Commuting - how far is too far?

KatieDee · 10 February 2018 at 1:17PM

My partner and I are currently looking to purchase a house in the Manchester/Stockport area. At present we have no children, but this is likely to be something we consider in the near future.

We both work in the city and have a car. We would have loved to buy in South Manchester where we're currently renting, but we simply cannot justify the cost for the average 3 bed house. We've been looking further out, where the average commute to work will be around 40 miles a day. I currently live around 8 miles from work and although the traffic is bad, it isn't gruelingly so. I am very fortunate as my hours are flexible, so it isn't too big of an issue if I get caught in traffic. It takes me around 40 minutes from my door to my office.

The properties we are looking at are close to railway stations and only 40 mins into the city via train. It's also marginally closer to my family who live on the other side of the peaks. If we move further out, travel costs will increase significantly, but I have the option of driving or using the train. I will either have more petrol costs to pay, or a £1184 a year rail/tram/bus pass.

In the past, I've driven a 50 mile round journey, but this was with a small amount of city driving, then a swift zip down the M1/M18, so nowhere near as bad as the A6. I love the area we've looked at, have a house in mind but I have this fear that we'll buy a house there, love it for the first few months while it's all new, then dread the journey to work for the rest of the time I live there. I also worry about the future, if we choose to have children, and the additional time/cost travelling so far will add.

I hope this is in the right section, but I'm just looking for experiences of those who currently commute more than 30 miles a day to work, how you find this, and if you find it's worth the sacrifice

ashe · 10 February 2018 at 1:26PM

I live in Stockton on Tees and work in Leeds, its a 59 mile trip each way to the office.

They do let me work from home most of the time though :money:

unforeseen · 10 February 2018 at 1:31PM

I live south of Chester and drive to Liverpool each day. 80 mile round trip. Before that I've worked in Derby, 140 mile round trip. I hated the A50 at Stoke and Uttoxeter after that

KatieDee · 10 February 2018 at 1:34PM

ashe wrote: »

I live in Stockton on Tees and work in Leeds, its a 59 mile trip each way to the office.

They do let me work from home most of the time though :money:

Thanks for your response

That's quite a distance! How do you find it when you do have to go into the office?

I too can work from home, although I am expected to be in the office a fair bit. I could make an arrangement with my employer to work from home on certain days of the week to reduce costs, but I would feel a bit cheeky doing this as a result of me choosing to move further away :rotfl:

unforeseen wrote: »

I live south of Chester and drive to Liverpool each day. 80 mile round trip. Before that I've worked in Derby, 140 mile round trip. I hated the A50 at Stoke and Uttoxeter after that

Wow, that is also quite a distance! This is starting to make me realise that maybe I'm worrying about nothing!

PasturesNew · 10 February 2018 at 1:42PM

In the past, on a daily commute, I've driven 50 miles each way each day - BUT - I did it every day KNOWING .... that one day that car would break down and I'd be stranded somewhere in the middle, without the funds to repair the car and ability to get to work every day.

I was relieved when I was laid off ... as I was going to have to get a job closer to home.

In short: That job pays for everything - and you need to be AT the job daily. There's no phoning in saying "car's broken, see you in a few weeks"... you need the ability to have the funds available to get the car towed away, get it fixed/pay for that AND the funds for alternative transport -AND- for there to actually be a second way of getting to work for the times you're required.

If keeping your house relies on your car continuing to work without fault ... and/or if you've got enough spare cash sitting around to be able to buy yourself out of that problem if it happens.... then that's fine.

If ... your car being off the road for 2-3 weeks will lose you that job, then it's not really doable.

KatieDee · 10 February 2018 at 1:53PM

PasturesNew wrote: »

In the past, on a daily commute, I've driven 50 miles each way each day - BUT - I did it every day KNOWING .... that one day that car would break down and I'd be stranded somewhere in the middle, without the funds to repair the car and ability to get to work every day.

I was relieved when I was laid off ... as I was going to have to get a job closer to home.

In short: That job pays for everything - and you need to be AT the job daily. There's no phoning in saying "car's broken, see you in a few weeks"... you need the ability to have the funds available to get the car towed away, get it fixed/pay for that AND the funds for alternative transport -AND- for there to actually be a second way of getting to work for the times you're required.

If keeping your house relies on your car continuing to work without fault ... and/or if you've got enough spare cash sitting around to be able to buy yourself out of that problem if it happens.... then that's fine.

If ... your car being off the road for 2-3 weeks will lose you that job, then it's not really doable.

Thank you for your reply, this is definitely worth thinking about, and I'm sure it's something that not many people think about.

In terms of how this would affect my situation, we are fortunate enough to have savings in the event of issues with the car, not to mention that I would be able to hop on the train in the event that my car wasn't available. I also have very understanding employers and as I said, the option to work from home if required, so this might not be a huge barrier.

Definitely something to remember though, as I am a born worrier and panic about my car breaking down almost every day on the way to work. I can only imagine the nightmare of the car dying on a busy A6, and the response I'd get from passersby as I delayed them even more :rotfl:

Cash-Cows · 10 February 2018 at 2:04PM

Question is is it too far for you. Everyone!!!8217;s different. I would hate losing an hour a day for travelling to work while others think nothing of an hour each way.

parkrunner · 10 February 2018 at 2:16PM

You say that you can't justify the cost of a property in South Manchester which makes it appear you could afford one. I'd say your concerns about the daily commute would certainly justify the outlay.

Silvertabby · 10 February 2018 at 2:16PM

It's not so much the distance but the traffic/time it takes.

Any chance you could drive out to where you want to buy at 'going home time', stay overnight in a B&B and then drive to work in the morning? That would at least give you some idea if it is do-able or not.

KatieDee · 10 February 2018 at 2:16PM

Cash-Cows wrote: »

Question is is it too far for you. Everyone!!!8217;s different. I would hate losing an hour a day for travelling to work while others think nothing of an hour each way.

Good question!

I can deal with the commute, as I don't think I've ever lived closer than 10 miles to my office. However, I've mostly rented for the past couple of years, so I've always had the ability to move on if the drive got too much. With buying, I need to be absolutely sure I can handle it, otherwise I'd be unhappy. Having been unhappy in a property I owned before, I absolutely do not want to run the risk of feeling like that again, as it caused me a lot of stress.

Renting over that way for a while might be beneficial, that way I can experience it without the commitment, but it's unnecessary cost at a time where the market is increasing, and I don't want to end up being priced out.

This is why I'm really keen on reading other peoples experiences. I know we're all different and some of us have a higher tolerance for commuting than others, but I'm looking for positives or negatives each way, so I can try and relate

Silvertabby wrote: »

It's not so much the distance but the traffic/time it takes.

Any chance you could drive out to where you want to buy at 'going home time', stay overnight in a B&B and then drive to work in the morning? That would at least give you some idea if it is do-able or not.

This is a great idea - we actually chose to drive over after work to view a property and it wasn't as bad as I anticipated. However, that was just one journey, with no other stresses, so I'd need to do it several times to truly feel the rage of being stuck in traffic!

parkrunner wrote: »

You say that you can't justify the cost of a property in South Manchester which makes it appear you could afford one. I'd say your concerns about the daily commute would certainly justify the outlay.

We probably could afford one, but it would be the top end of our budget for a very basic house, probably not in the best area either. There are three bedroom houses going in, I hate to say it, less desirable areas that are edging on £240k. For £50k less, we could get the same size property, in a quieter and greener area - the main reason for this being the nightmare commute of course.

It's such a hard decision to make. Luckily we're not under any pressure to buy immediately, but seeing how fast the market is moving, it's hard not to panic.

PasturesNew · 10 February 2018 at 2:21PM

KatieDee wrote: »

... some of us have a higher tolerance for commuting than others....

You're right - and that is, in part, to do with disposable income/ability to buy your way out of things and to have a more comfy car.

I know somebody whose almost daily commute is 90 miles each way. 1½ hours on a day without road events, each way. 3 hours/day.

It'd drive me mad.... but then I don't have a music system in the car, nor a really comfy car/ride ... and I'm also not a higher rate tax payer like they are. When their car breaks down they get it dealt with and their local dealer provides them with a car at the drop of a hat .... because it's them.

PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING

Commuting - how far is too far?

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free