“I missed the bustle of people”
While you may get more bang for your buck, the reality of moving from the city to the country can be a shock. One family who made the move are Lynne and Cian Byrne, and their two young daughters, who relocated from a rental property in Sandymount to their own home in Glendalough, Co Wicklow, just over two years ago.
Cian works as a graphic designer and in printing, while Lynne has stayed home and taken a career break from marketing, advertising and music production since their eldest daughter, Ellen, was born in 2013 — primarily, she says, because she wanted to avoid having to use a creche. The couple’s second daughter, Emily, was born in 2017.
“We wanted to put down roots, and be settled somewhere by the time Ellen turned five and would be starting primary school,” says Lynne.
The couple bought a pair of adjoining cottages — one dating from the 19th century and one from the 1960s — that had previously been joined together to form one long lodge, with a view of the round tower from the garden.
“Ten days after we moved in, the big snow came,” remembers Lynne. “It was over a week before we could even think about digging out the car, and it happened again a week later. I remember thinking: what have we done?”
While Wicklow can be ‘‘a bit bleak’’ in the depths of winter, Lynne says that the glory of the spring, summer and autumn, make up for it.
She didn’t expect to spend more time in the car. “My mum lives in Skerries and when we were in Sandymount she would have been able to hop on the train over if I needed a hand, but I am on my own more now and if I need to go out I have to pile everyone in the car.
“I do miss the convenience — you definitely have to think ahead more here, and are constantly on the road. Our doctor is in Greystones, half an hour away, which means a trip to the GP is a two-hour round trip and swimming for the girls is in Arklow…
“Now I feel settled but it took a while. I kept asking myself what I was missing or craving and I figured out it was the hustle and bustle of people, not necessarily even interacting with them.”
Meanwhile Cian is still commuting to Dublin for work. “He has to get up at 5.15/5.30am because if he doesn’t make Kilmacanogue by 6.15am, he’ll sit in traffic for hours,” says Lynne. “It’s the same in the afternoon — if he hasn’t left by 3.30pm he might as well wait until 6.30pm. Five days a week it’s a bit of a killer.
“Of course at the moment — he’s an essential worker — there’s very little traffic so it’s easier, and I think in the future he will try to work more from home, as we are committed to making it work.”
There are however, big benefits to rural life, such as having the Glendalough National Park 200m from their front door. While the small local school that had been their priority has turned out to be a gem, with just 130 pupils.
“It is a great place for the girls to grow up,” says Lynne. “Ellen is one of 16 in her class and they have a forest school; the focus is very much on their surroundings. I thought I’d be the youngest person around but it turns out that there are lots of people our age who were born here and have come back to raise their own families, and I’ve made friends with other mums from the school.”