What would the folks of ph deem an acceptable commute?
Discussion
Cheers for all the replies people!! A lot of interesting and varied opinions! !
The Motorola post was very inriguing. ...I wasn't aware people analyzed this stuff so much!!
The post from the guy going from wallasey to Northwich. ...cheers for that mate...A very similar potential journey length and direction so good info.
I think the post about what you are moving from-to was very valid. If I was moving to an identical house just 25 miles further from work I might get piss ed off I agree!!......I'm thinking along the same lines as you and a move to a bigger pad with land and village lifestyle would be great for the wife and kids...it's just a case of moving schools which is a pain but the rewards outweigh the problems I feel.
The Motorola post was very inriguing. ...I wasn't aware people analyzed this stuff so much!!
The post from the guy going from wallasey to Northwich. ...cheers for that mate...A very similar potential journey length and direction so good info.
I think the post about what you are moving from-to was very valid. If I was moving to an identical house just 25 miles further from work I might get piss ed off I agree!!......I'm thinking along the same lines as you and a move to a bigger pad with land and village lifestyle would be great for the wife and kids...it's just a case of moving schools which is a pain but the rewards outweigh the problems I feel.
lord trumpton said:
A few of my customers here in the NW work in London and travel down Monday early doors, live in a bedsit all week and return home to their wife and children late Friday night.
Feck that! What a crappy life they lead
I worked in Edinburgh for a year and a half. Luckily I only worked Tuesday/wed/Thurs and travelled up and down from Cheshire on the train. I got a long weekend and eventually I got fed up of my three nights away from home, and took a job in field sales and soon realised that I was spending just as much time away for half the money...Feck that! What a crappy life they lead
100miles each way Including A1 M25 and A3. Welcome to the world of the extreme commuter! Morning easy 95minutes leaving at 4:45am, evenings are in the hands of the gods of the M25. It sounds horrible but I love it and to be fair I stay over/work from home and travel abroad a lot as well to break it up. But the time in the car is my time to relax and chill out and I love driving and by that I don't just mean a hoon I mean every aspect of driving well. Ok I'm sad 
I used to do Maidstone to Slough for 5 years on the M25. Thought I had a crap commute until a colleague joined with Folkestone to Slough. We both had automatic company cars with fuel paid so it wasn't that bad although we could never car share with different clients. I used to keep 101 snacks and drinks in the car and also an overnight bag for when the M25 went tits up and we had a cheap B&B near work for £25. After a couple of year of building up a reputation for being 100% reliable and dependable it became easier to work from home on certain days.
I do 2h 25min each way by train (bit by bike) five days a week and whilst it is a fair chunk of the day it does allow me loads of time to read, watch tv, listen to music and sometimes work. My employer is pretty good and I get a good leave allowance which does really help.
For me its do-able and Country living is much more preferable to the central London but it can be a bit of a hassle when the trains break as they inevitably do. I had only intended to do it for a few months but 3.5 years later i'm still on the train...maybe 2015 will be the last and will finally put an end to feeding greater anglia so much cash....
For me its do-able and Country living is much more preferable to the central London but it can be a bit of a hassle when the trains break as they inevitably do. I had only intended to do it for a few months but 3.5 years later i'm still on the train...maybe 2015 will be the last and will finally put an end to feeding greater anglia so much cash....
I think my commute is acceptable. 15 miles, 20 minutes on some of Scotland's best roads to one job. 40 miles, 45 minutes on another cracker to one of the other jobs. In winter I rarely catch another car going the same direction.
Not entirely in the spirit of some replies but I'm content.
Not entirely in the spirit of some replies but I'm content.
sjabrown said:
I think my commute is acceptable. 15 miles, 20 minutes on some of Scotland's best roads to one job. 40 miles, 45 minutes on another cracker to one of the other jobs. In winter I rarely catch another car going the same direction.
Not entirely in the spirit of some replies but I'm content.
On the odd occasion that I drove to Edinburg, it was great, especially the last bit from the motorway through Biggar and into the city..Not entirely in the spirit of some replies but I'm content.
The issue is one of time and cost, not distance.
If your fuel is paid for then a sensible limit is about an hour.
I used to commute 50 miles in to Birmingham. It took around an hour and ten minutes as most time was spent on the M69 and M69. Occasionally there were traffic jams to contend with, but I worked a lot of hours then so I mostly travelled when traffic was light.
If your fuel is paid for then a sensible limit is about an hour.
I used to commute 50 miles in to Birmingham. It took around an hour and ten minutes as most time was spent on the M69 and M69. Occasionally there were traffic jams to contend with, but I worked a lot of hours then so I mostly travelled when traffic was light.
R39S1 said:
100miles each way Including A1 M25 and A3. Welcome to the world of the extreme commuter! Morning easy 95minutes leaving at 4:45am, evenings are in the hands of the gods of the M25. It sounds horrible but I love it and to be fair I stay over/work from home and travel abroad a lot as well to break it up. But the time in the car is my time to relax and chill out and I love driving and by that I don't just mean a hoon I mean every aspect of driving well. Ok I'm sad
I hope you get paid a fortune! I dont think I could that for anything less!I used to do a 150 mile return commute from N. Oxfordshire to London. I did it for 7 months and it did my head in. (Anyone that knows what happens at the end of the M40 will know why).
Then came broadband. My commute is now 20 yards each way, with +/- one trip to London per year. I heartilly recommend being self employed. Much more civilised.
Then came broadband. My commute is now 20 yards each way, with +/- one trip to London per year. I heartilly recommend being self employed. Much more civilised.
I did a 13 mile commute for knocking on 10 years that took anywhere from 40 mins to >1 hour. It was bumper to bumper and soul destroying, physiologically I'd much prefer a longer (distance) commute but be moving. For two odd years now I'm 10 miles from work and it takes 15 minutes tops, I bloody love it and it would take a massive incentive to go back to the way things were.
Don't underestimate the difference a short commute can make to your quality of life. After years of getting up early for the long commute I still get up and ready for roughly the same time/leave the house but now I'm in work for 7am or before which means I can leave around 3 and home for 1515hrs. That means I can get home, walk the dog while it's still day light in the winter.
Owning your own business as with the OP but a slightly different spin/motivation on it IMO. I know guys who commute on the train for over 1.5 hours each way just because they like where they live.
Don't underestimate the difference a short commute can make to your quality of life. After years of getting up early for the long commute I still get up and ready for roughly the same time/leave the house but now I'm in work for 7am or before which means I can leave around 3 and home for 1515hrs. That means I can get home, walk the dog while it's still day light in the winter.
Owning your own business as with the OP but a slightly different spin/motivation on it IMO. I know guys who commute on the train for over 1.5 hours each way just because they like where they live.
R39S1 said:
100miles each way Including A1 M25 and A3. Welcome to the world of the extreme commuter! Morning easy 95minutes leaving at 4:45am, evenings are in the hands of the gods of the M25......
If I had to do that sort of trek every day I'd be buying a middle of the range motorbike I think. With the right gear on it could be used most of the year round safety and comfortably, and you'd not be stuck in the obligatory English nose-to-tail party so much. Maybe its because I am getting old (I am) but I can easily recall the days when I could get from Poynton to Preston in 55 minutes. That was the start of my 'patch' back then and I would then venture further to Barrow or Skipton. I imagine that sort of daily commute is nigh on impossible now. I also recall putting 100000 miles on each of two cars in less than 5 years - good job the company supplied them 
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