How did I end up with a job where I get up at 5.30am?!

[shouldntBeButIAm]

Just drinking my swift coffee and getting ready for work and wondering how I ended up with a job getting up at 5.30 and an almost 2 hour commute each way! AIBU for thinking there must be more to life?!

@shouldntBeButIAm are you in Kent? Ashford? I used to be you!!! Almost lost my mind. Literally. Took a year out then got a job locally with a significant pay cut, but still good. I pinch myself every day on my 20 min commute. What do you do? DM me if you like? Place I work is hiring!

nevergotthehangofthursdays You are not wrong about the M27.

Nice one, fruitbatdancer! No more commute for you

I'm up at 5 too, 1.5 hour commute via motorbike on a horrible road where every day I have at least one near miss. Literally started this job a month ago, didn't realise it would be this bad, and train would take longer and less reliable for picking up the DC.

I have an interview Friday for a different job, I'm on my knees with tiredness and every day I'm dreading my commute.

Sucks doesn't it

OP, having a 50% higher salary is certainly worth the commute for a certain number of years. Just make sure you treat yourself as a priority as well as everything else on the list.

OP are you me?? Exactly the same scenario with a similar commute. I've lasted 3 years, next year may be my last.

I couldn't do it. Hats off to you I guess but I couldn't and wouldn't.

I have a 20/25 min drive and it's great. I used to have over an hour, stuck in traffic for most of it. I was miserable and hated every minute of it. So happy I got a job closer to home. It does mean that career wise I have far fewer options but I find juggling full time work and family commitments more than enough as it is, without adding further stress with a longer commute

Different strokes for different folks, I guess it's worth it for a (relatively) short term injection of cash to set you up for the future and if your partner stays home then that does make it easier for you too, as I presume he will do a lot of the housework and meal prep etc

I used to use my commuting time for audio books. It was my me time. A buffer between home and work I could lose myself in a book.

I work at home but still have to get up before 6 every day to drive the kids to school.
Even that is exhausting in the long run.

I get less than half the pay now but my work is over the road it's so much better.

I start work at 5. It's only a 10 minutes drive but absolutely hate it. Far too early. Was really hoping to leave at Christmas but pregnant now so have to stick it out for a while longer.

I occasionally do an early shift in a building opposite a railway station - seeing all the poor buggers huddled on the dark platform in the rain at 5.30am waiting for the London train makes me happy to be skint, but not have to go through that every day.

Couldn’t do that kind of commute anymore. Look for something local!

Agreed, my best quality-of-life move was to move close to the job. The commute was only 30 minutes, but still... Suddenly my life was all in one place. Enormous difference.

Connected subject, which has just been brought to my attention yet again. I know it's none of my business. But those of us with split partnerships, PLEASE let the kids live in one place. I know you both want to see them. But they miss out on so much having to say 'can't take part, I'm at Mum's/Dad's that weekend'.

Hats off to you OP as I couldn't do it ,

I remember when I worked at NSY when they were still at Broadway SW1 and my supervisor was up at 5.30 . Lived in Billericay she did .

Oh boohoo! Sorry but YABU. I'm a nurse and when I'm on an early shift (start at 7am) I'm up at 4.30am to be on the bus for 5.55am. In between I have my breakfast make sure my daughters (15) school stuff is laid out and my sons(16) outfit is ready for college. Breakfast is all laid out for husband coming in from nightshift (he is a nurse too). I get my daughter up at 5.25am so I know she is downstairs for hubby coming in
And if that's not enough if I'm on a late shift (finish at 9pm) going to an early the next day. I don't get home until just after 10pm make sure everything is ok and then up again at 4.45am to do it all over again.
If you dont like the commute then get a job closer to home because I'm pretty sure someone would love and be grateful to have your job!

I'm usually sympathetic when people claim their jobs only exist in London but do some Londoners really think there are no law firms, marketing agencies, museums or hotels in the rest of the country?! Yes the pay might be less, but so will the the commuting time/cost and housing costs. If people choose to go after the higher wage that's fine, but don't claim these jobs only exist in one city.

2 hours commute! YANBU. Find a way to change it. I'd never do it. My maximum commute is 1 hour. Full stop.

Reallyndo the maths OP.
It’s costing you at least £30,000! a year to commute (that’s based on the taxable income you have to earn to pay £71/ day and doesn’t include the car)
If you learnt less you’d be taxed less, off the top of my head I reckon you could take a pay cut of a £40,000+ and take home the same if you weren’t paying out for the commute.

I worked in London for thirteen years and it was two hours ten minutes each way on the train. I used to catch the 5.27am train every morning and my job took me all over London to different hospitals so I was ‘underground, overground’ - yes, just like a Womble! A lot of the time I didn’t get home until 9pm at the earliest. I was up every day at 4.10am because I had to drive to the station as well.

When I was able to retire I told my boss, ‘When you’re on first name terms with the train manager you know you’re travelling too much.’

I’ve now been retired for five years and I’m still up no later than 5am because my body clock is screwed! The plus is that I get all my jobs done at crack of dawn and the minus is that I’m shattered by 9pm.

I normally walk to work - 30-40 minutes, but I really enjoy that.
Today I went to Swansea (from London) for a meeting, and I'm shattered - OK it's a bit longer, but no way I'd do that every day.

^ my maths is wildly out, but I think the taxable take home pay you need to earn for the train part of your commute is £25,000+ assuming you’re paying marginal 40%

I've never had more than a 20 minute commute. I just refuse to.

Last job I walked Ds2 to school and walked back to work. Fabulous.

When I go back to work I have the joys of getting up at 02:45 am for a 04:00 start and was doing that during my pregnancy.. it will go hand in hand with a teething baby .. chances are I won't even need to set an alarm coz I will already be up half the night.

Beingmum make sure you sleep as much as you can outside that - hardcore