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Original poster

Long commute

8 replies

Thisisheavy · 07/04/2023 16:18

I'm considering applying to a job that's 3 hours away from home but I would only need to be actually on site once or twice a month.
I'm thinking I could even stay overnight once a month to do two days in a row and avoid the long travel time twice in one day.
Does this sound feasible or a nightmare? Anyone done something similar?
The job itself would be a step up with a higher salary and be good experience.

OP posts:

Cleanfreshface · 07/04/2023 16:25

Exactly the same as me. I work from home but have to travel at least twice a month to different branches scattered across the country. I really don't mind it. It's actually quite nice to get out of the house once in a while and see my colleagues face to face rather than over teams/phone. Gives me a chance to give my car a good spin as well as I don't drive as much as I use to now. I do get paid mileage expenses though. If everything else about the job is perfect, I'd say go for it!

Jojobalone · 07/04/2023 16:26

What’s your personal circumstances?

GoodChat · 07/04/2023 16:32

If you're going to do it, get the expectation written into the contract formally.

Original poster

Thisisheavy · 07/04/2023 18:35

Thanks for the replies.
I'm married and have three children - two teenagers and one younger but at school. My DH works at home all the time and is very hands on with the kids stuff - school drop offs,lifts to clubs, bedtime etc. We also have family close by who help out a lot.
I wouldn't get mileage expenses.
Good point about getting the expectation written into a contract, could be totally different once actually in the job

OP posts:

Notsa · 07/04/2023 20:46

I do this and your situation sounds exactly like mine when I started 7 years ago with the ages of your children.
I WFH with the exception of three days a month when I go into the office (7 hour round trip).
I still feel like I have a better work/life balance then when I worked five days a week in an office ten mins away so I say go for it.
Just to add, my train fares are paid - that would be 1k a month otherwise.

rwalker · 07/04/2023 20:53

The only con would be commute cost you can ask but in’s if they’ll pay as you applied for the job miles away

Cheesecakeandwineinasuitcase · 07/04/2023 20:59

Be very careful. At my workplace we’ve all been wfh since Covid. A colleague recently joined the team and lives a long way from our office and was told there was no obligation to come into the office. However now our ceo is is saying he wants our office to “look busy” and if people don’t start coming in more often he will mandate that we all need to come into the office 2-3 days a week again. Quite a lot of people don’t live locally and have moved further afield since Covid and wfh gave them the option to do so but if the rules chance this will make things very difficult for some staff members.

cloudonego · 07/04/2023 21:03

I do a 2 hour door to door commute twice a month, I appreciate that's not as bad as 3 hours. Feasible for me for the right job, the biggest risk for me is if they start calling us back to the office more often, then I will have to find a new job. Is it in your contract you only need to go 1-2 times a month?

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