Gutted and hoping it can be salvaged

NoKidsAllowed

Right, Don't really know where to post as I have been offered a new job and was on top of the world until I realised the travel costs will mean I am going to be worse off

The scenario.

Currently earning a respectable amount c 30k
Been offered a job in London for 46k

Fantastic I think, Great money. Great experience. Break into the world I want to get into. Only downside is the extra 30 mins each way on the train. No worries. I can handle that for the extra money and the chance of a life time.

So I set about confirming the figures I had worked out thinking ok the money is slightly less than I wanted but I can live with that.

Just worked out my take home after tax would be an extra 9k. Great.

But travel costs will be an extra 9,200k per year by train.

Equivalent to my take home being identical to my c 30k job with less travel but I am going no where.

So to borrow a phrase from my 2 yr old daughter. What a do

If anyone knows how you can get from Swindon to London for considerably less than £900 per month inc car park please shout now as I could cry having finally nailed the big one and yet hours later its all taken away.

Thanks for listening. Sorry just had to tell someone and hope someone could help.

NGlady

Ok I don't know much! BUT
Do you own your home? Would it be at all possible to rent out your current home and move the family into a rented house in London? Therefore somebody else paying for your home, and you using the money you would for the mortgage plus X amount of travel money?
Would it be possible to live away during the week - it might be grotty at first (lol) but theres some house shares available? That could cost considerably less? ALSO now I dont know the ins and outs of this but would your wife (sorry to be asumptious) be classed as a single person and therefore get council tax discounts? :S
Sorry this probs dont help.

CIS

ALSO now I dont know the ins and outs of this but would your wife (sorry to be asumptious) be classed as a single person and therefore get council tax discounts?

His 'sole or main residence' would remain at the property therefore his wife couldn't claim a single person discount although a second home in London would then be eligible for a discount of between 50% and 10%.

NoKidsAllowed

It does help Nglady and thanks for the reply.

Unfortunatly the moving/living away from home in the week won't work.

Family man with family principles. Its hard enough leaving the family for the occasional week when working away from home let alone week in week out

The wife works and has done at the same place for 13 years for a considerrable wage, so moving is not an option at the moment.

Hence the commute.

tabskitten

Will the long turn prospects potentially overcome the short tern loss that the commute requires?

If yes.........GO FOR IT!!

or you will live to regret it.

My personal experience of Swindon is the place is a dead end dive!! Try get wifey to move closer to London in the meantime?!? (sorry thats personal opinion and probably irrelevant!

NoKidsAllowed

tabskitten wrote: »

My personal experience of Swindon is the place is a dead end dive!! !

You must know the nice part then :rotfl:

Prospects far outweight what I have at the moment and even if I was there for 1 year the experience would be fantastic.

And that is very tempting so something that I will have to consider over the weekend.

I got until next week to decide so not a quick decision. Lots of talking to be done.

tabskitten

Congratulations - sounds like a fantastic and life changing opportunity.

alyth

Is an option to drive from Swindon to somewhere slightly closer to London, park and then get the train from there? Or perhaps drive somewhere closer to London, pick up a bus and commute that way? I lived in London for years but came back up north a few years ago, the alternatives I suggested were certainly done by friends who lived in Reading when I worked in London.

Otherwise go for it - you never know where further opportunities might lead from this job.

tabskitten

I used to drive to Old Dear Park near to Acton just off M3 (A303 from Hants). Park there for the day and tube into the city.

NoKidsAllowed

I had thoughta about didcot but the distance would add another hour to my journey time.

Reading or a satellite place may be doable.

Will have a little investigate. Thank you for the suggestions.

mountainofdebt

So a fantastic opportunity is going to cost you £200 p.a and an hour day travelling ...which you can use to unwind and not take the frustrations of the day out on the cat.


Could you work from home occasionally???