Manchester commute

[user1471267414]

Looking for advice from anyone that has a long commute to work.

Backstory I have a son in primary school and I work full time in a profession and I am ambitious.

I like where I work at present and really fits in as only 2 days in office with really flexible hours meaning I can be there for my son I.e if he gets an award in an assembly I can go always pick him up on Friday etc. however I feel frustrated in my job and I want more. Also had fertility issues meaning a second child unlikely and my life has been on hold for the last few years (including my career) because of this.

i am waiting for an offer from a business in Manchester I think it will be a good offer and will be a big step in my career. However it’s 3 days in the office (currently do 2) and journey into Manchester can be up to 1.5 hours on a bad day! I am worried that it I take it I won’t get that flexibility anymore and I’ll miss out on my son but at the same time I don’t what to look back and regret not taking this role and progressing my career. They have said are flexible I think it scares me starting again as where I am I don’t really have to answer to anyone and have a lot of autonomy. Does anyone else do that commute? Is it awful? Had the world moved on since covid and are most places flexible now

some help and guidance would he amazing

Where is the commute from? Why not move

From outside of Preston. Not possible due to child’s school and husbands job really

Go for it OP. I would move though!

I commute into an office in Manchester a couple of times a week from Lancashire (not Preston but not far away).

I'm not sure how you'll be commuting but something that works for me and my work are fine with, is I work longer days on my WFH days so I can have some flexibility on office days and leave a bit earlier or arrive a bit later.

I commute to work/university about 5 days a week and it’s between 1 -3 hours depending on traffic conditions and public transport. TBH, it can be exhausting. It makes days feel so long and stressful if it’s a difficult journey. I also struggle with the fact that I can’t just up and pick the kids up if they need me or be there for their event’s because I’m stuck in traffic. I often end up getting the train so I have time to catch up on admin and life stuff like the online food order to maximise time I can spend at home.

On the other hand, I love that I’m improving my career and doing something that I love.

I would be able to wfh 2 days a week so only have to do it 3 times I get what you mean though and this concerns me

This is a really good idea thank you 😊

I think it depends on the reliability of the train route...not known for being great into Manchester. It sounds as though you might be on the main line so that might be better.
The real killer when commuting is the home to station and station to office bit either end so it depends on that too.

Train or drive ?

We live 20 mins outside of Preston in a town with a direct train to Manchester (1 hour 15 minute train plus 15 minute walk either side of the train journey). Both of us are hybrid with one day a week in the Manchester office.

It’s a long day - I’m currently on mat leave so not affected right now but my partner doesn’t see the kids on a commute day as he’s out from 6am to 6pm (more often 7pm as trains are frequently delayed or cancelled and there’s only one an hour). He often does a second day in Leeds. I think personally if I had to do more than 1 day a week I would consider looking closer to home. I work compressed 4 days, so 3 days commuting would be equivalent to a full working day for me and wipe out any benefit from my non working day.

Before Covid I used to commute from Manchester to Leeds several times a week and I don’t know how I did that for so long. It was before kids but I know I couldn’t do that now.

I'd consider it if train was realistic option and I could do stuff on the train. Not driving

I wouldn’t do it. I used to have an hour long commute and it was so tiring, 1.5 hours each way would be a hard no. That’s 3 hours a day wasted. If you do take it then can you at least choose your office days? I’d make sure you’re going in on Monday and Friday as rush hour traffic seems lightest on those days and definitely avoid Tuesdays when traffic is always really heavy on the roads at rush hour.

Can you get the train? Much easier than driving the route.