To say that this is one of the best ways to improve work/life balance?!

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Living near your workplace/school.

Now I know it seems really logical but I cannot believe how much easier it has made my life. I am now 15mins away from my workplace and I can drop my DC to School on the way. It just makes everything so much easier being able to be home by 5. Everything is an easy drive, going to the shop, bringing the DC to their clubs (some of which they can walk to themselves!) I really feel that being in a central location to the places you use makes a massive difference. We used to live early and I would waste half an hour in a car to get anywhere.

A cousin of mine has just bought a house right next-door to the school her and her husband work in. Their son’s nursery is two minutes up the road. She cannot believe how much easier their lives and and how much more time they have together. They used to spend 40mins commuting.

Another friend of mine lives a 5min walk from the school that she teaches in and her boys goes to the same school. No need for a childminder no need for an Afterschool service. They come into her classroom when they are finished and wait for her to finish her last bits before heading home. They do homework and play. It really suits them all. They are home by 3:00/3:15.

I know this is impossible for everyone to do but my eyes have been truly opened! Anything to make life easy! 🙌

anyone else have similar set up? So thankful 😌

Exactly

I mean, it's not really a massive realisation is it?

Unless you perhaps didn't realise how much commuting was taking out of you. But I think most people know that.

Yup. DH works from home (London once a week but very loosely). I work 5 min drive away/£6 taxi (£25 in parking so I get taxis!)/30 min walk. School 2 streets away from home. Heading off now for pickup at 1pm. School’s out!! 🎄🎄🎄

I always think that when they decided eons ago that we should have 8hrs work, 8hrs sleep and 8hrs free, most people lived very near to their workplaces. And that breaks were probably during paid time!

At my last office (have thankfully wfh for a long time now), to put in an 8 hr day I'd be out of the house for a minimum of 11hrs, often nearer 12. It's too much. And that's without DC to factor in. I imagine many parents do far longer days.

I use to live near a school its only about 20 minutes twice a day and schools are closed for over a quarter of the year.

yep, it makes a difference being sub 20 mins or even walking distance from places you need to be.

Think it is a massive benefit to feeling part of a community too. As well as being close to school and work, our church is 5 min drive away and family are 10 min drive. Means that we see friends and family in the shops, or at events. It's easier to check in on one another and keep face to face contact with people.

I'm really grateful to live where we do.

Yes, we live in a lovely, desirable seaside town and it’s such a great community tbh 🥰

I don't drive, so have always lived walking distance (20 min walk) from work, in an area with great public transport links, so secondary school was fine too. It really surprised me at my "career" workplace (civil service) that people commuted so far sometimes. Each to their own.

Some people like a big house with a huge garden, not going to have that where I choose to live.

I don't think a lot of people do, though because when you are doing it, you are just getting on with it. You don't necessarily think about it.

I never minded driving to work, finding a car parking space etc.. but the difference dropping that drive (and sitting in traffic) and walking to work has made to my life is much more significant than I actually thought it would be.

I couldn’t agree more.

My DCs are a 5 min walk away from their school from our home.

My DH’s school is a 15 min walk from ours, 10 mins from school.

It’s brilliant because even though I do all the school runs, if 1 child is ill at home but the other needs to go to school, my DH can just about do the school runs. As a teacher he has very minimal allowance to attend events, but being so close at least means he can watch part of Sports Day.

We've moved to be near the secondary school we want which WILL be brilliant come September when kids can walk themselves but is a MAJOR pain in the arse at the moment because we're spending an hour twice a day on school run. Luckily either me or dh WFH every day so that we can do this but whoever is WFH has a shit deal with no lunchbreak as we have to skip it yo collect the kids. Have to keep reminding ourselves its only 2 more terms.

Yeah i literally never thought about as it was completely the norm since I was a child to spent at least 20-30mins to get anywhere.

Yea I suppose so.

We chose to live in the middle of nowhere and have to drive absolutely everywhere. Everything is scattered around as well so it's not easy to combine trips.

That said, there's something very relaxing about being in our large farmhouse, with a lovely view out the back garden and no noise or chaos around us. Constantly seeing families of deer on our country lane.

My work is also never over 20 minutes away (I'm freelance) and my husband works from home.
It's just the school run and getting to decent local shops that's a bit of a pain.

I think living near things and not having to drive everywhere is one of the most important things for me. I am over an hours commute to work but I only have to go in once a week so its ok. The walk to the station is less than 10 minutes. We're 2 minutes from the high Street and will be under 15 minutes walkfrom secondary school come September. Its brilliant. DH prefers quiet locations and we were 15 minutes walk from a corner shop or 20 minutes to the station in our last house. I HATED it. Being central or local has changed my life. (And his but he doesnt like to admit it 😆)

Yup, it’s a big win. I used to drive 70 minutes (albeit on country roads with no traffic) to work and then 70 minutes home each day. I switched jobs and moved house and now live an 11 minute drive from home. I get my mornings back to get chores done and I’m always home by 5.30 each day to get dinner started. It has made such a difference to my wellbeing.

Yeah, it’s not possible for some but if you can, do it!

70mins oh god!😭 I’m so glad for you that you don’t have to do that anymore ❤️🙌

I think having that time for dc to do homework instead of travelling is invaluable. Also everybody gets more sleep. We can get up at 8 and be where we need to by 9 if we want a bit of a lie in.

I used to have a 90mins commute when living in London, so spent three hours plus a day commuting. It has made a huge difference to my life to be able to work from home.

I live about a ten minute walk from my kids school and it has given my son the independence to be able to walk home with his friend since year 4. This saves me money too as I don’t have to pay for him to go to school wraparound.

You are not wrong! One summer as a student I commuted 1hr15 each way to a job, and promised myself I'd never do it again. We are fortunate to live in a city with plenty of employment opportunities - at the moment it's a 10 min cycle for each of DH and I to work; DD's secondary is a little further (she also cycles). When we've had to look for new jobs, we simply won't consider ones more than 20 mins away. If we lived less centrally, we could have a (much) bigger house for the same price, but we definitely aren't moving.

so what’s the point of this thread? “I know most people can’t do this but yay me?”

Ffs can we not discuss anything on here anymore, without it turning into a bunfight!

Back in the early 90s I worked at an out of town office complex that was 15 minutes away from my home. I loved it. It did feel like I’d reduced my working hours, being able to leave the house at 8.40 and always being home by 5.15. And being able to have lunch at home, really broke up the day. I’ve never had a really long commute though.

I work from home and the school is on the same street. I feel like I've hit the jackpot but sometimes remember it's not my dream job 😂😭

Depends what you prioritise.

I've prioritised living near multiple large employers and transport links for easy commuting. It means I live in a "less desirable" area but I think it's worth it for 2 hours more in my day than my colleagues have.

My children have gone to the local schools (5min, 30 min, 15 minutes walk for infants/junior/secondary), not ones that you will find troubling the tops of league tables but does mean they can be very independent and have local friends.

Other people prioritise schools and houses over proximity

My friend was saying to me recently that she doesn't know how I can manage working full time when she work 3 days a week and is permanently shattered. It didn't take long to realise this is because her day is 2-2.5 hours longer than mine due to commute and her children's school is 40 minutes drive away and an hour on the bus which is more tiring for them than a short walk.

Very jealous. My commute has become a real monster. It used to be a 25 minute drive and is now often an hour each way. It makes mornings horribly stressful as even if I leave on the dot of 7.30 (and I cannot leave earlier due to childcare) I am stressed and only just get there in time. Similar on the way home. No leeway anywhere. DH also finds that his commute that was a 15/20 minute drive is now frequently 45 minutes or longer. Honestly, traffic near us has become so much worse in the last two years. But we dont really have a good solution at the moment. Glad that you've found something that works well for you.