Commuting from Reading to Fenchurch St, whats it like?
Discussion
scotal said:
LeTim would be your man for this one, I tihkn he hated a similar commute so much he stayed in Hotels most of the week.
oh yes. I stay down Tues to Thurs, so that's 3 nights, usually costs about £150 and have to get a couple of train tickets so all in all about £200 a week.
Versus £80 odd for the train and £20 for the tube.
IMO you'd be utterly mad to try and do it everyday, even for 6m, after a few weeks you can angle you hours so that you go a little earlier on Monday and Friday, but stay later in between ( well you ought to be able to ).
Oh and remember, the trains are okay, sort of......we are heading into proper winter though!
The other thing is it's a bit of fun, stay im a fairly central hotel, say near Lancaster Gate so you can get the pretty reliable central line, and it's quite good fun there's loads to do in London of an evening, and it perks the whole drisly affair of working up considerably.
Always up for a beer if you do take the contract, as are quite a few other chaps down here.
_daveR said:
direct from Theale
This is the train I get when I travel up and down, at least it's better than getting on at Reading as you get a seat. It will still be a total f*cker to get all of the way over town though after the rail journey.
I work for the French Bank at Marylebone so I can walk from Paddington to work these days ( used to be in Liverpool Street )....but even so I like to have a few nights down here. Have a lie in etc!
Cheers LeTim!
You must be quite local to me then? Im down in Sulhamstead.
Ive looked at the train and it works out to be around £85 a week or £150 for 1st class. High chances of grabbing a seat at Theale makes it more appealing though.
The staying over a few nights a week sounds possible too. Not sure on how much MrsR would like that though... but someone has to pay for the holidays etc
I do appreciate its going to be a long, tiring journey, but for 6 months I think I can stick it.
You must be quite local to me then? Im down in Sulhamstead.
Ive looked at the train and it works out to be around £85 a week or £150 for 1st class. High chances of grabbing a seat at Theale makes it more appealing though.
The staying over a few nights a week sounds possible too. Not sure on how much MrsR would like that though... but someone has to pay for the holidays etc
I do appreciate its going to be a long, tiring journey, but for 6 months I think I can stick it.
_daveR said:
Cheers LeTim!
You must be quite local to me then? Im down in Sulhamstead.
Ive looked at the train and it works out to be around £85 a week or £150 for 1st class. High chances of grabbing a seat at Theale makes it more appealing though.
The staying over a few nights a week sounds possible too. Not sure on how much MrsR would like that though... but someone has to pay for the holidays etc
I do appreciate its going to be a long, tiring journey, but for 6 months I think I can stick it.
Yes, I'm over near Bradfield/ Bradfield Southend. You must be quite local to me then? Im down in Sulhamstead.
Ive looked at the train and it works out to be around £85 a week or £150 for 1st class. High chances of grabbing a seat at Theale makes it more appealing though.
The staying over a few nights a week sounds possible too. Not sure on how much MrsR would like that though... but someone has to pay for the holidays etc
I do appreciate its going to be a long, tiring journey, but for 6 months I think I can stick it.
Get the 7.29am, that ( if it's on time ) gets into London at 8.10am.
On the way back the last direct train is the 6.06pm
which usually means getting the later trains and changing at Reading. But that's no biggie as it's much easier to get seat in the evening....I normally have a pint in the station pub and let it all calm down ( not that I'm a total p*sshead ot anything LOL ).My usual routine when I do commute is get a coffee from the buffet on the train at Theale, then park by backside and go to sleep.
Ah I see, well hmmm if you can persuade the missus to think of all that lovely money and let you stay in a hotel in the week, it does make for rather a nice open season on mid week beers, although that's probably what she's thinking!
Btw I always found it alot easier to walk from Paddington down to Lancaster Gate and get the Central Line. It's only 5min. The circle or district lines will give you an ulcer, or a heart attack or both......they're terrible.
What hours are they expecting?
You are of course talking to a man who was mad enough to once commute from Reading to Canary Wharf for 6m......money, it can be a wonderful incentive!!!
Edited to add......you don't need to get a first class ticket in the morning to get a seat if you're getting on at Theale, there are always seats ( and even if there weren't loads of people get off at Reading anyway so you can grab a seat then ).
You never know might bump into you in the buffet car for a beer on the way home one evening!
Edited by LeTim on Wednesday 12th December 15:05
LeTim said:
Yes, I'm over near Bradfield/ Bradfield Southend.
My usual routine when I do commute is get a coffee from the buffet on the train at Theale, then park by backside and go to sleep.
Ah I see, well hmmm if you can persuade the missus to think of all that lovely money and let you stay in a hotel in the week, it does make for rather a nice open season on mid week beers, although that's probably what she's thinking!
Btw I always found it alot easier to walk from Paddington down to Lancaster Gate and get the Central Line. It's only 5min. The circle or district lines will give you an ulcer, or a heart attack or both......they're terrible.
What hours are they expecting?
You are of course talking to a man who was mad enough to once commute from Reading to Canary Wharf for 6m......money, it can be a wonderful incentive!!!
Edited to add......you don't need to get a first class ticket in the morning to get a seat if you're getting on at Theale, there are always seats ( and even if there weren't loads of people get off at Reading anyway so you can grab a seat then ).
You never know might bump into you in the buffet car for a beer on the way home one evening!
lol, I think it would be the thought of me pissing the money Im earning up the wall all week that would cause MrsR's concern!My usual routine when I do commute is get a coffee from the buffet on the train at Theale, then park by backside and go to sleep.
Ah I see, well hmmm if you can persuade the missus to think of all that lovely money and let you stay in a hotel in the week, it does make for rather a nice open season on mid week beers, although that's probably what she's thinking!
Btw I always found it alot easier to walk from Paddington down to Lancaster Gate and get the Central Line. It's only 5min. The circle or district lines will give you an ulcer, or a heart attack or both......they're terrible.
What hours are they expecting?
You are of course talking to a man who was mad enough to once commute from Reading to Canary Wharf for 6m......money, it can be a wonderful incentive!!!
Edited to add......you don't need to get a first class ticket in the morning to get a seat if you're getting on at Theale, there are always seats ( and even if there weren't loads of people get off at Reading anyway so you can grab a seat then ).
You never know might bump into you in the buffet car for a beer on the way home one evening!
Edited by LeTim on Wednesday 12th December 14:52
Its purely the money thats tempting me into it (well, plus some more good FS experience on the cv.) Whilst it might not be a great deal for some people, as I had said, it is well into the region that I had always said would cause me to think seriously about it.
I got what you meant about the seats. Thanks to that I dont have to look at the 1st class option now.
Hours wise Im not too sure yet. I've had a very basic phone conversation, I think to just suss out the skill set as this has been the problem with all previous candidates. Fingers crossed.
_daveR said:
Hours wise Im not too sure yet. I've had a very basic phone conversation, I think to just suss out the skill set as this has been the problem with all previous candidates. Fingers crossed.
Well good luck mate! I get the 7.29am, that's gets to Padd for 8.10am, I reckon you'd easily be over at Liverpool Street for 8.35-8.45am....which is usual getting in time. Gives you a bit of leeway if the trains are late.
In the evening everything is alot easier, although you need to change at Reading.
PM me if you need to ask anything about working down here in FS. I've been doing it for 14 years.......
LeTim said:
You are of course talking to a man who was mad enough to once commute from Reading to Canary Wharf for 6m......money, it can be a wonderful incentive!!!
I did Fleet to Canary Wharf for 3 months. 10-15 mins from home to Fleet, park in the small car park on the London platform side if lucky and early enough, otherwise miss my train as the main Fleet car park is long and thin which means a brisk walk once parked.45 mins into Waterloo - the best bit of the journey. Sitting in 1st Class watching films on my PSP.
Then the scrum of Waterloo to Canary Wharf on the Jubilee Line which was, on average, another 45 mins or more.
Strangely I didn't renew after the 3 months. It was an awful commute. And a previous client of mine in Wokingham 20 mins from where I live offered me a 12 monther at slightly more money (only £10 per day more, but so much less travel and travel expense, so in real terms significantly more). Strangely enough it didn't require much thought.
And the bonus was that Dave was working there at the Wokingham client at the time too.
Edited by JonRB on Wednesday 12th December 16:29
JonRB said:
45 mins into Waterloo - the best bit of the journey. Sitting in 1st Class watching films on my PSP.
Then the scrum of Waterloo to Canary Wharf on the Jubilee Line which was, on average, another 45 mins or more.
Then the scrum of Waterloo to Canary Wharf on the Jubilee Line which was, on average, another 45 mins or more.
That's the killer though isn't it. The numbmer of places that are 30-50min from London by fast train service, seat n' all ( quite pleasant reading/thinking time).....but then you get to London and the transport system is a total mess. By the time you emerge from the tube you both look, and feel like you've played a rugby match, and you once pressed suit and shirt and sweat drenched and wrinkled to hell even though it's mid-winter.
Oh you are also never without a cold as the worlds entire population of viral carriers seem to use the underground!
Apart from that you only really need to worry about there being a powercut and being stuck in the dark for 2 hours.....
Can you tell that this is going to be my last stint in the city?
_daveR said:
Are you still in Wokingham Jon?
No. That finished at the beginning of November and I've been taking some time off to pursue personal projects since then. I'll probably drag my nose back to the grindstone in the New Year. Not that I want to mind - but I guess I ought to. I can't really afford to retire just yet - I'm not even 40. 
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