Tell me about your commute

[Bee14]

live in relatively central London with a 35-45 minute commute at moment, but will need to move in next year. Ideally we would like to be outside London but commute once you have factored in getting to station is between an hour and twenty and an hour and fourty!

Interested in anyone where both you and DP are commuting? We can probably WFH one day a week each and would probably need a nanny but is this too much ? Do you get any work done on your commute ?

[MmmCuriouSir]

I do 2 days at home and 3 in the office which is in the City. My commute is around 90-100 mins each way. I don't (want to) work on the train. I listen to music or watch news/TV episodes. I don't mind it at all in summer but in winter it can get a little tiresome.

[namechangedtoday15]

Did it for a while from Northamptonshire to Old Street - drive to MK, train into Euston, tube to Old Street. Never did any work on the tram (of any value really) - could read and respond to emails but that was it.

Have since commuted (outside of London) by car, similar journey time of about 1 hour 20 / 30. It's tricky when you have children, especially if your H is also over an hour away and you get "that" call from nursery / school. Do you have support locally? One of my worst experiences was getting a call from nursery saying my DC had fallen and needed to go to hospital and I had a 60 mile commute to do before I could get to him. If you can work the logistics and have flexible childcare then it'll be fine. Tiring but fine.

[PurpleHatt]

DH
Works ATM 5 days a week 'in work' though will have periods of weeks when he works full-time at home. Averaged across the year, DH probably works one day a week at home.
When 'in work' he has:
A 20 minute walk from home to the station
Then a 56 minute train
Then a 20 minute walk from the station to work
And back again, obviously.
This costs £23 per day.
DH reads a newspaper on the train and will sometimes listen to podcasts. He never works on the train.

Me:
I have the same kind of set up as DH, periods 'in work' and periods at home. Averaged across the year, I probably work at home two or three days a week.
When in work I have:
A 20 minute walk from home to the station
Then 45 minute train
Then a 15 minute walk from the station to work.
And back again.
This costs about £15 per day.
I always listen to podcasts when I'm walking and then I work on the train.

DH and I travel in opposite directions!

[shalomjaxom]

I have been commuting a 100 round mile trip per day for the last two years.
By car, using country A roads. Part time work, two days. rest worked at home.

On a good day, it takes about an hour and five minutes, on a bad day, anything up to one hour twenty minutes, especially if there are road closures, which often happens.

For me, it's not the distance, it's the cost of the fuel and wear and tear on the car. In the last MOT to MOT year it has cost me £3100 in total to run the car, considering fuel, insurance, tax, MOT and repairs.

I then work out my hourly rate and it's around £6.20 an hour!

Currently looking for local jobs!!

[PeachyStone]

My commute is 5 min walk, 25 min bus, 20 min wait for next bus, which tanks 35 mins. And the same on the way home. With a 12 hour shift in between. I'm usually out of the house about 15 hours on work days, which is four days a week, well, four nights a week as I work the night shift.

[MrsSparkles]

DH commutes to London every day. We live a 10 min walk from the station (3 min drive if I drop him off). 70 mins on train, then a 5 min walk to his office.

The crucial parts for him were 1. No tube journey in London if poss - this really adds to the time and 2. House closeish to the station.

He usually works on about half his journeys I think. More if he is busy. I think wfh one day a week would make a big difference to quality of life. But you definitely need some sort of local support for emergency pickups etc. I work about 30 mins in the other direction and that's about the limit I think for being 'on call'.

[Titsdown]

DH: WFH and SAHD

Me: 1h 10
20min walk, 35 min train, 15 min walk

But we're about to move further out. My new commute will be:
2min walk, 1h10 train, 20min tube and walk (so 1h40 probably). I'm hoping the location is going to be worth it!

[Titsdown]

Yes. And like sparkles - proximity to the station was key when looking at houses.

[TobleroneBoo]

I have a 7ish minute walk to bus stop, 25 minute bus journey, 45 minute train ride, 5 minute walk the other end

[JemTheAngel]

My commute is about 75 minutes on the train and a 5-10 minute walk either end. The travelling itself is fine, what I struggle with is the early start and late finish it involves. I'm not good at getting up in the morning and to get in on time I have to catch the train at just after 7, which means getting up at about 6. I'd think about what time train you need to get and what time you'll be getting back home too.

[nannybeach]

We moved to be near the sea etc. I gave my notice in to retire, as my commute was almost 100 mile round trip. Unfortunately, 3 days later OH came home told me his company had gone into liquidation, so for the next 4 years I worked full time, I worked nights, but because I drove in the rush hour, had to allow 2 hours to get to work, there was no motorway, just A roads, always road works, sometimes accidents, took my OH 2 and a half hours to get the 38 miles home this week, 3 accidents, 2 lots of roads works one road closure. We got cars that did over 50mpg. There was no station near our places of work, no other way of getting there other than driving. I got London weighting, high cost living allowance, and was on my top pay scale so, it still paid me to travel as opposed to getting a local job.There are plenty of nice areas, in Kent, Surrey,Sussex, where you can successfully commute to London.

[CityDweller]

I used to do 25 min bike (or tube) + 38 min train + 18 min walk. It was fine. We've moved now and I have to drive - takes 1hr10 - 1hr40. I hate the driving commute

DH used to do 15 min bike. Now he WFH/ SAHD

[OneArt]

When we lived in London zone 2 our commute was 40 mins. Now we live in commuter belt and it's an hour for DH (15 mins drive to the station, 30 mins on train, 10 mins walk the other end) - so not that much worse! I now work outside London and drive to work (35-55 mins depending on traffic).

[Chewbecca]

If you possibly can, it is eased so much by being a very short walk from the station to home then a short walk from the end station to the office. I think the 'end' bits are more important than the length of the train journey. In the train, you can sit, read, read emails etc. (If your trains are not excessively busy). The end bits just add stress, more things to go wrong and are generally not useable time.

[JemTheAngel]

Agree with what Chewbacca says.

Also, make sure you will get a seat on your train journey. In six years of commuting, I've only had to stand once coming home and never going in. But I had a colleague who lived in Winchester and never got a seat for an hour + journey into Waterloo. An hour standing is a completely different proposition.

[fussychica]

When I worked I was in a car pool which meant about 45 min drive. If that wasn't operational it was DH giving me a lift to station 3 miles away 20 min train journey 20 min walk.
On at least 1 day per week working in London which involved 2.5 - 3 hrs travel each way. Luckily 1st class travel and breakfast/dinner included, otherwise I don't think I could have done it. I never worked on the return journey, I was too knacked I don't miss it!

[Stylingwax]

Mine is 15 min cycle to station, 50 min on train, 15 min tube to office.
1.5 hours if it's timed relatively effectively. 4 days a week, the other WFH.

[dementedma]

45 minute drive through country roads, dodging pheasant and deer. Lovely in the summer but scary in winter - icy and no lights.
Dh does similar but in the opposite direction. Costs a fortune in fuel and wear and tear, particularly tyres.

[pearlylum]

Long commutes are soul destroying. My commute takes around 20 seconds with a coffee in hand from bedroom to spare room.
My Oh has had a 90 minute drive each way to work for the past 10 years, that's 15 hours a week.
He has a new job, commute time is 8 minutes. He is a new man.

[ChablisTyrant]

My DH goes into London every day but I only do twice a week. Do think about what you will do when you get a call about a sick child. It is fine now because we have a nanny, but in a few years it'll be a real problem.

[conkerpods]

I live in SE London(zone3/4). My commute is a 12 minute walk to station then 23 minute train journey into Charing X then a 2 minute walk. I couldn't bear a long commute but partly because I work unsociable hours. When I work evenings (every day this week) then I drive in and park on a single yellow line just off the Strand. The drive journey is 45 minutes.

[FiftyNineOhEight]

10 minute cycle to station
1 hour train journey (guaranteed seat, we are the first stop)
3 stops on the tube
2 minute walk

[MeganChips]

I'm really lucky with mine, it's 12 miles each way, or around a 20 minute drive. I used to drive an hour each way so in comparison, it's life changing.

However, come September I'll be taking a new role which, while a lot more money, will be a 90 minute drive each way on a good day. I'm not looking forward to that element of it.

[Notyetthere]

I commute from Kent. I have a 10-15 mins drive to the station, 40 mins train journey to London and a 5 mins walk to my office which is next door to the station. It takes a while to get out of the station due to the rush hour crowd.

I always get a seat going in the morning but only get one in the evening about 50% of the time. I could technically get a seat after 1st station but then I can't be bothered as my station is normally the next one and I sit for most of my working hrs so sometimes a welcome stand going home can't be too bad for my health.

DH works in a nearby small town so he will be the one on call as his drive is about 15-20 mins when there is no traffic. If busy then it takes him about 30mins.

[Grassgreendashhabi]

My husbands is 13 mins by car. Leaves at 6.45am for 7am start and leaves at 3pm home by 3.13

Me Stay at home mum