I'd be curious where you were, if you don't mind. I'm moving near Tullamore soon because I was sick of paying to be in Dublin when there was little real benefit as a remote worker with a kid (not like I get out much)
If nothing else, I heard several different languages at Lidl and there seemed to have people from many different places. But Tullamore is still commutable to Dublin (if only just) and probably not as rural as you'r thinking.
I'd be a bit further than Athlone, very much the hard ending of the commuter belt. The actual area I'm from is at the very edge of Tullamore Hospital's general area of coverage, so most my experience of Tullamore is having to go there in tragic circumstances, not super positive!
If the tradeoff includes no change in income and not having to deal with the daily commute, I think the amount of additional time and money to spend with kids would be a huge positive. Most of the ones I know are doing a daily ~80 minute train journey (complete with panicked rush to get to the station for their particular train each morning)... I dunno how anyone can justify erasing that much time from every day of their lives, or how they can have the time to do anything with/for their kids.
Yeah, remote work is a huge part of it. To be honest it comes down to a big mortgage in Dublin or using my deposit to buy a house in cash in Offaly. I suspect we're due for a crash, too, making said mortgage even less enticing.
But if I find myself cramming in to the Luas from Heuston to the Docklands in a few years, well, it'll be my comeuppance for wanting to own a home outright.
If nothing else, I heard several different languages at Lidl and there seemed to have people from many different places. But Tullamore is still commutable to Dublin (if only just) and probably not as rural as you'r thinking.