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?

I would.

Purely because it’s easier to find another job when you’re in employment. Makes you more attractive. It will also update your CV and skills.

So think of it as a temporary thing.

I commuted further for nine months. Without that nine month job I wouldn’t have got my current dream job....which is also close to home.

I would take it, even if it's just a 6 month trial to see if you mind the commute. It's much easier to find another job when you already have one, don't risk being unemployed. 1 hour commute isn't really that bad, that's been my standard commute for years now.

If you don’t currently have a job I would take it. If you find something nearer better you can always change jobs. That commute sounds very straightforward, I’m jealous! Have to say I think it would be unreasonable to continue to take benefits if you have this job option.

1 hour is not a long commute, fairly standard I would say.

I guess it depends on what your committments are - do you have to do school runs, childminder runs etc? How old are your kids?

Would your employer consider letting you work 2 days a week from home - would that make it easier?

It's not ideal, and lol at the competitive ridiculous commutes, but...

I really am surprised that you woudlnt automatically take it given you will be off benefits and earning more. Its this kind of stuff the Tories use to slash be benefits and at some point you have to think they have a point. You will be better off and the commute though not ideal is fine.

If you declined it, would you have confidence of finding something else that met all of your criteria in the face of an economic crisis due to covid and brexit? What is competition for jobs like in your area or field? Depending on those answers i think covering your bills with some left over and a reasonable commute might just have to be ok for a year until there are more options. Also, the flex to wfh one or two days a week is pretty appealing and will help reduce your costs in six months time.

I think to do a commute like that you need to see the positives-getting your 10,000 steps a day easily etc. But also you have to be fairly motivated to do the job.

If you live in a small town near a big city its likely the big city will fair the storm of
Covid and brexit better and many of the jobs might involve this commute.

I’d do it (and have done in the past just to stay employed).

You might gain valuable experience and increase future earning potential.
It’s easier to find another job once you’re in employment.
Job market isn’t great so can you afford to be picky.
£400 disposable income is quite nice.
You might enjoy it and make new friends.
You may have opportunities for a pay rise.
Commute sounds pretty easy.
Might have WFH options further down the line.

In your shoes I think I’d take it (although you could still see how your other interview goes).

I'd take it. It's quite a nice commute actually if it's one train for 50 minutes, you could read, listen to podcasts/music, or do any other activity on your phone. If you have a high workload and it's a job where you take the work home, you could do some work on the train to reduce what you have to take home.

It's pretty standard now. I used to have a 2 hour commute each way 1 bus 2 trains 1 walk each way. I used to wish I had 1 long train so I could chip away at my work and save myself my evenings. Not great but necessary due to the specific role I had.

It’s a bit rubbish for min wage but surely you can suck it up for 6 months. Once you are more experienced you will be able to work from home more. Then things will get easier.
Surely that is better than unemployed?

Shift worker here. My commute is 1 hour 10 to 1 hour 30 depending on the location I'm rostered to work at. One bus, one tube, or, bus, tube, bus if there is weekend engineering works.

I have colleagues whose commutes are 2 hours or more.

Take the job.

I do a 40 minute commute on narrow, twisty rural roads with no public transport options available. If I had my time again I might not have committed to doing it!! In a previous job, I commuted by train and loved it. Like pp have said, it's a chance to catch up with work or have some time to yourself reading or listening to podcasts. I would consider taking it as long as the cost of the commute doesn't mean you're worse of with the job than without.

If you don't have a plan b I would take it. Is there potential for advancement in this company? It updates your CV while you look for a job closer to home.

MNers always say an hour's commute is 'standard'. I don't agree though. It's considered very long among the people I know. 40 minutes would be my max (but I don't have a career, just jobs).

That sounds like a nice commute with a short walk either end, no changes of trains, buses.
Re: fare - you have to decide whether you can afford it, we can’t help you with that but it’s not unreasonable for a 50min train journey these days

I wouldn't but that's because I live way up north and I've never commuted more then 15mins. The nearest city would offer a 40-60 minute commute and I've never bothered. I'm not career driven though and would feel like getting home at 6pm wouldnt be fair on my children

Take the job with the best prospects.

That's really not bad at all. It would be ridiculous to chose to stay unemployed when you've been offered a job. Presuming the alternative is staying on benefits, the longer you're on benefits the less likely you are to get a job. And it's really kinda disgusting that someone would choose to continue taking tax payers money rather than work for their own money because they don't want to spend 50 minutes on a train. It's hardly an arduous journey is it. Read a book.

After travel /bills /rent /food etc I would only have £400 left a month

Having seen your breakdown of costs, that looks absolutely fine to me. 11 hours a day for 6 months is an investment in the time after that. Also a train every 11 minutes? I had a 90 minute commute with one change, and the trains were only every 30 minutes. If you missed it - that was an extra 30 minutes. (so you learn to use it wisely - reading, study, podcasts etc etc)

and as someone upthread mentioned - UC thinks 90 minutes commute is ok, so I'd take it and maybe try for something better. In future if anyone asks why you did it for so short a time you can mention the commute and the fact that you thought it better to work than remain unemployed. It's not a problem.

I wouldn't take it either. That's a lot of time wasted sitting on a train.

Interesting attitudes towards commuting to work on this thread. The average in England is 59 mins news.sky.com/story/average-commute-to-work-now-takes-59-minutes-tuc-study-11861773, yet there seems to be an aversion to doing this from some posters. Do they expect to land a job on their doorstep?

If it's taken you a long time to get this job offer, I'd snap it up but keep looking for alternatives.

**
Today 08:08 ShesMadeATwatOfMePam

I wouldn't take it either. That's a lot of time wasted sitting on a train.**

But the alternative is being unemployed and living off benefits. It really seems a straight forward choice to me.

Mine used to be an hour 15 door to door until Covid and WFH - pretty standard for London and you do get used to it. Season ticket will reduce the cost.

I would take it. You breakdown looks perfectly fine and honestly you can easily shave 50 or so off food bill if you wanted to.

I don't get how are you planning to pay for rent food and bills without the job....?

Also you only have to commute for (honestly) a very standard one hour by train (which is easy vs.driving) for 6 months then you wfh. I don't get the problem...