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?

Is the scooter easy to fold and to carry?

yes microscooter adult version

Do you wear a helmet?

no i dont go that fast.

but, it does save a good few minutes. and definitely helps if there is tube problem and i have to go further distance..and if it's nice weather i can take a longer "walk" and scoot along the river path...

scooter wont work on oxford street but on my street level bit of the commute central london there are busy areas where crowds merge eg crossings where clearly i get off and walk and then wide pavements with few people. hope on and off. I am no more annoying than the joggers.

but if you needed to go down oxford street you would take a parallel less busy street. you dont have to go along the busiest street.

I have a scooter and love it (I don't give a shit if people think I look a bell end, it's fun) but I wouldn't scoot on a busy London street - it's extremely inconsiderate.

hop on and off and walk with scooter where needed. can also take it on bus if it's pouring with rain.. good for loading a bag of shopping too

I would find it hard to get past the image I have of adults scooting in order to actually get on a scooter.

I have no idea how you'd manage with a scooter on busy London sidewalks. I agree everyone would want to kill you.

If it bothers you now just thinking about it, you'll hate it when you're doing it, it'll wear you down and you'll resent it.

Do you scoot on the pavements or road? Pavements may be too busy around Westminster, I'd walk the route a couple of times before you commit to buying one.

Don't worry about how you look on a scooter- I've seen men in suits commuting on roller blades and skateboards- if you are moving faster than everyone else in rush hour they have no right to laugh!

I seriously considered it. Pavements are really busy with pedestrians. Full of cracks, ridges etc presenting safety hazards. Massive crowds at bottlenecks like tube and tourist attractions. Ditsy tourists don't make way. Going on outer edge of pavement near roads risks being hit by cyclists or lorries. Carrying a scooter (plus helmet etc) is hard work and they bash your shins and if wet mess up your clothes too. Trains rammed and again scooters and foldable bikes can easily bash you/others.

Does your OH work in Canary Wharf, hence the house being so close to there? If so then I wonder if the inequality in your commutes is at the root of your discontent?

I'm intrigued why you haven't commented on the suggestion made by several people to try the Thames Clipper?

You've already said you can do flexible hours, but are put off by things like "finishing as late as 7" if you start at 10. Quite a lot of people early in their careers in London finish at least as late as 7 but probably start well before 9 as well. You don't sound very career minded to be honest. If not (and that's perfectly acceptable) then you should probably not force yourself to make the best of London life and start planning how to make a life somewhere less pressured.

In the meantime ALWAYS wear trainers and clothes that are as comfy as possible (change at office if needs be), investigate how to find the emptiest carriages on your tubes (a pp upthread gave some tips), try out some different timings and test out some alternatives. Did you ever check to see if there was a bus for the last bit?

Presumably you do use Citymapper already?

Sorry you did say you'd look into commuting by boat, my apologies.

To put it in perspective, according to Citymapper, you are only on the actual tube trains for a total of 17 minutes- 11 mins on the Jubilee and 6 on the District. Canary Wharf and Westminster are both really big spacious modern stations so the changes can't be excessively crowded (no comparison to the tunnely and step- filled hell of most Northern line stations for example). Chelsea is a lovely area for a 15 minute morning walk too.

jessie

We live in CW because we inherited a flat there so we can live rent/mortgage free. DH works in NE London so his commute is slightly shorter than mine, but still over 30 mins.

I considered using the Thames Clipper, I checked the website and it sounds like it is really expensive, around £5/6 per ride. Am I wrong? If so I am happy to reconsider.

I am actually quite career-oriented, I am simply not used to commuting. Many (although not all) creative jobs require regular hours (9-6) so I don't think I am out of line here trying to have a decent work-life balance.

I want to have a good career but I also want to have a life IYSWIM.

I am sure you're capable of understanding pricing from a website; only you know whether or not that is expensive for you without knowing anything about your finances or how much you are willing to pay to make life easier. But you are mortgage free so you can probably afford a few extra quid on travel. why not just try some of the options instead of dismissing them in theory? You can do different methods there and back.

It does sound like you both live in entirely the wrong place for your jobs- why not just sell the flat and move somewhere more convenient- doesn't have to be more expensive so you could still live mortgage free.

NB you say you jointly own with your OH but also that you plural inherited the flat- how does that work, did you have some rich friend who left it to you jointly? No need to answer, just being nosy!

jessie DH inherited a place from a family member and put me on the deeds as well so we now have joint ownership. We can't move or sell it at the moment for family reasons, otherwise I think we probably would.

My commute into central London is an hour. But the main thing is 35 mins on an overland train. I think that is much less stressful than the same time on a v crowded underground train so I can understand your dislike of it.0

you can get season tickets for the clipper boats

Wow. Do you know how much you're saving not paying rent in canary warf??

And not having to commute or pay commuting costs from outer london??

Surely a fiver for a boat trip if it's that much more pleasant is easy on 2 London salaries with no rent.

mov yes I know we are very lucky to be able to live in CW rent free. Believe me we count our blessings!

However we are still trying to save aggressively to be able to buy a bigger place somewhere else down the line so we are careful with money. £10 a day on ferry tickets would be over £200 a month on top of the tube monthly pass that I would probably still need. That is a lot of money!

I would hate it and with my current mobility issues it would be impossible for me. But then that's why I don't live/work in London

you are living rent free, you want to save money, you like your job, so surely any commute is worth it? you would be crazy to jack in your well paid job because of a 50 minute commute from a rent free home. it wont get any better than this...

when you do buy "down the line" you may find a longer commute, or find it difficult to get a place whee both of you have direct commutes.

Why not rent the CW flat out and move somewhere that would be a better commute? Not that you're likely to get anywhere that's good for both NE London and Sloane Sq. but living rent-free does make my sympathy for your commute wane, I'm afraid!

There is a discount for tclipper tickets if you have a normal tfl season ticket but it still makes for an expensive commute.

Used to live near you and looked at it but couldn't justify the cost either.

So you are living free in Canary Wharf and only travel for 50 minutes? You are very very lucky. 50 minutes is not much at all, put some headphones on.

I think my commute is fairly short, but I've just added it up and it comes to 45 minutes. 10 mins to station, 25 mins on train and 10 mins walk.

Honestly you'd be absolutely off your head to give up a great job because of a 50 minute commute!

Although I am living rent-free (and I am so lucky to be in that position) we still get to pay an enormous amount of fees for the flat we live in, so it is not like we spend £0 on housing.

Just clariying why we arw so careful with money in spite of living rent-free.