To travel 100 miles a day for work for this salary?

[ThisPeachSnake]

Basically, I'm stuck. I've built my career in London, up to a salary now of 58k. I'm now a specialist in my field and I've worked hard to get here. We have been looking to move out of the city, as we just can't afford to buy here. We have one small child. I'm the main breadwinner, although my partner also works FT.

The only issue is that I can't find an equivalent job outside London. At all. The specs are wrong, or I'd have to take a massive salary cut and be demoted.

The place we are looking at is 50 miles from my work in London. Takes anything between 1hr5min to 2 hours according to Google maps. I can't work from home as I'm in a patient facing job.

So, just that really. Would you travel two hours a day to keep your job?

It's literally doable, as long as your husband is doing all the nursery or school runs (or will be able to in future).

Would I actually do it, or think it would give you an acceptable work-life balance and qualify of life? No chance. You'll almost never see your child during the week and that alone would be enough for me not to do it. But the exhaustion of a possible 4 hours a day commute would probably leave you with little energy or motivation to maximise the weekends with them either.

This would be a pretty normal commute for a lot of doctors in specialist training or even consultant posts, so I'm a bit surprised actually that so many people think it's unreasonable when it's something that's been happening for years. At one point I did 2 hours commute each way, and I was far from being unusual in doing so.

The money would be eaten by the additional commuting costs so not much of a saving & more of a false economy. Have you looked in zones 5/6 of greater London for a house? Places like Sidcup, Hither Green, Bexley, Bromley borough? You can easily get a 3 bed under £500k depending on your budget.

But that's with an end point in mind (even if quite distant) whereas the OP is talking long term. It makes a difference to grit your teeth and push through for a reason compared to this being it. Also a lot of those I know have access to hospital accommodation so wouldn't have to do the commute every day even if their base is elsewhere

Are doctors and consultants in those positions only paid £58k in London? With no expectation of much wage increase? Because OP asked if you'd do that commute for her £58k salary, not if you'd do it in general.

Don’t do it!! I have to travel a 168 mile round trip ONCE a week and I hate it. I couldn’t manage 100 miles a day. Let’s put it this way, I use any excuse possible to get out of it. So far I’ve dodged it for the last 5 weeks but am going to have to go in this week and I’m already dreading it. Honestly, you’ll hate it. If you get a £58k job, driving 2k miles a month, that’s a pay cut anyway with the cost of fuel isn’t it?

1 hour yes, more no. Could you stay over one night and do longer hours on those 2 days and then have an early dart on Friday. Talk with the employer, see if you can work it out.

I did that for years, BUT I went by train so could read, work, relax, snack whatever in the way there and back.
AND had flexibility- I went 3 days, sometimes 4 a week but could go early
or go later and stay…or now and then I would have a late event and just stay the night if I needed to be in the next morning early.
I think doing it 5 days a week with no flex would be a killer.

Well, people pretty much know that when you sign up to be a medic, the training will eat your life for a period of years. That's the deal. That's one reason more people don't do it. But if you have signed up for it, it's in the knowledge that you will be sent all over - for a fixed period, during your training, not forever.

A £58k salary is what many doctors do do it for. Especially in training.

If the OP is in a patient facing role, she may well not be at the end of any progression pathway. Giving up a training number or a job on a CESR-equivalent pathway for a commute like that would be a huge career sacrifice.

I think there are 2 ways of looking at it-
If you factor in commute costs which aren't cheap then you may even on say £43k but local job come out 'even ' as against the scenario you are looking at- tax is less, commute can easily be £600 a month from many areas.

What would be worth looking at too is places with a very regular and much quicker commute ( and probably cheaper commute) - it may not be your number 1 pick but there are probably houses/flats within budget - so would look at Reading , Woking, Guildford, Epsom , Chelmsford, Watford area etc ( depending which side you needed to be) - all of these should be door to door in much less time than you are talking.

Train, yes, driving, no.

But train fares would probably cancel out cost.

Eventually the right job will turn up?

I suppose it just surprises me a bit that people consider it such an unreasonable commute, when it's something many of my colleagues and I would do for decades and consider normal. If the OP is in healthcare and patient-facing, then they probably have quite a few colleagues doing similar commutes (for comparable salaries). While that doesn't mean it would be the right choice for everyone, and it might not be for the OP, the commute in itself isn't outside the range of 'normal' commutes within healthcare.

How long have you been looking for jobs? I honestly can't think of a patient facing role that is so specialist that those patients only come to London. Surely the patient population you serve occurs elsewhere in the country? Even if it's niche? If you're the senior clinician in a niche service then there might be only 1 equivalent role in every trust. So your choices are 1. Wait and then move to where the role comes up if successful 2. Commute and stay in role (till retirement ?!) 3. Think strategically and plot a sideways and/or sideways and up career shift.
Personally I'd go for option 3 to expand your job options and therefore your geography. I don't know what your core profession is but it can't have escaped your notice that the NHS has many staffing gaps and lots of training opportunities. Quality improvement, patient safety, professional practice, research etc are all good skills to bring in and then look for secondment or other opportunities in trust to gain experience in areas you are interested in and use that b to expand your options. You can always step back to more direct clinical work when you've sorted the house move.....

Move to Sutton/Morden/Carshalton.

Very affordable and family friendly.

Plenty of local hospitals, plus easily accessible inner London hospitals.

@Nannyfannybanny I totally get that- one thing I like in many European countries is you pay into a state scheme ( and it's quite low cost) and if you lose your job you can claim on it for 9 months at your old job rate whilst looking for suitable jobs in your field- rather than being expected to look for any old job whilst getting your £80 a week or whatever JSA is these days- I don't think they factor in it's hard to be available to interview or look for 'suitable roles' if you are working full time in a full in job.

I commute to work and have 2 kids. It can take just under an hour each way. It is by train though which I find gives me an hour to read in the morning, and on the way home so it doesn't feel like wasted time. It also gives me time to calm down after the early breakfast club school run and then settle from work on my way home back to the chaos of family life. I only do 3-4 days a week though. Saying that I'm currently sat at the station as my train is delayed but at least I have a really big book to read. 😄 x

One of my ex colleagues works in the NHS in central London lives in MK, gets the train in, you can get from Bletchly train station to Euston in an hour. I travelled to Bletchly 2 weeks ago 1 hour max. Would never risk driving, nightmare coming from there into London. I think train from MK station goes to Euston also, train would be easier than driving and quicker. Originally he was commuting 5 days a week working in community, now he is doing psych liaison and does 12 hour shifts so less days, he has 2 young kids too. He said it works for him... He also moved there for cheaper living etc but wanting to keep London weighting.

Someone I know in a similar situation rents a room cheaply (from an older woman) and stays there 3 nights a week, then goes home for the other 4. Personally once it goes over an hour it would be unworkable for me.

I did it. Moved from London to the south east coast, and for 6 months did a door to door commute of about 1h 45 mins. Really didn’t want to leave my job in London because I loved it but I hated the commute. Took a demotion for a job five mins from my house. Five years later, I’m in a job I ❤️, my career has flown and I now earn £10k more than I did in London. My career has taken a direction I wouldn’t have considered in London but I love it. I have another friend who did the same move but immediately got a job where we live. She hated the claustrophobia of working and living in the same small town. She now commutes to London and her career has also gone in a whole new direction. I think you just have to try it and see what works for you. Both of us have two kids. She’s married, I’m a solo parent (if any of that is relevant!)

No, not for £58k … you also need to factor in travel costs. Could be looking at £5k plus a year for that distance!

I drive 1.5 hours each way 4 days a week. When the motorway goes wrong (regularly!) It's 2 hours each way. I would not do it for 58k. My salary and the team I work with are the reason I put up with it.

Equally I have excellent family child care and I finish early enough that I still get an evening with my kids (though the trade off is I set off ridiculously early).

I actually enjoy the downtime of the commute to listen to audio books and decompress from a difficult job with emotional challenges before I tuck my babies on.

But it isn't for the faint hearted. You have to love your job and for me 58k isn't enough for the downsides the commute would bring..

Also my car is electric and charging it at work is part of my salary so the commute doesn't cost me much which also helps!.

absolutely not every day

Take a day of annual leave and try the journey to see how long it takes there and back and how it feels. Might help you decide

If you want to have any sort of relationship with your child and partner, then don’t do this! Completely unsustainable and unfair in your child.