Can you really commute from Spain

P

phoenix_n

Guest
My work colleague is hoping to go on 4 day weeks next year and is thinking of commuting from Madrid. Fly in on Monday morning and fly out Thursday evening. I didnt think it would work as the cost of maintaining an apt here and spain coupled with flights would be too expensive. However he said that with Ryanair starting to fly every day next feb he said he could pre-book multiple flights beforehand thus getting the best price. With regards accomadation he would co-share in Ireland and buy in Spain.

Is it really that feasible ?
 
Its only a 2 hour flight, and he'll prob just have hand luggage (no waiting at baggage carousels), so in theory it is possible. He will soon get sick of airports though, particularly the new Terminal 4 in Madrid which is huge and takes about 30 mins just to walk from the plane to the exit.

He'll need to check the flight times - I think the RyanAir flights are early morning each way - so he wouldnt be able to return on thurs night. The AerLingus flight to Madrid is at 3pm so its not much use to him either.
 
I wouldn't like to risk it. The price of oil (and airline fuel) is only going one way.

Although your colleague may be a man/woman of greater means than myself and this would be small potatoes for him/her...
 
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Ignoring the financial aspects - i've known a few people who've done inter-country commutes for a while, usually because of a long-distance relationship, and they all comment about how tiring it becomes after a while. Flying very quickly loses all novelty appeal if you are doing it every week or so. Also, that kind of lifestyle makes you feel v unsettled after a while.

A few years back i had to fly a good bit for work, and i got to the stage where i thought i never wanted to see another airport again. I could give you the attendent's safety speil verbatim,"please fix your own mask in place before attending to anyone else..."
 
Thanks for your input. I'll pass on your advice.

I too am familiar with that terminal in Madrid. Its a nightmare having to get a bus transfer to the other terminal where the metro is based.
I can only guess that the only way it would work would be if he could do more from home and travel infrequent rather than frequent but i don't think he will have that option. Figure if he wants to live in Madrid he'll just have to learn the language and get a job there!
 
I know a Scottish fellow who used to commute from Stranraer, Scotland to Dublin. Took a camper van from the Stranraer ferry to Belfast
and then drove to Dublin. Lived out of his camper in the company car park while he was on shift and then did the reverse journey for his time off. Definitely worked out for him financially, don't know if I could ever do it though!
 
Sherman said:
It's also a rather selfish idea from an environmental point of view.
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As you tuck into your sandwich today as another 100 kids die from starvation then i think you will agree we all are a bit selfish.
 
I'm with Sherman, I'm afraid. Not everyone is bothered but it wouldn't sit right with me either. You have to eat, it's not a life-style choice like a weekly commute is but you can try and minimise your impact on the environment in small ways; like not choosing a "gas-guzzler" type car.

Don't be so defensive; it's a legitimate issue.

Rebecca
 
It is an interesting point alright the environmental impact of Aviation

Overall it's quite a small absolute %age of emissions - in the UK (where it would be disproprotionately high) it represents around 6% of total Carbon Dioxide emissions - way less than domestic / road transport etc ... though it is growing much faster.

There's often been things said that aviation must be more harmful because the emissions are at altitude - but I'm not really that sure that's ever been proven.

There's a good article in the economist if you've got a subscription to their site about the whole topic.

An interesting question for you grossly unrelated to the intial topic .. how much would you say UK Carbon emissions have grown in the last 40 years ?
 
MissRibena said:
I'm with Sherman, I'm afraid. Not everyone is bothered but it wouldn't sit right with me either. You have to eat, it's not a life-style choice like a weekly commute is but you can try and minimise your impact on the environment in small ways; like not choosing a "gas-guzzler" type car.

Don't be so defensive; it's a legitimate issue.

Rebecca
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I didn't think i was been defensive. I was merely putting forward the point that we are all to some degree selfish.
 
EvilDoctorK said:
(though might be well offset by the lower cost of living in Madrid)
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Lower cost of living in Madrid? You must be joking!!!!!!
Just back from Madrid (where I am from), and I am still in shock to see how much prices have risen each time I go there (last time was Easter, and before that Christmas). Terminal 4 is a nightmare, more than 30 mins from checking desk to boarding gate (my flight last week didn't have a gate assigned until 20 mins before closing time!!!)
Does your friend knows about all the road works happening in Madrid at the moment. My family lives next to the M-30, one of the ring road, having a major re-development at the moment, and the works won't finish for another year and a half (at least) Trying to drive through it now, it's like being in a war battle field!!!
Metro is supposed to get there next summer, so he would have transportation in and out at reasonable price ( I am lucky enough to have loving family or friends picking me up all the time, but still a nightmare!)
If anyone here thinks that property in Madrid (or Spain in general) is cheaper than here, think again. My parents live in a 3 bedroom apartment (standard way of living in Spain) and nowadays they will be able to sell it for around 450k or rent it for more than 1200 a month.
As much as I would love to move back home, I know that it won't happen in the near future.

Edit: Prices with ryan air for next year: Dublin Madrid: €89 each way plus taxes. Not cheap
 
Thanks for your input. My mate was always under the impression (and so was I) that Madrid was cheaper.

Cati76 said:
Lower cost of living in Madrid? You must be joking!!!!!!
Just back from Madrid (where I am from), and I am still in shock to see how much prices have risen each time I go there (last time was Easter, and before that Christmas). Terminal 4 is a nightmare, more than 30 mins from checking desk to boarding gate (my flight last week didn't have a gate assigned until 20 mins before closing time!!!)
Does your friend knows about all the road works happening in Madrid at the moment. My family lives next to the M-30, one of the ring road, having a major re-development at the moment, and the works won't finish for another year and a half (at least) Trying to drive through it now, it's like being in a war battle field!!!
Metro is supposed to get there next summer, so he would have transportation in and out at reasonable price ( I am lucky enough to have loving family or friends picking me up all the time, but still a nightmare!)
If anyone here thinks that property in Madrid (or Spain in general) is cheaper than here, think again. My parents live in a 3 bedroom apartment (standard way of living in Spain) and nowadays they will be able to sell it for around 450k or rent it for more than 1200 a month.
As much as I would love to move back home, I know that it won't happen in the near future.

Edit: Prices with ryan air for next year: Dublin Madrid: €89 each way plus taxes. Not cheap
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phoenix_n said:
Thanks for your input. My mate was always under the impression (and so was I) that Madrid was cheaper.
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You are not the only one. Just because booze and alcohol are cheaper than in here, it doens't mean the cost of living in general is cheaper than in here. When I moved to Ireland, and started working here, it look cheaper, going home was a great treat, new clothes, going out all the time, etc etc. It's not that way anymore. Clothes are still cheaper, specially in all the spanish high street shops (Zara, Mango, Springfield, Pull and Bear, etc), but not by a huge difference.
Don't get me wrong, things are still cheaper than in here (but so are the spanish salaries, with most of the people earning round 1k a month), but they keep going up and up, and a lot of people over there are struggling.
 
If anyone here thinks that property in Madrid (or Spain in general) is cheaper than here, think again. My parents live in a 3 bedroom apartment (standard way of living in Spain) and nowadays they will be able to sell it for around 450k or rent it for more than 1200 a month.
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I second that, friends of mine have just bought a 2 bedroom apt in Madrid for approx. 370K, it's 20K from the city centre. Their salaries would be approx. 25K each - and they do very well as opposed to the general populace of their age.
 
Spain is experiencing a boom not unlike that of Ireland, underpinned by too-low European interest rates. They seem to be suffering a lot of Ireland's problems too. I read in the FT a while back that Spain consumes 40% of all concrete sold in Europe.

As for the commute. I tried something not disimilar a number of years ago and it did not work. I believe in keeping work and home separate - but not in separate countries. The weekly commute can become a nightmare and because you do not spend enough time either at home or at work, you end up missing some of the nicer aspects of life in both places.
 
Cati76 said:
Clothes are still cheaper, specially in all the spanish high street shops (Zara, Mango, Springfield, Pull and Bear, etc), but not by a huge difference.
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The difference in price between Zara etc., here is that we have a higher vat rate on clothing! :mad:
 
There's also the hours spent hanging around airports, long check-in times, flights delayed and occasionally cancelled......then the journey home from the airport....The actual flying time is the least of it.
 
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