to think a great job may not be worth a 50 min commute?

[Ondasp]

I started a new job in London a couple of months ago. The job is great, fantastic company, great office, awesome team, really good money (+60% compared to my last position), nice benefits. A dream job.

The only downside is that it takes me 50 mins to get there from where I live

The commute is: 5 mins walk - 30 mins on tube with one change - 15 mins walk (the office is faaaar from the closest tube station).

I work ft Mon to Fri 9-6, regular hours. I am in my late 20s, own my place with DH (so I can't move) and I don't have DC yet.

I really dislike this commute. I love the job but I am starting to think it may not be worth it.

AIBU to doubt whether a great job is worth a 50 mins commute?

50 minutes is nothing! I used to do 2-3 hours each way & I now do about an hour.

Good jobs that you enjoy are not always easy to find. I'd stick it out a bit longer & see how you feel. Try and find different things to do to make the journey go quicker

50 minutes really isn't bad for London. Before children I used to have a journey of around that length - bus, train, tube, walk, or cycle/run the whole way - and after DS1 was born it was about 1 1/2 hours, taking in the nursery run.

When we were moving out of London there was a delay with our house purchase and we had to live in temporary accommodation. I spent about 3 months with a nearly 2 hour journey - walk, tube, train, bus to DS1's nursery, bus back to station, train tube, and then the reverse at the end of the day. Now that's not a journey I'd recommend to anyone, but a couple of tubes and a short walk is pretty standard for London.

YABU - 50 mins is nothing! I just realised I do the same every day for just an alright job (40 mins car, 10 mins walk)

It's pretty short for door to door tbh, especially in London

I feel I live close to my work, certainly closer than many of my colleagues (not London) and it takes me 45 minutes door to door.

Changing your hours definitely sounds worth a try.

I am now looking into buying a kick scooter. Supposedly it should get from Westminster to the office in 13 mins at a comfortable pace, effectively cutting my commute down to 35 mins. It is pretty cheap too!

Anyone has any experience with using a kick scooter to commute to work?

It's not a bad commute, but as a fellow commuter (Bus, Central Line and ten minute walk), I know how horrible it can be at rush hour. My commute is 50 mins, I used to do 90 mins (with two kids under two).

This is the worst time of year. The six weeks holidays are coming up, it will be less packed. Get some good podcasts and audiobooks. Wear trainers even though they don't look good with business clothes. Who cares, leave your shoes in the office. Leave your business clothes in the office? I get my stuff dry cleaned/shirts done up town and travel in my civvies.

I'd be more fed up with the 9-6 hours, there are plenty city companies offering 9-5 on flexitime with WFH options. Banks and the Big 4 do. Some of the insurance firms do too. Everyone I know does at least one day a week from home. My own team do one week in, one week at home. I'm a contractor so usually go in (show willing!).

Maybe stick this out short term until you find something more suitable? Those are long core hours, there is no one at their desk in my Big 4 firm at 5:30!

Scooter won't be good on crowded pavements in central London.

Suggest flat shoes and seeing the walk as good exercise.

I did a placement year at university UNPAID travelling from Manchester to Liverpool Monday to Friday!

It took me roughly 1 hour , but longer when the the traffic was bad.

50 minutes in an enjoyable job with a decent salary sounds absolutely fine to me!

Please don't scoot on central London pavements. Everyone will want to kill you.

Why won't you change your hours?

Average commute in London is an hour. You would be lucky with 50 mins!

Scooters are pointless, people will just walk in front of you (and hate you). Hire a Boris bike?

I agree about not getting a scooter for London pavements.

You'll be frustrated because you won't be able to get any speed up. Other people will be frustrated because bikes or scooters on busy pavements are pains in the arse.

Walking could easily end up being faster and less stressful.

please don't scooter on central London pavements. Everyone will want to kill you.

And you'll look like an utter bellend

As long as you van get a seat on the train bit, perfectly acceptable to me.

I'm not a commuting fan. I much prefer to get in early, avoid traffic and get out. Not so lucky I now have kids to drop off. I live on outskirts of a northern city about three miles to get to city centre. At 8 it still takes me and hour to get to work. It does suck

I used to commute 70 mins each way for minimum wage and a job with no prospects. I did this for 5 years and only realised how tough it had been once I'd left.
I now work a 6 minute walk away and it is wonderful however your job has a lot more perks than mine so I'd stick at it.

As many other Londoners (and other commuters) have pointed out, this isn't anything out of the ordinary.

However, what strikes me is that if you're travelling at 8.15 this is peak commuter time, so it's bound to be crowded. Why don't you try travelling just half an hour earlier?

Can you do the journey by bus? With bus lanes, it's often surprisingly quick on the bus.

Competitive commuting :-D

I do love Mumsmet.

of course you can use a scooter in London. i do central London and while some parts i cant scoot there are virtually empty side streets and a garden square/park which is totally empty at 08:45. it shaves several minutes off the walk.

I'm loving the competitive commuting. I live in London and work in Hong Kong, that's a 17-hour door to door commute, FFS OP woman up. 😄

Seriously, not all commutes are the same. If I work in the City I have a straightforward tube journey where I get to sit down and read, whereas when I'm in Canary Wharf I have to take a train then switch to Jubilee line. Both take the same time (1 hour), but one is very relaxing and I find the other one quite draining/stressful.

cestlavie Is the scooter easy to fold and to carry? Do you wear a helmet? I am intrigued

Hardly competetive commuting. More of a reality check...

Don't scoot. Omg, don't scoot...

I would happily look a bell end to save time, but really OP the scooter won't work on busy central london streets.

The rentable bikes are pricey and roads dicey.

Stick to the power of your feet!

I hate commuting: 3 or 3.5 hours a day for me, but walking rather than tube makes it justabout bearable. Winter worse than summer.

Why are London people so negative about scooting? It sounds like a nice option to me!