In 70% of England you can buy the average terrace on minimium wage

lisyloo

michaels wrote: »

What tube line only has 5 minute frequency and 30 mins is a long journey.

The 5 min wait would include getting off the train and physically getting to the tube station as well as waiting.
The trains I get are 8 carriages long and to walk from one end of the train to the other takes a good 2 mins.

I would personally not be happy parking up at the station 2 mins before the train pulled out. If you have a regular service then maybe that's ok but if you have a ticket for a specific train then 2 mins wait is not enough - any delay on the roads and you've lost your ticket.

The journey I'm referring to is Paddington to Barbican and I'll take your point and accept 21 mins after checking my oyster history.

I don't accept your 2 mins walk to work from stepping off the tube. It simply isn't possible to get out most tube stations in 2 mins.

So I take some of your points, but don't agree on others.
Btw - many people will walk to the train station not drive and some will have fixed tickets or want to arrive for a specific train so need more than 2 mins contingency (I accept not everyone needs that contingency but some people do).

gadgetmind

lisyloo wrote: »

because cycling involves getting changed and often showering

I change from shorts to jeans when I get to the office, and take off a jacket if wearing, but that's it. If you find yourself needing a shower, then just cycle slower!

lisyloo

ukcarper wrote: »

One of the advantages of moving out a bit is you will get a seat on train. My local station 40m to Waterloo and train nearly always has empty seats.

Doesn't that only work one way?
I know we can almost always get seats on the way in, but on the way out (via reading) it's very busy and there is frequent standing at busy times.

lisyloo

ukcarper wrote: »

The same can be said about commuting if you choose where you commute from in relation to where in town you work.

For one person I agree.
For couples (and most of our calcs on these boards are based on two incomes buying a house) then it can be difficult to find somewhere that works for both of you especially if you work on opposite sides of London.

What I'm saying is that I wouldn't particular want a 1 hour commute to get TO London and then on top a 1 hour commute across London as that's 4 hours per day. I'm not saying it can't be done or that people don't do it, just that it seems highly undesireable way to live being knackered all the time.

ukcarper

lisyloo wrote: »

Doesn't that only work one way?
I know we can almost always get seats on the way in, but on the way out (via reading) it's very busy and there is frequent standing at busy times.

True but you won't have to sit all the way. Your don't want to commute and that's your choice but it is a viable option for many people. My neighbour commuted into the city with a door to door time of less than 1 1/2 hours and for that he got to live in a nice 4 bed detached house for less than the price of a 2 bed flat.

lisyloo

ukcarper wrote: »

True but you won't have to sit all the way. Your don't want to commute and that's your choice but it is a viable option for many people. My neighbour commuted into the city with a door to door time of less than 1 1/2 hours and for that he got to live in a nice 4 bed detached house for less than the price of a 2 bed flat.

I am not saying commuting is not viable at all, not sure where that idea came from.

My point was only that door-> door or maybe door-> chair (if you care to smell nice) should be considered.

I know lots of people commute. Millions of them. That is not in dispute.
I suspect for many it's a trade-off and the commute is a part they do not like but it's worth it for the family as a whole. People are clearly entitled to do whatever they like and I don't judge the lifestyle choices of others but I to think it's a fair generalisation to say it's a different set of priorities if there are children involved.

Anyway - what were we discussing?

ukcarper

lisyloo wrote: »

I am not saying commuting is not viable at all, not sure where that idea came from.

My point was only that door-> door or maybe door-> chair (if you care to smell nice) should be considered.

I know lots of people commute. Millions of them. That is not in dispute.
I suspect for many it's a trade-off and the commute is a part they do not like but it's worth it for the family as a whole. People are clearly entitled to do whatever they like and I don't judge the lifestyle choices of others but I to think it's a fair generalisation to say it's a different set of priorities if there are children involved.

Anyway - what were we discussing?

My point is the in town part of the commute is the same if not longer for people who live in London. It's rarely possible to eliminate the commute within London as a lot of the work is in the most expensive parts of London. I think a lot of people who commute are prepared to make that trade off for the type of life living outside London gives them not just the benefit to the family.

lisyloo

I don't agree with you on that.
If you come from out of town you usually have to commute from a railway station e.g, London Bridge, Paddington, Waterloo.
If we are comparing with living in central London then I would expect you'd be more central than those train hubs. Perhaps we aren't talking about exactly the same thing.

I don't agree with you either that all these people are choosing life outside of London.
Some of then want to live more centrally and simply can't afford it.
That's why prices are so high precisely because of demand.
If in general living outside London was in higher demand than outside then prices would be higher not lower.
It doesn't matter what you or I or anyone else on here thinks, prices are set by supply and demand.

My point was merely that walking to train stations, parking the car, getting changed, waiting for trains, changing over boris bikes (5 min wait) all take time and need to be accurately considered.
I personally found no substitute for personal experience and that's why We lived in many different locations across London to see what the actual commutes were like before choosing where to live and I mean the actual day to day experience including not getting on the 1st or 2nd tube, not the theorectical figures.

ukcarper

lisyloo wrote: »

I don't agree with you on that.
If you come from out of town you usually have to commute from a railway station e.g, London Bridge, Paddington, Waterloo.
If we are comparing with living in central London then I would expect you'd be more central than those train hubs. Perhaps we aren't talking about exactly the same thing.

I don't agree with you either that all these people are choosing life outside of London.
Some of then want to live more centrally and simply can't afford it.
That's why prices are so high precisely because of demand.
If in general living outside London was in higher demand than outside then prices would be higher not lower.
It doesn't matter what you or I or anyone else on here thinks, prices are set by supply and demand.

My point was merely that walking to train stations, parking the car, getting changed, waiting for trains, changing over boris bikes (5 min wait) all take time and need to be accurately considered.
I personally found no substitute for personal experience and that's why We lived in many different locations across London to see what the actual commutes were like before choosing where to live and I mean the actual day to day experience including not getting on the 1st or 2nd tube, not the theorectical figures.

I didn't say all the people commuting want to live outside London but a large number do. Although I worked in London all my life I would not want to live there, it depends on your lifestyle and interests.

Waterloo is 30min from Woking and Waterloo to bank is 4mins or 5 min to Tottenham court rd. OK you have to walk to station and to tube station. The train time is longer from where I am but property is cheaper.

mwpt

ukcarper wrote: »

One of the advantages of moving out a bit is you will get a seat on train. My local station 40m to Waterloo and train nearly always has empty seats.

I considered that but had a few other factors go into my decision. Social life being one, I'm just close enough that getting home isn't much of a struggle or expensive if an Uber cab is needed. So for now I take the hit on the relatively cr4ppy commute.