What would you do?

goodwithsaving

I commute 4+ hours daily and while I enjoy work, I am always tired and my health isn't as good as it was. I have seen a job where I could commute only 1 hour a day but it is £10,000 less a year and the pension isn't as good. I hasten to add that my current salary isn't high.
I don't have children, although hope to one day. I do however have a high mortgage which I've always intended to clear as soon as I can by monthly over payments. The coming years will likely see a few life events which are inevitably expensive.
I've always thought that the harder I work now, the easier I can make my life later on.

What would you do?

PlymouthMaid

I think, if I really liked my job, I would move nearer as I couldn't stand all that travelling but I guess if you work in London that wouldn't be an option.

I think it is a difficult one as working hard to prepare for a good future is a great plan but so is quality of life here and now. If you are the kind of age where you can envisage settling down perhaps you want to get the job which matches that lifestyle. It will be harder to take a pay cut once you have the hypothetical family.

malcolmworth

Have you calculated the savings by shortening your commute ? Thais could reduce the £10,000 salary loss considerably.

selloptape

That's tough - would your current job let you work some days from home to lessen the commute?

Is your salary average for your role - there might be more opportunities in the future that are nearer to home that match your current salary?

Good luck x

comeandgo

I don't think 4 hours commute is that bad as that is my normal commute time and have done so for 15 years so there is no way on earth I would take such a large reduction in wages for shorter time but you have to do what's best for you.

xapprenticex

10k is too much brah. you must be on 25k minimum (if other job is 10k less) which isnt low tbh, there is higher but it isnt low.

hard choice but all i can say is dont be a slave to the system, you work to live, you dont live to work but when you have a mortgage, u severly restrict and bind yourself.

hope you find a compromise you're happy with

goodwithsaving

I think people have different thresholds - I certainly get incredibly tired while other people do an equivalent journey and cope better. My job is quite pressured and it's 4 hours travel on a good day.
I have no idea how I'll handle it when I do eventually have a family (if fortunate enough), the idea of being pregnant with such a journey doesn't fill me with joy.

Malcolmworth, I've calculated an approx £6600 loss after the change in commute has been taken into account. It's the longer term losses which worry me e.g. pension. In my current post, I think I could command less of a reduction at a later date and I've worked really hard to get to where I am. Equally life is for living.

Thank you all for your feedback so far. It's a tough one and I feel very torn.

elsien

For me, 2 hours each way travelling time would be too much. I'd much rather have the time at home and the lower pay. Personal priorities.

TELLIT01

I wouldn't have taken a job which required a 4 hour commute each day, but that is down to personal choice. Without having a more accurate sense of your current salary it's difficult to say whether a £10k drop would be realistic to take.
If the travel is affecting your health you certainly need to consider all options carefully.

Flyonthewall

I think you need to weigh up the value of your health and well-being as well as the value of travel costs and time saved.

While money is important and it's nice to have more, money isn't everything. Still, perhaps you could look at what you spend now and see if you could cut down spending in other areas or if less travel would affect spending in less obvious ways. Perhaps now, for example, you eat out more or get fast food/take-aways a lot due to being tired and not wanting to cook? Less commute time means home early, less tired and you can cook, which is much cheaper (and probably healthier).

You may enjoy the new job as much as your current job - possibly more. You may not, but if other areas of your life are better I guess it's a case of considering which you prefer.

Have you actually applied for the job? You said you've seen it. If you haven't applied then do. See what happens and how you feel if you actually get offered the job. Until that point it's no use considering which option you prefer if you don't yet have the second option.

shortcrust

A 10k pay rise wouldn't persuade me to do a 4 hour daily commute. I don't think any amount would. How many hours do you get to yourself of an evening?! I'm not the most energetic type and I don't think I'd have a proper life outside of work during the week.