Not to take job as it's 1 hour commute ?

[pollyputaket]

Basically I've been looking for a job for a while now and the only job I've been offered is 1 hour commute.
It's a 5 min walk from my house to train station
Then 50 min train journey
Plus 5 min walk from train station to office.
£11 train per day travel
So that is £55 on fares per week
Aibu not to take it for this reason ?
What would you do?

Also, if you can work from home after the 6 months training, it'll be worth it xx

I commute for 70 minutes for work. Walk, bus, walk, train, walk. The train is about 45 minutes of that. It is very expensive - £24 per day return.

But, I earn probably 40% more than if I worked locally. And I enjoy the job. And it's in London, which I love - I work within 2 minutes of the Thames.

IF I earned a similar amount here in the sticks, then I would consider it. Hell, I'd consider a similar job with about 10k pa less salary. But that's not going to happen.

If you're used to a 15 minute commute and don't want to do so for an hour, that's your choice.

I live in Sunderland as that's a totally normal commute for a job that pays well.

You sound fussy and as if you're more than happy on benefits

No, I wouldn't turn it down for those reasons in particular. The commute itself is pretty reasonable. I used to have to get 4 buses a day for my commute in and out, I'd have loved a single train journey that was the same time length

I'd do it and have done so. My commute is 30 minutes but when I worked in London, it was 90 minutes either way. I used to read/sleep on the train.

I think it seems fine and I'd rather have 400 spare cash that I had earned myself than 180 handed to me for sitting doing nothing. You will get other benefits like pension etc building up when you are working. I do a similar commute (non covid times) so an hour is fine. It sounds actually like a good opportunity because in 6 months time if you are able to wfh more then you £400 disposable will quickly rise by every day you are not buying your ticket. Plus if you decide you don't like the job, its easier to get a new one when you currently have one

I live and work in London, and it can easily take me an hour to get to work. I see it as normal.
I would certainly not dismiss a job based on the duration of the commute. The only consideration I would have would relate to how unpleasant/grueling the commute would be, e.g. very packed trains, bad or infrequent train service, etc.

£400 is £400!

£100 a week spare after commuting bills is pretty good.

Do you want the job? I assume you do since you applied and got it ?

Makes sense to me! If it doesn't work out you can look elsewhere and change.

6 months really isn't that long.

@pollyputaket

It's gonna mean leaving the house at 6.30 (just to be sure ) to start at 8. Finish at 4 so won't be home till 5.30 pm 11 hours a day 55 hours a week for £400 It's a lot to think about

But... It's not "for £400" is it?

You also get to pay your bills and rent and food etc and have £400 disposable income to save / spend on clothes.

A lot of people don't have that much. A lot of people have £0 or maybe £50 left after rent, bills and food.

Look I guess if it doesn't work for you then that's your decision isn't it? But it's pretty standard for some people to be out of the house 9-12 hours a day and hardly have any disposable income left so if I were you I'd take the job. £400 to save or spend on fun things is quite a lot?

Tough one. Perhaps I would take the job but hope something closer would come up.

An hour on the train isn't like a hour driving. You can chill out, read a newspaper etc. I did it for years.

Not a long commute at all. In London, it’s fairly standard. I have an hour each way, have done for years. I’d take the job given youve been looking a while

@pollyputaket

So at the min I'm not working and I have £160 a month left So I would obviously have extra money this way but is it worth it £200 on travel a month seems like a huge chunk

Take it. Being already in employment is a massive pro when you then apply for the job you really want.

I wouldn't do that unless desperate. I've done it in the past and it was thoroughly miserable!

OP, I'm not sure whether or not you're already aware of this, but you'll need to change trains somewhere between Pelaw and South Gosforth, because the Sunderland metro doesn't go to Longbenton or Four Lane Ends, it goes west at South Gosforth and goes to the Airport. You'll need to change to the St James via the Coast train, at some point.

How much leeway is there if you're late due to the metro? Because currently they're not that reliable as the stock is so old. There aren't problems every day, but they're regular enough that it can be a bit stressful if you have time constraints for getting into work. Nexus have been given government money for new trains, finally, but they won't be in service until the end of this year at the earliest, and it won't be all the trains, they'll add in the new ones as they're available.

Also, there are times when they have problems and they take a train out of service, sometimes for the whole route, but more often just the stretch before Park Lane or Sunderland station. If your station is before those and it's vital you are at work on time, then this could be problematic.

However, if you will be able to work from home, and it's a job you'll enjoy, then it's probably worth enduring the commute for up to 6 months if the final pay off will be worth it. :) By the way, you won't save any money getting off the metro earlier, whichever station you get off it's 3 zones so the same price.

Also, it might be worth checking out the journey and see if you can get a bus from the business park to Regent Centre metro station if it's a late finish. That will cost extra, but should be cheaper than a taxi or uber, and once you're on the metro at Regent Centre you can stay on it until Sunderland. :)

Sounds like a reasonable commute and quite cheap. It would depend on your salary, but sitting on a train for an hour after work can be a good time for reading, or catching up with emails or just switching off. And it's a plus that you don't need to spend money on parking permits at the station as that is expensive.

Take it, build up your CV with the experience and new connections and then start to look for another job to move into if you’re not happy after 3-4 months.

I would take it. £370 a month is better than nothing. Commute won't seem as bad as you think it sounds (quite nice being able to have an hour to zone out or read/ listen to music), walking is good for fitness, you might find others there to walk with or share cost of uber. It's only for 6 months and then you might be able to wfh, could possibly be sooner if covid continues like this.
I used to work in London, commuting for an hour and half each way, and yes there were times when I didn't enjoy it, but my trains were few and far between at one point so I had pressure to get there on time but overall it was nice just having that quiet time to myself before abs after work. I'd go for it. Well done you on getting job offer.

Not rtft but that's a standard commute around here. If it's a big deal where you are or for your lifestyle, go for a job that's nearer.

I used to commute 2 hours EACH WAY and then work 12 hour shifts for over a DECADE whilst having a auto immune system illness that left me on zero energy before i even got to my office.

So 16 hour days (and nights as it was shifts) for over 10 years..

£20 a day fuel too, plus £6 for parking PER DAY

You have it very cushy to do an hours commute all in...

You dont know how good that actually is

Everyone saying "that's a standard commute for me" I bet you all earn more than minimum wage though. It's a lot of money to spend on travel when you're on minimum wage.

Most people will have to travel around half an hour or so. OP was very lucky she didn’t have travel costs before.

OP has a couple of options here she could get a pay rise into a better role or she could leave when she finds a job closer to home.

OP has money left over I don’t think it’s too bad as her rent and CT is low.

Ultimately it’s how you feel, a job supposed to facilitate your life, not be your life. One of my jobs was a 30 minute drive from my house, & a lot of my colleagues thought I was mad to “travel that far”

I work retail. I originally applied for a job with a 15min train journey and ten minute walk which I didn't get due to a lack of experience.

Instead, I took a job with two 25 minute train journeys, followed by a ten minute walk. After a year, I was able to transfer to the job I originally applied for.

Although at the moment, my 15 minute train journey also includes arriving 40 minutes earlier and waiting 40 minutes on an openair platform at night to get home. But such is covid. And just to put that into perspective, my current wage is a little above NMW

Everyone saying "that's a standard commute for me" I bet you all earn more than minimum wage though. It's a lot of money to spend on travel when you're on minimum wage.

I dont earn min wage, but I dont have 400/month spare after bills either. Although it's not ideal, if there arent opportunities closer to home (which it seems there might not be) then wouldnt it be worth a try? The OP will still be better off than they are now, even on minimum wage.