How far do you travel to work?

Fromtherough

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How far do you travel to work and how long does the journey take you?A week ago we received notice that my office is going to close in a few years time. Luckily I'm likely going to be able to transfer to an office about 50 miles away, however this is not guaranteed and redundancy is an option, though probably only if I turn down a move. Remote working is not an option apparently.
However, I'm concerned with the time the commute will take. Public transport links to the new office from my home is poor meaning the journey will take approx 90 mins there and 90 mins back. I've been up to the new office this week for meetings by car and the journey ranged from 70 mins to 140 mins depending on traffic. With a young family at home moving closer to the new office isn't really an option. The travelling this week took it out of me and made me realise I've got a massive decision to make. Being out of the house for this amount of time each day would mean I'd see very little of my 3 year old daughter through the week. However, I need to work and the comments on Bladeplayer's thread hit home a bit. I'm spoilt at the minute as I can leave my house and be at my office in 6 minutes. Is this length of daily journey common?
 
Why is moving not an option ? If staying where you are is your only option you are going to be miserable travelling after one day.

some how there has to be a compromise. look to move with an open mind would be my advice.
 
when i worked in the city, about an hour door to door at least, on a good day.

Now 30 sec, in fact i can fall out of bed into my office;)
 
Why is moving not an option ? If staying where you are is your only option you are going to be miserable travelling after one day.

some how there has to be a compromise. look to move with an open mind would be my advice.
I agree, there is a chance the traveling would get to me. However, moving is definitely not an option. My wife works locally. Our family and friends are all close by. Our parents look after our little girl while we are at work and take her to nursery etc. This wouldn't be possible if we were to move. Plus other factors like more expensive house prices would mean our lifestyle would be further impaired if we were to move.
 
86 mile round trip every day. Could be less but would take longer.

Journey time can range between 1hr and 1hr 45. The former is generally if I go in at weekend, the latter is the worst case scenario for a 'normal' day. Needless to say I love it when it's school holidays but the winter months can be a nightmare.

It recently took me 2hrs to go 9 miles. I detoured back home at the first opportunity but these occurrences are a rarity.

I guess I don't sell it well but only you can weigh it up with the additional costs versus static income, unless there's assistance from your employer in whatever form that maybe (package/fuel card etc).

I've often thought about taking a wee drop in salary to work closer to home and therefore negate any losses but I'm fortunate in that I love my job and so I class the commute as worthwhile.

Last year I chose not to apply for a job that would have meant a minimum 2hr 20min commute, despite the opportunity of a 35% increase in salary. Some things are worth far more than money, sanity being one.

My advise to you would be if you LOVE your job and have the option to continue as normal and you can afford the increase costs in fuel, insurance (mileage) and can hack 3-4 extra hours of your day disappearing for the greater good, then stability is not to be taken for granted.

However, if your redundancy offering is worthy enough of consideration, coined with a confidence of finding alternative work in the same sector (that you know you can 'breeze') then this can sometimes be a step to a better life. I appreciate that this may seem the riskier option but referring back to Bladeplayer, things worked out ok, despite some time of apprehension and without knowing all the facts, perhaps Christmas might have a lesser focus on the spend.

Its tough mate but your gut feel will probably be the right one. Either that or your missus will make the decision for you :D.

I hope that's been useful - good luck matey.
 
26 miles each way, but on very busy roads.

It takes around 35 minutes with no traffic, but usually takes me 45-50 minutes.
If it's particularly bad it can be over an hour.

I hate it, and that's in a car I love driving.

10% of my waking day doing something I don't want to do and not being paid for it. What's to like?
 
when i was a subby,i used to do 12 hourd graft then travel a couple of hours each way.young mans game to be honest,you burn out extremely quickly.

now it takes me under 15 mins and its about 4 miles and been doing it for over 15 years.happy days,wouldnt want to be a subby now chasing work.
 
My trip is a long par 4, maybe a short par 5.

That'll be driver, 3 wood, pitch on, sink the putt for 3 points. Get in! :)

I used to do 15,000 - 20,000....
 
I was handed a home working contract a few years ago now so I don't need to go into the office. The office is 30 mins away on a good day (42 mile round trip) when I do go in. Our company was acquired by another last October and they recently announced that our old company office is closing in Q2 next year. For those office based employees affected , they need to consider commuting to the new company office which is a pig to get to. About 1-1.5 hours away with crappy public transport links. I feel sorry for those that will be forced to seek alternative employment.

I guess they will be offered redundancy.
 
23 miles each way by bike
26 miles each way by car.

bike takes me 1hr 20 dependant on wind and my legs working
car takes me 45-55 mins so the bike is a no brainer.
 
Either downstairs for a coffee then back upstairs to my office or to London which is about 2 &1/2 hours each way.

Hopefully not for too much longer.
 
As daft as it may seem would a motor bike help ?

to cut down time.

50 miles is probably a bit far for this? Ideal in the summer but in the winter you can't do it. I first got a bike when I started work on the other side of Oxford, reduced my commute from 1hr (for 10 miles!) to a consistent 25 minutes regardless of traffic. But then the firm moved to Uxbridge, exactly 50 miles door to door. The bike worked continued to work superbly until the winter weather set in but then it became apparent that no matter how much I spent on boots and gloves, I still couldn't feel my hands and feet by the end of the trip! And you do need those on a bike, for braking and that kind of thing ... :).

Right now I work from home, have done for 7 or 8 years. My commute is about 30cm! Desk is in a corner of the bedroom, Mrs Comma is up and out to her work at 6:30am most days so never any conflicts with her wanting the room. Get up late, check email, wander down for coffee and breakfast.

For the OP, I would say that the journey times you're describing are too long. I lasted for about a year commuting to Uxbridge after giving up on the bike and switching to a car, driving 90 minutes each way. My employer even gave me a pay bump to cover the costs, so I wasn't out of pocket, but when you're giving up 3 hours of your day every single day it gets you down. However, to each their own, it's just a question of weighing up the money/job/enjoyment/home life and working out the balance. One of my regular playing partners works in the city as a tax consultant, so has 2 hours each way with a 10 hour working day in between. He loves his job and is at partner level, so puts up with it. And earns a lot more than me! Personally I would rather earn a little less and have the life at home, I do regret a little that I was working as a consultant and so always away when our second boy was in his pre-school years.
 
Depends on the site. This week was Macclesfield (1.5 hours), next week I'm in Norwich (3.5hours).
Thankfully in my trade, shifts are not as long as a normal working day, but done at antisocial hours with lots of driving done at the worst possible times (2-6am when your body is screaming at you to go to sleep)

If I where in your position, I'd be using that time to locate another job closer to home. I've done the whole commuting thing and I'd personally never do it again, no matter of pay or job.
 
260 miles each way. Work in Portsmouth and travel home every weekend. On a good day can do it in just over 4 hours. Good days don't come very often so normally takes anything between 6-8 hours
 
If I've got a week in the office its Redcar to Blyth every day. If it's during rush hour it takes up to 2 hrs, but around an hour outside of rush hour. We moved away from Middlesbrough in the late 80's, returning 7yrs ago. Best thing we ever did. Opportunities for advancement were slim on Teesside. Making the decision to leave was a tough one but I'm glad we did.
 
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