Working in London from the South west...

[vaud]

Open question - does shared accomodation provided by the company have any tax/BIK implications?

[zippy3x]

I live in central Lancashire and have done the Mon-Fri in London thing for about 7 of the last 12 years.

I'm happy to pass on tips and warnings, but before I do, I'd like to ask why you want to do this.

Are you getting more money? promotion?

London is a great city and I will almost certainly work down there again, BUT, working away from home will cause issues. With your family, and possibly with your employer.
My wife and I largely handled it well, althought there were issues, but my sister in law firmly places the origin of her divorce as the time her husband was seconded to the London office for two years.

So tip #1 don't even think about it unless there is something significant in it for you.

[omniflow]

Welshbeef said:

I’d be wanting to drive up Sunday evening which means it’s highly likely to be totally clear getting there and the shortest of times to travel.

Driving back towards / into London on the M4 or M40 on a Sunday afternoon / evening is the complete opposite of totally clear. All the people who've been away for the weekend, or staying in their house in the country will be returning to London in time for work on Monday morning.

[Welshbeef]

omniflow said:

Driving back towards / into London on the M4 or M40 on a Sunday afternoon / evening is the complete opposite of totally clear. All the people who've been away for the weekend, or staying in their house in the country will be returning to London in time for work on Monday morning.

Sorry I mean 8pm leaving home to get to London or even 9pm.

Travelling Sunday afternoon means 1.5 day weekend no thank you.

[wombleh]

You can fly from Plymouth to London, seems to cost about £150 for the 7:25-8:40 flight so not too bad compared to train.

[Kermit power]

Welshbeef said:

I’d be wanting to drive up Sunday evening which means it’s highly likely to be totally clear getting there and the shortest of times to travel.

My parents live in Somerset, so we frequently go down the A303 for the weekend. All I can say to the notion that driving back up from the West Country on a Sunday evening means clear roads is

ETA - Having read your post about leaving at 9pm, Plymouth to West London even with clear roads is the best part of a 4 hour drive. Hardly conducive to being on form on Monday morning if you're getting back to your flat at 1am!

Edited by Kermit power on Sunday 19th January 19:48

[SydneyBridge]

I believe plymouth airport closed a few years ago, althougb they are trying to reopen it

[Ynox]

wombleh said:

You can fly from Plymouth to London, seems to cost about £150 for the 7:25-8:40 flight so not too bad compared to train.

Sure that's right? I thought it had closed.

There's flights from Newquay to LHR (may be being moved to LGW though).

I think a lot of this depends on your position in life etc. It might be good for career progression, but I'm not sure I'd be in a huge rush to do it, especially if I _had_ to travel back every weekend (travelling every weekend gets tiring fast, I've done it in the past - especially if the roads are screwed). Also sharing a place gets annoying quickly also!

[wombleh]

SydneyBridge said:

I believe plymouth airport closed a few years ago, althougb they are trying to reopen it

Ah wasn’t reading the search results closely enough, I was looking at flights from Newquay. Driving there to fly up is probably a bit much faff, although if the alternative is the train or M25 on a Friday evening then might still be worth a look...

[Saleen836]

Could you not drive to Exeter Airport then fly to London City?

[vaud]

Saleen836 said:

Could you not drive to Exeter Airport then fly to London City?

How much does that buy you?

Plymouth to Exeter - 1hr
Check-in, margin, etc - 1hr
Flight to City- 1hr 10
City to Paddington - 45 min minimum

Add in contingency, still 4hrs at least?

[SydneyBridge]

Do you have any flexibility to work at home for one or two days a week?

[Welshbeef]

So the info provided is OP will earn £400 MORE for this setup however it’s unclear if this is pre or post tax.

Train from Plymouth to Paddington is £106 return and takes just over 3 hours - so over a month it will cost you MORE than the amount you earn / if that’s pre taxed income you’d be paying to do this work.

Flying with parking at airport travel to airport and flight cost again doesn’t make any financial sense.

Driving is between 4-4.5 hours. 444 mile round trip which over a month & assuming £0.11 fuel pence per mile it costs you best part of £200.
So again IF £400 extra a month is post tax your doing this for £200 MAX extra a month whilst having a 8-9hour drive weekly or 32-36hrs a month driving as such £200 /36 =£5.55 per hour.

The numbers if it’s that strictly simply really don’t make much sense.

Good luck OP in what ever you choose.

[deckster]

Welshbeef said:

The numbers if it’s that strictly simply really don’t make much sense.

Agreed but the point that everybody's trying to make is that it's not about the money. A few hundred quid here and there pales into insignificance vs the practical realities of a serious commute and the effects of long-term living away from your home, family & friends.

Welshbeef said:

Good luck OP in what ever you choose.

Indeed!

[conanius]

No idea what your employer is like, but could you look to do something like a compressed working week? get the first off peak down on a Monday morning, and get an early one back on a friday so you retain your weekends?

I know a lot of people who do similar (but do 4 long days, first train up on a Monday, late train back on a Thursday). You can save a lot of cash buying train tickets in advance, and then that gives you several hours to do your own thing.

[b0rk]

How about as left field option:

Plymouth to Paddington sleeper on Sunday night you can get a solo birth for £90 if booked in advance, leaving Plymouth 9:15pm arrive London 5am but you stay on until 6:45am. Free showers in Paddington for sleeper travellers. Tube over to great Portland street and you'll be in work by 7am on Monday if you want.

Then the 4pm or 4:30pm back on Friday, advance tickets bought a month+ ahead can be £30 to £40.

So a months commit will cost you around £120 more than your allowance. I assume the allowance / contribution is tax free and not provided as income.

[Welshbeef]

b0rk said:

How about as left field option:

Plymouth to Paddington sleeper on Sunday night you can get a solo birth for £90 if booked in advance, leaving Plymouth 9:15pm arrive London 5am but you stay on until 6:45am. Free showers in Paddington for sleeper travellers. Tube over to great Portland street and you'll be in work by 7am on Monday if you want.

Then the 4pm or 4:30pm back on Friday, advance tickets bought a month+ ahead can be £30 to £40.

So a months commit will cost you around £120 more than your allowance. I assume the allowance / contribution is tax free and not provided as income.

But unless there is a benefit to current and future career path what is the point?

[jontysafe]

b0rk said:

How about as left field option:

Plymouth to Paddington sleeper on Sunday night you can get a solo birth for £90 if booked in advance, leaving Plymouth 9:15pm arrive London 5am but you stay on until 6:45am. Free showers in Paddington for sleeper travellers. Tube over to great Portland street and you'll be in work by 7am on Monday if you want.

Then the 4pm or 4:30pm back on Friday, advance tickets bought a month+ ahead can be £30 to £40.

So a months commit will cost you around £120 more than your allowance. I assume the allowance / contribution is tax free and not provided as income.

My god that sounds utterly miserable.
It’s like your employer is trying to break you? Go and renegotiate a package that doesn’t seriously reduce your life quality or just say no thanks

[JamesD74]

b0rk said:

How about as left field option:

Plymouth to Paddington sleeper on Sunday night you can get a solo birth for £90 if booked in advance, leaving Plymouth 9:15pm arrive London 5am but you stay on until 6:45am. Free showers in Paddington for sleeper travellers. Tube over to great Portland street and you'll be in work by 7am on Monday if you want.

Then the 4pm or 4:30pm back on Friday, advance tickets bought a month+ ahead can be £30 to £40.

So a months commit will cost you around £120 more than your allowance. I assume the allowance / contribution is tax free and not provided as income.

That sounds beyond grim as a one time event. Let alone weekly.

[The Leaper]

Just for the record, last Sunday I drove non-stop from Falmouth to mid Surrey via A30, A303, M3 etc, The distance was 276 miles. I left Falmouth at 12:45 pm and arrived home at 5.15pm, so about 4 1/2 hours. It was a bright sunny day, light traffic except for the M3 section. This is a journey I do 2-3 times a year always out of season, and the best ever time was 4 1/4 hours.

I know this is not the OP's planned commute but it may give some idea of time that will be spent on the road if he decides to drive.

R.