To wonder why people work so far away?

[rustlesinthehall]

So many people upset about going back to the office which I do understand but I have seen so many posts bemoaning that they had to commute for hours and hours.

Didn’t people realise this before applying for the job? Why were people working hundreds of miles away and hoping for a pandemic to come and sort out the problem?

daimbarsatemydogsbone Its well over 20 years since I worked in an office job near Liverpool Street station in London and back then 2/3 of the bosses and half the IT contractors had huge detached houses hundreds of miles from London and either commuted by train with a day per week from home or had studio flats they used Monday to Thursday. 95% men, no women with children, all the highest paid men had SAHM wives and several children hundreds of miles away in the countryside somewhere... It's been a phenomenon for a very long time among the highest and lowest paid (though obviously the lowest paid are vilified as economic migrants while the highest paid aren't).

I live where I and DH are from, where our families are, where DHs work is and where we can afford childcare and a house. But my work is 1 hour 15 mins away each way. I have to do the commute as there are no closer jobs in my field. I enjoy my job. I hate the commute and always have. It costs me any decent time with my DC during the week. Since we have been WFH I have worked more hours then ever, won various awards for my work and received regular praise and a promotion as I am HAPPIER and grateful for the opportunity. My DC are happier, my DH is happier, our whole family is better. And now I'm being made to go back to the office where I will barely get in on time and have to run out the door at finishing time. It's depressing

I live five miles from my office. It takes me 40 minutes to drive there in morning rush hour, and an hour to drive back in the evening rush hour. It would be 50 minutes on the tram at all times, and 90 minutes on the bus. I live five miles from a major city centre, but there are maybe three companies at most who even employ people to do my job within a 15 minute commute.

[quote Inspectorslack]Approximately 5 years ago.

According to the citizens advice it’s still current advice www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/help-if-on-a-low-income/jobseekers-allowance-jsa/help-with-your-jsa-claim/preparing-for-your-jsa-interview/[/quote]
It is indeed still current. I got a sanction decision overturned on that very point just a few weeks ago.

I wouldn't want to live close to work! Couldn't think anything worse than running into the parents on a night out or having Mrs LondonQueen shouted across the shops.

Moving house is not easy, then there are considerations such as child's schooling, so even before price considerations, I can see why some will take a job and not move.

My DD actually commutes 40 miles to college by train but has a shorter commute time wise than several classmates who live only a few miles away in the same city as the college and commute by bus or underground with line changes - her trains are also less frequently delayed.

DP loves his job and his colleagues so doesn't want to leave.
However it used to be 15 mins on a bike from home then they relocated and it's now 1hr20 on public transport.
We don't want to move because of ties to family locally and to school and our house. So that long and shitty commute is just what it is for now.

DH and I both work in academia. We studied in the same city, then I got a job at a university 2hrs south of where we lived, DH 1hr north of where we lived. So we were in the unfortunate situation of having to pay high rent to be close to a train station so we could commute to the cheaper towns where we worked. Now we both live and work in the same place and can cycle to work and it's bliss.

I Iike my commute! Door to door I'm about 1 hr 15-mins, 50/50 walking and train journey. Working locally isn't viable as the same level of job doesn't exist and I'd be lucky to get half the salary for the closest type of role. I can neither afford an equivalent property or have any interest in living in London any more. My train service is reliable and comfortable and I have a good 35 mins reading/headspace and some decent exercise too. Travelling on the tube was far more stressful when I lived in London.

I love London life but I also coming home to greenery and space.

I haven't read every post but has anyone yet mentioned COVID timetables? I've been moaning about my commute a lot over the past few weeks because the commute has been shocking. They have cut half the trains on my line. There are no direct trains anymore. The trains are running late so I am missing my connection, which combined with half the number of trains means most days my commute takes almost two hours - almost double what it was pre-pandemic. It's miserable and the misery is highlighted by not having to do it for two years.

@eurochick

I haven't read every post but has anyone yet mentioned COVID timetables? I've been moaning about my commute a lot over the past few weeks because the commute has been shocking. They have cut half the trains on my line. There are no direct trains anymore. The trains are running late so I am missing my connection, which combined with half the number of trains means most days my commute takes almost two hours - almost double what it was pre-pandemic. It's miserable and the misery is highlighted by not having to do it for two years.

This is very true. I went to London last week (not for work) and 'in order to serve you better' they cut the timetable in half and only laid on half the carriages. It was a bloody sardine tin.

I hate my commute but I’d hate living in the city centre more. It’s been a model for decades to live somewhere with more space.

In my case my kids are settled in good schools, we have family nearby and a nice house. I've moved into an industry where there aren't jobs locally because it suits my skills. It's either working remotely, a long commute or a combination of the two.

"If you don't have to commute for an hour+ each way then count yourself lucky. Some of us have to!"

It's not luck. It's a choice. I won't get a job far away from where I live or live far away from my work. I'm single so not many other considerations.
It's a choice to have children, it's a choice to want to live in a house, not a flat or a big house rather than a small one or next to a 'good' school (which also means other schools become less good as people play the system).

It's not luck. It's a choice. I won't get a job far away from where I live or live far away from my work.

So what would you do if your work relocated somewhere else?

Is this a wind up or a serious question. What world do you live in OP? Where everyone has jobs on their doorstep? Honestly this place gets weirder and weirder all the time.

I'm probably the sort of person you are questioning, OP - I had a job in a small city, a house in suburbs, and could easily cycle or jog to work, or drive in 20 min. Then I moved 30 miles away (years before covid) and now drive in 45 min.

Reasons

• I hated living in the suburbs
• much bigger house
• nice village community
• good schools
• closer to family

When I first moved, I commuted by bus, but the service was so poor (e.g. leave work at 4, get home at 7, some days), so we got a second car. This did feel wrong, but now I have an EV.

I'm not moaning about my commute though, I quite enjoy the quiet time.

So what would you do if your work relocated somewhere else?

Which is what happened to my ex. Job moved from virtually on the doorstep to a town 50 miles away. We moved to midway between our two jobs to even out the commute.

Then we split up, leaving me 25 miles away from my job.

I've always had an hour commute each way because I couldn't find a job nearer for my specialist area. I can't move because my husband has an equally long commute in the other direction. He also can't move jobs due to the nature of it.

Up and down the country people have proven they can effectively WFH, so why go back into office. Employers save a fortune on heating and lighting bills, and if like my company reimbursement of travel and parking expenses.
Also the huge environmental impact, a lot less cars polluting the planet and less carbon fuel usage.
Only argument I hear against is the lady that sold coffee and sandwiches at out location doesn't earn a living if we WFH...🤷‍♂️.

@Whammyyammy

Up and down the country people have proven they can effectively WFH, so why go back into office. Employers save a fortune on heating and lighting bills, and if like my company reimbursement of travel and parking expenses. Also the huge environmental impact, a lot less cars polluting the planet and less carbon fuel usage. Only argument I hear against is the lady that sold coffee and sandwiches at out location doesn't earn a living if we WFH...🤷‍♂️.

Given the slump in customer service etc., I'd say that it's not "proven" at all. Employees may like to think they're doing the job as good as ever, but that's not borne out by customer experience when plagued with dodgy internet, barking dogs, crying kids, door bells/knocks during calls etc. That's all OK during a pandemic but when life is back to normal, employees/employers need to get back to being a lot more professional, or they'll lose custom.

"So what would you do if your work relocated somewhere else?"

Personally, I would either look for a new job closer to home. I realise this could take a year or more and isn't possible for people in niche jobs or their dream job or move to be closer to the new place. Luckily, I don't work for the kind of employer who wants to be based out of town or on a horrible industrial estate so it would still be in a town somewhere. And I understand that not everyone can move their whole family for this reason.

You’d be amazed how long shortish distances can take. I love 40 minutes from Manchester but if I commuted at peak times it would take at least 2 hours

We moved to this area for my job. DH got a job there. I needed to look for a new job to avert a mental breakdown and the one that ticked all my boxes and made me an offer was an hour away. There wasn't an equivalent role available here. Now DH and I are both very happy at work and we own a flat which is disproportionately nice for our budget. If we moved closer to my work we'd lose this lovely flat and DH would have to either take on the same commute or leave his lovely job. I would have thought most people with long commutes are in some variation on this situation. Very few people want to uproot their entire lives every few years.

Fortunately my team leader is not a thicko and assesses us on the results of our work rather than by bums on office seats, so it looks like we'll be able to continue to work from home at least some of the time.