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?

It helps some people, not everyone. I’m one of those whose idea of hell is being at home everyday, but the fact that works for me doesn’t mean that other people feel the challenge in the same way.

Someone facing severe anxiety will not see their mental health improved worrying about surviving on £400 a month before bills and food, coping with the demands at a new job and stressing about missing trains. It is too much too suddenly.

She needs to go back to work but easing herself into it with gradual challenge, not jumping into the thick of it when she is not ready.

The opening post says the op has been looking for job for a while now. Its brutal out there. She doesn't have kids yet needing picked up at a certain time. I know travelling is a hassle and paying for it is even worse , but these are brutal times. I think she will struggle even longer to get an even better paid job to make it more worthwhile in her eyes.

Good luck op, I'm not sure what the job situation is like where you are but theres not much going here at all.

I appreciate everyone's input Thankyou.
I couldn't even step outside on my own,couldn't walk to the shop without thinking I was going to die.
My elderly dad had to take me to Tesco just to get food shop.
I was having pvcs every 20 seconds,I honestly thought I was dying.
I'm now feeling so much better,I can go out alone and most of the time I don't even think about it.
There is a little voice in my head that says stay close to home as your "safer" and can get home "just in case"
I'm trying to not let that enter my head but it is tough.

@Waxonwaxoff0

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.

It still leaves the OP ahead, as well as allowing her to support herself.

As it happens, the last time I did a long commute was for student placements. Journey there 90 mins; journey back took nearly three hours because it was after six pm. This full time placement was of course in addition to my actual job which paid for me to live. Since then my commute’s only ever been around 45 minutes.

But that’s not the point. The point isn’t that lots of people commute, it’s that if you’re out of work and not getting a lot of offers you take whatever you can get and the fact that it leaves the OP ahead every month is good.

Supporting yourself is not optional.

OP, thanks for your update. If that's how you feel, I wouldn't take the job either. Keep looking for something more local, good luck.

@pollyputaket Now you’ve explained more about how unwell you’ve been, it makes total sense. In fact it sounds like maybe you’re trying to go back a bit early and need a bit more recovery time?

It might be worth talking to the benefits people, they may offer some support if you get a job, this could be with transport or fares.

The other thing to bear in mind is that a job which you will be carrying out at home if only after training, may defeat The biggest benefit of you working; face to face contact with others.

That said, because, and ONLY because I struggle with anxiety, I think this job may actually be a step to far. To go from not working to working long hours, at some distance from home is a huge step. You may be setting yourself up to fail which would be such a pity.

Your desire to go back to work is fantastic, but it's worth considering talking to one o f the charity's that support people in the ESA support group, I think you can do some work AND continue to claim, it's not the standard £10 that is ignored its completely different, and it would help boost your confidence. Anyway, I haven't really got any answers just suggestions, but I wish you every success for the future.

It’s a perfectly normal commute and cost.

Of course you should take the job if you need one. What planet are you on?? Use it to read or listen to music or whatever.

Then if a job comes up closer to home you can switch, can’t you? 🙄

@partyatthepalace

It’s a perfectly normal commute and cost.

Of course you should take the job if you need one. What planet are you on?? Use it to read or listen to music or whatever.

Then if a job comes up closer to home you can switch, can’t you? 🙄

RTFT

I would go for it without a doubt. £240 a month up, op to work from home after 6 months so the saving on travel, getting experience for the CV, and that will surely give you a stepping stone to a different position after a while.
I know it takes a lot of effort to shift up the gears after being out of work for a while, but to me it's a no brainer.

The OP’s health is not up to scratch, RTFT

It depends on the job. If you're on minimum wage then it's not reasonable. Otherwise, yes.

I worked for 14 years in an office 2 miles from home. It was part of a larger organisation and things began to change, staff cuts etc. I took a job at head office which involved a 1.5 hour commute each way. It was a small promotion but the £1400 season ticket was more than the payrise. But it was massively worth it. The work was much more interesting and had scope for moving up, I did another 12 years there and loved every minute, ended up on far more money than I would ever have earned locally, and met loads of great people, did my professional qualification while working and never regretted a minute!

Plus - if you can't get work closer to home you have no choice, right now? At least you'll have an income, and a job on your CV if you decide to look for something nearer home later on.

Sorry - just RTFT and see it is minimum wage, But only for 6 months - so might be worth putting up with, if that's what you decide?

Anyway - good luck, whatever you do. Well done for trying to get back out there, and for doing so well coping with your anxiety! I wish you every success!

Haven't RTFT, but personally I'm not sure I'd put up with the stress of this commute for a minimum-wage job unless I desperately needed the job. I used to commute when I lived in the south east in my 20s, and hadn't bargained for how exhausting I'd find it - mind you, that was a 90-min commute each day, an hour's not as bad. But still a lot of time and effort for a min-wage job.

Don't we all start out in minimum wage, or near minimum wage jobs though? The starting salary for a solicitor is pathetic for the first 2 years, and you usually have to work in the city centre and commute, and somehow find money for suits and to have smart hair, shoes, etc.. And plenty of people do it later in life, having started as mature students. First 6 months working from home is a unique opportunity that you'll never, ever get again.

Staying on benefits is never going to get you anywhere but staying on benefits.

"Don't we all start out in minimum wage, or near minimum wage jobs though? The starting salary for a solicitor is pathetic for the first 2 years"

I bet it's not minimum wage!

Don't we all start out in minimum wage, or near minimum wage jobs though?

No

@bobbojobbo

Don't we all start out in minimum wage, or near minimum wage jobs though?

No

I think most do if we consider your first job as a teenager as opposed to your first graduate or fully qualified trade job.

I commuted 3 hours a day (90 minutes each way). Most commuters sleep on the train!

@GreenlandTheMovie

Don't we all start out in minimum wage, or near minimum wage jobs though? The starting salary for a solicitor is pathetic for the first 2 years, and you usually have to work in the city centre and commute, and somehow find money for suits and to have smart hair, shoes, etc.. And plenty of people do it later in life, having started as mature students. First 6 months working from home is a unique opportunity that you'll never, ever get again.

Staying on benefits is never going to get you anywhere but staying on benefits.

Depends though if the job is one where you can progress or not. A solicitor may start on a small wage but that's a "career" type job where you move up the ladder. So it's worth putting in the extra effort. I work in a factory on minimum wage, no chance of progression really and as I'm not qualified in anything I likely won't ever earn much more than minimum wage. So no chance would I spend that much time and money commuting.

In Sydney Australia you could expect a 1-1.5 hr travel time depending where you live & have to catch multiple trains/buses Or sit in traffic for that long.
It would be called “Commuting” would be if you were travelling from a different city.

Otherwise 1hr would be pretty standard travel time to work for many.

@gutful

In Sydney Australia you could expect a 1-1.5 hr travel time depending where you live & have to catch multiple trains/buses Or sit in traffic for that long. It would be called “Commuting” would be if you were travelling from a different city.

Otherwise 1hr would be pretty standard travel time to work for many.

That's nice. The op doesn't live in Sydney, Australia or anywhere else in Australia so that's irrelevant.

That's nice. The op doesn't live in Sydney, Australia or anywhere else in Australia so that's irrelevant

It's not irrelevant to several points raised in the thread. Perhaps try reading it before you embarrass yourself.

I don't have ANY disposable income, barely any money for food after bills all my other bills, so I think you'll survive!