Moving from Dublin to Kerry: ‘We really noticed the lack of any noise, apart from the animals’
A Dublin couple shares their experience of relocating to a remote cottage in Kerry during the pandemic. The move was driven by the shift to remote work and a desire for a quieter lifestyle, involving a significant renovation of an 1800s-era home.
Why it matters
Highlights the ongoing trend of urban-to-rural migration and the impact of remote work flexibility on housing choices in Ireland.
I f you are within walking distance of Blanchardstown Shopping Centre, then a cottage on the Beara Peninsula must seem like another world away. After all, it is more than 350km from the Dublin suburb and the nearest town, Kenmare, is a 20-minute drive away.
But it was precisely this remoteness that drew Dubliners Philip and Emma Joyce ( @jacobs.cottage) to the house.
“I’d been living in Blanchardstown all my life,” he says. In fact, they were so settled there that they had bought his childhood home in 2016 after his parents died.
“We had planned on staying around and I had thought of having a holiday home in the countryside, but then Covid came.”
When remote work became the norm during the pandemic, they began talking about leaving Dublin.
“Kerry has always been my favourite spot, and it just happened to be the place where this house came up.”
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