to think commuting to London would be miserable?

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I live in the south east, and obviously, many people commute to London for better job prospects and salaries.

I used to get the train to work every day (not to London), and it made me miserble. Sitting on a crowded train after a long day at work, which would probably be delayed, was just crap. And the cost was astronomical.

Therefore, the thought of commuting to London, and god forbid, getting the tube, every day really doesn't appeal at all. I live about 50 minutes away from central London if going by train, but even that seems too much if you have to faff around on tubes.

But the problem is, within the field I'm working in, all the good jobs are in London. I wonder if I'm throwing my career away by not biting the bullet and doing it.

So London commuters - how do you do it? Is it really worth it, or would you rather have less pay nearer home?

Yanbu, it is miserable. It's up to you if you want to prioritise your career or your quality of life. We moved to London. Best decision ever.

For me, less pay nearer home every time. I live in London but was working on the opposite side. 1.5 hours journey each way at peak time on tubes and buses. Switched to a wfh role which is lower pay but no commuting. It’s wonderful! You’ll be lucky if you even get to sit going to and from London each day. I think you will hate it.

It's shit but you do just get used to it if it's worth it for a much better job. The job options, pay and prospects are just so much better in central London. Nobody likes commuting. Even people who live in London and only (!) have to get a bus or tube still hate it because public transport at rush hour is grim. You just learn to deal with it.

Have you fot family and kids at home, that would be a major decision maker for me. I cant imagine anything worse than commuting for a 9 to 5 job, adding on four hours for travelling each day. Youd lose london weighting but fares would be less, are you looking for career progression or just a good job. Can you get a similar job outside London.

I’m on the train into central London for about 45 minutes and have a 10 min walk on both ends (home to station then station to office).
It’s not great, but after a while I got used to it. I’m quite lucky in that I get a seat so that helps a lot.
I use the time to read, listen to podcasts and occasionally have a snooze if it’s been a bad day/bad night before!
In a way it’s quite good in the morning as I can get in the headspace for work, think about what I need to do that day and catch up on emails.
In the evenings though, I just want to get home!
It’s just one of those things I accept as part of my routine. Yes i would rather not do it, but it is what it is.

I've done it for years - 55 minute train journey, about an hour and 40 minutes altogether ... It's tolerable. I use the time to read/do crossword.

Beginning of the week not too bad - end of the week drags but....

You work it out - I read my kindle, have read more classics - almost all the sherlock holmes, use the time to do admin, pay bills now internet works on the tube.

You learn where to sit, where to stand and you just do it. I live outside London and commute in, takes me the same time as my mate who lives in Ealing and commutes in.

There are worse things in life, every so often, you have a bad one but most of the time it just is. I have learntto make the time productive.

now if they made on carriage full of exercise bikes, then I could pay my bills, commute to work and get fit - perfection!!!

I do it on the tube, 1 tube, just under an hour door to door and I read or listen to audio books. I worked locally for a few years but I much prefer being in central London

You get used to it even with bloody southern rail who have kindly cancelled all the gatwick express trains tonight! I like the alone time for me no disruption from anyone.

It’s the cost and crap service that pisses me off the most if it ran on time and was cheaper I’d be a lot happier

I live & now work in zone 3, can’t see myself commuting into zone 1 ok.

again not ok!

I think it depends on which train operator, where in London your job goes, and what you can do (read for example) on your journey.

My husband drives to the nearest tube station outside the congestion charge zone then parks up and gets the train from there. We looked at the trains when we moved out of London but they were crazy expensive and they can be unreliable so he prefers to have that bit more control about being able to get home (if the tube is off he can get a bus or I guess last resort a cab but if taking the train and it’s cancelled there’s no other options).

I also live in the south east. If I worked in our local area, I would be on at least 10k less and it would take much longer for me to find a job. I also don't drive, so my options locally are limited. it actually takes me less time to travel in London than it would take to travel to other areas using the local transport system.

The ocassional delays do suck, but I am the only person I know who travels on air conditioned trains :D and I use the hour long commute to catch up on my favourite shows lol.

So it's not that bad!

We live in London and have an easy commute. Considered moving out a bit bit came to the conclusion that a bigger house would not be worth the hours on the train and the misery when they’re too hot or overcrowded or the panic when they’re late and you’re late for childcare pick up etc.
Saying that, plenty of people at work do it and don’t seem to mind too much. I wonder if they stopped for a bit how hard it would be for them to start commuting again though.

Choice. I've never done it. I never will. But many of my friends do and have done for 20 years.

I didn’t used to mind it...but then I had first class travel. I always preferred working in a city though, so much easier to get appointments for hair, nails etc, more choice for lunch and if you need any shopping it’s generally easier as shops are open later. I work a ten minute drive from the Trafford Centre now and it’s great that even if I’m on a late shift I can pop there if there’s anything I need and don’t want to wait for my day off.

I did zone 4 to Zone 1, 18 stops, soul destroying. Sexual assault, inappropriate comments from men trying to chat you up, verbal abuse, physical assault when tubes were packed, anxiety about how to get home when trains were delayed/stopped.

On some rare occasions I got chatting to some lovely people, I still wonder about them.

Positives of working in London were met quite a few celebs, got lots of freebies, easy to go shopping in lunch break.

My job doesn’t exist very near my home town, so I commute into London and have done for many years now. Ways it’s just about bearable:

1. I (usually) catch the 7.05am so I always get (one of the last) seats. The tube isn’t too awful at 7.30am ish. Evening rush hour feels a bit more spread out so although I don’t get a seat on the tube it’s not usually totally rammed.

2. it’s an hour door to door even though the actual train journey is 15-20 mins (depending on whether the train has a couple of stops or is fast). Not sure I could hack anymore than an hour in total.

3. I only commute 3 days a week (work from home one day, work PT so one day is my day off.

4. keep up with my emails during the commute which relieves a little bit of pressure during the working day.

It would be even better /quicker/ cheaper /less uncomfortable if I lived the right side of London and didn’t need the tube, or didn’t need much tube (eg live in the south, work in Waterloo area and therefore get train to Waterloo with no tube). And it’s not much fun. Bit think getting up early to beat the worst of it is probably the single best way to make it bearable.

I don't think you are being unreasonable; commuting to London is miserable but it depends what your priorities are and whether you think the salary increase is worth it. I commute into London from Hertfordshire but only work three days a week. If I worked five days locally I still wouldn't make near what I do for my three days in London. I also really like my job so wouldn't want to leave. I find going in early and leaving early also makes the commute more bearable

I used to tube it to Stratford from Hackney then overland it to school. I marked books on the way on the overland section, if i could get a seat. It was bearable only because i was going against the flow and even then it was awful. An hour plus commute and often 2 hours because of delays.

When we moved outside of London I took a pay cut and lost London weighting. My commute is now a twenty minute drive on rural empty roads. I might have tocontend with the odd flood or tractor, but my mental health is enormously better. The pay cut was negated by childcare being cheaper, and driving being cheaper than paying train fares. Plus i get to see barn owls, stoats and other amazing stuff on my way into work. I didn't realise how much commuting was ruining me till I stopped. It's hard to be crushed up against people at 6.30 am! Now my commute is a quiet time before work. I actively enjoy it. I do a lot of good thinking on the way.

So as a single parent with v little downtime I like the opportunity to relax and read my book. I am lucky that I live at the end of the line so I always get a seat on the way in and frequently on the way home, or after the first stop (20 mins in). I also walk at the other end and cycle to the station. All in I leave the house at 7.30 and get to work at 9.10. Return is a similar timeframe, essentially 25 min walk, 45-50 min train and a 10-15 min cycle. When it works it's great, my trains have aircon and I love working in London and I feel like it keeps me connected to the city I love and lived in for 15 yrs.

That said my train company is one of those that are on the third iteration of a train timetable since May and so what was a relatively happy time for me is now spent wondering how much I will be recouping in delay repay, it costs me £4.5k+ and when my son starts school in September and pick up goes from 6.30 which is what it is at nursery to 6pm it will be another layer of stress I could do without.

Like anything, peaks and troughs, swings and roundabouts and all that.

My husband does it. 2 hours door to door every day. He says he doesn’t mind. Has a newspaper on the iPad, downloads stuff etc. I did it 3 days a weeks for 2 years, hated it. I think it’s because I get annoyed by people and he doesn’t

Another thing is just the sheer overcrowding & delays. I used to be able to get a seat on the Northern line, now Id have to queue on the platform.

I did it, but as I’m a shift worker I start and finish before and after the commuters so the tube was never busy. I didn’t mind it, was an hour of just sitting reading the free papers in peace.