Author Topic: Bonkers UK commuters (Apart from the cyclist dude!)  (Read 6312 times)

NewbieFrugalUK

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Bonkers UK commuters (Apart from the cyclist dude!)
« on: November 13, 2015, 02:03:24 PM »
Have a read of this. Also train fare is generally absurdly expensive here

http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/nov/13/meet-the-supercommuters

UnleashHell

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Re: Bonkers UK commuters (Apart from the cyclist dude!)
« Reply #1 on: November 13, 2015, 02:08:21 PM »
When I was in london I used to work with a guy who commuted in from Cardiff. 3 hours each way!! nut job

nanu

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Re: Bonkers UK commuters (Apart from the cyclist dude!)
« Reply #2 on: November 13, 2015, 06:47:25 PM »
Plain awful. My commute is 25-30 minutes (walk/subway combo) and I'd be thrilled to cut it down even further (though I would also be happy for it to be slightly longer if I could walk it all)

mohawkbrah

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Re: Bonkers UK commuters (Apart from the cyclist dude!)
« Reply #3 on: November 16, 2015, 05:43:43 AM »
When I was in london I used to work with a guy who commuted in from Cardiff. 3 hours each way!! nut job

mindblown


he must be getting paid a heck of a lot of money surely?

Squirrel away

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Re: Bonkers UK commuters (Apart from the cyclist dude!)
« Reply #4 on: November 16, 2015, 06:56:15 AM »
When I was in london I used to work with a guy who commuted in from Cardiff. 3 hours each way!! nut job

My husband works in London with a man who commutes in from the north as he wanted a nice house and puts up with the commute as it would mean buying a flat the size of a shoebox nearer to work instead.:P

UnleashHell

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Re: Bonkers UK commuters (Apart from the cyclist dude!)
« Reply #5 on: November 16, 2015, 07:48:09 AM »
When I was in london I used to work with a guy who commuted in from Cardiff. 3 hours each way!! nut job

mindblown


he must be getting paid a heck of a lot of money surely?

he'd just divorced when I met him. moved to  London and rented and lost all the equity in the house. He ended up working in a casino in the West end to support himself. He did like a drink that bloke. He seemed to enjoy life. Not sure I would have done in his scenario. scary stuff.

GuitarStv

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Re: Bonkers UK commuters (Apart from the cyclist dude!)
« Reply #6 on: November 16, 2015, 11:32:10 AM »
I love cycling, but am not sure a two and half hour commute would remain fun day after day.

StockBeard

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Re: Bonkers UK commuters (Apart from the cyclist dude!)
« Reply #7 on: November 16, 2015, 04:59:54 PM »
My commute in Tokyo was 1h30 each way, so 3h total every day.
How it works is the real estate agents convince you it's going to be 45 minutes, and you think "well it's not that bad".

Having lived in several countries now, I assume some people in the US, particularly if you've never seen a big city (Tokyo has more than 13 million people. The only city in the US that can compare to that kind of density is New York, with 9 million ), must automatically think "it's easy to live closer to where you work, who in their right mind would accept a 1h30 commute???". In massive cities like Tokyo, New York, or London, it's not necessarily easy. Sometimes the only way to live close to work is to make a huge (huge!) compromise on space (500 Square feet for a family of 4 anyone?).

So people are left with the choice: a decent amount of space to live, or a short commute.

Playing with Fire UK

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Re: Bonkers UK commuters (Apart from the cyclist dude!)
« Reply #8 on: November 17, 2015, 06:41:04 AM »
My office is in London, my commute is two hours one way (door to door). The train fare is £50 (~$75) per return trip.

I work from the office two days a week and try to stay over to save the train fare and time.

I have nowhere near the longest commute in my office, and most people commute every day (not everyone has a choice). Three hours one way is unusual but not that uncommon. And that is before train delays.

It is crazy.

cerat0n1a

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Re: Bonkers UK commuters (Apart from the cyclist dude!)
« Reply #9 on: November 17, 2015, 10:58:21 AM »
Used to work with someone who lived about 90 minutes away from work (if there were no traffic problems.) He got fed up with the commute, worked out that he couldn't ever afford to buy a suitable house much closer to work (he had 4 kids). Ended up leaving the UK and moving the family to Texas where his pay was double, cost of living was lower, house prices massively lower and he now cycles to work.

We've had economic policies for 30+ years that have tended to concentrate jobs in a specific region of the country, sucked in workers from across the UK & Europe to do those jobs, but built very little new housing and done very little to improve transport infrastructure. Hardly surprising that millions of people have a long journey to work and so we have more than 10% of the population doing >2hr commutes.


UnleashHell

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Re: Bonkers UK commuters (Apart from the cyclist dude!)
« Reply #10 on: November 17, 2015, 11:31:53 AM »
Yup.
I used to have a 90 minute commute (if it went well) each way. I jacked it in and landed a job in the states with a 10 minute drive to work. That meant I could be back for dinner with my family instead of just saying good night to the kids as I arrived home.

Papa Mustache

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Re: Bonkers UK commuters (Apart from the cyclist dude!)
« Reply #11 on: November 18, 2015, 04:39:18 PM »
Years ago I spoke with a man who had commuted 90 mins / 100 miles each way five days a week driving. it wasn't a cost of living situation (could make similar money here without the big commute) but that his family stubbornly held on to this town and the job was decent - not great. Probably average engineer money for this part of the country.

He'd been doing this for twenty years!

I saw another friend recently. Asked him if he was still driving 80 miles to the big city closer to us. Nope! Switched employers. Now he is driving ~100 miles in a different direction... He too has been doing this for probably twenty years.

I STILL think he could find an IT support job closer to home that pays similar money.

Whatever makes them happy. Nope, not my preference though.

The cost of fuel, wear and tear on the cars and the cars they've bought over the years...
« Last Edit: November 24, 2015, 09:32:50 AM by Joe Average »

alsoknownasDean

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Re: Bonkers UK commuters (Apart from the cyclist dude!)
« Reply #12 on: November 23, 2015, 05:31:34 AM »
Yeah I used to commute an hour and 40 minutes each way for 18 months. At least it was partly on the train, but I was happy when I moved closer to work, I could wake up later :)

Papa Mustache

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Re: Bonkers UK commuters (Apart from the cyclist dude!)
« Reply #13 on: November 24, 2015, 10:52:11 AM »
At least on a train you can switch off your brain a little. Read, listen to music, sip your coffee, etc. I don't know anything about the economics of train vs car commutes in a big city though. I do know you don't have to drive to survive when you ride a bus though. ;)

MgoSam

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Re: Bonkers UK commuters (Apart from the cyclist dude!)
« Reply #14 on: November 24, 2015, 12:14:16 PM »
At least on a train you can switch off your brain a little. Read, listen to music, sip your coffee, etc. I don't know anything about the economics of train vs car commutes in a big city though. I do know you don't have to drive to survive when you ride a bus though. ;)

My brother loves his commute, his work pays for the train and there is a station a block from him. He's the first stop in and the last stop out so he is guaranteed a seat and can just plug it in and use the wifi to read, watch movies, nap, or do work.

jinga nation

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Re: Bonkers UK commuters (Apart from the cyclist dude!)
« Reply #15 on: November 24, 2015, 02:56:44 PM »
I have a friend who lived with her husband in London. He was a City finance chap. They moved to Northampton due to high costs of living in London. Then he commuted from Northampton to the City (London). He worked on the train so his office hours were only 6-7. I think he got burnt out after 18-24 months, so they sold house, cars, etc. and moved back to Kenya.

Paul der Krake

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Re: Bonkers UK commuters (Apart from the cyclist dude!)
« Reply #16 on: November 24, 2015, 03:16:31 PM »
One of my London colleagues lives in Stafford. Not Stratford in the East end, Stafford, 150 miles away, near Birmingham. He comes into the City every day by train, 2.5 hours each way.

Captain and Mrs Slow

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Re: Bonkers UK commuters (Apart from the cyclist dude!)
« Reply #17 on: December 09, 2015, 06:39:47 AM »
When we lived in Madrid long commutes were the norm mostly for quality of life, people wanted to live outside of the cith. Also second homes we're quite common, during the summer people ,ove out of the city.


Captain and Mrs Slow

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Re: Bonkers UK commuters (Apart from the cyclist dude!)
« Reply #18 on: December 09, 2015, 06:43:08 AM »
This comment kind of explains it all

24 hours a week is enough time to do a part-time job. We're crazy for doing it.

I myself used to commute from Bristol Parkway to the old GLC building near Mornington Crescent. I'd leave home 6.20, get the (IIRC) 6.31 to London Paddington at about 8.05 (often later). Then central line to Euston Square, and either walk up or get the Northern Line to Mornington Crescent. The journey back usually took longer.

The next contract was to Oxford. 6.01 to Didcot, 6.50 to Oxford, then a slow bus out plus 10 minute walk. I moved to Reading and got a contract in Gloucester for a 5-hour a day commute. iPlayer helped as did playing any music but it was still a drag.

Sadly, in my career there are few jobs outside of London and I have a family with children at school so cannot move at short notice or be away from home for too long else my wife would probably leave me. London's too expensive and I don't have rich relatives so it's either commute or get a low-paying local job. I'd quite like the latter but the local salaries really are quite poor and we'd never save enough to buy anywhere. In fact, it would be hard to even rent because my wife cannot work for health reasons.

During the year I worked in Wellington, New Zealand, my commute was 45 minutes tops and I could afford to live on the city's outskirts and still save. It used to be the case that I'd get home and have lots of time but now – I do everything I can to work from home.

I'm looking for work there now so I can go back again. I love Britain but each year being able to buy our own house gets further away. We've rented but been turfed out a few times because the landlord has sold the property. I'd actually quite fancy the commute into Wellington from the Hutt Valley or Wairarapa Valley. It can be a long journey but at least I'd be going home to a really nice house that we know is ours with a good bit of land where I could relax of an evening.

UnleashHell

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Re: Bonkers UK commuters (Apart from the cyclist dude!)
« Reply #19 on: December 09, 2015, 07:24:49 AM »
I've done commutes from a few places into London - longest distance wise was a house a few miles outside Colchester. so an 8 mile drive, 60 by train and then 1 1/2 miles in London. At least it was a fast service.

I also did a contract in Gloucester but they paid for me to stay down there. So I got to bill the company for staying at my parents B&B 10 miles away!! That was a sweet deal.

The train ride can be a nice reset time between home and work but the expense and time really isn't worth it when you have a family.