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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Is over an hour too far to travel for teacher jobs?

43 replies

SoMe10101 · 26/05/2020 21:11

Applying for jobs and my cutoff point atm is 1 hour. However most jobs seem to be over an hour away. Are they too far?

OP posts:
Reader1984 · 26/05/2020 21:13

Well you'll be knackered by the time you get home, if you still need to make dinner, and prepare for the next date etc. Not much down time for you. Be hard in the winter months. Can you move closer to the jobs?

SachaStark · 26/05/2020 21:14

Would be awful on parents’ evening nights, especially with the new trend of two evenings per year group nowadays.

I’d also be thinking about how much that would impact on my evening marking time. Unless you’re taking the train and could mark on the train?

Original poster
SoMe10101 · 26/05/2020 21:16

I drive and moving isn't an option right now! Maybe I should wait it out and hope more jobs come out after May?
Most of them seem about an hour and 10 minutes away

OP posts:
fruitpastille · 26/05/2020 21:17

I wouldn't personally. It's a long day as it is. I used to do 45 mins which could go up to an hour on bad traffic days and it was a bit miserable. If it's a nice rural drive maybe it would be better. Now I only have 5 mins drive or a 40 min walk - life changing, especially with kids/dog to get home to. And no stress on snowy days.

fruitypancake · 26/05/2020 21:17

To far, you will hate it

BadgerBadgerMushroom · 26/05/2020 21:18

Is that an hour in normal traffic or rush hour? I agree with PP that the extras and late evenings you just want to get home not travel an hour. My commute is 15 minutes in good traffic and about 40 in bad and that's knackering

monkeysox · 26/05/2020 21:19

30-40 mins max

Original poster
SoMe10101 · 26/05/2020 21:19

That's just what google tells me when I go on google maps so if google maps says '1 hr 10 mins', i'm guessing I should add half an hour on for bad weather

OP posts:
SachaStark · 26/05/2020 21:21

Oh god yes, to whoever said about snow days!

I used to have an arse of a commute in my second school, and it was so stressful on snow day (in Cornwall, so it’s not like we see it much, or are prepared for it), knowing that you couldn’t leave until all the kids had, and you were facing a long commute, and just watching the snow come down and down and down...

Anyway, it was a two hour drive that day!

PumpkinPie2016 · 26/05/2020 21:22

I am a secondary teacher and wouldn't want to travel that far. The job is busy as it is and the days can be long. Then when you get home you have dinner etc. and prep to do.

Sometimes, I can be in school until nearly 8pm on parents evenings so I wouldn't then want to travel an hour or more.

I know a couple of people who travelled that sort of distance but they only did it for a year before moving closer to home.

Subordinateclause · 26/05/2020 21:22

45 mins was too far for me. I know many people (in other professions) commute far, far further but it was so frustrating driving past many other schools on my route!

redcarbluecar · 26/05/2020 21:25

I drive 50 miles for my teaching job, which is about 1 hour 10 min on a clear run. I don't particularly want to move house and have endlessly procrastinated about it. I've got used to the distance, and the long time it can take to get home - bearable with music and the radio. It also helps that I like my job. However it's expensive, both in terms of petrol and the wear and tear on the car.

AddedHiccup · 26/05/2020 21:26

Google maps calculates the travel time based on how busy the roads are at that moment as it can tell how many mobile phones are in the area, so if it's saying an hour now it,won't be an hour at 7am when lockdown is over.

Useruseruserusee · 26/05/2020 21:27

I do 45 mins and that’s enough!

Piggywaspushed · 26/05/2020 21:30

That is way too far : parents' evenings will kill you. Teachers also have to travel in morning peak times so if you are talking busy roads you might get stuck in traffic a lot. This put me off a really good job way less than an hour away because realistically I knew I might keep getting delayed on the M1.

SachaStark · 26/05/2020 21:33

Do you know, I think if that was the distance I had to drive on parents’ evenings (so, at 8pm), and then drive back for school the next morning (so, at 7am), I think I would just book a local Air BnB near the school for parents’ evenings!

MitziK · 26/05/2020 21:36

90 minutes is expected of those subject to a Jobseekers' Agreement for NMW.

Like TAs and other support staff.

Piggywaspushed · 26/05/2020 21:37

Not sure what your point is mitzi but absolutely all our TAs live very locally and none do parents' evenings.

It's still too far : for anyone.

AppleKatie · 26/05/2020 21:42

It’s too far.
Google maps would tell you my commute is half that but in traffic I have to allow an hour each way. It’s manageable but I wouldn’t do longer.

RuudGullitOnAShed · 26/05/2020 21:44

I used to have an hour commute to school (did it for 15 years) and it was hard going.
During the winter months both journeys were in the dark and others have said things like parents' evenings made it a really long day.

I now have 25 minute commute and it is much easier - the drive is long enough for me to unwind but isn't exhausting

IHateCoronavirus · 26/05/2020 21:49

Yes far too long. It isn’t just the drive. It is all the work you have to do outside the classroom. Two hours there and back would mean two more hours out of what precious little time you have left for yourself.

Waffles80 · 26/05/2020 21:50

How old are you OP? Do you have any children?

When I first trained I did an hour commute as I was allocated to a school on the absolute opposite side of London; it was tough but just about do-able short-term.

I used to leave really really early and head home really really late when the traffic was quiet. I did six months and then moved house because it was killing me. But I was 25 and had no kids and a boyfriend who didn’t mind moving with me or ever seeing me.

AltCarbon · 26/05/2020 21:53

My commute slowly built up over the years from a school 30 mins away to one an hour away and then for the last 19 months to one 2 hours away which I did for a dream job. The, ‘it’s just another x miles/minutes’ mentality meant I hadn’t really considered how much it had built up over time and I thought I was doing fine with it. Podcasts, radio, phone calls etc all gave me time to decompress and I did enjoy the solitude. Lockdown has shown me the impact was it having though as until I stopped I hadn’t realised how tired I was or how much more enjoyable bedtimes with my children would be with more time. I even look younger without the super early starts/late night working. We’re now moving.

Sorry that was long but in essence; yes it’s totally doable if the job is worth it but don’t let it creep up and consider how long you’re willing to do it for. Good luck job hunting

billybullshitterz1n · 26/05/2020 22:18

Nope not a chance. My current commute is 35 mins and can be up to an hour on a bad day. I've just accepted a job 20 mins away which I am delighted about

Lucienandjean · 26/05/2020 22:23

I had a teaching job that was an hour from home. I loved the job and put up with the commute for that reason only.

It was fine driving in in the morning - I could think through the day to come and I arrived mentally prepared. But in the evening it was a pain - I was tired and just wanted to get home as soon as possible.

So I wouldn't rule out a job with that sort of commute, but make sure the school and the job are exactly what you want in other ways!