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Counting my blessings on the daily commute. What about you ?

21st Jun 2013
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I am a very fortunate commuter. It takes me 3 minutes and 35 seconds to get from breakfast to my desk at work. No. I don't work form home in a large mansion, I am fortunate enough to work around a few corners from home . It's so close actually that I often walk the long way round to get in my daily exercise quota. Previously I worked 1.5 miles from home and walked or cycled most days.

Now, I am fortunate in as much as I chose where to locate my office and the main criteria was that it was within a 30 minute walk. I pass hundreds vehicles each day , often the same people stuck in the same jam. At one spot I pass the Manchester bound X43 from deepest Lancashire and over a stretch that is 1/5 mile long I pass them , open the office, boil the kettle and start deinking  my tea as it trundles past 7 - 8 minutes later. I can't help but feel sorry for those passengers.

Which got me thinking. Do people really think about changing jobs to avoid a commute or do they get into their car or catch the bus as a matter of routine without any consideration ?  Or are they sucked in because there are no jobs locally ?

What are your commuting thoughts and experiences ?

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Replies (13)

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By mrme89
21st Jun 2013 14:19

I currently travel 30 miles to work – join the M62 at junction 26 and leave at 29 to join the M1. It’s a horrible journey due to the roadwork’s that seem to have been going on since the ice age.  

 

A colleague of mine used to do a 180 mile round trip to Middlesbrough every day. He had that job for 5 years … I’d have found something else after a day!

 

I do think the cost of petrol is a serious consideration though before accepting a job. I start a job on 5th July that is less than my currently salary. However, I will save £70 per month on petrol so it’s not too bad. 

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Norman Younger
By Norman Younger
21st Jun 2013 14:45

Cost of commute

I honestly believe that people simply do not give enough thought to the cost . I reckon your friend had medidation music playing in the car to sustain that. Either that or they were paying him a king's ransom

 

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By mrme89
21st Jun 2013 14:56

He was paid a decent salary plus £1 per mile ... he was / is a waste specialist.

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By B Roberts
21st Jun 2013 15:03

Local Jobs ?

There must be local jobs !

On my daily commute, going along the motorway amongst the throng of traffic going from East to West, there is an equal throng of traffic going from West to East !

I often think that there must be somebody travelling in the opposite direction to me who is going to a smilar job with similar pay etc. than I am.

I just wish that we could meet somehow so that we could swap jobs and save each other time and money !

 

 

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By User deleted
22nd Jun 2013 01:38

Although in North Surrey ...

.... I never heeded the siren call of the Smoke. I was happy with my local job without the London Waiting. I was around 30 minutes from work when living at my parents. We started at 9.30 so up at 8.30, out by 9.00 at my desk by 9.30. Occasionally if it was pouring or just feeling lazy I would hop on a bus if one came along when I was passing a bus stop. When I got my flat it was only around 10 minutes from the office. I have never been more than 30 minutes from home, currently about 15, but I go the long way to drop son at school so takes about 25 minutes. Personally the extra 3 - 4 hours travelling is not worth the extra money for a commute up town.

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Routemaster image
By tom123
23rd Jun 2013 09:12

De-inking my tea

boil the kettle and start deinking  my tea as it trundles past 7 - 8 minutes later. I can't help but feel sorry for those passengers.

 

Is this what happens when you stir your tea with a biro :)

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Replying to lionofludesch:
Norman Younger
By Norman Younger
23rd Jun 2013 14:34

Passengers

To add insult to injury the top deck is at my eye level so we exchange emotionless glances . Round these parts one NEVER makes prolonged direct eye contact with a stranger.

I don't know about biros - the ubiquitous BIC pen is banned from 6 feet of my desk

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Routemaster image
By tom123
23rd Jun 2013 09:15

More seriously

I have yet to work in my 'home' town - which is in the south west, with a population of about 150,000.

As an accident of history, we don't have much industry - it is mostly retail and tourism. Hence I have usually worked in neighbouring towns which are less glamorous and thus have industrial estates and business parks around their outer edges.

Still not planning on commuting more than 20 miles / 30 minutes - but time will tell.

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By User deleted
23rd Jun 2013 21:54

Reminds me ...

... of the house we rented whilst ours was being extended - the bathroom door faced the double doors on to the Juiliet balcony over looking the car park, there was a 8 foot wall around the car park but the other side was a bus stop, and some of the routes had two decks.

To cut a short story shorter, the wife had a habit of pulling the curtains (there were no nets) whilst I was showering - and I don't use a bath robe - needless to say there was the odd incident!

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Norman Younger
By Norman Younger
24th Jun 2013 09:00

Clothed to commute

Presumably you clothed yourself for the trip to work .....

Which leads me to wonder how mnay of the sweaty cyclists that zoom past me actually shower when they arrive at their cubicle in the city  ?

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Replying to CSanton89:
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By User deleted
24th Jun 2013 14:49

Depends ...

Flying Scotsman wrote:

Presumably you clothed yourself for the trip to work .....

Which leads me to wonder how mnay of the sweaty cyclists that zoom past me actually shower when they arrive at their cubicle in the city  ?

... if I was working at the office or commuting to the study on a hot day :o)

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By Goatacre
24th Jun 2013 12:59

70 mile round trip

From sleepy North Wiltshire into Bristol, although I do usually work from home a couple of days a week.

There are certainly no jobs of the type I'm interested in within my town. I trained in Swindon, and then moved onto a Big 4 post in Bristol as soon as I qualified. Despite having moved jobs since then, I'm still based in Bristol seven years later.

Whilst I invariably drive these days, I used to often catch the train. I find the commute fine the vast majority of the time - either option provides opportunity to unwind before reaching home (reading or listening to Radio 4).

While I can understand the appeal of working much closer to home, for me it does come back to what job satisfaction and career development prospects I am looking for. Living where I do now, that means travelling somewhere else at least.

I am in the process of moving house though, so my commute will be reducing when that happens - by 90 seconds!

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By ShirleyM
24th Jun 2013 19:00

It's a 3 mile trip for me

Not far ... but I do pass 3 schools on the way, if I take the shortest route.

My last senior role in employment meant many miles on the M62 and sometimes the M621, and I didn't enjoy the journeys at all.

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