Commuting Advice

Looking for experience you guys may have of commuting to and from your place of work.

Am currently going through the interview process (called back for interview 2) for a job that is approx 72 miles away from home. Driving route would be A303, M3, M25, M1 - Andover to Watford in other words.

Heaps more money but less 'quality' time at home and a 0630 start and approx 1830-1900 finish. Also 5 days less leave per annum - 30 to 25.

In summary approx 145 miles and 3 hours on the road per day.

 

I have a half an hour train journey to work, most of the time the train is delayed or if it is on time, it has to go through multiple speed restrictions due to engineering work taking place on the line so its usually up to a hour late (more than likely on the homeward bound trip), I would drive but the I get free train travel so why clock miles up on the car.

 

commuting... well depends on how much sleep you need and also how safe you are in coping with long drives all the time
i once had a commute of 40 mins on the train out and a bus for 10 mins...... in theory... by the time delays, over runs, under runs, cancelations and hanging about was taken in to account it was nearly 2 hours 15 door to door, so 4 and a half hours, but you could sleep on the train etc etc!! was tired from the hanging arround and totally exhausted when i got home, from the stop start, on the bus off the bus and the either intense heat of freezing cold of the train carriage... they never could fix it to be comfy for humans in that... cattle got better conditions!!

after that i had a journey of an hour and a half door to door driving, so 3 hours a day driving, pretty consistent length of journey each day, and was so much less tired and was able to actually function like a human in the evenings! Granted early AM starts to beat the traffic, you can not sleep on the way as you could in the train, but if you had decent music/ radio station/ Blackadder Goes forth on tape to listen to the journey goes quickly
granted you clock up the miles, petrol is expensive and so on, but you are not to tired and you dont have to carry your stuff on and off trains that get canceled/ over crowded / delayed/ come early so you miss it after all... if you can take the extra expense and you have a decent car, go for it, drive and as long as you dont get tired, good luck, it worked for me

 

Used to do 4+ hours a day Cambridge to London by car. Fecking night mare and had no life. Never again.

You could of course try it for a few months and if the job is for you move.

 

You would be travelling on one of the busiest parts of the motorway system at the busiest times of day. That general part of the M25 is crowded by 0630, if the queues I see as I go under it on the M4 are anything to go by. Your journey time would be largely unpredictable, I fear.

I would find the frustration infuriating, and I would not undertake such a journey twice a day for any conceivable increase in take-home pay - you may feel differently. How do you react to being seriously held up in traffic?

 

The thought of that jouney makes me shudder.
I'd consider moving if I found myself in your position.

TTFN

BFG

 

I used to spend 3 hours a day on the Underground. Never again. I'd seriously consider just how much you want the job, and consider relocating.

 

Ditto. I spent 10 mins getting to work, Any longer than that I'd go off my trolly...

 

That commute sounds farking terrible Murielson - as just about everyone else has said, if it's really worthwhile I'd consider moving, if not - well money isn't everything and if you're not struggling I would just stay put. You would seriously have no time at all - getting up in the middle of the night, getting back just in time to go to bed before doing it all again - no thanks.

I've got a drive of about 40 mins, thankfully aginst the traffic and thats probably just about the limit of what I'd like to do.

 

The only problem with the job is the commute - I was thinking pretty much as you guys have suggested. Just maybe thinking of doing it for a couple of years (if I get the job) and then using the experience to get back a bit nearer.

Won't know whether to accept it or not until it is offered and see what the package is.

 

Second interview done and hopeful of an offer.

Journeys so far haven't been too bad. First one was day of London bombings and took me 1.5 hours each way. Second trip was Monday and 1 hr 15 mins both ways.

See if the offer comes and go from there now I guess. Cheers for the comments so far.

 

After getting frostbite on one open station platform (while wearing skigloves) and drenched like I was caught in a bl**din monsoon (umbrella useless in high winds) on another ... I moved to within 1.5 miles of my office.
Now 'fall out of bed' to 'sleeping at desk' in 20 mins (including stop at machine for coffee).

 

Congratulations on the Second interview - I wish you all the very best of luck - to put it into context - my peers travel just as far some 2 hours each way - the money is the business driver. Only you can make the call - I now commute daily - after 6 months out - I can say - it now means nothing to me.

Once again all the very best

Bunny

 

Had an offer and have accepted it. Notice handed in today so should be away end of Aug'ish.

Interesting to see that the job I have now accepted is in the jobs area on this site via a recruitment agency that I never used!!

Thanks for all the advice by the way chaps - I believe the role I am in at the moment would be moving within the next few years as will a lot of Civil Service jobs. This way I will will be getting a far better salary on my terms.

 

has anyone had experience commuting from Oxford to Westminster by train/tube? How much does it cost?