Suitable commuting distances to work

getmore4less

As well as distance you have to consider time.

I think a 45mins in a car is as long as I would want, having done 30min-45min for 20+ years, on public transport I could accept longer because you can do other usefull things like read as long as it is not a packed environment.

For the right job I would consider much further but would want alternative like working from home, flexable hours and overnights away to make the actual iotals reasonable.

Cost is significant factor, decide your own min wage and the further you have to travel the higher the wage needs to be.

LittleMrsThrifty

Even if you are no better off it may help you secure a better paid job closer to home long term. Or you could move.

I used to drive 50 miles each way to work every single day. It was hard, very hard, but taking that particular job helped my overall prospects enormously.

PasturesNew

The most I did for a daily commute was 50 miles, 10 years ago, which took 1-1.25 hours each way (3 hours was the most due to an accident). At the time petrol was half the cost it is now and I had to give the job up because it was paying about £22,500 and I figured that I could do the journey, but couldn't afford to replace the car (due to the high mileage of 23,000 miles/year I figured I'd need a new one every 3-4 years) and if (more likely) there was a major repair needed I wouldn't be able to afford the garage bill.

Did travelling this distance improve my job prospects? No. Did I get promotion? No. Did it help at all? No. I just suffered a year of long annoying commutes and long days before the company downsized and I was laid off.

It depends on your other costs. I had a mortgage/bills to pay, making the prospect of moving harder (and I didn't want to live where I worked).

As you're a graduate - and presumably would be renting, you're more flexible so you could move to rent closer to work if you wished.

If you had a car, a 35 mile round trip daily would put about 8,000 miles on the clock, so you'd be looking at having to replace the car every 10+ years or so, so that cost isn't so much of an issue.

The downsides are more to think about whether you could get to work at all without a car, and how much that'd cost you, if it needed a major repair.

I am currently living 20-25 miles from any jobs - and where I live jobs mostly all pay NMW, so it's not really worth while me even bothering to apply... especially as they'd probably pick somebody closer as the same considerations would have crossed their mind.

davidjwest

HappyMJ wrote: »

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.

Not lucky, I've taken a lot of time and trouble to reduce the costs where possible.

For example, I bought a second-hand car that had already lost most of its value but is still reliable enough for my needs.

Car Tax is £150 a year as it's fairly efficient, fuel is 10p a mile (although it is motorway mainly so that helps).

I service it myself which is easy to do and I have Green Flag cover as an extra through my bank account that costs £6 a month.

Lots of ways to reduce costs, just need to do some lateral thinking.

DCFC79

Last job i was driving 15 miles and on a little more than NMW which didnt leave much at end of the month if i had my own place, it all depends what kind of salary it is

KiKi

12 miles! If only!

My first salary was £18,000. I commuted 90 kms each way to get there! Three hours travel a day, and paid £3,600 a year for the privilege. I would absolutely do it again if I was looking for work and needed the money. When there's so much competition for jobs, if you need one you can't be too picky. 12 miles would seriously limit your options and choices.

KiKi

wantsajob

PasturesNew wrote: »

(due to the high mileage of 23,000 miles/year I figured I'd need a new one every 3-4 years) and if (more likely) there was a major repair needed I wouldn't be able to afford the garage bill.


If you had a car, a 35 mile round trip daily would put about 8,000 miles on the clock, so you'd be looking at having to replace the car every 10+ years or so, so that cost isn't so much of an issue.

Many cars will comfortably tick past 200,000 miles with just a regular service and MOT. Sure, expensive things can happen to a car, head gasket, power steering rack, but the great thing is if you have a car that only cost you under £1000, it's up to you to decide whether to chuck the car and get another for under £1000.

PasturesNew wrote: »

Did travelling this distance improve my job prospects? No. Did I get promotion? No. Did it help at all? No. I just suffered a year of long annoying commutes and long days before the company downsized and I was laid off.

Was speaking pejoratively of the NT majority, for who I am sure these things generally do work that way.

Kate78

I currently commute 15 miles each way on a salary of ~£20K, and yes it is worth it as I live in a rural area and that is what you have to do if you want a "better" job (that is a good salary around here).

However, when I move to big town to be with my new husband I will not miss paying out £80+ a month in petrol, and can make a serious dent in my credit card balance.

I will however miss my lovely little village, the things we do for love, eh?

I guess what I mean to say is that it depends on your priorities as to whether it is "worth it" for you.

pinkteapot

I commute 50 miles each way by train (90 minutes door to door each way).

My first post-uni job was a 1 mile walk from home; I miss it.

I wouldn't drive as long a commute as I do by train. On the train I can read/sleep/watch a DVD but driving 90 minutes each way would be really tiring. But in short, 12-17 miles isn't much. Main thing is to get your foot in the door with your first job as once you've got one it's much easier to get a new one. Maybe just commute for 2-3 years to get some experience and then look locally again?

bluenoseam

My last one was 15 miles e/w on the train - one of the major reasons why i left was because essentially it added an extra 1-2 hours a day getting to & from work, granted that had a little more to do with the impact on my health & happiness than cost (something like £90 a month) but ultimately it depends on your ability to add the extra in travel onto your work schedule. However if you're looking at something "more than NMW" then it would probably be a wise idea to consider relocating than spending the money on petrol if you're already renting/mortgaged in an area far away.