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Got an interview for a job (working in the cycling industry). The job is a few hours drive, google maps is stating 2hrs, but the roads can get very busy so it'll be more like 3hrs.
I don't want to relocate as my kids are settled in their school and we all like where we live.
Will I go mad within a week or two if I were offered the job adding 6hrs to my working day? It's a job I'm really excited about, so would that outweigh the commute?
6 hours a day? I would imagine that would get quite tedious within one or maybe two days.
you know the answer already
why not work away mon-fri, home at weekends?
Oh, and who would be paying for the fuel!
Yes, clearly.
On a motorbike it could be fun, in a car - boooooooooring. Unless... Classic FM.
I got fed up very quickly of a 1.5 hour (each way) car commute, I certainly couldn't put up with a 3 hour one. You'll probably end up falling asleep at the wheel to...
Anything more than an hour is pretty ridiculous imo.
You'll probably end up falling asleep at the wheel to...
At least it won't seem like 3 hours if I doze off.
Personally, I think you'd be crazy! 2 - 3 hours? Is a job really worth that?
run the numbers - leave the house at 6am to get there for 9. that means up at 5. get home about 8-9 if you leave at 5. Thats a fifteen hour day every day. not to mention horrendous commuting costs.
Weekdays would just be sleep:eat:drive:work:drive:eat:sleep, you'd hardly get to see the kids and drive your partner crazy with the moaning 😉
Working away Mon-Fri may work out less stressful
Up at 5 am, leave at 6am for 9am start. Leave at 5pm get home 8pm. 5 days a week.
Sorry did you say you had a family?
Up at 5 am, leave at 6am for 9am start. Leave at 5pm get home 8pm. 5 days a week.
That's nuts, why would you do that?
**** me, anything more than 10mins in the car commuting is rubbish!!
Yes, definitly.
I used to commute an hour each way on the M25 for about 4 years and it used to really piss me off. Now my commute is 25mins on country roads and my quality of life is lots better.
2hrs each way? - I'd give you 6 weeks before you'd quit.
i am working in Chester and living in Cheltenham, it usually takes me 3hrs to do the drive. During the week i am living in a hotel. doing that drive every day, are you clinically insane?
It is not something i would recommend anyone do, it is a **** way to live.
Are there actually jobs in the cycle industry that'll pay for £150 a week of petrol?
i dont! I'm saying thats what he would be doing on those commute figures. I live 20 mins from the ofice and was still 20 mins late this morning 😳
Used to have to commute from Kent to Birmingham, albeit only a couple of days a week, and that was bad enough. A 2 or 3 hour drive after an 11 or 12 hour day is a killer & I really didn't like not seeing the nipper before he went to bed.
After a month I got it down to once a fortnight with an overnight stay which kept the boss happy & didn't interfere with family life too much.
Doing it daily would send me insane within the first week.
My first job was 45 miles from where I was living (with my parents at the time). It took an hour on a good day. Often it would take an hour and a half to get home.
Even at the age of 21, with no family of my own, no cooking, cleaning, etc I found it impossibly wearing. I'd get home for 7pm, eat, watch tv a bit, get on the net, wind down as much as I could (and wasn't ready to go to bed until about midnight). On a friday I'd get home and just pass out by 9pm and not wake up until mid day on saturday. I spent the weekend doing my laundry and getting ready for the next week, then back into it. I was laid off after 6 months, which almost came as a relief.
Now I have a commute that is 25-45 minutes. On the way home the last 7 miles are country roads over the pennines and there's two large hills between me and work. I am MUCH happier.
Seriously, don't do it. A friend of mine has done the weekly commute thing (working in derby, living in cambs) and he missed his family terribly. Quality of life is a combination of many things, but I think that no matter how good the job, you'll be paying too high a price in terms of driving stress, missing your kids (they'll be asleep when you get up and go, and they'll be in bed when you get home) and just not having any time for yourself.
my dad used to commute that sorta time - project manager on a large building site.
If there is something i dont want to do its that - long days - high stress -not being able to wind down at nights = heart attack at 34 - and a follow up at 43 (x2)
Its too much - either stay-over, work from home if poss, move, or don't take the job.
Simply divide your pay by the extra hours you'd be doing unpaid during the commute, it won't look like much value then. But sometimes needs must, if you have a family to support and it's a short time job then sometimes you just have to suck it up for a while.
clearly, you are totally nuts.
100% yes, too far, it's just not worth it at all.
Think I knew the answer long before posting. Have been looking into cost of staying in a caravan, going home one night during the week and home for the weekend.
Fingers crossed I mess up the interview, because if offered it I think I'd find it really hard to turn down.
3-6hrs a day in a car? Are you mad?
Even if it was a commute in a Aston Martin paying 100k a year I wouldnt do it. Come the weekend and I wouldnt want to get in the car to go for a ride. I'd just sleep in.
Plus the stress/wear and tear on the car (cost).
No.
If it was as a Traffic Policeman- that would be the exception.
Wouldn't take it that far hora, I'd go out of my way to take all the back roads in an aston, 4 hours of playing each end of the day 🙂
Even if you can hack it day to day, there'll be days when everything goes wrong at work and you have to stay late. Even staying until 6 or 7 will be an absolute nightmare when you have that kind of commute, nevermind the days when you're stuck there properly late.
Aye- and smoke a cigar enroute 😀
why can't you all move? kids will settle in new schools, if its your dream job etc, just do it.
depending on the employer you might consider flexitime - say drive up sunday night, sleep mon-weds night, pack in a 35+hr week 3.5 days and drive home on thursday afternoon.
As the role matures you may be able to spend less time at the "office" and take an extra on the computer at home?
why can't you all move? kids will settle in new schools, if its your dream job etc, just do it.How long can you expect a 'dream' job to last though? Keep family in one place IMO.
I did it for a couple of years before uping sticks and relocating. It's way too much. I would say an hour is too much too myself - on both the effect on yourself and on the wider planet. Oh aye, and the cost in fuel is just scary!
Either take the job and relocate, the kids will deal with a change in location (I did it often enough as a nipper) or don't bother.
yes madness to even consider it I and extra 4 hours minimum to working day. You will never see your family
Mental I wouldn't have even spent 2 mins thinking about it and your still going ahead with interview, even though you state you won't move. i do 18 miles down A34 and that should take 25 minutes, often takes 2 hours due to stupid idiots on the road crashing and it's horrific. Don't do it, you'll end up killing yourself.
As above- it'll soon stop being your dream job when you shout at the kids, ignore them and talk less to your partner.
Is the job re-populating a tropical island completely inhabited by nubile busty females? Because that's the only job worth a six hour penalty on your day, you'd probably need the long commute so the groinal ice bath has chance to work.
I agree with the majority of posters.
Is the job re-populating a tropical island completely inhabited by nubile busty females
I'm in. Although we wouldnt have any energy left to do the job itself!
Hell yes it's too far for a daily commute. I live 2.5 hours away from work and I stay in a hotel. It sucks, but it also pays the bills.
Put it this way, if the job was in your own town but was for 15 hour days, would you do it?
I agree with the others. I'm based at home but have to go into the office sometimes which is 2 hours away - a few days of that back-to-back really grates. Doing it every day, week in week out, is madness. In the summer it's not so bad - in the winter you leave and return in the dark every day. Every weekday feels like you get up, drive, work, drive, quickly grab some dinner then get to bed early as you have to be up so early the next day. Weekends you're so drained from the week that you don't want to do anything, especially not drive anyway.
Assuming it's a 80 mile commute, that's 40k miles a year. You'll be having to get your car serviced or new tyres every few months. Even if you had a diesel that does a genuine 50mpg, that's well over £4000 a year in fuel. Any car you have will either depreciate like a stone, or if it's older, need constant running repairs. Your exposure to an accident increases a fair bit too.
If it's a dream job and you're able to make the other stuff work, be a little selfish and relocate.
[i]Doing it every day, week in week out, is madness.[/i]
I totally agree with this, I did 18 months of driving to work (2-2.5 hrs, one hour on the motorway and an hour through quiet A roads) for just 2 days a week, and was totally burnt out for doing it.
Had to stop doing it, luckily they changed my working conditions but only as I'd basically handed in my notice.
Don't try it, either live in the location 4 nights a week or take another job.
nah go for it. whats 3 hrs each way? who likes family anyways?!
(that was for balance)
but no seriously, sounds crap. not least cos you will constantly be late one way or the other due to roadworks/snow/wrong leaves on the road etc etc.
i once had a 30min cycle ride on the flat each way. that was the perfect commute. think it was about 12 miles. usd to be able to get my head down and go for a pb each morning. turn up completely haggered. great fun. and as it was only 30 mins i recovered quick enough to start doing some work by mid morning!
Think about the Polar Bears 😥
I worked away during the summer and was doing a 2 hour commute each way 5 days a week.
I had no time to do anything other than work eat and sleep.
Days went like this:
Up at 5 for breakfast, shower dressed etc,
10 minute cycle to the train station,
Train departs at 06:10,
Arrive at work at destination 07:50,
15 minute cycle to office,
Leave work at either 16:30 or 17:10 (assume the latter)
15 minute ride to station,
Train departs 17:30,
Train arrives at 19:15,
10 Minute cycle home,
Prepare and eat evening meal 60-70 mins.
30 mins of STW/TV/Book…
Ablutions.
Bed by 21:00 if you want 8 hours sleep.
Utterly depressing.
think about the Polar Bears
Oh the Chinese had 2million new cars last year. I think its fair to say we are going to hell in a handcart!
I'm astounded that you're even considering it.
Fuel will be minimum £400 a month and you'll spend around 17% of your life driving to/from work.
😯
hmm. I do 1-1.5 hours each way, which is mercifully split up by frequently not working in the office. I find it OK, but am aware I'm missing out on a lot of stuff at home. I would never, ever work any further from home than I do now. (working in the cycling industry too)
If it's in the cycling industry I doubt it would pay enough to warrant that amount of time commuting to be honest, regardless of whether they do/don't pick up the tab.
If you could do it by train and you could work on the train and count it as part of your working hours, it'd be [s]doable[/s] bearable.
I'm astounded that you're even considering it.
Fuel will be minimum £400 a month and you'll spend around 17% of your life driving to/from work.
+1 to this. It's bonkers.
Fuel will be minimum £400 a month and you'll spend around 17% of your life driving to/from work.
Plus you'll need to service you're car every 6 weeks or so.
It's bonkers
That's me!
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Ok, so it's genrally agreed that it's waaaay too far to commute daily and as a job in the cycle industry is unlikely to pay enough to cover 4 nights in a hotel every week, how about this as a short term solution
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My current commute is two hours each way and I've done this for over 4 years. It does mean long days, but it's not that bad IME.
Up at 6 out at 7.
Get to work for 9
Leave at 5
Get home for 7
Go to gym at 8
Come back at 10
Give me 2hours to do stuff before sleep and start again tomorrow.
I'm guessing you've not got a family, simonb512 - if I tried that timetable my wife would murder me!
Simon, that only gives you 6 hours kip a night. Most people couldn't keep that up. Plus your work day is somewhat short if you're taking lunch - again lots of people wouldn't be able to do 9-5.
My day is
Up at 6
Leave at 6.25
Train at 6.40
Arrive work 8.00
Leave work 18.30 onwards
Home 20.00 onwards
Dinner 21.00 onwards
Bed 22.00
Repeat ad nauseam (I have for the last few years). Frustrating thing is it leaves no bike time really in the week. Short of living in Central London (tried it once and hated it with a passion) have no way to really reduce it with the job that I do.
Why did you hate living in central London, out of interest?
I do an hour each way on the bike, and that is at the top end of what is a sensible amount of time to commute, especially with a kid on the way. I'd certainly not do it if it was wasted time sitting in traffic jams. It is only because it is productive time (riding my bike, having fun), that it is worth doing. Same is also true when I commute by bus or train every so often - that gives me time to read stuff / do a bit of work, so I don't have to stay at work so long. 3 hours each way would drive me mad. What's the point in having kids if you're only going to see them at weekends (and you'll probably be knackered then anyway).
Repeat ad nauseam (I have for the last few years). Frustrating thing is it leaves no bike time really in the week. Short of living in Central London (tried it once and hated it with a passion) have no way to really reduce it with the job that I do.
Blimey, 52 hour working week before you even count the trains? Surely you could do some work on the train or similar, and leave 2 hours earlier - you can't be very efficient at work with that long a working week anyway? Presumably no kids / wife?
Joe
Molgrips I lived in London for 2 years and hated every minute of it! why does every rush to work on the Underground?? FFS, it's TO work, hurry home from work! Horrible place! Would never live there or even close, and would most definaetly never live in london ever again. That was also straight out of uni when I was single and was earning a very good wage. no way Jose!
why does every rush to work on the Underground??
Question is, why were you rushing to work on the underground? You've got a bike, haven't you? 🙂
Biking is definitely the way to go in London, never tube if you can avoid it.
I liked and disliked London. It was busy and all but there were some great things - never spent so many hours with mates in great pubs and restaurants as I did there. Then again, I was young and itinerant, so that worked out for me 🙂
Not a chance I was going to do that! No showers or any storage facilities at work so it just wasn't an option. Plus I didn't have my bikes in London at that time, again no where to store them and certainly no where really to ride.
I was also young and itinerant but I hated it! Having been brought up in Cardiff where I had city, beach and mountains within a 30 minute cycle of my front door, London was just horrific. I have to accept I was spoilt as a kid in where I grew up.
I managed it without showers - just didn't go too hard on the way in, changed clothes when I got there in the bog. Locked bike outside with a big lock.
Beach in Cardiff? You mean the mud flats of Penarth or the inaccesible stony shore at Sully? Lovely!
I used to like Cardiff but now I'm getting kind of fed up of trying to get somewhere nice to eat and/or drink. There's only so many times you can go to a Brewer's Fayre full of chavs and eat the same microwaved food 😉
Oh and the reason people rush to work btw is so that you can get home earlier.
Only if you have a boss that allows you to!! Being a girl cycling to work without a shower is very different, no thanks I just wouldn't in London with the way it is there. Having long hair makes a big difference you'd be surprised 😉
Penarth yup, sully yup, off down to Ogmore which is what 40 min cycle (from where I lived) lovely place. Up to Castell Coch and over to Caerphilly for the mountains, keep going over Sirhowy and into Cwmcarn ... before the days of trail centres! gosh can't even think why I ever thought going to London was a good idea, but each to their own. Would never even go close to working that way again, no thanks no for me.
Being a girl cycling to work without a shower is very different
How so? Is it that girls get sweatier than boys? Or is it the other way round?
The thing about London is that you have to know how to use it.
Reckon you'd have to be utterly insane. Factor in the (approx) 30 hours weekly drive time on top of the job itself, and unless the salary's ridiculously big, you'll be devoting sh*t-loads of time to the job for what probably amounts to peanuts.
joemarshall - I do work on the train (when I don't fall asleep!) And yes, married 3 years ago, my wife is a lawyer so compared to her my working week is short and sweet....!
Moved out for the biking and space really, in London I spent any precious free time trying to get out of the place with the bike for some peace and quiet. I was too old for it really, I think.
kevonakona - Member
Up at 5 am, leave at 6am for 9am start. Leave at 5pm get home 8pm. 5 days a week.Sorry did you say you had a [s]family?[/s]life?
Way too much, have you also considered extra costs? Fuel, parking, coffee from the services to keep you awake too & from work?
3 hrs. It'll kill you. Literally.
I did a 3 hr weekly commute for 12 months then 4.5 hrs for another 6. Just once a week was way too much.
Lunacy.
you mention your kids, my dad was in a similar position years ago, he only had an hours commute but again on busy roads. Now he is a dead laid back guy but after a couple of months we used to almost dread him coming home. Dont get me wrong he wasnt violent or aggresive but it put him in a bad mood all the time. eventually we moved and he was back to normal.
Oh, and to state the obvious you'll spend almost as long in the car as in work, not my idea of fun!!!