Would you move house if it added an extra £80 per week onto your travel costs?

[Comefromaway]

Dh earns just over £30k. Due to being unable to drive he has negotiated compressed hours. We currently live 5 mins drive from the train station. Its about a 35 min walk but he's not capable of walking that far on a regular basis. My parents who live 5 mins away currently pick him up and drop him off at the station on their way to work (so a 10 min detour for them). I have to get to work in the opposite direction and as from next Sept will also be dropping ds off at college (buses won't get him there in time) I am usually able to pick him up in the evening. Dh's current travel costs are £25 per day (£125 per week)

We've found a house we love. Its closer to ds's current school but further away from college. It's actually in the same town as my parent live but slight further away (10 mins drive) the opposite direction to the station. From the house to the station is a 20 min drive. For my parents to pick him up it would be 30 mins in total detour as opposed to the current 10 mins which isn't really fair. There is no way I could take him and get ds to college and me to work on time.

For dh to get a taxi from the potential new house to the station would be about £7/8 each way. That makes his daily travel cost £41 per day or £205 per week.

We really like the house and its in a lovely area and its closer to ds's school and friends etc at the moment. But he's only there for 1 more year. Dh can't see the issue but I just think it will make everyone elses life more difficult.

If it was you, would you pull out?

Can you afford the additional costs? 800 -1000 per month travel costs sounds excessive on only 30k per year!

I wouldn't go for it. DS will have new friends in a year. You shouldn't depend on other people to get DH to and from work, and you will really notice an extra £80 a week coming out of a £30k salary.

Is learning to drive not an option for DH?

So he'd be spending about 10k a year on commuting, with a take home pay of what, 25k? Seems absolutely ludicrous to me sorry. Can you move closer to DH work / he get a job closer to home?

Dh can drive but he lost his licence due to a medical condition. Moving closer to his work would make it impossible for me to get to work and get ds to school. Ds has asd, all his support is here, all our family support is here and dh also works in a very expensive city.

What dh does is very specialist. he teaches a certain subject at degree level but he is not qualified to teach in state schools. He actually teaches at the nearest available place. The only other place that offers what he does only employs staff on short term contracts on a self employed basis and they would not make the adjustments for someone with dh's medical condition.

no i wouldnt, not only could i not afford it I would be reluctant to spend such a huge increase travel

Can he cycle to the station? That's what I do in an almost identical scenario

I don't think he would be safe cycling and it would exhaust him.

I understand about the medical condition, my brother lost his licence in a similar situation.

Do you have to move? It seems like you're going to be much worse off if you do.

None of this sounds viable long term. Presumably your parents won't always work and be happy to give lifts.
Can DH start doing a PGCE? Working a long commute away to bring home 15k just seems crazy.

I think your dh needs to negotiate a pay rise ... seriously, teaching at degree level is usually paid better than that, £40k minimum for a lecturer. H was on that 8 years or so post PhD as a guide. I'm wondering if he's being underpaid due to his medical condition?

That aside you need to work out what is best for the long term, where makes more sense to live

He doesn’t work directly for s university. It’s an unusual institution that offers diplomas and a degree they deliver on behalf of a university. The pay is standard. It’s a practical subject.

Just looked at the bank account. His take home is just over £2,000 per month but he only works 36-38 weeks per year so only incurs travel expenses for those weeks.

When I was earning £30k I made the decision to move out of London which trebled my commuting costs and my rail season ticket cost something like £3500 per year.

It was 100% worth it for me because that move meant that I could sell my tiny studio flat in London and buy a little house in a village instead. My quality of life improved vastly as it suits me much better living in the countryside.

As long as you can definitely afford the taxis (and the extra traveling won't impact DH's health issue further) and believe that your quality of life will improve in other ways, I'd say go for it.