Am I crazy to accept a major promotion with a longer commute?

[Crazycommute]

I have accepted a new job. It's about 1hr driving commute each way 3 days a week and more like 1hr 15 on two days a week (two sites)

Moving closer is not an option (moved last year and love where we are, forever home) and work from home would be only occasionally and probably not regularly (at least not to begin with)

My current commute is 15 mins

The job is a massive promotion and 25k more money

I felt good about it but everyone I talk to seems horrified by the commute I will be doing

I have two young kids and that's the only thing that makes me hesitate but I will be home by 6 and they have great childcare / family help in place and the job has brilliant annual leave so can be off most holidays and half terms, and they would be flexible about sickness, parents evening etc.

Am I crazy? I don't feel like it's beyond what a lot of people do, I am in a fairly cushy position commute wise at the moment and it's annoying this is changing but everything else about the role seems so much better.

I don’t know if I’d want to spend 11/12 hours a week driving to and from work. That’s almost 40 hours a month. 25k is a great amount but I’d work out what that is in your pocket after considering extra commuting hours, tax and petrol.
your childcare arrangements sound solid though and if you love the sound of the job and the finances make sense then I’d go for it.

My commute is a 45 min drive plus a 15 minute walk, five days a week. I add the walk on purpose as otherwise I’d move even less than I do already during the week.

I don’t love my commute but I accept it because I like my job and love my salary! I usually listen to podcasts or audiobooks, Sara Cox is quite cheery on my way in if I don’t want to concentrate on anything.

I used to travel into London on the train, so drive, park, train, tube, walk and reverse. Not sure which is better tbh, obvious you need to concentrate in the car in a way you don’t on public transport.

I’m fairly strict on my hours in the office because of my commute, I always leave the office to get home by 6pm, even if I have to open my laptop in the evening at home to finish something.

I’d definitely go for it, congratulations OP.

That sounds fine. 🤷🏻‍♀️ When my dc were little, I had a 3 hour commute for 3 days a week. It was 3 hours door to door and I worked on the train. I left my house at 6am, walked into the office at 9am, left the office at 4pm, walked into the door at home about 7 or a bit after. I worked a normal day from home on the 4th day and had the 5th day off. I did that for several years. It was fine.

You may well find you quite enjoy the commute: it's a chance to have time just for yourself, and have your choice of entertainment on the radio. You could also go for learning a language or something similar. It sounds like you may well be able to organise some time WFH once you are fully established.

I would take it and maybe once you are established in your new job you could ask for hybrid working to reduce the days that you need to commute.

I had a commute for an hour for 20 years and DH had a similar commute in the opposite direction for 25 years. Just take it, opportunities are hard to come by. Some of my workmates only went home at weekends and lodged in the week as did his. I do have a friend whose commute was 2 to 2.5 hours, she didn’t have children and she tried very hard to find another job but never did. Her DH refused to move and he had a very regular job as well.

A few years ago this would be a no brainer but these days wfh /hybrid is far more common and it’s difficult to change the mindset back

I don’t think it’s ridiculous, but I wouldn’t be keen personally unless the other parent was more “available”

however unless the job physically needs you on site I would be wary of any employer that doesn’t view wfh (at least occasionally) positively. Seems very outdated for most office based jobs (if in fact it is an office job)

As others have said tot up the cost of the commute and extra money that will be going to the taxman. How much extra will you have in your pocket

assuming it’s reasonable, get an electric car and a wall charger for overnight charging if you have off street parking. Over the longer term this will save a fortune on fuel

It’s not just about cash in hand at the end of the month, pension and futureproofing your career path also have value.