Would you consider 1.45h commute?

coldstreamalways

I commute (by car) works out an hour in and an hour and a half out. It's ok though, I have my routine, cup of tea with OH before I leave, some fruit when I'm stuck in queue number 1 (probably illegal) and some more when in queue number 2!!

I'm used to it now but it's hard in winter.

edrushuk

Hi ya,

I used to do a similar journery (Brockley to Richmond) for less than £18 but it was a cool job that I enjoyed.

I think it really depends on the person, I am a very laid back person, with no dependant, so used to enjoy the time watching the world go by. But I also no people who could not cope with it at all would get so stress.

I think the one thing I would be worry about if you are travelling only by tube that could be quite grim. My journey was bus and overland train, so at least I could see the outside world

But you can use the time as your personal relaxation time, audio books, language tapes, even mediation on you mp3 player, always helps the time go by.

merlyn217

I have a 1hr 45 min commute to work (each way) and to be honest I dont mind it. I make sure I've got a good book on the go and the time goes really quickly. I ask for recommendations from my friends for good authors and I've managed to read so much in the last 2 years that I would never have done without my commute.....In fact I bet if I'd started an O.U. degree when I started work, I could have done most of my reading and essays by now just on my commute!!

amalis

Thank you all! I am glad I did start this topic because it really helped me. I think I will go ahead and will apply for this job. Hope I will be lucky!

mickymellon

having done it several times, Its not 1hr maximum or relocate / stay near work during the week but that can very very quickly turn very very tedious and impact your life

Hermia

I did it at the beginning of my career (2 hours each way) and I wouldn't do it again. I left home at 6.45am and got home at 8.00pm. I ended up very under the weather and kept catching every illness. I think it was partly down to not getting enough sleep and not having enough time to cook proper meals for myself. Plus it's very hard to have any sort of social life. My boss wanted me to get some qualification at my local college, but I couldn't even get home in time for the class!

I think a person's circumstances do have a lot to do with it. One of my colleagues at the time didn't mind the commute, but his wife had his breakfast and dinner on the table ready for him and she did all the housework & shopping so he had nothing to do when he got home.

I suppose I would consider doing it again if it was for a limited amount of time, but I would never do it long-term.

Moodymoddy

1 hour 45 minutes?

Two major things to consider:
- Office environment (This has an IMMENSE impact on the journey)
- Commuter route

I probably would. At 16, my first ever job (full-time/8:30->5:30) involved a 90+ minute commute. It also had lots of interchanges..

- Train 1 for 2 stops,
- Train 2 for 2 stops,
- Tram for about 40 minutes
- Train 3 for 2 or 3 stops

On top of that, the location was about 1 mile out of two train stations (slap-bang in the middle) so I'd have a bit of a walk too.

I kept this up for about 6 months through January till June, through snow and rain - then sun and heat. That said, it also meant commuting through London which wasn't exactly ideal!

In the end it got a bit much to me, combined with office politics and a very poor management. (Not to mention the pay - but at 16 I didn't expect anything else) That said; if the actual office environment was nicer - I'd still be there.

When I've been freelancing I've had to go to clients offices which are an hour away a few times a week, thats been more recently. I quite enjoyed it.

Sometimes a commute is what you make of it. You can resign yourself to cruddy public transport, and the idea of constant delays and service interruptions. (If you're feeling low about your work, this will happen - suddenly that journey will seem like a thousand miles and you will see trains going somewhere else and wish you were on them!)

On the other hand, you can pick up a few cheap Penguin classic books and put on some nice music on your iPod to get you in the right mood, grab a coffee at the station... and start the day in the perfect mood!

ceridwen

No chance!

3.5 hours a day on travelling to and from work in my leisure time :eek:. I know one has to spend a bit of ones leisure time travelling to and from work (unless living literally next door - which would bring a whole different set of problems....) - but that is HIGH.

I guess some people honestly dont need the standard 8 hours sleep per day. I do - and there would be no chance that I could fit a private life AND 8 hours sleep every day into my leisure time - something would definitely suffer...

ellie101

If it's the tube and it's not just staying on the same line I'd recommend trying out the journey a couple of times before accepting.

As other says.. changing in rush hour not good, and it can depend on which lines. I did the a similar commute in length for a short term contract and it was not good. I hit the central line around 7.45am in zone 4, often didn't get a seat, and had people right up against me for most of journey.

Whereas other lines are great. I've done other fairly long commutes which I've managed as I get a seat and can read. Good luck if you go for it.

Mips

I definitely wouldn't - you need rest as much as work and taking 3.5 hours out of your life to travel, would take its toll.