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 walk too far because your diamond shoes are too tight op?

I was actually going to suggest a moped. I reckon that would massively reduce the time and hassle of the journey.

You live rent/mortgage free in central London
You have a job you love
You have what most people consider a short commute
You want to get a scooter
Geeeeeeez, any more man tropes?

Op. You really don't have any idea how lucky you are, spoilt even! What next, are you going to be complaining of a pea under your mattress! Get over yourself and get on with life.

OP you have plenty of choices. You can look for a less good job with a shorter commute. You can move to somewhere closer and pay rent. You can pay a bit more and have a nicer commute. You can do slightly more inconvenient hours and have a nicer commute (which FWIW is what I'd choose). Or you can stick with the current job, flat and commute.

Yes all of these involve some compromise but none are exactly terrible. Pick whichever is the best option from your perspective.

If your employer will allow you to work 7:30-4:30 then changing your hours is the simplest solution! If you're on the tube early enough it's like a ghost town.

For what it's worth from the age of 17-20 I had a 90+ minute commute to a minimum wage job that I despised, in Central London. On shifts when I started at 7, the tube was wonderfully deserted. 9:00 starts were busy all the way.

Later jobs had me on slightly better wages but same commute time. I used to work at Sloane Square so can fully appreicate how busy those tube lines get but it looks like your work are flexible - take advantage of that as many people don't have the option.

Oh and since moving away 5 years ago I don't think I've read a single book. I used to read a book a fortnight on my commute. We also did a book swap at work. It was wonderful! Reading isn't something I ever take the time out to do when I'm at home

I think you just need to change your attitude to the commute (anything under an hour is a short commute. London is big.) Use the 30 min tube journey to read a book. Use the 15 min walk to clock up some of your 10k steps a day. That's exercise and reading before you even start work. Lovely way to start a day.

I've never had a commute longer than 30 mins in London (I'm lucky to live very centrally near a zone 1 station, though it means sacrificing space and having to live in a flat not a house). So for me, I wouldn't consider a commute over 45 mins, and the walking for 15 mins would be a deal breaker. But I do recognise that I'm quite fortunate and I also have a skillset which means I can pick and choose jobs which are more convenient for me.

I do a 70mile round trip commute by car. Takes me about 45mins each way, because I negotiated a slightly earlier start/finish time, so I miss rush hour.
(Colleagues that live in the town I work in can take almost the same time to get there in said rush hour.)

I don't know why more people/employers don't agree staggered working hours, instead of just being resigned to hideous traffic and crowds to fulfil some outdated 9-5 notion. There are obviously some roles that can't accommodate this of course, but for a massive number of people, starting or finishing an hour early would have no impact on anyone else/the business at all (and would also benefit those people who can't change with fewer unnecessary people on the roads/trains with them)

Cut the op some slack. She asked for advice and some of you on here are really rude.

TBH I'm amazed that some people spend three hours of their day travelling and think that's okay.

It's been said up thread but podcasts help me through a similar commute (District and Piccadilly Lines). It's not the time I hate at all, but all the people. My favourites are:

-This American Life
-In Our Time
-Lore
-From Our Own Correspondent
-Love + Radio
-Radiolab

I cycle now- 6 miles twice a day, and despite the weather it's rarely raining when I'm commuting and I just bring a change of clothes. Takes me between 35 and 45 minutes, traffic dependant. I love the exercise, find it feels much shorter, but I do miss the podcasts.

Why would you still need to find Tube fares?

If I remember rightly, you work 15 minutes walk from South Ken & Sloane square stations - as I said earlier the River Bus stops at Cadogan Pier (on Cheyne Walk, next to Albert Bridge).

Practically door to door service from Canary Wharf!

To think some are struggling to get a job fulkstop

45 minute commute here too (not London) ... I don't see it as overalls long but realise it's not overly convenient if need to into the office quickly or at short notice etc. BUT. I made the choice to live a further out so for the same money I get a nicer family house and village to live in rather than live 15 mins from the office in the city and a smaller house. It all depends on your personal circumstances and you have to make the choice of you want to live closer and then make compromises in other areas of your life to finance it

When i worked in London my commute was 1h 20 mins on a bad day...
25 min walk to the tube
3 tubes
5 min walk at the other end...
I was a lot slimmer and fitter than i am now out of \London with a 5 min walk and 20 min on the bus!!!!!
Most people where I worked had at least a 45 minute commute, most had over an hour. Normal for London!!

2.5 hours commute each way for a job I used to enjoy. I'd kill for a 50 min commute for a job I love.. Seriously.

Sounds like hell on earth to me. But then that's why I live on a farm in the borders and not in central London I suppose..

This was my trip aged 17.

Walk to station - approx 2 mins
Intercity train to big city - 1 hr
A city train (including waiting for it) -15 mins
Walk to work - 5 mins

And it wasn't even my dream job. But it was, you know, a job.

I used to have an hour long commute to College when I lived in London as a student from forest Hill to Kensington as I schooled at the Oratory and I did that for two years! And as a poor student but loved it as you got to stare at some interesting people

Now I'm expected to commute 1hr30mins to Hereford for 6months from Birmingham as part of a rotation. As a specialist trainee I am often expected to travel to places up to 50mikes away but I won't complain as its a competitive programme with lots of people wanting it (let's face it guaranteed employment for 7-8 yrs is hardly a bad thing) as its one of the better specialties in medicine... I see the commute as just part of the job

Not everyone is cut out for London commuting. I absolutely hated it and it made me so stressed and miserable, even though I really liked my job at the time. Just disgusting in the summer especially!

I now very much appreciate my five minute walk to work through quiet, pretty streets in the provinces...

However, a dream job is a pretty rare beast these days and I think you should try to stick it out for a while at least. If you love living and working in London I think this is just part of the package.

FWIW an hour each way is a lot longer than the average UK commute which is less than half an hour each way (55 minutes TOTAL commuting time each day according to the TUC).

I use to have a 45 mins each way commute on the M4. Except of course it was only 45 minutes on a good day and was frequently longer. I HATED it, I didn't want to get into the car at the weekend because I spent so much time in it during the week. I have now had a 20-30 minute commute for years and a short commute is so much better for your sanity and bank balance.

DH has had a long commute (over an hour each way on main line trains) for most of his career and now has a 10-15 minute cycle and it has transformed our lives because he can do so much more with the kids, plus it saved us £6.5K a year on season ticket and childcare costs. He does the school run every morning now (Admittedly that lengthens his commute but he views the half hour walk down to school with the kids as a pleasure not a hardship, a commute that consists of walking and cycling is very different from one that involves trains or cars).

I think the OP should probably think about cycling or walking the whole way to work so that she fits in her exercise as part of the commute but in the short term agree she should maybe try and shift her hours so the tube isn't so hideous.

OP, depending on where exactly your workplace is, would changing to the overground at Canada Water then another overground/bus from Clapham Junction be an option? Overground trains are generally less crowded.

My poor 13 yr old sister does a 1hr 20 minute travel to school each way every day & my dad travels 2hrs to work each day. I guess it's what you feel is acceptable to you. Some are cut out for it. Others think it's not worth the stress! Hopefully you find a quicker way!

Thank you all for your inputs. A lot of people have very long commutes and I reckon mine is not that bad in comparison. I think overtime I will get used to it, especially once the summer will be over.

Btw during last week I started listening to podcasts on the tube and it made a huge difference! Also, I got smarted and managed to conquer a seat a couple of times, which also improved the experience tremendously.

I am confident I will find ways to make it work

Ah OP you're becoming a Londoner

Great news OP. Getting it in perspective and finding ways to make it work for you should give you the best of both worlds.