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commuter rail fares - impact on house prices
Comments
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swapped a 35 min commute and a run down 3 bed house in east london with £1k pa travel costs for an hour commute new 5 room house and £3.6k travel costs.
but my wife and (2 young) kids are really really happy out where we are now and we do stuff like going for walks rather than sitting around watching rubbish on the box because it doesn't involve a performance.
given i've now been made redundant and will be taking the opportunity to further simplify our footprint by retraining as a teacher, just wish we'd moved even further out of london. i don't miss the city life one iota.
i hadn't really thought of the fact that our property prices out here will be affected by what happens to rail prices. its a valid point well made as it clearly will be factored into TCO of moving out - but similarly you also need to factor in the "not going mental" factor of no longer living in an increasingly ugly city and instead waking up surrounded by countryside. its not just the simple maths of it that we need to consider when we make these life decsions
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i hadn't really thought of the fact that our property prices out here will be affected by what happens to rail prices. its a valid point well made as it clearly will be factored into TCO of moving out - but similarly you also need to factor in the "not going mental" factor of no longer living in an increasingly ugly city and instead waking up surrounded by countryside. its not just the simple maths of it that we need to consider when we make these life decsions
true but i overlook parkland in london and we get plenty of time in countryside if we want it. i prefer places like epping forest and lea valley to agricultural farmland personally anyhow. i think if you pick well in terms of a place in a city you can have the best of both.
i grew up in a village and the countryside holds no magical allure for me. wilderness - yes. small commuter town / village - no. plenty of people in the countryside / outside london spend a lot of time infront of the telly.
plus how many different walks can you do around where you live? unless you have a high boredom threshold (i don't) you will need to travel to get a bit of variety anyway.Those who will not reason, are bigots, those who cannot, are fools, and those who dare not, are slaves. - Lord Byron0 -
true but i overlook parkland in london and we get plenty of time in countryside if we want it. i prefer places like epping forest and lea valley to agricultural farmland personally anyhow. i think if you pick well in terms of a place in a city you can have the best of both.
i grew up in a village and the countryside holds no magical allure for me. wilderness - yes. small commuter town / village - no. plenty of people in the countryside / outside london spend a lot of time infront of the telly.
plus how many different walks can you do around where you live? unless you have a high boredom threshold (i don't) you will need to travel to get a bit of variety anyway.
ahh, but therein lies the rub. buying somewhere nice (neighbourhood, views, schools, clean, safe etc) in the city costs a lot more than the average city property.
kind of hard to disagree that if you live in the city next to a nice big park that you get a lot of the pluses - but not sure how realistic that is for most people who are not fortunate (savvy/longsighted) enough to have bought one of these back in the day.
i grew up in the country before moving to london to work after uni, so i hear your point that the country life has drawbacks as well, and we've only been out here a year or so and the delight of the kids at the simple things living out here - and this perhaps masks issues like you make down the line. but i think our kids will get the chance to be kids for longer out of the city and we'll cross some of the other bridges when we get to them.
as always its a matter of balance.0 -
Well, its about finding a patient partner. My girlfriend (now wife) stuck it out while I got sent away for work, 4 days a week for 6 months. These days, i'd refuse the travel. I'm one of the horrible people with a family.PasturesNew wrote: »Single people really get the short straw.... when are single people supposed to become these fabulous families if they spend their lives commuting and being sent to the longer/further away job "because they're single and don't matter"?
I would say that if you are out of a relationship and single, it is considerably less inconvenient to your life to travel for work than if you have a family. However, travelling a lot for work is not great for having relationships (hence its rubbish when you've got a family)0 -
According to this paper, the fuel consumption for different modes of transport are:
Suburban train: 50-150 miles per gallon per passenger
High speed train: 40-80 miles per gallon per passenger
Plane (below 500 miles): 10 - 20 miles per gallon per passenger
www.aef.org.uk/downloads//Howdoesairtravelcompare.doc
I don't know what the other costs look like are but according to this article:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/4691153/Britain-has-most-expensive-train-fares-in-Europe.html
The train companies will tell us that their prices fairly reflect their costs but we all know that is rubbish. BA used to spin us the same yarn until Ryan Air and Easy Jet came along.
The rail companies are not at fault for crazy prices; if you put meat in a tiger cage, the tiger will take it. At the root of the problem lies a lack will (or competence) by UK regulatory bodies to control powerful companies and private monopolies (it was the same problem with the banks).
OK, so how do you explain BA making losses of late if their fares are way higher than their costs?0 -
Train costs in the UK are ridiculous. When I was living in West London and planning weekend trips around the UK, it was massively cheaper for 2 people to drive than take the train. Likewise whenever the missus had to travel to Reading for work. Since we already owned a car, it was a no-brainer.
Public transport needs to be priced properly to encourage it's use, which reduces traffic, pollution and resource consumption.
As for commuting, I used to travel 1 hr each way in Sydney before moving walking distance to work. Rent was a lot more, but the lifestyle was so much better. So much more free time! In London I commuted with the tube. The tube's great, though probably not the healthiest way to travel and also quite pricey. I love my commute now. 5 minutes by bike, 15 by foot if it's raining, and 5 by foot, 2 by underground if it's blizzarding.
Too many strikes? No wait the snow, didn't that cause all of Britain's economic woes?OK, so how do you explain BA making losses of late if their fares are way higher than their costs?0 -
HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »
If I had to commute to an office every day I'd probably take the motorbike for at least half the year. It's just so much quicker through traffic, more fun and cheap to run as well. Can't fathom spending 10K a year on trains!!!
Trains are great. You can sit back, chill, read the paper, arrive cheerfully....much enquiry having been made concerning a gentleman, who had quitted a company where Johnson was, and no information being obtained; at last Johnson observed, that 'he did not care to speak ill of any man behind his back, but he believed the gentleman was an attorney'.0 -
chucknorris wrote: »Nope I certainly don't do the 'cattle truck' routine thing. But it's no better when you actually live in London. I worked in the West end as a chartered QS and lived in Battersea for about 15 years and believe me it is also awful travelling within London. After 15 years I was so glad to get out to Dorking!
I don't find it awful at all. I don't use the tube, much, though....much enquiry having been made concerning a gentleman, who had quitted a company where Johnson was, and no information being obtained; at last Johnson observed, that 'he did not care to speak ill of any man behind his back, but he believed the gentleman was an attorney'.0 -
PasturesNew wrote: »The train, for one person, off peak, always works out more expensive than taking my car and takes 2-3x as long as a car journey.
The fact is: trains are stupidly pricey.
Is that really true?
For us, it almost always works out cheaper to travel off-peak by train. Maybe being in London makes a difference?...much enquiry having been made concerning a gentleman, who had quitted a company where Johnson was, and no information being obtained; at last Johnson observed, that 'he did not care to speak ill of any man behind his back, but he believed the gentleman was an attorney'.0 -
Train fares in South East are expensive! But again you can't drive into London and people have no choice.
You can. It depends on what time / place you work. My Dad commutes by car every day unless he's going to a Serious Professional Engagement (AKA a !!!!-up) in the evening. From Blackheath to Holborn. But he leaves home at 6.30am to 7am....much enquiry having been made concerning a gentleman, who had quitted a company where Johnson was, and no information being obtained; at last Johnson observed, that 'he did not care to speak ill of any man behind his back, but he believed the gentleman was an attorney'.0
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