Would you pay £300 a month to walk to work?

[minkymu]

Aware this is a very London question, but how much would you pay per month to avoid getting the tube to work?

There’s a flat come up to rent that’s a 15 minute walk to work. Currently we live 40 minutes on the tube/walk to work.

Rent on current place is £1,800 a month. Rent on potential flat is £2,300 a month.

We are in the office 4-5 days a week so we spend £200 a month on tube fares. So current rent & transport costs mean the rent is really £2,000.

Would you pay the extra £300 a month to be closer to work and avoid the tube?

For what it’s worth we can easily afford the difference but it’s obviously still £3,600 a year that could be in the bank or a holiday.

Do you think travel cards are free?

Absolutely i would to take out public transport issues from my day.

Not at all. Hence why I was asking if OP would still need a travel card ie social purposes. If they need still need one, then would they actually be saving £300 by moving.

Yep - I used to live in Shad Thames and work in the city, I miss my daily walk along the south bank and over London Bridge more than I can express.

I have never paid to walk, walking is free to everyone :)

I'd love to be able to walk to work.

However I know most flats close to work would be a pita for deliveries, especially supermarket.

We are not looking to buy just yet - going to wait a few years until our salaries go up / family downsize to give help.

So yes, at the moment £300 is roughly 4% of our income so not that insignificant.

We don’t bother with a travel card as it doesn’t save us any money. Only seems to make sense if you are commuting in from say Zone 3/4? Maybe we should look at it again.

We’d still use the tube for going to visit friends.

I know people living in Zone 1 (and not on big salaries) who manage to avoid the tube almost 100% as being so central means you can exclusively get around by walking, cycling, scooters and buses. They make a point of not going underground!

I suspect still unlikely to spend as much as one would cost and OP has clarified that they don't have one now in any event

No I wouldn’t. I like the tube and I use it on weekends anyway.

I used to walk 45 mins to work when I lived in a city. This was before kids and I had more time in general. To be honest I'd stay where you are and do the longer walk. That's your exercise for the day!

Absolutely yes! Walking to work / school run means a breezier morning

Yes! I lived near St Paul’s and bloody loved it. I couldn’t walk to work (as I commuted out of London) but could walk or cycle everywhere else and it was brilliant. Particularly after a night out or on tube strike days. I felt like I had the world on my doorstep. I even cycled to Paris (well not all the way, but cycled to St Pancras and then hopped on the Eurostar).

Depends on how you are walking to get there.

Along a main road route full of pollution, no.

I still used the tube and Overground a fair bit when I lived in zone 1. The advantage of living centrally is that you can go in any direction easily, so I often used my weekends to explore events and exhibitions further afield. Lots of interesting things happening on the other side of London not just zone 1, and using buses or walking would eat into leisure time so I used the tube to get there as quickly as possible. I'd do a lot of West End and City events during the week as it was quick and local after work. I'd find it limiting to not use the tube at all and only visit places within walking distance.

Definitely, 15minutes is nothing. I walk 35-40minutes to work when I can and i much prefer it to taking the bus and it's made me think twice about moving further out of the city to get more for my money.

Absolutely, yes. We were walking distance years ago, was great. Work was well and truly out away by the time we got home.

This is obviously not a popular view but on that income I would be buying a property or investing in something. Even if that was only 300 pcm into pension.

I am assuming you are age 25 plus and personally wouldn't be waiting longer to buy ... the property ladder is definitely a thing so what you invest now will just contribute to what you want to buy when your salaries increase ( and family decide potentially to downsize - they might actually need their money for something else anyway).

Depends.

Are you moving more centrally?

Is the job a long term one or likely to change?

Does the new area have a lot of facilities and shops close by?

You'd have lots of benefits:

• Exercise on the commute
• Saving your lungs from being filled with awful Tube air
• Time saved
• Enjoying a nice walk rather than being in a tin can full of commuters

It'd be an absolute no-brainer for me