Suitable commuting distances to work

sally2489

Hi all.
I am currently job-hunting for something that pays more than the minimum wage, and the serious lack of jobs/rejections i've received as a graduate is very disheartening.:(

Anyway, back to the point, I have realised that many jobs advertised are out-of-town, which will mean commuting back and forth.
I have seen some potential jobs that range from a distance of 12 miles to 17 miles. (used online driving distances calculator, so could be longer in traffic/roadworks, etc)
Considering the price of petrol is only going to go up, would it be worth commuting long distances everyday on an average salary of say £20k? As it seems petrol will swallow up a huge chunk of this.
Considering this what does everyone think is a reasonable distance to commute to work everyday?

wantsajob

You are seriously concerned about commuting 17 miles to work? Wish I could be in your world, I'm considering any job in around 60 miles of my location, minimum wage jobs excluded from that range obviously.

Even if petrol does swallow up much of your extra wages, you will no doubt have better prospects of a rise, promotion, ease of getting a better related job later and so on.

There is obviously a point where the financial benefit of moving closer to the job outweighs the cost of petrol, but that distance is *much* greater than 17 miles IMHO. If you have a particularly thirsty car you may want to look for something a bit more frugal. If parking is an issue, consider the train.

SueC_2

As above, 12-17 miles is really really not a long way to commute. At 12 miles a push-bike would even be feasible, although granted 17 may be pushing it a bit for that one (unless you really enjoy cycling).

kymbogs

It's really not that far, I travel 15 miles a day to get to uni, onpublic transport, with two toddlers lol. Would be a luxury to do it by car! You never know, you might find a job with higher pay if you look further out.

GothicStirling

It depends on your wages and how much it costs to travel.

I left my last job because it was costing £100 a week to travel on a £200 wage. How I was supposed to live on £400 a month God knows.

iceicebaby

I travel 25 miles each way for work. (On maternity leave at the moment though) 12 miles is nothing if you want to work.

davidjwest

I commute 72 miles each way to my work place. I am fortunate enough to be able to work from home twice a week and car-share once or twice a week that helps keep the costs down and flexi-time means I can pick times to avoid the rush hour etc. Check car sharing websites to see if a particular journey is common enough to make sharing an option.

It costs me around 18p per mile for my commute including fuel, tax, insurance, servicing and depreciation.

Suitable distance? Depends on the salary I suppose.

heretolearn_2

That really isn't far. But of course you have to look at your overall costs. I drive a car that only needs the odd sniff at a petrol pump, my partner drives a car that guzzles like mad, so your choices make a difference. I would be happy commuting up to 30 miles or so each way, he wouldn't find it economically worth it. I'd rather have a smaller car and the job I want.

Motorbikes are very economical.

jobbingmusician

Agreed. 12-17 miles is nothing, especially if you are going against the traffic. And you might find a colleague to share costs with, once you have started, or have a car sharing scheme local to you, or consider cycling or a motorbike.....

HappyMJ

davidjwest wrote: »

I commute 72 miles each way to my work place. I am fortunate enough to be able to work from home twice a week and car-share once or twice a week that helps keep the costs down and flexi-time means I can pick times to avoid the rush hour etc. Check car sharing websites to see if a particular journey is common enough to make sharing an option.

It costs me around 18p per mile for my commute including fuel, tax, insurance, servicing and depreciation.

Suitable distance? Depends on the salary I suppose.

Only 18p per mile.. You are lucky very lucky. I wish my annual costs came to 18p per mile. I do 10000 miles per year (20 miles each way to work) and claim £4500 per year expenses against my self employed income and that just covers the cost of everything to do with the car. The insurance alone is nearly £1000 per year. Then the car tax at £236.50 per year. The fuel is about 14p per mile. (£1400 per year). Servicing is about £300 including a couple of tyres. Depreciation is at least £1000 per year. That only leaves me with £563.50 for washing it, getting an RAC or AA membership, toll road fees and parking.

SueC_2

To put a tangible against it, assuming a 34 mile round trip, and that your car does 45mpg with a fuel cost of £1.40 per litre, it would cost you £4.81 per day (in fuel) to get to work.

Only you can decide a/ whether the assumptions I've used above are reasonable for you, and b/ if a £4.81 commute cost is 'worth it'.