To quit my job because I can't afford to go

[Megapops]

I have my dream job, I absolutely love it, and thought I was on a decent salary. Recently the organisation has asked staff to go into the London office 2-3 days a week. Not a problem.

But.. just broke up with my partner who I've been livng with for a few years and I'm obviously looking at moving out into my own place now. To rent a modest, 1 bed place within an hour/hour and a half commute to work is more than my monthly salary. And to rent a room in a houseshare costs around half my salary. Living further out means more expensive train fares too. I'm looking right outside London too. (Considering moving back into a houseshare, and it costing half my salary is also making me die a bit inside).

I dont know what I'm going to do? The only solution seems to be to quit my job and move somewhere else because I literally can't afford to go to work. Although rent doesn't seem much better anywhere! Any advice?

@Usernamen They changed the terms by setting up 3 days in the London office which were not previously required. We would cover it or make an exception for employees not within reasonable commuting distance.

I don’t think it’s unreasonable for your employer to offer to pay your travel if they can/want to?? My husband is wfh but travels to the city two days a week - his travel is paid. He is based from the office, wfh was only since covid. They’ve always paid his travel expenses with a monthly subscription. Some employers do offer that. Don’t ask don’t get! X

£40k is not a good salary for centra London, you’re right. But virtually no one who works in London lives in Central London.

There are plenty of areas in London that are an easy commute to Canary Wharf that are affordable to rent a studio in or live in a nice flatshare, for someone on £40k.

I can’t believe the number of people on this thread that are saying this is impossible - do a search on Rightmove and see.

Hi Op

You dont mention your age. When I was 29 I broke up with my partner and I actually moved into a zone 2 share - it was just the change I needed. I took advantage of living so close to everything and put alot of effort into a new social life and found myself out quite a lot. It was a brilliant time of my life.

If however you feel like you really just want some privacy, rightmove has a tool that shows you where you can afford to live. Research travel costs - some trainlines so a flexible season pass that's aimed at people who mostly work from home.

Oh, if paid-for travel was offered before Covid then of course an employer should keep up that perk!

People are talking about OP’s employer making an exception for OP and reimbursing her travel costs but, presumably, not doing the same for the rest of the company.

really?
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/136589345#/?channel=RES_LET
this one is £895 a month and in maidenbower, nearish three bridges station, and good links to London

Property description A good sized one double bedroom flat Allocated parking space UNFURNISHED Excellent order Refitted kitchen with integrated appliances Communal garden New bathroom Available 5th August *

What I’m saying is it is a perk they can offer. Not all my husbands colleagues have the same advantages- some have bonuses in different amounts, others vouchers, others paid travel or whatever else you want to negotiate for that they are prepared to offer. If they want to keep op they might be prepared to offer travel costs for her but doesn’t mean they have to for all harsh as it is.

So if a company moved offices from Zone 5 to Zone 3, you would expect staff travelling from zone 6 to be reimbursed the additional travel expenses, and what, the staff commuting from zone 2 to give back the savings they make on the shorter commuter?

I can’t imagine an employer subsidising travel expenses for what is a very standard set-up, 2-3 days a week in an office is what most office jobs require these days.

A house share in Zone 3 East London, sharing with one other professional in their 30s, honestly isn’t the worst thing. Look around Stratford or a bit further east. Plenty available for around £1,000 Inc bills, and you can cycle or take the Jubilee/DLR/Elizabeth line into the wharf. Should leave you with around £1.200 to live and save.

https://m.spareroom.co.uk/flatshare/flatshare_detail.pl?flatshare_id=14249347&search_id=1228243376&city_id=&flatshare_type=offered&search_results=%2Fflatshare%2F%3Fsearch_id%3D1228243376%26& Just an example.

OP, not read the whole thread - but I had the same issue with my employer, NHS - it was costing me a fortune in petrol every day and I am also a single parent so the commute was exhausting.
I negotiated flexible working and now only come in once a week sometimes twice if it meets the needs of the service.
You can have a formal meeting with your employer re flexible working and explain the ramifications on your income now you're having to come in 2/3 times a week. It is worth a try.

Do you have savings?

An emergency fund?

I was just wondering what else people on this thread thought the OP’s employer should take responsibility for.

Definitely look at the main train lines and towns along those.
I found a 2 bed place walking distance from Leighton Buzzard station for under £1000: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/135561620#/floorplan?activePlan=1&channel=RES_LET
According to Google it's just over an hour away from Canary Wharf

My company has worked with people when the cost or time of the commute is unreasonable based on their salary. We’ve given increases and/or covered cost of commute through reimbursement or allowing them to expense it.

We’ve given increases to people we hired and relocated to be near the office then later were struggling because the cost of living in the area is so much higher than they expected.

We've let people move away from the area and work 100% remote for a multitude of personal reasons.

We’ve also allowed people to just work from home and come to the office occasionally. This was all pre-Covid.

Post Covid we let some parents stay home or have a flexible schedule because it made it easier for the school run.

No reasonable employer expects anyone to go broke getting to work!

OP is on £40k so not in danger of “going broke”.

It’s great your workplace has done these things for staff, and I would encourage anyone in any job to negotiate a pay rise (people, especially women, don’t do this enough!), but as a general rule, it is an individual’s responsibility to budget appropriately / live within their means / have a buffer for when circumstances change e.g. breaking up with a partner.

Look into being a property guardian. When I did it, I had a huge room in Highgate for £500 all bills included. Also, you don’t have to socialise with the other guardians. You get to live in some amazing areas, the downside is that you might have to move quite often. You could also get lucky and stay in a great place for years though. Give it a go, I don’t think you should give up your job if you really like it.

How about negotiating working two long days in the office rather than 3 regular days, so less commuting, which could mean you could live further out.

Milton Keynes. Commute to wharf is 90mins. Rents about £800 for a 1 bed.

Yes, quit. Or rather, give your employer these figures, and tell them you will have to quit unless they pay you substantially more or let you work remotely. I'm assuming you can get another job easily.

I mean for goodness sake. If an employer wants a person's labour, they need to pay enough for the person to live, without them having to rely on partners or independent wealth.

Otherwise you are subsidising your employer. They're freeloading.

If an employer wants a person's labour, they need to pay enough for the person to live, without them having to rely on partners or independent wealth.

Exactly. The cost of retaining staff is always less than finding, hiring and training a new person.

A while ago DH's office moved which meant that he could no longer walk from the arrival station in London but had to use the tube, which added a significant sum to his commuting costs. His firm put everyone's salaries up by a greater % than usual. Of course this also benefited those who didn't have more expensive commuting costs, but they did think about the impact on their people.

You have a bombardment of suggestions here, lots of options.
Adding another to the mix - I live in a one-bedroom shared ownership property within walking distance of Canary Wharf, my outgoing expenses for mortgage/rent/bills are around £1200 per month. Would something like this be an option for you? You'd walk to work so no travel expenses. It's buzzy in the week but pretty quiet at weekends.

YANBU, there are plenty of working from home/other location jobs at the moment.

DH works in London (though mostly from home) and some of his team are based all over the north of England. They meet up in Manchester or elsewhere every few weeks. It can work pretty well.

Dont forget commuter coaches run to CW from many different Kent towns and parts of SE London

In what world is £40k for a single person “not enough to live”?

It won’t be a life of luxury but it is plenty for one person to live on.