What's a long but still reasonable commute?

[Mariagatzs12]

I'm considering a 90min commute each way. That would bring in about 1k to 1.2k net extra each month. Is it worth it? I've lived in London before so I know this commute isn't entirely crazy but I don't know if the extra fuel costs would reduce it massively.

I've been doing that for most of my working life.

Hi, is that door-to-door or just the train/bus/drive times? 1k extra is quite nice, but a long commute very quickly drains your happiness and it is frequently longer due to weather/delays/etc. I'd consider it if you can set your own times and work time on the commute is included in your workday. Otherwise life is too short!

I have a 90 minute commute and cant stand it. That said it would be better if it was just hopping on a single train but mine is broken into two stages, the first involves a 45 min bus. I'm assuming you'll be driving but do you think you will be exhausted driving 90 minutes after the end of a long day? I think I would but eavh to their own

I do this now, but have to allow 2 hours usually door to door for standing around waiting for trains/walking between tube and train. I only have to do it 3 x week. I absolutely could not do it every single day, it would be too draining for me and I'd get no time at home. Would you get any chance to work from home?

Thanks Venus no that's what Google maps told me. I've just started job hunting in the closest biggish city. We just get by at the moment but my earning potential is massive in comparison to my MW job. We also have a 4 month old, so something else to consider.

It depends on whether you can break it up during the week. I did a 108 mile round trip by car every day and it was utterly exhausting

However by train that may have been different - it would also have been different if I had been able to work more from home

How would you deal with childcare?

mine is 45 minutes, used to be an hour abd it was bloody awful

however i was driving

Childminder + DP doing the driving around. His work is flexible in that way.

I'd be more bothered about the loss of time than the petrol cost, but it depends on whether the extra money makes a significant difference to your finances, what your commute is now, and also what the real difference in your working day will be, eg if you are going from a longer hours job that already has a 45 minute commute to one with shorter hours, you might not be out of the house any longer, but if the hours will be the same or more, it might just tip you over the edge.

Any chance you can work from home some of the time?

I regularly travel about 70 miles away.

In a nice clear day it can take about 1 hrs 20 mins. Never happens though.

Journey home is the worst. Can be over 2 hours the majority of times.

Could it do it daily - no chance.

I reckon it costs about £30 each day.

It massively depends on what kind of commute i think. If on a nice train where you'll get a seat and can read or do sone work, great, especially if you can work from home some days. If 3 hours or unproductive stress every day, very different.

If it’s 90 minutes on one train then definitely as train disruptions are rubbish but affect everybody coming in and I think workplaces are more lenient with train delays rather than traffic jams.

If it’s 90 minutes in a car into a city centre that’s very different and much harder. I’ve done the 90 minute plus driving commute and could cope when I loved my job - but didn’t have a baby.

I was going to say 90 mins before I read your op. X2 - each way.
However not a driving commute - if driving I’d top out at around 45 mins each way.
If by train then at least you can wind down/do a bit of work/switch off etc.

Personally with a small baby I wouldn't. 1k sounds a lot extra per month. But take out travel costs and childcare and it won't be. But also I would say if you can manage without the extra there are more important things than money.

Well, I commute 3 hours door to door, so 90 minutes seems pretty manageable to me.

But it totally depends on how flexibly you can work and the kind of commute. I have a lot of flexibility, work from home usually 1, sometimes 2 days a week. I work compressed hours so have 1 day off each week. The train is comfortable and I always get a seat with a table so can work on the train.

My income even with high commuting costs makes it worth it.

Train (just the journey so not door to door) would be 2 hrs. I've just atarte skin hunting so not sure I can work from home every now and then (my line of job definitely can be done from home, I did it for 7+ years!) Current job is massively underpaid. Yes they're flexible in that I can start at 8 and finish at 4 if I want to (or earlier) and commute is less than 10 mins. But getting MW for someone with my experience is slowly but surely dragging me down.

I’m not sure about how it would work out financially, but my DH used to do a 90 min each way train commute, and that wore him down. His day simply became too long and he didn’t have sufficient downtime. I can only imagine that might be more of an issue if you are driving, although I appreciate that for some people, driving is a way of relaxing.

I wouldn't. I used to have a 10 mile commute to work, couldn't take the train because I needed the car in the day, it took an hour each way because of traffic. That was why I moved house and got a new job, and I don't even have childcare to consider. Do the sums very carefully.

I do an hour each way at the moment, that's door to door including dropping the kids at CM. I wouldn't want to do any longer than that. I used to do 90 minutes each way and it was too much. It makes for a really long day, and that was before I had kids.

Things to consider:

• Is there any flexible working available? If so, could you work from home one or 2 days to reduce your travelling time?
• Is it full time, and if so when will you need to leave the house/get home? Will you manage to see your LO at all during the week if that's the case?

The extra money sounds great, so obviously that is something to consider too.

Good luck!

Childcare costs would remain the same give or take. It's fuel.more than anything. I currently spend £120 on monthly basis, I expect this to spike considerably.

I'd consider carefully how impacted by traffic any journey could be. I worked about 70 miles away for 6 weeks. There was no way to work an 8 hour day and avoid traffic, so I used to be out the house for 13 hours a day.

Unfortunately all flexible/remote work is even further away and ask me to live within commuting distance. I've had two recruiters very interested in me, but the employers said I lived too far away. The closer I get to London, the higher salary I'll get. I've seen jobs for my experience/qualifications going for 60-75k . As much as I like my job and my boss the prospect of 18k Vs 60k is always at the back of my mind.

Driving? Wouldn't do it.

Train - I do do it - at least I can zone out / sleep in the morning / read / catch up on email etc. Costs a bloody fortune though and I WFH two days a week.

Would your DH always be able to get to nursery/ childcare to pick up DC?

You will get a number of calls in the 1st few years when you will have to go and DC up.

Or if your DC had an accident at their childcare and had to go to A&E.

Taking money / time out of the equation, I would not want to be that far away from my very young child.

I have had 2 visits to A&E when my child has broken a bone when I have been working. I was able to get to them in a short time. They needed me and they needed me quickly.