Bracknell to the city commute -been offered double my salary

[edc]

redrabbit29 said:

Did the commute today just to get a feel for it.

0705 - train set off
0805 - arrived at Waterloo
0815 - got off and was stood on street outside Bank station.

Total time was 1hr 10 mins

Friday is the quietest day. Especially before a bank holiday. Wait till you have to queue up for 10 mins at Waterloo before even reaching the tube platform.

[redrabbit29]

edc said:

redrabbit29 said:

Did the commute today just to get a feel for it.

0705 - train set off
0805 - arrived at Waterloo
0815 - got off and was stood on street outside Bank station.

Total time was 1hr 10 mins

Friday is the quietest day. Especially before a bank holiday. Wait till you have to queue up for 10 mins at Waterloo before even reaching the tube platform.

Yea I was aware it's quieter but I just wanted a feel for it in general.

It's good that the Waterloo and city line is just a shuttle so the tube is entirely empty each time it arrives.

[Terminator X]

Do it for a few years then come back imho. London commute grinds you down eventually, I used to do 2hrs each way to Canary Wharf from about the same place as the OP!

TX.

[MYOB]

edc said:

redrabbit29 said:

Did the commute today just to get a feel for it.

0705 - train set off
0805 - arrived at Waterloo
0815 - got off and was stood on street outside Bank station.

Total time was 1hr 10 mins

Friday is the quietest day. Especially before a bank holiday. Wait till you have to queue up for 10 mins at Waterloo before even reaching the tube platform.

Yes, lots of people work from home on Fridays. Try a different day after half term.

For me, I craved my work life balance and sacrificed the earning potentials when I had kids. There's more to life. Yes, you have the ability to earn more, but my experience is you end up paying out more for a particular lifestyle.

Swings and roundabouts...

[redrabbit29]

The company want a decision today.

I believe getting on just after Bracknell means I will get a seat easily enough, and then it's just a case of queuing for W&C line.

I'm happy The commute won't involve a tube that stops at tons of stations and that I don't need to change lines

I don't plan on staying in London long term. My hope is 12-24 months to learn, get experience and extra training. Boost my CV and move back out towards Reading/Berkshire area.

[MYOB]

In that case, good luck and congrats.

[DanL]

Honestly, go for it!

[redrabbit29]

Thanks guys :-)

I know it's a great opportunity and in 2-3 years - when I'm about 35-36, when me and GF have kids I hope to be closer to home and this move will have paid off.

[redrabbit29]

I think I'll take other peoples advice here and go Waterloo East => London Bridge. It's around 15 minute walk then to the building I believe. It's better than queuing for tube and also escalators, plus it's fresh air and a bit of exercise.

I can probably save money then by getting a Season ticket for the train only, no underground.

[MYOB]

Sound like a plan but there will be days when you won't do the walk, mainly when it's chucking down!

[CAPP0]

Haven't read the whole thread so I may be repeating.

if you're in Bracknell, won't you be able to drive to Reading and get on Crossrail into L'Pool Street area much quicker than the Bracknell line? (I've used that before, it's the slowest, longest line in history!)

[redrabbit29]

Having another wobble with thoughts of leaving my current nice setup with no pressure/stress and easy working hours ... with diving into the unknown. Finishing at 5ish and home about 730.

Private sector - time is money, as one of the guys as the company told me.

Never realised I was so indecisive until now

[redrabbit29]

CAPP0 said:

Haven't read the whole thread so I may be repeating.

if you're in Bracknell, won't you be able to drive to Reading and get on Crossrail into L'Pool Street area much quicker than the Bracknell line? (I've used that before, it's the slowest, longest line in history!)

Hey,

Not really.

The train from my local station takes 60 minutes.

Driving to Reading takes about 20-30 minutes and parking is extortionate. Traffic can be terrible and gridlocked.

I know that Reading to Liverpool Street will take about 65 minutes.

So there's no saving really

[DanL]

redrabbit29 said:

Having another wobble with thoughts of leaving my current nice setup with no pressure/stress and easy working hours ... with diving into the unknown. Finishing at 5ish and home about 730.

Private sector - time is money, as one of the guys as the company told me.

Never realised I was so indecisive until now

If you were home by 6:30, would that be better? You might find out that this works, depending on train times. Seems a bit odd that it’s 2.5 hours door to door in the evening, is all.

But - if it’s the commute, are there no Reading based jobs that pay more, without the London slog? I ask to help you work out the real concern - leaving, or spending time on a train when you could be at home...

[redrabbit29]

DanL said:

redrabbit29 said:

Having another wobble with thoughts of leaving my current nice setup with no pressure/stress and easy working hours ... with diving into the unknown. Finishing at 5ish and home about 730.

Private sector - time is money, as one of the guys as the company told me.

Never realised I was so indecisive until now

If you were home by 6:30, would that be better? You might find out that this works, depending on train times. Seems a bit odd that it’s 2.5 hours door to door in the evening, is all.

But - if it’s the commute, are there no Reading based jobs that pay more, without the London slog? I ask to help you work out the real concern - leaving, or spending time on a train when you could be at home...

Just ignore me, I think I'm just very tired and it's been a tough week as I've been constantly weighing up things in my mind. It's just a massive change of lifestyle, work, and work culture.

In terms of trains, if I can get on the

1720 arriving at 1820
1735 arriving at 1835
1747 arriving at 1847

So it's not too bad. A colleague said I could just do 1-2 later nights and 1-2 leaving at 5 and one day at home. Seems reasonable

[Mr Pointy]

redrabbit29 said:

CAPP0 said:

Haven't read the whole thread so I may be repeating.

if you're in Bracknell, won't you be able to drive to Reading and get on Crossrail into L'Pool Street area much quicker than the Bracknell line? (I've used that before, it's the slowest, longest line in history!)

Not really.

The train from my local station takes 60 minutes. Driving to Reading takes about 20-30 minutes and parking is extortionate. Traffic can be terrible and gridlocked. I know that Reading to Liverpool Street will take about 65 minutes. So there's no saving really

If he was going to do that he could pick the Crossrail up at Twyford. It still means driving though.

[redrabbit29]

Yea I looked at Twyford. Bit pointless due to the drive and then finding a space. It wouldn't save any time and would just make it more complicated.

It takes me about 8 minutes to walk to Martins Heron... that's 60 minutes on train to Waterloo.

Also, cross rail won't be open there until December 2019. That's over 18 months away... may not even be there then if I find a more local job

[ElectricSoup]

redrabbit29 said:

Yea I looked at Twyford. Bit pointless due to the drive and then finding a space. It wouldn't save any time and would just make it more complicated.

It takes me about 8 minutes to walk to Martins Heron... that's 60 minutes on train to Waterloo.

Also, cross rail won't be open there until December 2019. That's over 18 months away... may not even be there then if I find a more local job

You wouldn't want to get on a Crossrail train from Twyford or Reading anyway. They will be stopping at every station to Paddington. You would take the fast mainline service to Paddington and then change to a Crossrail train for the Paddington-Liverpool Street leg. It's there that the time saving is made versus existing tube journeys.

[Mr Pointy]

redrabbit29 said:

Just ignore me, I think I'm just very tired and it's been a tough week as I've been constantly weighing up things in my mind. It's just a massive change of lifestyle, work, and work culture.

In terms of trains, if I can get on the

1720 arriving at 1820
1735 arriving at 1835
1747 arriving at 1847

So it's not too bad. A colleague said I could just do 1-2 later nights and 1-2 leaving at 5 and one day at home. Seems reasonable

To be honest I think your biggest problem is going to be adjusting to the work culture, given the tone of your posts. You can't go into this with the attitude that you're going to be keeping track of how many hours you have done so it's your right to slide off at 5pm when everyone else is still working; the private sector just doesn't work like that. The attitude of your colleague pretty much sums up everything I wouldn't want in a member of my team & if you behave like that then I don't think you'll last as you'll be passed over by colleagues who are prepared to put the work in. Your comment of "when do they eat" pretty much sums up how little you understand about the commuting life. Getting home at 6:30 is early for a huge number of people who work in London.

I also think you haven't truly experienced what commuting is like as you've picked a quiet day to test it. You'll probably get a seat at Bracknell but coming back is whole different story as you are travelling at the same time as everyone else. I wouldn't be surprised if you get delays most weeks coming out of Waterloo. I've been held up by snow on the line, trackside fires, buckled rails & a train hitting a deer.

Sorry to be a bit blunt as I think you should take the job, but you need to be aware that your cosy public employee attitude needs to change or you'll have problems.

[redrabbit29]

The working hours are 7-7. I spoke to someone in the company, he's been there 18 months and heads up one of the teams.

He said most get in for around 8-830ish and some are still there for about 6.

Maybe I'm just not cut out for the job considering the commute on top, or not cut out for the cut throat nature of private sector work.

I feel like it's almost like giving up my life - at least during the week.