Once a week for the past year, I've travelled up to 60 miles from Dublin to talk to the plucky commuters who put up with a long daily trek to work - to find out why they move so far out, how they cope with the strain and whether it has worked out for them. I met Una Coghlan, a first-time buyer who bought in Carlow because houses were cheaper there. She likes the town. The people are friendly and laid back and she can walk everywhere. But the journey to Dun Laoghaire makes her day unbearably long. Una found herself with "a foot in both camps" because she's not at home often enough to get to know the people. Now she's looking for work in Carlow.
For nurse Caroline Connolly, the expense of driving from Portlaoise is an extra burden on top of a mortgage and she's had to replace her car. Joanne Egan had nothing good to say about her combined car and train journey from Mullingar. To check this out, I caught the 6.40 a.m. from Mullingar station one winter morning and found the carriages cold and grubby and the journey slow. The bus ride back in the evening was more comfortable but interminably long, stopping at almost every village on the way. Joanne and her partner Stephen are thinking of moving closer to the city in the long-term.
Commuters living within an hour's journey of Dublin fared best. Trim, Navan, Celbridge and Balbriggan are affordable, yet close enough to Dublin to stay in touch with city life. Celbridge resident Martin Sheahan parks a spare bike at Heuston Station to travel to work.
Where the rail services were good, people were happier with their decision to move further out. Marisa Devereux loved Dundalk - as did I - and she found the Enterprise train "brilliant". (It's not always on time though, Marisa.) Drogheda has lots of character, but houses are more expensive than in Dundalk. Car pooling is becoming popular. Four young bank officials shared the journey from Wicklow town and their costs were quartered. Check out the new car-pool website at www.dublintraffic.ie.
Cheaper housing is not the only reason people are moving out of the suburbs, and most long-distance commuters are content to stay. Small towns offer an alternative way of life - they are quieter and safer than the city and have plenty of clubs to join. Schools are often better and children thrive in the freer environment. Families with small children have settled best. Keeping mortgages to a sustainable level has its attractions. You can sell a three-bed semi in Lucan or Bray, buy a new four-bedroom detached house in Portlaoise or Carlow and have change for a few luxuries. (Steer clear of Naas; it's wonderful, but few can afford it.) The downside is that petrol costs and car wear and tear are greater.
Moving to a town 50 or 60 miles from Dublin is like emigrating, without the cachet of being a true foreigner. In even the friendliest of small towns, anxieties over the effect of large-scale development have predisposed locals to resent newcomers. So the buyers from outside have had to overcome a "them and us" situation as they tried to integrate. Some towns are more welcoming than others. Move to anywhere in Co Wicklow and you will still be a "blow-in" after 20 years. Gorey people are crying out for new members of musical and drama societies. Carlow is a student town, used to strangers, and there is plenty for young first-time buyers to do. Dundalk's the same and Portlaoise has a vibrant arts scene. Kinnegad is on the way up and very friendly.
The drawback for single commuters is a social one. If they go for a drink after work they end up staying in town and if they drive straight home, they're too weary after the journey to get to try out the social scene in their new home town. Weekends are a blur of washing, cleaning and chasing up items on the snag list. Before they know it, it's 6 o'clock on Monday morning and time to hit the road again.
We shouldn't forget the local communities, bewildered by the sudden expansion of their town and feeling swamped by hundreds of three-bed semis springing up on the outskirts, especially as these estates are often up and running before proper infrastructure is in place. Schools are using pre-fabs, trains and buses are overcrowded and roads are in chaos as the authorities rush to catch up. It's a clear case of the cart before the horse.
Upgrading the rail system will take longer, since mainline Dublin stations have little new capacity for arriving and departing trains. The Arrow line is currently being upgraded and will help commuters on the Maynooth line. People travelling from Mullingar will have to put up with their "Calcutta Special" for a while longer. Those living in northern areas are the envy of midlands and southern commuters with their smart purple Enterprise trains. Don't be; it's difficult to get a seat, the automatic toilets break down and the train is often late. My favourite commuter town? Wicklow is difficult to fault - it's by the sea, an hour from Dublin and it has a good supply of cute period townhouses at affordable prices. Celbridge is a real family town with beautiful walks by the Liffey. If you're young and single, college towns like Carlow and Dundalk have more sparkle. For the arts, music and drama, Gorey, Trim, Arklow and Portlaoise are superb. Drogheda, Dundalk, Balbriggan and Skerries have good rail links. Navan is a bit dreary at present, but is about to become a garden city which should bring it some buzz. There will be a motorway to Mullingar and Kinnegad by 2005. Today's commuters, struggling with poor transport, endless journeys to and from work and a lukewarm welcome, are the pioneers of Ireland's new commuter towns. They're all heroes.
