Commuting - How Far Is Too Far?

[montesquieu]

The reality is that if you can work from home then someone else can work from India.

Rubbish. There are plenty of 'knowledge worker' jobs that require a mix of on-site interaction and off-site thinking/analysis/write-up time that can't be done by cheap and cheerful programmers 8,000 miles away.

In any case the long-term business model for offshoring is pretty flaky as salaries rise in India, Russia and the like, just as their currency appreciates against western countries' falling ones. Add in the management hassle (and cost) and the difficulty in some fields like programming of packaging up work sufficiently tightly that it stays on the rails without over-run risk (which you have to price for) and my guess is work could be coming the other way in 10 years. The difficulty is in the short to medium term with our young lads and lasses not getting the early experience, the next generation of experienced consultants may need to be imported (or the old ones made to work till 70+)

As for the really shitt*y call centre jobs, a few tweaks to the benefit system taking the cash away from young people and the UK will be competitive again in a shot.

[ken_ichikawa]

Rubbish. There are plenty of 'knowledge worker' jobs that require a mix of on-site interaction and off-site thinking/analysis/write-up time that can't be done by cheap and cheerful programmers 8,000 miles away.

I sort of think something slightly different to this will happen, in that there will be much fewer permanant employees and more freelancers and contractors. The future I think will be more things like peopleperhour.com which I use now and again for things I can't do or don't know how to do.

PPH I think allows some of the rent seekers and overheads to be avoided. I.e people keeping quiet about it avoid the 28% income tax, high business rates and business rents as it only exists inside their computers. Thus it makes many UK based people quite competitive. Though my last job was sent to a Canadian and the one before that a bloke from Texas.

[longtomsilver]

Having converted to cycling in the past 2 years or so - I can say you very quickly get used to it. And sitting on a bus/train/car in future will seem very very unpleasant in comparision. Even in the winter/rain etc..

The ability to just leave when you want, go whatever way you want, not have to shower when getting up straight away etc.. gives you a whole lot of freedom. You don't have to think about so much that those using other methods do.

Of course an off road/cycle route helps a lot. Or at least a route on quieter roads. And you have to be within perhaps 15 miles or so. Unless you are a cycling beast.

I used to cycle commute from Walthamstow into the City, in the end I was quicker than the train into Liverpool Street. At the time I worked at HSBC James Capel and used the directors shower room. All very nice especially when one morning while having my shower one of the lovely office clerks as a token gesture I suppose, cycled in from not far (elephant and castle) and totally unexpectedly but very intentionally joined me

[Priced_Out_GenXer]

I commute from Milton Keynes to central London. 10 min car journey, 30 min train journey, 25 min walk. Total journey time ranges from about 1hr 15 to 1hr 30 each way. But the the 1 hour of brisk walking a day means I don't have to go to the gym any more.

I have family in MK and I got sick of paying ridiculous rents to live in crime ridden crappy areas of London and I'm much happier now that I'm living away from the ghetto.

It does take it toll but I'm lucky, I have flexible hours so I can travel off peak. This really does make the world of difference because I can catch a Virgin express train (they don't run during peak time), I always get a seat and I get cheaper off peak rail fares. I can also work from home when it suits me although I tend not to unless absolutely necessary.

Edited May 3, 2011 by monstermunch

[porca misèria]

I commute from Milton Keynes to central London. 10 min car journey, 30 min train journey, 25 min walk. Total journey time ranges from about 1hr 15 to 1hr 30 each way. But the the 1 hour of brisk walking a day means I don't have to go to the gym any more.

Cut that down!

[happy_renting]

I contract ,so am prepared to work almost anywhere if the contract is worth it. If it is too far then I use local accommodation, and save myself the travel time as well. Contracts are too short to justify a permanent move to near work.

The further away /crummier the place, the more I want in renumeration.

I used to plan to do work or read when I commuted by train, but found I was almost always too tired and slept instead.

For longer contracts, travel costs are not tax-deductible. Travel and accomodation (on top of keeping one's permanent home) can eat into income considerably.

[sponge]

I contract ,so am prepared to work almost anywhere if the contract is worth it. If it is too far then I use local accommodation, and save myself the travel time as well. Contracts are too short to justify a permanent move to near work.

The further away /crummier the place, the more I want in renumeration.

I used to plan to do work or read when I commuted by train, but found I was almost always too tired and slept instead.

For longer contracts, travel costs are not tax-deductible. Travel and accomodation (on top of keeping one's permanent home) can eat into income considerably.

same as mate, work all over the country currently 100 mile round trip costing £50 a week travelling at 60 mph lol yes it really does make alot of difference over a month and doesnt take much longer, anything over 100 miles is to far i already spend half my life on motorways

i also travel once a month to bournemouth for my daughter pick up friday take back sunday 1000 miles fuel bills £280 a month, im about to hit the taxman for 62000 miles lol

[Badger]

Having converted to cycling in the past 2 years or so - I can say you very quickly get used to it. And sitting on a bus/train/car in future will seem very very unpleasant in comparision. Even in the winter/rain etc..

The ability to just leave when you want, go whatever way you want, not have to shower when getting up straight away etc.. gives you a whole lot of freedom. You don't have to think about so much that those using other methods do.

Of course an off road/cycle route helps a lot. Or at least a route on quieter roads. And you have to be within perhaps 15 miles or so. Unless you are a cycling beast.

My commute is a very scenic 7 mile or 11 mile off road mountain bike ride through the south downs national park between Lewes and Brighton. Some pretty stiff hills but what a way to start the day, prob why I've stayed at the job for 6 years..

Bad weather/bad motivation option - 30mins drive door to door or similar train journey.

[Badger]

All very nice especially when one morning while having my shower one of the lovely office clerks as a token gesture I suppose, cycled in from not far (elephant and castle) and totally unexpectedly but very intentionally joined me

Is he a keen cyclist too?

[Fancypants]

I quite like that way of thinking about it, but I don't think people always look at it like that.

For example, trains from Woking in Surrey take under 30 minutes to get to Waterloo, despite being many miles outside the zone 6 border. This is actually slightly quicker than the commute time from Kingston which is in zone 6. The season ticket costs from Woking are £1k more each year, but this extra cost would be massively outweighed by the saving in rental/mortgage costs which would be 25-30% cheaper in Woking. This would suggest that Woking is relatively undervalued, but I see no signs of that changing.

I am sure there must be more extreme examples than this, I just picked this because it is close to my area.

there are plenty of wrinkles (some sizable, for sure) where express train connections are concerned. The general point is though, that people usually see the obvious price differentials, but tend not to accurately value their time. Clearly, my suggested method is crude and doesn't account for a number of things, but hopefully it makes the point that what may actually seem like a tactic to save money could end up costing you! The cost may not be directly financial, but it may manifest itself that way because of one's depleted energy and vitality.

In my case, I have recently started a family - and the inate contrarian in me is wondering if it might not actually make sense to move closer to town, now that I have a very real reason to get home earlier in the evenings. Currently, I rarely see my daughter during the week, as she is very often asleep by the time I get home from work. Sucks for me, and her development would probably be assisted by having Daddy around a bit more.

[Priced_Out_GenXer]

Cut that down!

I've considered it but the road from Euston to my office in Aldwych is very busy and I quite enjoy the walk.

The other consideration is that although it would cut the journey time by say 15min on the way in there wouldn't be any benefit on the way back. I'd just end up hanging around Euston for an extra 15mins waiting for my train to leave or more likely spending an extra 15mins in the office.

[retz]

I cycle around 20 miles a day. 10 miles each way about 45 minutes each way.

I have to admit, I don't think I would like to go any further than that, pretty much nakkers me out for the weekends.

[okaycuckoo]

I certainly believe houses in the sticks will be very cheap again if oil continues to remain high. 3 bed semis in 2000 in Calshot/Lepe (near where I work), cost £60,000. Now they are bought by equity rich Londoners who visit for the weekend, they're demanding £350,000 odd.

Nice spot. Travelled through there couple of weeks ago. Was wondering is Lepe beach a good place to take kids for the day?

[levoleurdefruits]

The reality is that if you can work from home then someone else can work from India.

yep

[longtomsilver]

Is he a keen cyclist too?

[Fancypants]

I cycle around 20 miles a day. 10 miles each way about 45 minutes each way.

I have to admit, I don't think I would like to go any further than that, pretty much nakkers me out for the weekends.

I live 15 miles from work at the moment, and cycle it sometimes. Used to do it daily.

I'd have to agree, I think 10 miles each way is probably a sensible daily limit if you want to have some form of life in the evenings. Cycling is great, but when I do the 30 mile round trip, I get home so late and so zonked that I'm fit for nowt but eating and slumping.

[ccc]

My commute is a very scenic 7 mile or 11 mile off road mountain bike ride through the south downs national park between Lewes and Brighton. Some pretty stiff hills but what a way to start the day, prob why I've stayed at the job for 6 years..

Bad weather/bad motivation option - 30mins drive door to door or similar train journey.

Sounds cracking. Can see why it would encourage you to stay as well. Big plus point for any job. For many people the commute can be a quarter or even half of their office day. Mental. But if needs must.

Is he a keen cyclist too?

Beat me to it. The old ones are the best.

[Nickolarge]

I used to do a one hour and fifteen minutes 90 mile drive to work leaving home at 04:15 to be in by 05:30.

By 06:30 I was back on the road heading from Heathrow to South Wales. Spent nearly all day driving round Wales sometimes heading back as late as 17:30 and not finishing at the airport until 22:00. A more normal day would see me finished at about 18.30 but at that time the drive home would be nearly 2 hours. Luckily(?) my mum lived in Staines so I would crash there rather than drive home if I had a late one.

How far is too far? 90 miles each way definitely was.

Getting up at 04:15 was too early by 3 hours.

Working 12 hour plus days 5 days a week was too much.

I did that for 13 years and it nearly killed me in more ways than one.

[200p]

Nice spot. Travelled through there couple of weeks ago. Was wondering is Lepe beach a good place to take kids for the day?

I would think so. I see numerous minibuses with young school children visiting. There's a cafe, public loos and a nature activities visitor centre.

There's no Tesco or McDonalds or other big chain for miles! How refreshing. You'd never think you're in 2011 down that way.

[porca misèria]

I cycle around 20 miles a day. 10 miles each way about 45 minutes each way.

I have to admit, I don't think I would like to go any further than that, pretty much nakkers me out for the weekends.

That depends ...

In my twenties I did some substantially longer commutes, and had plenty of energy left for evening activities every day of the week. That was on a decent road bike: I think that distance on today's trendy mountain bikes would seem a long way. And of course it varies with things like the terrain.

[200p]

Was watching news before - university lecturer at MMU in Mcr who has been found dead with his family in Northants.

The news reports a suicide note was found.

[LuckyOne]

I couldn't find it after a quick Google but I seem to remember some research that showed that those waking up early in the morning had a statistically significant shorter life expectancy than those waking up later. Of course, correlation is not causation.

The longer the commute, the earlier people seem to be in the office to "beat the rush" which compounds their problem.

[Lepista]

Is he a keen cyclist too?

Beat me to it. The old ones are the best.

You like old male cyclists?

[DONTDOITMAN]

This is a message for all Londoners! Just stop for a minute! Get a life and stop wasting your money and your time on commuting in crammed conditions so you can buy an overpriced box! Why pay over £4,000 year and c1.5- 3 hours a day standing on zombie trains. There really is more to life.

I lived in London for 10 years and ended up leaving after my office moved and I had to take the tube for 20 minutes to the offices. I couldn't stand it. Previously I could walk to work - 20 mins as lived in zone one and although paid more in rent, didn't have to pay for a season ticket and saved the time so thought it was worth it.

Now live outside london in a rural area and takes 10 mins ( when bad) to dirve to work! and have more time for golf, shopping, family and life in general.

All those that are doing the crazy crazy commute will just look back in their life and regret, but some people don't and won't understand until it is too late.

If this is you, just stop and think is this really how you want to remember your life? . you only have one life so start enoying it and not just commuting?

Just my thoughts but wonder if others think the same?

[rantnrave]

If this is you, just stop and think is this really how you want to remember your life? . you only have one life so start enoying it and not just commuting?

Just my thoughts but wonder if others think the same?

In this economic climate, I don't think people choose to commute long ways...

I'm out in the countryside so have 15 mins drive in beautiful scenery. I wish everyone else was as fortunate as I am, but there just aren't that many jobs around such places.