Working in Canary Wharf
Discussion
Bussolini said:
Sure - didn't realise that, will send you one.
Commute depends where you live, but it's probably just as easy if not easier than the City for many!
I am somewhat put off by all the hours you say you work in the other thread about houses, lol. I am presuming you are quite senior though.Commute depends where you live, but it's probably just as easy if not easier than the City for many!
I have made contact with them options re flexible working/working at other offices.
Mojooo said:
I am somewhat put off by all the hours you say you work in the other thread about houses, lol. I am presuming you are quite senior though.
I have made contact with them options re flexible working/working at other offices.
No I am junior/mid level, but I am in private practice not at the CMA. Trust me, the guys at the CMA do not work my hours ;-)I have made contact with them options re flexible working/working at other offices.
I worked there for a while and concur with most of the comments here.
It feels totally different from any other part of London, and you'll either like that self-contained feel or you wont. I actually quite enjoyed it during the day, but didn't partake in the evenings that often.
The travel is the killer unless you are close by. I commuted into Waterloo and then onto the Jubilee Line. If both of those lines were working well it was an amazing (if crowded) commute, under 40 minutes door-to-desk.
If the Jubilee line has problems, it is MUCH more difficult. They close the entrance to the Jubilee Line at Waterloo at least a couple of times a week. Then you can either wait in the queue or got W&C/DLR, but those routes are totally overcrowded because the Jubilee Line isn't working.
On the way back, it can be worse. If the Jubilee Line is closed totally, everyone tries to get onto the DLR and it takes ages because it just doesn't have the capacity.
I'd often turn up at Canary Wharf station to find literally thousands of people trying to get in. It's not always as bad as it looks because they throttle the amount of people that they let in if the trains are running every three minutes instead of every two. You can still be on a train within ten minutes sometimes even if it looks like it will take hours.
The Jubilee Line is the only one where you have to queue on the platform for an individual door. It looks ridiculous, but it works well, and the trains are empty coming into CW so a lot of people get on each one.
It feels totally different from any other part of London, and you'll either like that self-contained feel or you wont. I actually quite enjoyed it during the day, but didn't partake in the evenings that often.
The travel is the killer unless you are close by. I commuted into Waterloo and then onto the Jubilee Line. If both of those lines were working well it was an amazing (if crowded) commute, under 40 minutes door-to-desk.
If the Jubilee line has problems, it is MUCH more difficult. They close the entrance to the Jubilee Line at Waterloo at least a couple of times a week. Then you can either wait in the queue or got W&C/DLR, but those routes are totally overcrowded because the Jubilee Line isn't working.
On the way back, it can be worse. If the Jubilee Line is closed totally, everyone tries to get onto the DLR and it takes ages because it just doesn't have the capacity.
I'd often turn up at Canary Wharf station to find literally thousands of people trying to get in. It's not always as bad as it looks because they throttle the amount of people that they let in if the trains are running every three minutes instead of every two. You can still be on a train within ten minutes sometimes even if it looks like it will take hours.
The Jubilee Line is the only one where you have to queue on the platform for an individual door. It looks ridiculous, but it works well, and the trains are empty coming into CW so a lot of people get on each one.
Breadvan72 said:
I did a year in Canary Wharf. A place entirely devoid of soul and not really in London, as pointed out above. Insane levels of partying on Thursday nights. Fridays are for sleeping off the booze and drugs on the firm’s time.
I don't see that but mainly because I never get to leave the office on a Thursday or Friday night! As a place to work not party it's as good as any.
My commute from Greenwich on the DLR is a piece of piss. Some of my colleagues drive and have no problems.
I used to pop over to Greenwich on the DLR for lunch sometimes, as the lunch options in Canary Wharf grew dull, and in the good places bagging a Martini and a steak entailed taking out a substantial mortgage.
Below the shiny palaces of finance and law, there are gleaming malls that sell luxury goods and posh sarnies. Watches, shoes, lingerie, tech, flats, all that. There is a spenner gym that has a glass front open to the street so that passers by can admire the flexing and pumping and preening, and the expensive workout kits.
There are white people in suits, and brown people in suits, and yellow people in suits, but almost the only black people are mostly shining shoes or pushing brooms. Few workers look over 40, and the hiring policies are still set by men. Thus a great many of the female bankers and lawyers and consultant types look and dress like supermodels, but also have degrees from Harvard and/or INSEAD. The blokes are mostly buff and well tailored, except for a very few crumpled old gits like me (not at all buff, current tailor not as good as the one I can't afford any more!). Young lads deliver pizza and Class As on mopeds.
It is a very crazy place. Quite fun in small doses, but also a bit rubbish.
Below the shiny palaces of finance and law, there are gleaming malls that sell luxury goods and posh sarnies. Watches, shoes, lingerie, tech, flats, all that. There is a spenner gym that has a glass front open to the street so that passers by can admire the flexing and pumping and preening, and the expensive workout kits.
There are white people in suits, and brown people in suits, and yellow people in suits, but almost the only black people are mostly shining shoes or pushing brooms. Few workers look over 40, and the hiring policies are still set by men. Thus a great many of the female bankers and lawyers and consultant types look and dress like supermodels, but also have degrees from Harvard and/or INSEAD. The blokes are mostly buff and well tailored, except for a very few crumpled old gits like me (not at all buff, current tailor not as good as the one I can't afford any more!). Young lads deliver pizza and Class As on mopeds.
It is a very crazy place. Quite fun in small doses, but also a bit rubbish.
Thanks for responses
The employer has said that attending CW would not be required everyday and couple be as little as a few times a month.
Therefore if I did get the job I would either train it in (via Waterloo) or it might just be easier to car it up and stay in London the night before.
It seems that the Jubilee line is one to avoid... DLR being the other main option in.
The employer has said that attending CW would not be required everyday and couple be as little as a few times a month.
Therefore if I did get the job I would either train it in (via Waterloo) or it might just be easier to car it up and stay in London the night before.
It seems that the Jubilee line is one to avoid... DLR being the other main option in.
Mojooo said:
The employer has said that attending CW would not be required everyday and couple be as little as a few times a month.
That's good. In small doses CW can be quite good. It's unlike anywhere else I have been in the UK. The day-in day-out tedium is a problem after a while but for a few days a month then treat is as a freak show and be glad when you get out each evening. 
Mojooo said:
Thanks for responses
The employer has said that attending CW would not be required everyday and couple be as little as a few times a month.
Therefore if I did get the job I would either train it in (via Waterloo) or it might just be easier to car it up and stay in London the night before.
It seems that the Jubilee line is one to avoid... DLR being the other main option in.
If you are coming in via Waterloo, the Jubiliee Line is the best option if it is working as it only takes about ten minutes. To get the DLR, you'd have to get the Waterloo & City Line to Bank, walk (for what seems like miles) to the DLR. It's probably half an hour if running well.The employer has said that attending CW would not be required everyday and couple be as little as a few times a month.
Therefore if I did get the job I would either train it in (via Waterloo) or it might just be easier to car it up and stay in London the night before.
It seems that the Jubilee line is one to avoid... DLR being the other main option in.
So, use the Jubilee most of the time, and the DLR only when that isn't working.
omniflow said:
kingston12 said:
So, use the Jubilee most of the time, and the DLR only when that isn't working.
Alternatively, try to delay your start date until Crossrail is running.Mojooo said:
What diff would crossrail make to Waterloo > CW ?
Crossrail doesn't seem to stop at Waterloo
It doesn’t. Does give an alternative route to CW if Jubilee is out, but not a very direct one (would have to take Northern Line 5 stops to TCR).Crossrail doesn't seem to stop at Waterloo
Edited by 67Dino on Tuesday 22 October 22:17
Mojooo said:
What diff would crossrail make to Waterloo > CW ?
Crossrail doesn't seem to stop at Waterloo
It just makes the Jubilee Line much easier to use on a good day, and gives you a reasonable way to get to/from CW when the Jubilee isn’t working.Crossrail doesn't seem to stop at Waterloo
The DLR just can’t handle the extra passengers when the Jubilee Line isn’t working. That’s fine if you can just stay at work a bit longer or go for a pint, but if you need to be home for a certain time, it’s difficult.
Mojooo said:
What diff would crossrail make to Waterloo > CW ?
Crossrail doesn't seem to stop at Waterloo
It's not just about you.Crossrail doesn't seem to stop at Waterloo
Once Crossrail is running, then when the Jubilee line breaks down (which it will), then all of the people that want to use it will have 3 alternatives:
1. Hang around and drink beer until they've fixed it, but then you'll be able to get on a train pretty much straight away because of points 2 and 3
2. Use Crossrail if it's convenient for your destination
3. Use the DLR if it's convenient for your destination. You'll be able to get on a DLR train because many people will have chosen option 2.
So it's more about Crossrail reducing the load on the DLR in times of crisis
I was just thinking about this thread as I’m stuck again on a train going into Waterloo.
I’m hoping things will improve, but the combination of failing SWR and the (currently) failing Jubilee Line at the moment could be pretty toxic.
It’s fine if you are fairly relaxed about these things (I’m not!), but might be worth warming your employer how unpredictable your commute is likely to be.
I’m hoping things will improve, but the combination of failing SWR and the (currently) failing Jubilee Line at the moment could be pretty toxic.
It’s fine if you are fairly relaxed about these things (I’m not!), but might be worth warming your employer how unpredictable your commute is likely to be.
tbh I’d say Canary Wharf has improved recently. For years it was the same rota of identikit chains or evening pubs but with Crossrail place, the kerb market on west India quay etc there’s lots of new options - lunches aren’t as unbearable if you don’t have or want to go to a canteen (not sure if 25 has one upstairs). Lot of new drinking places open too.
The main issue with CW, as already mentioned, is when the Jubilee OR the DLR go down, or - as one highlight a while back - both.. There’s always the boats back to Waterloo if that happens, but they do get busy. Crossrail will help of course but is still years away.
It’s clean, safe and has pretty much every sort of shop you’d need.
The main issue with CW, as already mentioned, is when the Jubilee OR the DLR go down, or - as one highlight a while back - both.. There’s always the boats back to Waterloo if that happens, but they do get busy. Crossrail will help of course but is still years away.
It’s clean, safe and has pretty much every sort of shop you’d need.
Edited by essayer on Thursday 24th October 09:47
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