Commuting

fluffnutter

There have been a few studies on commuting and I did read something interesting recently (I'll look for a link).

Basically, people underestimate how hard they'll find commuting, and overestimate how much their quality of life will improve by moving to the sticks/a bigger house. Commuting is something that the human psyche finds difficult to assimilate because, despite the fact that you appear to be doing the same thing, the nature of it changes every day. Events happen that are unpredictable, e.g. delays, crashes on the motorway etc. Apparently it's this level of unpredictability that makes commuting stressful. It's recommended that you don't commute more than 45 mins either way. TBH, ela, 2 hours is quite a trek.

angeltreats

I used to drive 30 miles each way to work, and it took anything between an hour and ninety minutes depending on traffic. It was absolutely horrible (if anyone is familiar with Oxford, I was on the A34 and A420 in rush hour). I lasted three months before I had to jack it in because the stress and exhaustion just got too much for me. Never, ever again.

Two hours each way, whether by train or car, sounds like madness to me. Especially when you take into account train delays etc.

elamozzarella

lucylucky wrote: »

Depends how long your current commute is and by what means you will be travelling.

How do you think you will cope?

I think the lack of time to do anything (I run in the mornings, there will be no time for that for example) will be a big blow. Perhaps with a longer commute work won't be so enjoyable, bad knock-on effect.

My commute is already an hour and I tolerate it. But if anything I'd like it to be shorter, so I suppose that answers my question!

nomoneytoday

Depends on what you will do for 2 hours?

Dave_Z

I used to spend 90 mins everyday commuting (2 trains and a bus) to Heathrow when i was living in London. I now live in a small town west of Heathrow, near Slough, and it now takes 10-15 mins each way in the car. I often have to do a late shift followed by an early and it used to kill me. I'd finish at 11pm, get home around 12:15am and need to be up again about 7:45am to go back to work. Now i'm home by 11:15pm and don't need to get up until 9am, so have time to cook a decent meal, have a beer, watch some tv, etc. I really notice the difference in the quality of life. I seem to have so much more time at home. Now i can have a social life during the week and spend a much greater proportion of my waking hours doing what i want to do. 4 hours of commuting everyday would finish me off.

Hammyman

stator wrote: »

Two hours a day commuting? Sounds too harsh for me.

I've spent a massive chunk of my working life commuting 2hrs a day. Its not that bad. Unlike the OP though, my shifts were usually 10-15hrs a day.

jamesbrownontheroad

At the moment I semi-commute... as in I "commute" for a few days at a time between Glasgow and Belfast. Sometimes it's every week, sometimes it's just once a month. I've got it down to a fine art so that the two trains, one plane and another train can get me door to door in about three and a half hours. The trouble is that unlike commuting by train for a similar time period, it's a constant stream of introductions so rarely productive time.

If you have the mental strength to completely block out the visual and aural distractions around you, then there's no reason why you can't achieve a stonking amount of reading. But of course not everyone can read on a train...