After many years of discussion and deliberation, we finally made the decision to move out of the city and down to the famous Wild Atlantic Way, on the southern coast of Ireland. We craved nature and space, and found that the city had become too noisy and crowded. I know Dublin probably hadn’t changed, but we had, and we needed more than it could offer – well actually, we needed less.
An Epic Move
It felt like an epic move, both physically and mentally. I was not prepared for the disruption – I thought I could plan my way through this move and it would be reasonably quick. What I didn’t prepare for is the difficulty moving and changing utilities, balancing work on mobile broadband, scrubbing skirting boards, impromptu family events and the confounding alchemy of stuff as it multiplies exponentially when you try to pack it into boxes.
Yet, at the end of all of that were blue skies and a sunlit walk down the sandy beach – it was like Kerry was welcoming me home, reassuring us that we had made the right decision. Now, instead of avoiding dour commuter walkers and exhaust fumes on the canal, I have miles of empty sandy coastline and crystal clean air. I also mentioned family events – my gorgeous little niece, Cassie, arrived into the world right in the middle of the move, so her birth date will forever more coincide with our exodus from city life.
I will miss Dublin
I will miss the impromptu brainstorming coffees and relaxing glasses of red wine after a tough week with the exceptional friends and business women I am lucky to know in Dublin. I am sure I will get to know more in Kerry, and perhaps even a few in Ballybunion, for that much needed self employment brain-dump vino at the end of the week.
Most business owners I know crave location independence – regardless of whether they want to leave the city, they would like to be able to run their business from anywhere. I had been preparing my business for the move for months, testing it out with a month in Granada, Spain and another in Berlin last year. I am really lucky to have exceptional clients, who never mind the distance, as most of our work is conducted online.
Running a website design business from Kerry
I worried about the physical distance from current and potential clients, but I need not have. After going through my client list I realised that only about 40% were based in Dublin. Added to this is the fact that my productive work is done in front of the computer, so removing the temptation to have multiple physical meetings gave me back hours of productive time. I now conduct most meetings via Skype with a clear agenda and less time wasted for both parties – packing up gear, traveling to the location, cups of coffee and inevitable delays. This combined with the convenience of monthly trips back up to Dublin has created a pretty seamless transition.
Most people want to work with the website designer with the same design and life ethic as them to create the right feel for their business. Physical location generally doesn’t affect that, and technology makes connecting and communicating far easier.
I know you are wondering about the internet – well, much to my delight, it has been great. Not the same speeds as we achieved in Dublin, naturally, but the connection with Eir hasn’t once let us down. We are a fairly connected household and it is amply driving multiple computers, mobile devices and the TV service.
Most importantly – after a particularly long intense day at the computer, you will find me walking on the beach… or maybe by the open fire with a little glass of red :-). Cheers to that…