Long Commutes - worth it?

angel01 · 20-10-2010 1:00pm

Firehen wrote: »

Utter madness, if you ask me.

Leave the car in Waterford and rent a cheapish room close to the job in Dublin/Cork. At least that way, you'll be able to live a relatively normal life during the week and not be completly exhausted on weekends.

I can't understand people spending so much money to get to work, which we all do solely to earn money. Kind of defeats the purpose, if you ask me.

Some people don't have the choice.

lostboy75 · 20-10-2010 1:28pm

I commuted from Athlone to Galway on the train for about 15 months, it was OK, you do get used to it, would not fancy driving that tbh.
took, ten mins walk in Athlone, 1:10-1:15 on train, 20 walk in Galway.
5 days a week,
after that moved to Galway, and the walk was less than the train station to work, i was in heaven :-)
Also Work is work, i would rather have it and have to comute than not have it and not comute.
I still work in galway, different company, drive from the city to Oranmore, about 15 mins. very handy.

but work with people that do comute large distances,

1 lad lives just outside Athlone, 77km
1 lad lives in Roscrea - 100km
1 of the girls 74km,
another lad has 50km

this is in a fairly small office, about 12 of us.
the guy that does the 100km, does say if he had the chance he would change jobs to get something closer to home, but its not an option for while more

Triangla · 20-10-2010 1:45pm

I do Kilkenny - Dublin every day (120k). I eave Kilkenny at around 5:40, in the gym for 7 at at work for just after 8.

Everything is ready from night before and I literally get brush teeth, get dressed and have protein shake in the car.

I take a shorter lunch and finish work at 4 and home just before 6.

I might go for a run or a swim and do some study most evenings aswell as a bit of time with the other half and around 15 mins making lunch and packing for the next morning.

I used to live 5 mins walk from work but moved for love life reasons. To be honest I just seem to be wasting far less time now. I used to get very little else done during the week before I moved.

I'm in bed during the week at 10 and if I have a busy day on I'll either skip the gym and go straight to work or else just work late. It usually takes around an hour and 45 mins to 2 hrs to get back to Kilkenny.

It takes approx an hour to get to just past Naas (20 miles). The N9 is a dream from there.

Petrol is around €100 a week but am better money wise as rent is a fraction of what it was in Dublin and I bring my own food to work. I spend nothing during the week in Dublin.

The after works drinks/dinner thing is more a big deal now. I've done it a few times, didn't drink and left at 10ish but that is rare.

It just means you make the most of your weekends I suppose.

Remember too that we will have icy conditions again this year, have your contingency plan for getting to work.

My is: a) The train. Gets me to work on time
b) Crash with mates in Dublin.

It's your choice to live so far away from work should you decide so be responsible and plan ahead.

kippy · 20-10-2010 1:58pm

I have to be honest with you here people, but if you feel that you have to commute 4 hours a day (or anything over an hour) to keep your job just because it is a recession, you really have to analyse your career choices.
I've never had to commute more than 1 hour (both ways) and that is not by accident.

I knew a woman who commuted into D4 from Mullingar by car before all the funky motorways were built. She was earning probably 120K per year, but she spend almost 4 hours a day (or more some days in her car) I could never understand it. She had two kids as well........

Fair enough, some people dont mind it and some types of commute do have their advantages (if you analyse them in a very twisted way). My main thinking is that I dont want to:
a. By spending any more time that I absolutely need to on Irish roads, no matter the quality of them.
b. Spend any more time than I absolutely need to on getting to and from work - it costs money and time, one of which you may get back, the other is never coming back to you.

I've been in a position where long commutes were a potential issue. I changed careers, did some night school, got a lesser paying job closer to home. Not easy to do, especially in these times.

Maybe when you're young it is not an issue but it sure as hell does start to become an issue very soon.

Everyone is different, these are just my own choices/opinions.

OP, as an absolute last resort would I commute two hours each way. I would rather work for just slightly more than that dole within a few minutes of home than that to be honest.

veryangryman · 20-10-2010 2:31pm

kippy wrote: »

I have to be honest with you here people, but if you feel that you have to commute 4 hours a day (or anything over an hour) to keep your job just because it is a recession, you really have to analyse your career choices.
I've never had to commute more than 1 hour (both ways) and that is not by accident.

QFT

Career/personal choice aside, there is no excuse to have to commute any longer than the above. Yes you may need to adjust to have an easier commute but it beats sitting in the car all day

_Kaiser_ · 20-10-2010 2:32pm

It all depends on a variety of circumstances:

- Where you're living, where you're working & the transport options available
- What hours you work
- Your personal circumstances

For example.. when I worked in Blanch but lived at home, it took me 2/3 buses each way (depending on wether I detoured via "An Lar" or took the slightly more direct but wandering route) to get to/from work @ a minimum of 90 mins each way (often 2 hours). But I was working shifts so wasn't dealing with rush hour traffic most of the time, or it'd have been MUCH worse. For comparison, it'd only take 25-30 mins on the M50.

Then I moved out to Blanch but a year later started working out in Cherrywood. For a while I got the Commuter train, and a DART AND a shuttle bus but this very quickly became wearing due to the frequency with which I'd be left stranded in Pearse because the DART was late and I'd missed the connection back to Blanch... it was actually this that prompted me to get a car - door to door in an hour (90 mins on the way home) and I was ALWAYS guaranteed a seat (and didn't have to sit in the cold/wet, or listen to scumbags roaring or playing godawful music on their mobiles!) Again I was working shifts which made things easier.

Then I got a job outside Dublin and commuted that way (only 30 mins) before moving down, but I also spent most of my week in the car as part of the job (good thing I enjoy driving and bought a comfy one!

) so a commute of an hour/hour and a half each way is nothing to me - but then I'm used to it - though all that said if I was working back in Dublin it'd really want to be a good job for me to go inside the M50 (places like Swords, Sandyford wouldn't bother me!)

Also I'm getting older now :P so, while I don't mind a free-flow spin up the motorway like that, sitting in traffic for an hour would be a bit more annoying.

Firehen · 20-10-2010 2:35pm

angel01 wrote: »

Some people don't have the choice.

True, but its extremely rare. If the costs of running the car are greater than the cost of renting a bedsit/room + bills within walking distance of the job, I don't see why it should be considered outside of extreme circumstances.

milly4ever · 21-10-2010 3:18pm

I did Belfast to Dublin for several months a few years ago when it was a nightmare getting accommodation in Dublin- didn't think it would be possible but it wasn't as bad as I had expected. It's probably the best served route in the country in terms of public transport though.

Manach · 21-10-2010 3:24pm

It is just about do-able.As a commuter (2hrs total time) I'd say CIE trains are fairly reliable and have a better service than they use to have.

Malice · 22-10-2010 6:29pm

I don't think long commutes are worth it at all. I used to commute across Galway city and due to the abysmal road layout a drive that took twenty minutes in the morning could take an hour in the evening. I found it torturous to sit staring at someone's brake lights for that length of time. When I would get home I used to regularly have a headache.

I have long since stopped that and I have to say that I would want to have a very good reason to go back to a long commute again. Nowadays I'm less than 20 minutes each way and it makes a big difference for having the energy and the time to do things in the evening..

Long Commutes - worth it?

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