West Living Case Studies

“I design and make jewellery mainly to private commission, and supply limited collections of jewellery to some galleries and outlets” says Erika.  “The cost of living in Dublin had become prohibitive, and for the sake of our sanity and health we wanted to live somewhere quieter” she says in relation to the move west.

“I had visited this area regularly as a child when sailing on the Shannon, and my father was from Strokestown.  My husband’s step-sister also lives locally and when we made the decision to leave Dublin, we wanted to have a contact locally, wherever we moved, so that we would have an introduction to the area”.

Erika has found that her location in Leitrim has helped the business in a number of ways, “Rents are much cheaper and there is more space available.  Travel costs equate pretty well despite the longer distances, the road to and from Dublin is excellent, and even in the time we’ve been here, travel time has reduced by at least 30 minutes”, she adds.

Erika’s experience of internet access has been less positive “The service is much slower than I’d like and, despite finally getting broadband, it is still prone to frequent interruptions and delays – I would hope however that this would improve under the national broadband scheme”, she says.

When she established herself in Leitrim, Erika received both financial and moral support from Leitrim Enterprise Board towards attending a major Crafts exhibition.  The business has gone from strength to strength since and when asked if the recent economic downturn has had any negative impact on her business she replies “not at all so far – people still commission individual pieces.  I think the cost of living in Dublin would have meant that any slight downturn would have been harder to survive – so it makes me even happier that the business is based here in Leitrim”.

Erika finds Leitrim suits her work in the creative sector “It is such a stimulating and peaceful natural environment that is conducive to creative work and thinking. I’m much more relaxed and happy than I was in Dublin and that affects my work – it feels like a new start every day”, she explains.

“You can still wake with the same problems as anyone living in the city/east coast, but here they don’t seem to get you down as much – everything’s easier to deal with I find.”

There is a large number of creative people living in the Leitrim area, from all parts of the world “and this makes it very outward-looking for such a rural location and also provides stimulating company to work with” says Erika.

Less time in the car, more affordable house prices, cheaper living costs and more family time all combine to enable Erika take advantage of the many amenities in her local area, including country walks and parks, fishing and boating, cinema, pubs, galleries, video shops, theatre and community events.  Commenting on her move to the West of Ireland, Erika says “It’s the best thing I ever did voluntarily! I would recommend it to anyone for the pace of life, but I would also add – be sure to bring a pair of wellies with you!”