Karlin talks about the main downside of working at home: DIY neighbors. Yep. In my case, neighbors (particularly the apartment upstairs) have sometimes been a pain, but the worst for me is Heuston train station (across the river from my apartment). They've been doing expansions and repairs to it for more than a year and a half and sometimes they use pneumatic hammers (is that the right term?) for long stretches, even at ridiculous hours like at one or two in the morning. This very morning I was woken up by the racket of concrete being smashed... or whatever it was. Good thing I don't sleep much anyway. All in all, however, the advantages make it worthwhile when you work on your own.