Opinions on a daily commute to London over 1.5hours

Andy_L

How much more are they paying than a more local job?

DigForVictory

My boss did a rail commute of about 3 hours a day for three years as a local promotion was unavailable. He did then get his promotion, and was able to work a sight closer to home in the North. If he hadn't, he'd likely have left despite the risks of being over 45 & unemployed as he was about ready to go with the blind.

From observation a simple rail commute for a predefined time period & purpose can be survived, but as a way of life it costs a lot on the life/work balance scale. Takeaways, wear-&-tear on spouse & family - don't just sleepwalk into it!

SeduLOUs

I used to commute into Manchester which took me about an hour each way on a good day, assuming the trains weren't late.

I got used to it, and armed with a Kindle it was a good opportunity to get a lot of reading done.

I do miss the reading time now, but certainly don't miss the cost and would have to be fairly desperate to go back to public transport commuting now that I have gotten used to a 5 minute drive to and from work.

I start work earlier than I used to, so I leave the house at the same time as I did, but now I get home around 4.10pm instead of 6.30 or later.

Tiddlywinks

I commute into London by train on and off when the job requires it - great when everything works, not so great when there's a problem.

In winter you get lots of weather related delays and there is nothing more soul destroying after a long day than staring up at the electronic boards and just seeing a row of 'DELAYED' columns flashing away.

Even worse is then queuing to ask at the counter only to find that they don't know when the trains will be running again.

Then, when they call your train eventually, it will be jam packed.

Add into the mix, the walk either way in the cold and wet (and dark) and life will seem pretty miserable.

I'm not saying don't do it, just that you should make the decision based on reality.... and commuting in the cold and wet is miserable.

paulsad

Good thread! I'm considering a new job entailing much the same except it'd be a motorway drive. Lots of things to consider. We'd eventually move closer all being well but that means OH relocating her job as well.

System

I did a 1.5 hour commute into the City for two years. I used to live in Ealing and work just near Chancery Lane but then moved out.


It wasn't a great experience. It was really tiring and the whole week felt like it was just about work and nothing else. I personally hated it and would never consider working or living in London again.

Tiddlywinks

paulsad wrote: »

Good thread! I'm considering a new job entailing much the same except it'd be a motorway drive. Lots of things to consider. We'd eventually move closer all being well but that means OH relocating her job as well.

Commuting by car and commuting by train are entirely different experiences.

They have different pressures and require different tolerances.

Driving also depends on the route... M25 or whatever vs rural... why not start a driving / commuting thread so this one can stay on track about walking / train / tube into London.

IYKWIM

Driving to me is lot less stressful.
1) Much more options to find a detour when problems arise.
2) PERSONAL SPACE

Train has it's benefits, watching TV/doing work, I spoke to a few people who did 2 hours work on the train each day and so left work an hour or so early.

tomterm8

Personally, I don't think I could do it unless I was able to do something worthwhile during the journey... maybe write a novel or do some work or something.

Charityworker

I commuted from Lowestoft to London for 4 years a 2 and a half hour journey each day. I used that time to do correspondence courses and managed to get 2 Level 2 Diplomas in that time and also learnt a new language through my headphones!