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?

Yeah I live in Northumberland and work in Newcastle and the commute is a bugger. I'm loving wfh at the moment.
Our main problem is the times. There is a bus every 20 minutes but it's a 40 Mon journey and then a 15 min walk to the school so I really have to bust my arse to get there for pickup

I wouldn't, I haven't commuted for work for over ten years, until last year I could walk to work, now it's a short drive.

It's an easy commute AND you will be better off.

After your training, presumeably, you will have a skill set which you didn't before and more importantly, work experience that you didn't have before.

Take the job.

@pollyputaket

When looking I could get off the train a few stops early and it would be a 18 min walk to the office but it would save me £100 a month !! Which isn't bad is it

Oh, that's good. You know you don't have to do it every day but good to have the option - plus keeps you fitter. Presumably, no-one is wfh there now so...

Op - do you know anyone who does/did the commute and can tell you how punctual the trains are? Might be worth checking whether services are being cut.

No-one here knows your family/financial/work history. As pp have said if you are on certain benefits then you may need a reason not to take the job or it might affect your payments.

if it will be 6 months and really advance your prospects it may be worth it. Was this all office based before Covid? If it was then will it go back to that? (things may look very different in 6 months as regards employers agreeing wfh if they think it is bad for the business and no/less Covid restrictions.)

Will there be extra costs or savings eg more childcare or less on energy bills?

You're more likely to get a job if you're already in a job, so it will probably help you get a job closer to home in the future.

Pretty standard amongst myself and my friends. I do find the journey tiring but I suffer from low iron. But sometimes I feel, in order to progress in life, we need to move away from our home town as this will enable us to meet different people, work in different communities, explore variety or cultures...

It depends on a number of factors. Pre-DC I would work an hour's commute away (London, same breakdown as you 5,50,5). It was fine. If read a book and it never bothered me. I had the means to pay for it without it impacting the rest of my life.

I started a job in February 2019 that was an hour away (by car). To get there I needed to drop the DC at breakfast club at 0730 and then be out of the door bang on 2pm, where I'd make it to school with about a minute to spare. If I hit any traffic at all, I'd run the risk of being late. My wages were low (I work in education) and my petrol costs were high. And I was exhausted from a two hour drive and an often challenging day.
Last January a job 3 miles away came up and I went for and got it. My boss was very understanding when I handed my notice in.

My whole family is happier now that I'm working closer to home, unsurprisingly because I'm happier.

However, I wouldn't have got this job without the experience I gained in the last one, so I am glad that I did it (and I did love working there).

Do you think you will love the job? How much will it impact your home life?

Depends on your career ambitions I guess. You aren't going to get very far if you restrict yourself to a short commute but lots of people take that option and there's nothing wrong with it

I'd take it. Both of us had work commutes that long,and longer, for years.

My fuel costs about £45 a week for a 70 mile round trip that takes about 50mins each way.

I don't think it's unreasonable, and would much rather pay the same amount and get the train but it would add on too much travelling time.

1 hour each way sounds like a reasonable commute, but I guess it depends if you have other responsibilities (like needing to pick a child up from school), that mean the timeframes overall just don't work for you.

@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 its not for £400 is it. That is your disposable income not your take home salary. And thats not a bad disposable income for many

Bonuses of taking the job:

• You get training and a foot into the job market (don't know how long it might be before you get another offer, and the longer you have a gap on your CV the more difficult it may be to get a job)
• The commute is straightforward and direct
• You end up with more money than you currently have each month

To be honest I would take anything I could get at this point in time, the job market is not a very attractive one.

I used to do longer than that with 2 trains just to get to college. Train ticket cost a fortune, had a child to walk to the childminder at 7.15am. Sometimes 2 hours there and 2 hours back and that was just train journey's and waiting for trains. YABU.

And I agree with a pp, you are thinking that you are working 55 hours a week for £400 because at the moment you are getting your rent paid for you. Whereas once you work you would be able to pay it yourself.

Is it really £11 per day or just £55/5? If it's £11 a day a weekly ticket will be work out cheaper than £55.

If it's £55 a week I personally wouldn't do it for minimum wage but have done it for a 20k job.

After tax and insurance it's £1252
My rent is £300 month
Council tax £100 (approx )
Bills including phone and d/d £170
Food £200
Travel £100 (if I walk a little of the way )
Total £870
Disposable income £382 or £282 if I don't walk some of the way

An hour commute for only £11 sounds good! I'd snap it up tbh, when we lived in London I had times when my commute was under or around an hour and I look back on them fondly now my commute is much longer with trains only every half hour at best!

That's not too bad given the train is every 11 minutes. Pre-covid I had a 53 minute train journey, but I would leave the house at 7:20, get to work around 8:45,work til 5pm and arrive back home around 6:45pm due to one train an hour and station being a 10/12 minute walk from my house. I've never been so glad to be wfh now but I live fairly rurally and there was just nothing local when I was looking. My employer also pays our travel due to the nature of our business but it would have been over £1k a year for a season pass if they didn't.

I would take the job as having £400 after bills isn't terrible if you're used to £160. The earlier stop being cheaper sounds fab for during the summer as well (or even in winter with a decent coat and shoes...which you will be able to afford with that extra cash!)

After travel /bills /rent /food etc
I would only have £400 left a month
That’s spending money though, so would be a decent quality of life. It also means you don’t need to be relying on benefits.

@pollyputaket that seems pretty good. Means you never have to wait too long even if one is packed. Good luck whatever you decide.

If you’ve struggled finding a job I’d take it. It’s only 6 months of commuting then wfh. DH has a 1.5 hour commute when in the office, I’ve gone from a 50 minute to 35 minute recently but have done 1.5 hours. No biggie.

That seems like a cheap commute to me, before the pandemic I was commuting 1 hour 10 mins each way and spending over £400 a month on a season ticket.

Pretty standard

Thats a very easy commute