40% of the week in London (Bank)

[OverTheHillAndDownTotherSide]

My company is restructuring and I’ve put some prospective job applications in with other companies.

One has resulted in a first stage interview.

Role requires me to be in London at least 40% of the week. Is there any better option than a night or 2 in a travelodge? I’m a 3 hour train journey from London so travel there and back in a day twice isn’t an option (and it’s around £120 return for a train ticket).

Mon -Fri let! Some even do, say 3 nights a week,
At current London hotel prices a decent room is at least £80 which is £160 a week - equivalent to £700 a month.

I looked into this when considering applying for a London position. Ultimately it cost too much when I could earn a decent amount remote/Manchester so I stopped looking. It may be worth it for you though.

Rounding up the Mon-Fri let to £800 a month, and with trains costing about £300 you're going to spend at least £1K on the commute. All that coming out of your already taxed income.

You might find an air bnb which is cheaper, but it might also be possible to negotiate 40% per fortnight rather than week so you can avoid having to do as many train journeys to bring the cost down each week

But some companies do raise an eyebrow when applicants are so far away from the office, so be prepared to answer questions about the logistics of you getting in regularly

Look on MondaytoFriday.com.

You can get somewhere really lovely for £600+ a month which may not be a lot cheaper than the train fare but will be much nicer.

I currently cover the whole of England for work. Regularly in London but work pays for the travel and accommodation. This is £20k-ish more salary which would get eaten up by accommodation but it’s a good solid company with lots of prospects for promotion.

Thinking I could condense hours and do a 4 day week. If I spent 3 days a fortnight in London that would reduce costs but meet the requirement.

Based on the above, even £100 a night hotel works out at £416 a month. I reckon I could get a travelodge for less than that most of the year.

Friends have bought a studio flat for this reason. A cheap one, in zone 4 or some such. With the idea that it won't drop in value so it's not a bad investment. Post covid hotel prices have really shot up.

If you can find a travelodge or premier inn in in London for £100 on a weeknight, good on you.

Does your thread title mean the job is in Bank the area of London, or at a bank..?

If it’s in the area of Bank, it’s very well connected with tube lines so you could stay fairly far out on the northern or central line but still be in the office in around 30 mins.

So you don’t have to look at hotels near the office, ones further out will be much cheaper

I’d come in from the West but yes, job would be in Bank.

Used to live in SW (zone 2) and it would take me 45 mins to get to Westminster.

Hotel prices in London are £££ , you won’t get a travel lodge anywhere reasonable for less than £100.

i’m in a London hotel 3 nights a week on expenses and it’s never less that £500 booking weeks in advance. A short notice midweek hotel is £300+

We have a £200 limit per night and I never struggle to find a room. I’m in the Travelodge in Covent Garden for 2 nights next week and it’s about £250 all in.

This one isn’t the best but it’s cheap…… This is for a Monday and Tuesday night in Feb.

If I can average £100 a night across the year it would work.

There is a travelodge in Balham, right next to the tube, which is under 30 mins to Bank and early enough on the line to not be totally grim at rush hour

i just did a search for random week in November and it was £90/night

You could probably find something East along the central line for less than that but it would be more of a hassle coming from west

It wouldn’t be short notice either if I was going to be there Mon-Weds every other week.

Annoyingly, my sister has a house in Balham but it’s rented out full time.

Lots of people in London would welcome a regular lodger for a bit of extra cash.
If you get the role, ask around- friends of friends, company intranet, ask people to put it on their street Whatsapp groups etc.
I've done the staying in a crappy hotel 2 nights a week thing and found it a bit miserable- lodging was much better.

The exact number of nights makes a big difference OP.
Your original post said 'one or two nights' per week. One night is £400 two is double and makes other options worthwhile.
Of course there are cheaper options you can get a BnB for £60 but they're extremely uncomfortable.

If you really want to save money and don't mind sharing you can get a hotel with someone who has the same working pattern. Or see if you can get some sort of arrangement As @Smallinthesmoke there are quite a few options available if you ask around.

I‘m at the age where I’m past sharing rooms.

And I don’t mind staying in hotels. I’m away 40-60% of the time now.

When I first moved to London in my 20s I spent a month in a hotel in Victoria whilst flat hunting. That got pretty boring!

There is an Ibis at Canning Town where you could jump on the DLR. It would be a pain to get to from west, I think, but doable if you could get to the jubilee line?

Canning Town is a pain from Paddington unfortunately.