Worth having longer commute for more bang for your buck?

martinkatu5b

I've commuted 2h 15 each way on the train for just over 2 years. 4 and a half hours a day.
It is perfectly possible, you just spend a lot of time on the train. I never got quite enough sleep, I was never really at peak performance at work. And, you can never do anything socially in the weekday evenings. That's what really got to me.
If I was to go back to it there would need to be a major financial incentive. I think a commute up to one hour is okay, anything longer is problematic.

Andrew_Ryan_89

My fiance and I live in North West London and face the same problem where for our budget, the most we can get is a flat. We started looking at places like Milton Keynes which is not far from London via train or driving, but the cost in travel far exceeded any cost benefits you gain from the lower house prices.

We also looked in Kent / Slade Green which will be within the TFL zones but the length of travel and general transportation roots made it undesirable.

We finally settled on East London, Romford and Essex way as you can get 2 bedroom houses for under £300k and the commute is less than an hour into London.

Main thing was to make sure travel into work was within the hour.

divadee

We have decided to put in an offer. We have worked out fuel costs and wear and tear on cars etc.... And for us. A decent sized home in a rural location is more for us than a short commute and a small home. The one we have chosen could be out forever home with the size of it.

Chanes

divadee wrote: »

We have decided to put in an offer. We have worked out fuel costs and wear and tear on cars etc.... And for us. A decent sized home in a rural location is more for us than a short commute and a small home. The one we have chosen could be out forever home with the size of it.

Good for you! Have a happy move and a long and very happy time in your new house!

[Deleted User]

40 minutes is manageable, but will it take 40 minutes during rush hour or will be more like 1.5 hours?

Not sure what you do for a living but would home working be an option for you?

Or would you be able to find a job closer to the bigger house?

clint_S

My commute is now 1hr - 1.5 each way travelling by train, for the past decade it's been between 1.5 hours and 2 hours each way driving. Personally I would never live in a city and the benefits of living in the country out way a city in my opinion.


Travelling by Train allows me to read and not worry about the idiots on the road in rush hour and watching the clock tick closer to being late.


I would rather have a nice house, in a nice low crime area, with lots of green spaces to go for walks (without ever fearing for my or my families safety after dark), and good schools. Since I'm not rich I can't afford that it a city. The other big reason is that I simply hate how dirty and polluted cities are, having black snot after walking around London for a day I hate to think what's it like living there.


My family has a nice life and I can afford the extras which I simply couldn't do living in the middle of a large city. This is worth more to me than 30 minutes extra in bed in the morning.

KiKi

clint_S wrote: »

I would rather have a nice house, in a nice low crime area, with lots of green spaces to go for walks (without ever fearing for my or my families safety after dark), and good schools. Since I'm not rich I can't afford that it a city. The other big reason is that I simply hate how dirty and polluted cities are, having black snot after walking around London for a day I hate to think what's it like living there.

Whilst I don't dispute that pollution is higher within cities, 'living there' really depends whereabouts in London you live. London's massive. In central London yes, you may well get black snot after walking around. But go to Hampstead, Ealing or Wimbledon village and it can be like living in the middle of a village, and 'living there' is actually very nice indeed! Many parts of London are not dirty or polluted; they're actually very beautiful. Of course, they tend to be the most expensive parts! But whilst I accept you may hate the idea of living anywhere in London, I had to refute the idea that it's dirty, polluted and black snotty across the whole city, because it's not.

clint_S

KiKi wrote: »

Whilst I don't dispute that pollution is higher within cities, 'living there' really depends whereabouts in London you live. London's massive. In central London yes, you may well get black snot after walking around. But go to Hampstead, Ealing or Wimbledon village and it can be like living in the middle of a village, and 'living there' is actually very nice indeed! Many parts of London are not dirty or polluted; they're actually very beautiful. Of course, they tend to be the most expensive parts! But whilst I accept you may hate the idea of living anywhere in London, I had to refute the idea that it's dirty, polluted and black snotty across the whole city, because it's not.

There are lots of benefits to living in a City, from good transport, lots of restaurant, wide range of shopping, job opportunities, etc. But there is pollution from the high levels of traffic, the factories, the office blocks. It's not all air pollution but sound and light as well.


London is not the only city in the UK, and whilst I did use London as an example other cities can be the same. I grew up in Essex and you could tell the pollution differences when visiting London, even the nice parts, compared to the country. I agree that some areas are very bad and some aren't but even the nice parts of London are polluted compared to the country and living in the country you can smell the difference.