# Extreme Commuting



## Chamar (27 Nov 2006)

This is really a question for all you commuters. I am living/from Wexford but can't find employment there so I am _considering_ a daily, off-peak commute to Dublin taking c.4 hrs. Is this do-able or just completely crazy?  I am thinking it is probably not feasible but needs must. Is it something you get used to?


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## edo (27 Nov 2006)

Personally I think you'd be nuts - but thousands are doing exactly that - if the  salary is worth it and you are prepared for the social life that will goes with - its not unfeasible - you must weight up the pros and cons and come to your own decision


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## MOB (27 Nov 2006)

What is the line of work?  I have never had to contend with a commute, so I would not be a good authority, but I think it would be completely unviable.  Perhaps you could rent in Dublin?  Or cast your net further afield than Wexford but not as far as Dublin? Telework and part of week in Dublin?  Trains?


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## Eurofan (27 Nov 2006)

Utter bonkers. A mate did a daily 3 hr commute with no traffic from the This post will be deleted if not edited to remove bad language end of Monaghan to the airport daily for almost a year and it nearly killed him.

4 hours a day adds up to 20 hours a week you are not getting paid for not to mention the high financial cost of the actual commute. You'd want to be earning huge money to make this a serious short term option and/or be lining up very valuable/desirable career options.

If needs really must then i'd suggest driving up Monday and finding some kind of digs for 4 nights and then head home Friday.


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## jdwex (27 Nov 2006)

Chamar said:


> This is really a question for all you commuters. I am living/from Wexford but can't find employment there so I am _considering_ a daily, off-peak commute to Dublin taking c.4 hrs. Is this do-able or just completely crazy? I am thinking it is probably not feasible but needs must. Is it something you get used to?


 
What field do you work in? And are you in Wexford Town? Perhaps looking in Waterford may be an option?


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## TarfHead (27 Nov 2006)

Eurofan said:


> If needs really must then i'd suggest driving up Monday and finding some kind of digs for 4 nights and then head home Friday.



I agree. My wife's friend lives in Wexford town and kips in a friends house in Dublin during the week. He drives up early (06:00) on Monday to minimise journey time, works long hours (40 hours over 4 days) and drives home Thursday night. He's being doing it for a couple of years.


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## nelly (28 Nov 2006)

i agree with Eurofan - its actually what i know some prision officers do


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## Chamar (28 Nov 2006)

Yes, I'm in Wexford town. I could probably get a finance job on american hours - something on the lines of 1pm - 9pm so would avoid peak traffic. I agree with the posters that said if you could spend a couple of nights up there it is more doable but wouldn't be able to do that i'm afraid as i have a kitty cat!


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## michaelm (28 Nov 2006)

Crazy.  I would say that commute time, door-to-door, should be less than one hour.  If it were me I would get into a different line of work or move house or emigrate rather than do an excessive commute.


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## Purple (28 Nov 2006)

Chamar said:


> Yes, I'm in Wexford town. I could probably get a finance job on american hours - something on the lines of 1pm - 9pm so would avoid peak traffic. I agree with the posters that said if you could spend a couple of nights up there it is more doable but wouldn't be able to do that i'm afraid as i have a kitty cat!



Options are:
1) Move to Dublin (or somewhere else where you can get a job).
2) Sell/kill the cat and stay near your job during the week.
3) Bring the cat with you and stay near your job during the week.
4) Commute and slowly go mad.
5) Get a job (any job) in Wexford.
6) Get a job in Waterford and live with a shorter (but still really bad) commute.

Also remember that it will cost you at least €250 a week to commute if you take into account fuel, extra services, tyres and depreciation.


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## ClubMan (28 Nov 2006)

_Purple _is on the ball there - you need to do some sort of objective cost benefit analysis which takes into account all (including non monetary) costs and benefits before deciding whether or not this is for you.


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## Bamhan (28 Nov 2006)

If you are gone for that lenght of time each day then the cat will never see you anyway so I would leave him/her out of the equation!
There is no way I feel anyone could have any kind of life with that commute each day.

Do you have another reason, beside the cat, for living in Wexford?

If not I would be inclined to locate to within a reasonable distance, by which I mean an hour commute at most each way, from your job.


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## Chamar (28 Nov 2006)

Well, the kit's health and happiness is paramount (even to my own) so she has to stay with me. I would move to Dublin but for the cost. (To rent a reasonably sized & located apartment would cost about 1,000 euros a month which I could never afford while I can live rent-free down here) I know the commute would drive you bonkers but I suppose I'm driven bonkers anyway not working! Employment opportunities locally are limited and usually either specifically qualified ones (like accounting, engineering etc.) or low-skilled service type jobs.


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## Vanilla (28 Nov 2006)

> Well, the kit's health and happiness is paramount (even to my own) so she has to stay with me.


 
Your pet just became very expensive.

Can you not share an apartment?

Personally I think that kind of commute is impossible for any length of time. A few years back I commuted for a locum job with a round trip of 3 hours a day. I did it for about 6 months. Basically I got up, drove to work, ( even at that part of the commute was on a ferry so at least I wasn't driving non-stop), worked, drove home, ate, fell asleep, same again next day. Come Saturday I was exhausted. Sunday was great, but it all started again on Monday. It's fine for a fixed contract when the end is in sight but otherwise I wouldn't recommend it.


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## ClubMan (28 Nov 2006)

Maybe you could get a Tamagochi instead?


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## jdwex (28 Nov 2006)

Are there no  suitable finance jobs in Wexford? Perhaps PFPC may have something ?


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## daltonr (28 Nov 2006)

Emigrate.  Bring the cat.

-Rd


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## Sunny (28 Nov 2006)

You should ask the cat if it minds you being gone all day commuting up and down to Dublin. Might put stress on the relationship.


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## Sue Ellen (28 Nov 2006)

Purple said:


> Also remember that it will cost you at least €250 a week to commute if you take into account fuel, extra services, tyres and depreciation.


 


Chamar said:


> To rent a reasonably sized & located apartment would cost about 1,000 euros a month which I could never afford while I can live rent-free down here


 
Surely €250 a week to commute is approx. the same as €1,000 a month to rent? How can you afford one and not the other?


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## Chamar (28 Nov 2006)

Well, I don't think it would cost 250 a week to commute up, more like half that. You have to remember too that 1000 a month rent in Dublin doesn't include utilities etc. plus I still have utilities to pay in Wex. (& i also am unable to rent out or sell my accomodation in wex) Ditching the cat or emigrating just isn't an option. I did try PFPC a while ago....interview didn't go to well so no job.

The thing about commuting is that people do it.....I don't know about 4 hours a day, i'm sure there are some that do that. I don't have a social life so I don't care about that. I just wonder does all that driving make you crazy?


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## Eurofan (28 Nov 2006)

Chamar said:


> Well, I don't think it would cost 250 a week to commute up, more like half that. You have to remember too that 1000 a month rent in Dublin doesn't include utilities etc. plus I still have utilities to pay in Wex.



I think you are *dramatically* underestimating the financial cost of this commute.

Conservatively speaking you are looking at doing about 65,000 kms a year (and depending on where you are in wexford that could be more).

Without knowing what car you have we'll assume an average of roughly 35mpg or 8l/100kms that works out today at well over €5k a year in petrol. You'll require 3 services in that year(€250x3 = €750?) and possibly two new sets of tyres (€300 x 2 = €600?). I'm underestimating here by quite a ways.

The real killer though will be depreciation. Doing that kind of milage on a new car would reduce the value to around 25% after three years.

This are all shooting in the dark a bit and doing so very conservatively but i really think you need to run the maths on this before writing off the move to Dublin or finding an alternative locally. When comparing to a 'lesser' job locally don't exclude the fact that you are considering doing 20 hours a week without pay in order to reach the job in Dublin.

As an animal lover i appreciate not wanting to get rid of the cat but you're not even going to be home for a minimum 12 hours a day!(and i presume you'll want to sleep some of the rest). Is the cat alone during this time? Who feeds it?

I honestly reckon this whole plan needs reconsidering.

Here's a thought; For the next five days why not simulate the experience by doing the roundtrip exactly as you imagine it. Leave in order to reach Dublin at 1pm at stay there till 9pm. It doesn't matter what you occupy your time with since you _will_ be tired after a days work anyway.

Do it for real and see how you like it. If you reckon you can cope then you have an answer. If you found it tougher than you thought (my guess) then you can reconsider.


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## soy (28 Nov 2006)

I agree with Eurofans assessment of costs. 
Also you will be shattered at the end of a hard weeks work and commuting. Your extreme commute will almost certainly increase your chances of being involved in an road accident. Personally I believe that a significant (and much larger than is credited) amount of the accidents on our roads are due to over-tired drivers.

It is not worth it.


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## terrysgirl33 (29 Nov 2006)

I think it would be very very hard to do.  however, if you really can't find a job at the moment, it may be worth applying for a job in Dublin and see how it goes.  Even if you can stick it for 6 months to a year, that is that more work experiance that you have.  I work with someone who found it cheaper to drive up to Dublin on a monday morning, stay 4 nights in a B&B and go home Friday night (though I realise that doesn't help with the cat!), than to rent a place in Dublin.  Maybe you could find an understanding land lady who takes cats?


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## Chamar (29 Nov 2006)

I was thinking about the 6 month option too - although I don't want to take a job with the fair chance of leaving it soon after - it's not really fair. That moggy really complicates things for me but she is a very special kit. This is her by the way

[broken link removed]

Right, I'd say this thread is now a whisker away from being closed!


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## Sue Ellen (29 Nov 2006)

Chamar said:


> This is her by the way
> 
> [broken link removed]


 
My dog says he loves her too  

I love animals but the lengths that you would have to go to, go beyond love and I'm not being smart here. Could some relative not look after her during the week while you live in Dublin?


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## Chamar (29 Nov 2006)

I hope your dog loves her in a friendly way rather than a hungry way Suellen!

I don't have any relatives unfortunately. Well, none remotely local that could help with her. And well, part of the reason I won't consider giving her away is that she belonged to my closest living relative before he died (he was MAD about her) - that was also when I moved home & stopped working and got stuck in this rut. I don't know, maybe I should try and find a cat-lover that might foster her for a while...


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## micamaca (29 Nov 2006)

Hey Chamar,

I only have to drive for about 40 mins in and out of college at the minute and it sometimes drives me bonkers.

It's the worst time of the year to consider starting this, I think.  Its starts getting dark from 5pm and its hard on your eyes driving with all the car lights coming in the opposite direction.  I think two hours of that might be a killer.

It sounds like a terrible lifestyle really.  And as the other posters say, its not going to be great for moggie either   I'm an animal person so I understand you putting the cat so high on your priorities but I don't think this will help you or moggie... 

Why don't u look at other parts of Ireland to see if there are jobs there...if you wanted to move then, at least the property price wouldn't be so high.  Or sit down and re-think you're options or see are there other ways you could look for work that you haven't thought of yet...looking outside the box kind of stuff...

good luck, mica


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## Erith (29 Nov 2006)

For what it's worth, I have a 3 hour commute (1 1/2 hours each way) only three days a week and it is very difficult. I would happily eat the cat to get a shorter commute. It is the worst draw on my own quality of life without a doubt.


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## moneypitt (30 Nov 2006)

I used to drive to work and back, an hour each way - it was only some 10 - 15 miles, mostly sitting in traffic and watching people walking their dogs etc and feeling jealous and guilty! In the twelve months or so that I drove to work, I was plagued with back pain, and even my left leg (thigh, knee and calf) was aching (from being on/off clutch pedal I guess)!! I wouldn’t recommend long drives to work at all. I now commute by train. I still need to get up early and spend nearly the same amount of time commuting, but this gives me a chance to catch up on sleep, reading and even work if I want to!

Here’s a mad idea, how about a big camper van/bus? Drive up on Monday morning, and go back on Thursday or something!


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## Guest127 (30 Nov 2006)

I communuted for about 10 years. 19 miles each way. at first it was a doddle, driving _out _of traffic and into a smaller town  but for the past 2 years this smaller town has become a  nightmare. T junction entering the town and traffic backed up half a mile some mornings ( no lights, needless to say). the difference in those 10 odd years is unbelievable. road slightly improved but the traffic 20 times worse. anyway no longer have this commute and IMO anything up to 40 minutes is probably ok but I wouldn't like anything above that.
to put those big delays on the M50/M11 into perspective. about 4 weeks ago, I got up at around 8.30am, had breakfast around 9, caught a taxi to the airport, got flight, caught a _bus _back to dundalk from dublin  airport( 1.25 hours and he was late at that)  and was sitting at home before 4pm having a cuppa tea. I know there is a time difference of 2 hours to take into consideration but 9am to 6pm is a total of 9 hours. from Istanbul to Dundalk. So I sympathise with those commuters. it was disgraceful.


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## brian.mobile (30 Nov 2006)

Extreme Commuting - I LOVE it! 

A new term has been coined folks. You heard it on AAM!

Brilliant!

BM


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## TarfHead (30 Nov 2006)

Where I work, in South County Dublin, colleagues drive each day from Portarlington, Gorey, Arklow, Nobber, Rush and a couple of DNS locations.

In a different section, a contractor has been driving from County Monaghan each day for many years.

Another colleague got caught in the N11 mess 2 weeks ago and took 4 hours to get to Greystones with her 10 month old daughter howling in the back seat.


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## Eurofan (1 Dec 2006)

brian.mobile said:


> A new term has been coined folks. You heard it on AAM!



While far from the first to coin the term this thread is already showing up as the sixth hit on google! Worth having a read through some of the other articles Chamar (or anyone else considering a long commute) as there's a variety of first hand experiences there.


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## RainyDay (2 Dec 2006)

TarfHead said:


> Where I work, in South County Dublin, colleagues drive each day from Portarlington, Gorey, Arklow, Nobber, Rush and a couple of DNS locations.


DNS? Domain Name Services?


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## MugsGame (2 Dec 2006)

De Nord Soide? Or did you mean DDK ?


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