I’d have WFH’d on an adhoc basis whenever I needed to. I think it’ll be the norm rather than the exception for a long time to come.

cannco253

Get the bus, don't drive. GoBus or Citilink drop you right on the Quays, then it's a 5 minute walk to the Luas and 25mins to Sandyford.
I do it myself and am at my desk in Sandyford just before 10 on Monday. I leave around 4 on Fridays and am back in Galway around 8.

Traffic into Dublin on a Monday morning isn't worth it, and if you're on the Bus you can sleep after a taxi into the Bus station.

Mind you I've been working from home in Knocknacarra since March, and not sure when I'll be back to Dublin...

cannco253

cannco253 wrote: »

Get the bus, don't drive. GoBus or Citilink drop you right on the Quays, then it's a 5 minute walk to the Luas and 25mins to Sandyford.
I do it myself and am at my desk in Sandyford just before 10 on Monday. I leave around 4 on Fridays and am back in Galway around 8.
...

I couldn’t think of anything worse, it’s a handy and fast drive. The bus is probably doubling journey time and halving the comfort. 4 hours Dublin to Galway??

LostDuck

irishguy wrote: »

I work in IT so I'd say Id get something, but there are obviously less opportunities, less money and the roles don't look as interesting there. I would have to look for something more junior.

There are some interesting IT companies in Galway, but suppose it depends what specific area you're into. The job market has got more competitive in the last couple of years and wages are really catching up now.

Why would you have to look for something more junior?

inisboffin

Javion Plump Packaging wrote: »

I couldn’t think of anything worse, it’s a handy and fast drive. The bus is probably doubling journey time and halving the comfort. 4 hours Dublin to Galway??

Gobus and Citylink are 2.5 hours to City Centre Dublin, less to Heuston. They are direct buses, no stops.
Some special Citylinks make town stops, as do some Bus Eireann so they are longer.
Wifi is grand too (better on Gobus).
Train is an option too, and only a fiver more than the bus. Bussing it is cheaper than driving too and you can nap or work.

MrMusician18

irishguy wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies. I would only be looking at going to Dublin once a week, possibly once every 2 weeks. No way I'd do it every day. I can start late 10ish and finish early 4/4.30ish on the travel days. So would be getting off Galway motorway about 6/6.30. I assume it would be quick enough getting a cross Galway at that time? I would hope it should be <3hrs door 2 door

I have a good job which I like, stable employer, so would be happy there for a good while. Company has always been very flexible around WFH, but obviously if that changes I would need to find a job in Galway. I work in IT so I'd say Id get something, but there are obviously less opportunities, less money and the roles don't look as interesting there. I would have to look for something more junior.

Obviously East Galway would be better commute wise, but we want to be by the sea in a nice area, walking distance to shops/cafes/restaurants etc and have a good bit more space in the house.

Would wexford not for the bill for that?

MrMusician18

cannco253 wrote: »

Get the bus, don't drive. GoBus or Citilink drop you right on the Quays, then it's a 5 minute walk to the Luas and 25mins to Sandyford.
I do it myself and am at my desk in Sandyford just before 10 on Monday. I leave around 4 on Fridays and am back in Galway around 8.

Traffic into Dublin on a Monday morning isn't worth it, and if you're on the Bus you can sleep after a taxi into the Bus station.

Mind you I've been working from home in Knocknacarra since March, and not sure when I'll be back to Dublin...

I used to do that journey too, once a week when I was young and trying to maintain a distance relationship. Leave galway bus station at 6:15 arrive dublin quays 9 am on a good day. Between waiting and transfers it would easily take over an hour to get to ones desk in sandyford at that time of the morning.

Realistically, anywhere west of the Shannon is unsustainable commuting for even one day a week imo. Having done it, I lasted a year. The bus, just out of the garage, is ****ing freezing at that time of the morning too. I had to get a heated travel blanket

inisboffin

inisboffin wrote: »

Gobus and Citylink are 2.5 hours to City Centre Dublin, less to Heuston. They are direct buses, no stops.
Some special Citylinks make town stops, as do some Bus Eireann so they are longer.
Wifi is grand too (better on Gobus).
Train is an option too, and only a fiver more than the bus. Bussing it is cheaper than driving too and you can nap or work.

I’m well aware they are direct and they have their place no doubt if going up to the city centre in Dublin, the airport, you want to drink etc but in most instances driving is much faster, more convenient and more comfortable.

MrMusician18 wrote: »

Realistically, anywhere west of the Shannon is unsustainable commuting for even one day a week imo. Having done it, I lasted a year. The bus, just out of the garage, is ****ing freezing at that time of the morning too. I had to get a heated travel blanket

If driving a commute to Dublin even two days a week is very doable and perfectly sustainable imo. I do a longer drive most weeks sometimes twice a week and it doesn’t bother me at all, I’d do a long drive once or twice week and working from home the rest over a daily commute.

Doing it in a bus would be a load of sh*t though, I’d be sick of it after two weeks.

inisboffin

Javion Plump Packaging wrote: »

I’m well aware they are direct and they have their place no doubt if going up to the city centre in Dublin.

Doing it in a bus would be a load of sh*t though, I’d be sick of it after two weeks.

Its not much longer than driving, and can go in bus lanes leaving the city.
Each to their own, some people hate buses, but for others, it's an extra 2.5 hours of worktime, or a sleep, or have a cuppa and a sandwich!

inisboffin

inisboffin wrote: »

Its not much longer than driving, and can go in bus lanes leaving the city.
Each to their own, some people hate buses, but for others, it's an extra 2.5 hours of worktime, or a sleep, or have a cuppa and a sandwich!

The reality isn’t 2.5 hours though. Unless you live in the city centre and are traveling to somewhere very close to where the bus drops you on the other end. Also have to allow time to park at the station, allow a little time to make sure you don’t miss it etc.

If the op lived on the east of the city he would be half way to Athlone by the time he would be parked at the bus station.

Working on a bus is not a comfortable experience either and a cuppa and sandwich can be had while driving too.

I’m not saying the bus hasn’t it’s place I use it from time to time myself when it suits but for a regularly commute like this it wouldn’t make sense imo.

beardybrewer

Why are ye bothering to discuss a bus during a pandemic? If you can afford a car and the petrol, which OP cleary can, you'd be mad not to use it.

doc22

beardybrewer wrote: »

Why are ye bothering to discuss a bus during a pandemic? If you can afford a car and the petrol, which OP cleary can, you'd be mad not to use it.

An empty bus I could sleep in would beat driving 3-4 hour concentrating on the road and then work a full day

Wompa1

Javion Plump Packaging wrote: »

The reality isn’t 2.5 hours though. Unless you live in the city centre and are traveling to somewhere very close to where the bus drops you on the other end. Also have to allow time to park at the station, allow a little time to make sure you don’t miss it etc.

If the op lived on the east of the city he would be half way to Athlone by the time he would be parked at the bus station.

Working on a bus is not a comfortable experience either and a cuppa and sandwich can be had while driving too.

I’m not saying the bus hasn’t it’s place I use it from time to time myself when it suits but for a regularly commute like this it wouldn’t make sense imo.

Have regularly taken GoBus and it's more often than not 2.5 hours. The only times it has taken longer is when there has been heavy traffic coming into Galway and at that, it would have taken longer by car because even though the city has feck all bus lanes, there are at least some lanes along the way by Dublin Road.

Working on a bus is fine with the right device. I usually bring a 13 inch laptop. Wi-Fi is good enough for a remote session into work. Works out great. Get my work done so by the time I get to Galway, I can relax a little.

LostDuck

If it was me it'd have to be the train. Get a bit of work done on the journey.

Wompa1

OP, I was living in a city larger than Dublin for 8.5 years and moved to Galway. Rented for a year to try and figure out where would be a good spot to settle. During that time, I opted to pay out of pocket for a co-working space in the city so was commuting into that 3 days a week.

I'm working remotely for a US company. They wanted me to go back twice a year but after the first trip back they said it's working well enough that there is no obligation to come back if I don't want to.

Galway City had a lot of IT jobs available over the last 18 months. Not sure what the future holds now though.

What we decided when it came time to buy was that it only made sense living here, if we weren't living urban. When deciding to move to Ireland, we wrote Dublin off right away because it didn't make sense to leave one large city for another.

It sounds like you have some soul searching to do though. It can't just be your wife's decision. No point moving to Galway and then being resentful and not enjoying it because you never wanted to move here in the first place.

Before we even moved into a rental, we came a year earlier for 3.5 weeks and rented a short term spot to get a feel. Maybe yee could do a short lease. You never know, you might end up loving it and she might end up hating it. There's is usually plenty for kids...not now so much due to COVID but we've swapped structured activities for trips to the beach, parks etc.

Wompa1

beardybrewer wrote: »

Why are ye bothering to discuss a bus during a pandemic? If you can afford a car and the petrol, which OP cleary can, you'd be mad not to use it.

Since OP can already WFH. Figured the question was more about long term since the move would be permanent...so, when the pandemic has fecked off.

Wompa1

Wompa1 wrote: »

Have regularly taken GoBus and it's more often than not 2.5 hours. The only times it has taken longer is when there has been heavy traffic coming into Galway and at that, it would have taken longer by car because even though the city has feck all bus lanes, there are at least some lanes along the way by Dublin Road..

And I’m not denying it takes 2.5 hours from leaving the station to drop of in Dublin but that’s not a truthful comparison.

Get in your car and drive to Dublin you are immediately on the way, allowing the time to drive to the station, park board etc and then get to your destination on the other end could easily add an hour and most likely up to 2 hours depending on where you are going on the other end.

If I was to get the bus (at an off peak time early in the morning say so no traffic) I’d have to leave the house 40 mins before the departure time. Id be almost in Athlone by the time the bus left the station if I just drove.

Grassey

I can't believe nobody has said yet n4 to sandyford will be about half the travel time on a normal day!

inisboffin

Javion Plump Packaging wrote: »

And I’m not denying it takes 2.5 hours from leaving the station to drop of in Dublin but that’s not a truthful comparison.

Get in your car and drive to Dublin you are immediately on the way, allowing the time to drive to the station, park board etc and then get to your destination on the other end could easily add an hour and most likely up to 2 hours depending on where you are going on the other end.

If I was to get the bus (at an off peak time early in the morning say so no traffic) I’d have to leave the house 40 mins before the departure time. Id be almost in Athlone by the time the bus left the station if I just drove.

We are all imposing our variables, like the fact that some would need to drive to the bus station vs walk, cycle, taxi, that some would have parking the other end, vs having having to look for it, when on public transport you just walk in. Bus lanes make a HUGE difference, as does the ability to eat a sandwich and drink tea while driving, not having to stop to use the loo, pull in etc. :P

Even the train (which I like too) is very subjective. The train has more space and if you have good headphones, is grand, but it is SO much noisier than the bus. I find the bus better for focused work, and warmer (no announcements and doors opening). But sure some people prefer driving, it doesn't mean one is the ultimate and the other isn't - it's what you need yourself to get stuff done.

LostDuck

Jazlyn Teeny Teapot wrote: »

If I was to get the bus (at an off peak time early in the morning say so no traffic) I’d have to leave the house 40 mins before the departure time. Id be almost in Athlone by the time the bus left the station if I just drove.

OP keep this in mind if you happy to be moving in with them.

Wompa1

Javion Plump Packaging wrote: »

And I’m not denying it takes 2.5 hours from leaving the station to drop of in Dublin but that’s not a truthful comparison.

Get in your car and drive to Dublin you are immediately on the way, allowing the time to drive to the station, park board etc and then get to your destination on the other end could easily add an hour and most likely up to 2 hours depending on where you are going on the other end.

If I was to get the bus (at an off peak time early in the morning say so no traffic) I’d have to leave the house 40 mins before the departure time. Id be almost in Athlone by the time the bus left the station if I just drove.

You live outside of the city. This is a city forum and the OP is talking about living in Knocknacarra\Salthill\Barna area. Off peak into the city from there is far less than 40 minutes and he'd have go by the city anyway

CowboyTed

irishguy wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies. I would only be looking at going to Dublin once a week, possibly once every 2 weeks. No way I'd do it every day. I can start late 10ish and finish early 4/4.30ish on the travel days. So would be getting off Galway motorway about 6/6.30. I assume it would be quick enough getting a cross Galway at that time? I would hope it should be <3hrs door 2 door

I have a good job which I like, stable employer, so would be happy there for a good while. Company has always been very flexible around WFH, but obviously if that changes I would need to find a job in Galway. I work in IT so I'd say Id get something, but there are obviously less opportunities, less money and the roles don't look as interesting there. I would have to look for something more junior.

Obviously East Galway would be better commute wise, but we want to be by the sea in a nice area, walking distance to shops/cafes/restaurants etc and have a good bit more space in the house.

I was doing this once every month from Knocknacarra to Merrion Rd or Leopardstown... I would stay one night and return home.

I used to leave 7am and would arrive in well before 10am... There is little traffic at the time and you fly across the city in 15 min... When you get to Dublin at about 9:15am ish there is little traffic on the M50... Trip up is relatively stress free...

Coming home you need to leave by 4pm... Traffic really builds up... A tip go into the office for 7am, it is great to get on top of things and also get one on one meetings with people you would find harder later in the day. This is a long day and leave early as fatigue can be an issue if in long lines of traffic.

One thing to note... You will use Dublin for meetings and face to face time and your other productivity goes down while in Dublin.. But you will see it go back up when back.

Working from home. This has pitfalls... But you are moving from Dublin so I presume you are used to higher side of property prices... When looking at properties consider a Garden office. They create a division between your work and home life (so no work in the house and no house stuff in the office).. There is a fair backlog (about 6 mths) on them at the moment.

Saying that what you are doing is far from unique... IT companies in Dublin have been supporting this for a few years.

Hope that helps and Good Luck...

CowboyTed

Javion Plump Packaging wrote: »

I couldn’t think of anything worse, it’s a handy and fast drive. The bus is probably doubling journey time and halving the comfort. 4 hours Dublin to Galway??

Drive... Quick in and out...

MrMusician18

CowboyTed wrote: »

I was doing this once every month from Knocknacarra to Merrion Rd or Leopardstown... I would stay one night and return home.

I used to leave 7am and would arrive in well before 10am... There is little traffic at the time and you fly across the city in 15 min... When you get to Dublin at about 9:15am ish there is little traffic on the M50... Trip up is relatively stress free...

Coming home you need to leave by 4pm... Traffic really builds up... A tip go into the office for 7am, it is great to get on top of things and also get one on one meetings with people you would find harder later in the day. This is a long day and leave early as fatigue can be an issue if in long lines of traffic.

One thing to note... You will use Dublin for meetings and face to face time and your other productivity goes down while in Dublin.. But you will see it go back up when back.

Working from home. This has pitfalls... But you are moving from Dublin so I presume you are used to higher side of property prices... When looking at properties consider a Garden office. They create a division between your work and home life (so no work in the house and no house stuff in the office).. There is a fair backlog (about 6 mths) on them at the moment.

Saying that what you are doing is far from unique... IT companies in Dublin have been supporting this for a few years.

Hope that helps and Good Luck...

You are having a laugh. The M50 is very slow southbound in the morning until will after 10am and northbound from 4pm to 7.

To be in the office at 7am he'd need to be leaving 4:30am latest. I don't think it's really feasible unless you're some sort of masochist.

cannco253

Taxi from Knocknacarra to bus station at 5am takes 10-15 mins and costs around 15 euro.
Bus return costs 23 euro return
Luas to Sandyford 4 euro each way (unless you have a leap card).
Total 46

Car has 2 tolls into Dublin (1.90 + 2.90) * 2 = 9.60
Fuel cost return to Sandyford (call it 450km round trip) ?? 8ltr/100km @1.20 diesel = roughly 45 euro
Total 55

The bus crosses over the M50 on the way to Heuston and the traffic is very heavy from 8am every day, not just on a Monday. People who work in the office always complain how bad it is in the morning....never mind the return trip home in the evening. Sandyford gets very congested, so the Luas stop is a handy way to get there.

Don't underestimate the effort involved in driving at that hour in the morning. It's fine for a while, but it also gets to you especially when the weather turns. I used to commute to Shannon and that was bad enough (before the motorway from Gort opened).

cannco253

cannco253 wrote: »

Taxi from Knocknacarra to bus station at 5am takes 10-15 mins and costs around 15 euro.
Bus return costs 23 euro return
Luas to Sandyford 4 euro each way (unless you have a leap card).
Total 46

Car has 2 tolls into Dublin (1.90 + 2.90) * 2 = 9.60
Fuel cost return to Sandyford (call it 450km round trip) ?? 8ltr/100km @1.20 diesel = roughly 45 euro
Total 55

The bus crosses over the M50 on the way to Heuston and the traffic is very heavy from 8am every day, not just on a Monday. People who work in the office always complain how bad it is in the morning....never mind the return trip home in the evening. Sandyford gets very congested, so the Luas stop is a handy way to get there.

Don't underestimate the effort involved in driving at that hour in the morning. It's fine for a while, but it also gets to you especially when the weather turns. I used to commute to Shannon and that was bad enough (before the motorway from Gort opened).

Max 5L/100 km for any half decent diesel on the trip which makes the car cheaper. I get around 4.8 out of my heavy 2L diesel. I’d nearly get 8 out of my second car which is a turbo petrol.

Aside from that even if the car does cost more it’s is just immeasurably nicer hopping in the car, audio book on and drive to your destination. Taxi’s, Luas, time tables etc absolute torture.

I regularly do a long drive early in the morning and back once a week, longer than Galway to Dublin and it’s not bad at all (when it’s only once a week), I couldn’t face it with a bus though.

CowboyTed

MrMusician18 wrote: »

You are having a laugh. The M50 is very slow southbound in the morning until will after 10am and northbound from 4pm to 7.

To be in the office at 7am he'd need to be leaving 4:30am latest. I don't think it's really feasible unless you're some sort of masochist.

Actually on it very regularly at 9:15 to 9:30 and it basics pretty free...

I would leave Knocknacarra at 6:45 to 7am and make a meetings at 10am in Merrion Rd.

Honestly I was surprised how easy it was... Coming home is a different kettle of fish... If you are not on M50 by 4pm latest you will take an hour to get to Lucan... Found it kind of strange...

CowboyTed

Javion Plump Packaging wrote: »

Max 5L/100 km for any half decent diesel on the trip which makes the car cheaper. I get around 4.8 out of my heavy 2L diesel. I’d nearly get 8 out of my second car which is a turbo petrol.

Aside from that even if the car does cost more it’s is just immeasurably nicer hopping in the car, audio book on and drive to your destination. Taxi’s, Luas, time tables etc absolute torture.

I regularly do a long drive early in the morning and back once a week, longer than Galway to Dublin and it’s not bad at all (when it’s only once a week), I couldn’t face it with a bus though.

For Sandyford I will drive everytime.. Too many connections and things to go wrong...

As for Airport, Always the Bus, Less connections and less problems...

mcbert

Pre covid I was doing similar. To dublin one morning, back to galway after work following day. Going from Knocknacarra, to blanchardstown, leaving by 7am, got to blanchardstown by 9:20/9:30. Leaving blanchardstown next day at 5:40, back to Knocknacarra by 8pm. Once in car by 7am, traffic was fine. 10min later it gets noticeably slower. Slowest bit was dublin traffic at 5:40 to 6pm. Overall it was OK, but now with covid, I hope I never need to go back to office. I'd hate to do both legs of journey in one day. You'd burn out doing that. Even split across 2 days, doing it fir 18mon, it took away from settling into galway properly. Its fine for a year or two, but not a long term plan really, not for me anyway. I hope 100% remote forever. Fingers crossed.

On Galway itself, love it, don't miss Dublin at all. Love being minutes from the sea, closer to the wild west coast etc. Knocknacarra is nice. I wfh so rarely drive through bad traffic but if I had to daily, it might take the shine off the place. Also, house prices are not cheap. It might be cheaper than various parts of Dublin but if you are expecting some sort of rural bargain, you're going to be disappointed.

cannco253

Forgot to add the motor tax and insurance cost of the car as well, if we want to start getting into the detail.
Not everyone has two cars that they can spare the use of for the drive.

In the 18 months I've been doing the trip it's only gone wrong once, and delayed me an extra 30 mins on Monday morning.
Friday is definitely different and can be a complete lottery getting out of Dublin on the bus or in a car.

I find that if I sleep on the bus up, I'm ready to go once I get into work. If you drive you're either very early to bed the night before or the afternoon slump starts to kick in around 4pm...I know I'm wrecked on the Monday evening, but it's never as bad on the Friday night =;-)

Oranmore surrounding area might be a good option OP

Kingp35

Hi Op.

I'm a Dub. I moved from Dun Laoghaire to Oranmore 2 years ago, like you my wife works out here so we chose to move down. Oranmore was the most similar to Dun Laoghaire. It has plenty of pubs/restaurants and is on the sea. It's also very close to the city with a bus that costs less than €2 to get to the city and leaves every 30 mins. You also have 4 supermarkets and a cinema.

It takes us less than 2hrs 30mins to get to Dun Laoghaire so you would get to Sandyford in probably 2hrs 15mins. Oranmore is right beside the motorway so it's great.

I would highly recommend Oranmore. It's no Dun Laoghaire but the cost of living is much cheaper!

There's not much difference in distance between Oranmore to Eyre Square, and Barna to Eyre Square. Maybe 2km or so, so you're still close to Galway City.

The difference in time for commuting to Dublin could be significant though.

PhoenixParker

Everyone's talking about the commute and I'll leave them to it. Many high level professionals & managers in regional cities end up in Dublin 1-2 days a week for meetings. It's a very common lifestyle. Tough but doable.



I've lived in both Dublin and Galway and while I love Galway, what would nix the move for me is the rain. Good jaysus it's relentless and depressing. It's on a whole other level of wet to Dublin. It literally rains for months on end. People will argue and say Dublin is wet, or there's not much difference. There is, it's huge. Even on wet days in Dublin the rain usually starts and stops, there are gaps and pauses. In Galway there are no pauses.

I'd say rent somewhere for 6 months, live there through the Winter and then see if it's a runner.

Mrs OBumble

Kingp35 wrote: »

Oranmore. It's no Dun Laoghaire but ....

That's some marketing slogan!

mcbert

PhoenixParker wrote: »

Everyone's talking about the commute and I'll leave them to it. Many high level professionals & managers in regional cities end up in Dublin 1-2 days a week for meetings. It's a very common lifestyle. Tough but doable.



I've lived in both Dublin and Galway and while I love Galway, what would nix the move for me is the rain. Good jaysus it's relentless and depressing. It's on a whole other level of wet to Dublin. It literally rains for months on end. People will argue and say Dublin is wet, or there's not much difference. There is, it's huge. Even on wet days in Dublin the rain usually starts and stops, there are gaps and pauses. In Galway there are no pauses.

I'd say rent somewhere for 6 months, live there through the Winter and then see if it's a runner.

Don't want to argue, but regarding rain, after two winters in galway, I've been thinking the rain is exaggerated. Yeah its wet but it doesn't feel vastly different to Dublin, to me. Bit worse I'd say. I notice the difference in wind more, and I'm fond of a bit of that.

GalwayGrrrrrl

PhoenixParker wrote: »

I've lived in both Dublin and Galway and while I love Galway, what would nix the move for me is the rain. Good jaysus it's relentless and depressing. It's on a whole other level of wet to Dublin. It literally rains for months on end. People will argue and say Dublin is wet, or there's not much difference. There is, it's huge. Even on wet days in Dublin the rain usually starts and stops, there are gaps and pauses. In Galway there are no pauses.

I'd say rent somewhere for 6 months, live there through the Winter and then see if it's a runner.

I agree that Galway is wetter than Dublin but there are not many days in the year that you’d be saturated. I started walking part of the way to work three years ago and can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been very wet from the walk. After living in Galway for a while you get a good Raincoat and check the forecast and can get outside most days. Note - umbrellas are useless due to the wind!
Having lived in a much drier city for half my life I’d still choose Galway for bringing up kids, even with the rain.