Gutted and hoping it can be salvaged

Tiddlywinks

Newbury is just off of junction 13 of the M4 and you can get into Paddington in around an hour (and is just as close to Swindon as Didcot) - Thatcham is also off at junction 13 and the parking is cheaper but has less trains.

I did Newbury to Paddington for a few years and can honestly say that I don't miss it!

Paddington in rush hour is a hell hole - I have never know such rude people. Commuters turn into yobs in their stampede for a seat and the Swindon / Bristol / west country routes are the absolute worst. At peak times you will be hard pressed to get a seat so don't count on always being able to rest on the train.

I'd suggest doing a dummy run at the actual times you would be travelling and only then make the decision.

crackerberry

crackerberry wrote: »

Current job

£1,885 per month net pay

£150 per month travel costs


New job

£2,787 per month net pay

= annual net salary increase of around £10,800

£8,500 new annual travel costs (£9,200 less current costs of £1,800)


By my calculations you'd be around £2,300 per annum and almost £200 per month better off financially by taking the new job.

I can't add up! I've amended my error below. You're nearly £300 (net) per month better off financially.


Current job

£1,885 per month net pay

£150 per month travel costs


New job

£2,787 per month net pay

= annual net salary increase of around £10,800

£7,400 new annual travel costs (£9,200 less current costs of £1,800)


By my calculations you'd be around £3,400 per annum and almost £300 per month better off financially by taking the new job.

anamenottaken

NoKidsAllowed wrote: »

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.

I hope you have accepted and that the "next week" is only in relation to handing in your notice after you have firm offer in writing from prospective employer.

Prudent_Scotsman

1. Ask company for a "season ticket loan" - they will give you the money for the annual train fare up-front as an employee loan, then you repay it monthly (deducted from net salary) to the employer

2. Work out your EXACT net pay using listentotaxman and taking into account how much you put into your pension, etc + it is various tax bands, so not an obvious calculation

3. Ask about working from home one day a week, if the company offers a remote desktop system - e.g. via SecureID login - then from home you can log into your office's desktop PC and remotely control it. It has minimal lag, so it is like you are directly logged into your work PC. Many IT jobs in LARGE companies have this.

4. Paulwf's idea is sound "Couldn't you use the job offer as a bargaining tool with your current company? If you can get a small pay rise the work/life balance means it'll certainly pay to stay where you are."
...as I believe one should always look to get all you can out of their current job before moving on

5. Commuting is horrible. Your existing commute sounds horrible and your new commute sounds even worse. London overground trains are a disgrace: vastly overpriced, jam-packed and a nightmare when they occasionally are hugely delayed. I design my London life to minimise commuting. In light of this, Tiddlywinks idea is pure gold "I'd suggest doing a dummy run at the actual times you would be travelling and only then make the decision."

6. Possible scenario (hypothetical):
A) £46k for the next 1.5 years, then a small 2% salary rise. Now £48k
After another 0.5 years with that employer, gaining experience, get a job elsewhere. Almost ALWAYS a jump in salary in London when going to a new IT job in same industry. So now on £53k (c. 10% rise) or £55k (c. 15% rise)
So it is a route to be on £55k in two years as long as you are excellent at your job.... :T

celtic_curl

I know you want to have time with your family and I admire this but you may have to get creative about how and when this happens. If you could negotiate working 4 long days instead of 5 'normal' days that would give you either the fri or mon off. You could stay in london for the midweek nights - I now this would take you away from your family but with longer travelling you're unlikely to have much time with your kids in the evenings anyway and wouldn't it be better to have quality time over a long weekend. there is a website called spareroom.co.uk which I have used before. You can search for house shares and one option is mon-fri lets only - these are usually cheaper than full-time house shares.

You could also try some of the websites where you can rent someones driveway for your parking - if you can get somewhere near the train station this should still be cheaper than the station itself.

Good luck

Rockporkchop

Another idea, have you thought about getting a motorbike to go to and from the station. It is free to park motorbikes at the station car parks so that will save you a couple of thousand a year - combine that with commuting to Hungerford/Didcot etc then that almost halves your costs. Also, if you are only using your car to drive to and from the station and paying to park it there all day, you would save a bomb if you got rid of it completely, assuming your wife has a car you can all use at weekends.

marydot

Take the job and dont worry about the costs, its better to be in work than without!!!

I am left with £70 a week after I paid all my bills and saved too!!!

Its better to have peace of mind than counting whats left for yourself, anything is better than JSA.

getmore4less

marydot wrote: »

Take the job and dont worry about the costs, its better to be in work than without!!!

I am left with £70 a week after I paid all my bills and saved too!!!

Its better to have peace of mind than counting whats left for yourself, anything is better than JSA.

Have read the thread the OP has a job