Cathal Smyth can drive to work across Kilkenny city in 10-15 minutes - a far cry from the days of commuting from Glenageary to the IFSC.
He moved from Dublin to Kilkenny in 2001 for career reasons and is now the general manger of the regional office of State Street International (Ireland) Ltd. The US company, which provides financial services to institutional investors, employs more than 1,500 people in Ireland - 300 of them at its regional offices at the Loughboy Business and Technology Park.
The company had been looking for a site for its regional office and had looked at a number of places before choosing Kilkenny "because it has a good population base and is also close to pools of labour in Carlow, Clonmel and Waterford".
Smyth finds Kilkenny "a nice place to live - near Dublin" which is important as he goes to Dublin (or London) once a week for meetings - as do many of his staff. They tend to use the train.
When he and his wife Mags first moved to Kilkenny they sold their house in Glenageary and bought a house at Cuffesgrange - about five miles outside the city in "a beautiful part of the world".
But they quickly decided that it was a bit too far out of town although "the countryside is not as quiet as people think" he says, referring to the sound of tractors.
They decided to move closer to the city and in June 2005 bought a five-bedroom detached 1970s house on half an acre, with mature gardens, on the smart Glendine Road beside the golf club for €600,000. "Compared to Dublin, you do get an awful lot more for your money."
The Smyths have three children aged five and under. Cathal enjoys golf and "can be at the golf course from the office in 15 minutes". He often goes home for lunch and says the short distance between home and office means he can help out with childcare in a way which would not be possible in Dublin.
He is happy with the childcare facilities in Kilkenny and pays 200 a month for his son to attend The Busy Bees crèche two mornings a week. It's not all perfect though. He says that shopping is not as good as in Dublin and he sometimes misses the "business buzz of the capital".
But, overall, he says that, "Kilkenny offers a more relaxed way of life and is a good place for children. "We are very happy here; it's got a lot of what Dublin has but without the traffic".
