Commute or Move..

[ojoman]

Trexthedinosaur said:

Move, why waste 2 odd hours a day of your life in a car if you do not have too, for the sake of £500 a month before servicing / wear+tear, no thanks.

I seriously can't fathom why anyone would commute, as above, 100+ miles e/w or 3 hours per day in a car, what a waste of life!

I currently do 25KM on the autobahn, that is the furthest commute I have had, hate it, wouldn't do it again.

Amen. Dropped circa £10k to move to a place 15 minutes walk away. It's is a lot of money to miss, but I have well over two hours a day to myself (previously M62/M6 - a real crappy drive) and am significantly happier. Time in your car on a commute is dead time and it is bloody boring when sat bumper-to-bumper in a jam.

In fact, it takes me less time to walk home that what it used to take me to drive a mile in a particular part of town.

Never again.

[Hol]

Andy-IM said:

I do a daily commute of 50 miles from Kent to Crawley - 90% very busy motorways including the notorious M25 clacketts lane area. For the first couple of months I thought I'd never be able to keep it up...... 8 years later and I'm only just giving it up.

Your brain reasonably quickly adjusts to the monotony of it all and you can even make use of the time spent in the car e.g I spent6 months of it learning "CD" Russian. My biggest recommendationa..... 1.Get yourself an automatic. Far less tiring on body and soul. 2. Don't give in to the temptation to come off the motorway when things pile up. It's still quicker than fighting your way through backroads when everyone else is doing the same.

The traffic is shocking on my route, but I can count the number of times on one hand in a year that there is a truly serious issue.

Andy

^^ Similar commute to one I did as I echo the Clacketts experience.

43miles each way from Kent to Surrey that averaged 65mins each way.

I now commute to London city which takes 90mins each way, so less driving but more time.


I didn't consider moving as the kids were in school, my wife had her own job in the city and the houses cost a lot more.

If you can afford to move and get a better house in the bargain, then its probably worth considering.

[raspy]

ojoman said:

Amen. Dropped circa £10k to move to a place 15 minutes walk away. It's is a lot of money to miss, but I have well over two hours a day to myself (previously M62/M6 - a real crappy drive) and am significantly happier. Time in your car on a commute is dead time and it is bloody boring when sat bumper-to-bumper in a jam.

In fact, it takes me less time to walk home that what it used to take me to drive a mile in a particular part of town.

Never again.

Good points. Increasing the time you spend each day "sitting" in a car isn't a positive investment in your long term health either. Driving cars on fun roads can be wonderful, but choosing to spend more time commuting? Not worth it, imho.

[anonymous-user]

Hol said:

Andy-IM said:

I do a daily commute of 50 miles from Kent to Crawley - 90% very busy motorways including the notorious M25 clacketts lane area. For the first couple of months I thought I'd never be able to keep it up...... 8 years later and I'm only just giving it up.

Your brain reasonably quickly adjusts to the monotony of it all and you can even make use of the time spent in the car e.g I spent6 months of it learning "CD" Russian. My biggest recommendationa..... 1.Get yourself an automatic. Far less tiring on body and soul. 2. Don't give in to the temptation to come off the motorway when things pile up. It's still quicker than fighting your way through backroads when everyone else is doing the same.

The traffic is shocking on my route, but I can count the number of times on one hand in a year that there is a truly serious issue.

Andy

^^ Similar commute to one I did as I echo the Clacketts experience.

43miles each way from Kent to Surrey that averaged 65mins each way.

I now commute to London city which takes 90mins each way, so less driving but more time.


I didn't consider moving as the kids were in school, my wife had her own job in the city and the houses cost a lot more.

If you can afford to move and get a better house in the bargain, then its probably worth considering.

But you are wasting 3 hours per day, that's 15 hours per week or two normal working days, time that could be spent with friends, family, enjoying your life.

Working 45 weeks (6 weeks holiday plus national days) per year you spend 675 hours per year commuting, just over 28 full days or 40 days with 7 hours sleep, think about that!

[Mammasaid]

Trexthedinosaur said:

Hol said:

Andy-IM said:

I do a daily commute of 50 miles from Kent to Crawley - 90% very busy motorways including the notorious M25 clacketts lane area. For the first couple of months I thought I'd never be able to keep it up...... 8 years later and I'm only just giving it up.

Your brain reasonably quickly adjusts to the monotony of it all and you can even make use of the time spent in the car e.g I spent6 months of it learning "CD" Russian. My biggest recommendationa..... 1.Get yourself an automatic. Far less tiring on body and soul. 2. Don't give in to the temptation to come off the motorway when things pile up. It's still quicker than fighting your way through backroads when everyone else is doing the same.

The traffic is shocking on my route, but I can count the number of times on one hand in a year that there is a truly serious issue.

Andy

^^ Similar commute to one I did as I echo the Clacketts experience.

43miles each way from Kent to Surrey that averaged 65mins each way.

I now commute to London city which takes 90mins each way, so less driving but more time.


I didn't consider moving as the kids were in school, my wife had her own job in the city and the houses cost a lot more.

If you can afford to move and get a better house in the bargain, then its probably worth considering.

But you are wasting 3 hours per day, that's 15 hours per week or two normal working days, time that could be spent with friends, family, enjoying your life.

Working 45 weeks (6 weeks holiday plus national days) per year you spend 675 hours per year commuting, just over 28 full days or 40 days with 7 hours sleep, think about that!

However it's only October to February, i.e. 6 months, so it would be better to just suck it up and take the cash. Realistically it's going to be dark/cold for most if the commute so sitting in a nice warm car for a couple of hours a day sounds much more attractive.

[KevinCamaroSS]

VladD said:

trickywoo said:

Aren't the HMRC rules that its 25p a mile for anything over 10k? 45p under that

I think that's what HRMC allow you to deduct if you're a business. What your private company will pay you for doing it is up to them.

Edited by VladD on Tuesday 27th June 15:48

Not quite. A company can pay whatever it likes within reason. The employee receiving it is allowed to receive the 45/25p as mentioned above. Anything different would be an adjustment to tax. If they paid you 50p/mile for 10K business miles you would be liable for tax on the 10K x 5p (£500) at your marginal rate. If they paid you 40p/mile then you would be able to claim back the tax on the £500 underpayment. This is generally done through the business expenses section on your tax return.

[Hol]

Trexthedinosaur said:

Hol said:

Andy-IM said:

I do a daily commute of 50 miles from Kent to Crawley - 90% very busy motorways including the notorious M25 clacketts lane area. For the first couple of months I thought I'd never be able to keep it up...... 8 years later and I'm only just giving it up.

Your brain reasonably quickly adjusts to the monotony of it all and you can even make use of the time spent in the car e.g I spent6 months of it learning "CD" Russian. My biggest recommendationa..... 1.Get yourself an automatic. Far less tiring on body and soul. 2. Don't give in to the temptation to come off the motorway when things pile up. It's still quicker than fighting your way through backroads when everyone else is doing the same.

The traffic is shocking on my route, but I can count the number of times on one hand in a year that there is a truly serious issue.

Andy

^^ Similar commute to one I did as I echo the Clacketts experience.

43miles each way from Kent to Surrey that averaged 65mins each way.

I now commute to London city which takes 90mins each way, so less driving but more time.


I didn't consider moving as the kids were in school, my wife had her own job in the city and the houses cost a lot more.

If you can afford to move and get a better house in the bargain, then its probably worth considering.

But you are wasting 3 hours per day, that's 15 hours per week or two normal working days, time that could be spent with friends, family, enjoying your life.

Working 45 weeks (6 weeks holiday plus national days) per year you spend 675 hours per year commuting, just over 28 full days or 40 days with 7 hours sleep, think about that!

My very first job was 10mins drive from home, I stayed there for 7 years and it took a head-hunter with a good relocation offer to make me move, so I do understand the attraction.

But, I deal mostly with senior management teams and most of our companies clients, are in the city or the surrounding areas.

I could change careers, reduce income, take less holidays, save less cash and retire much later than I currently plan to.
Its a conversation my wife and I have very-very often.

[PurpleTurtle]

A mate of mine did this (Great Barr to Derby) for several years.

Biggest pains on that journey are the M6 can easily get FUBAR'd, and the two-lane M42 can be full of trucks elephant racing each other side by side when you are in a rush.

Eventually he struck a deal where he lodged up there a couple of nights a week because the journey got to him. he also had a baby at home, so was getting no sleep. That he was the office perv when I worked with him, and his Derby landlady happened to be a divorced MILF always in lycra gym gear are entirely coincidental matters, I am sure!

[Chainsaw Rebuild]

Get waze on your phone. It's a lifesaver sometimes! It will help you dodge the worst of the traffic; I use it all the time.

Alternativly you could get a bike like a Honda NC 700. That will be miles cheaper and slip right through the traffic.

[Dapster]

It's 6 months and not a horrendous commute so just commute it. Renting a flat is fine if it give you a chance to live a life in an exotic or far away town, but Derby? Leave really early for work and either leave work early, or put in a really long day, clear your emails and things to do list and avoid the rush on the way home. To make your life easy, I've found a car for you as well.....







http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

From here: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[SystemParanoia]

bike it

[Aldos Army]

alternatively 38 mins on the train, one roughly every 15 mins

[FiF]

Obviously one big question that's not been answered is " where in Birmingham to where in Derby" as the devil is in the detail.

For example just a few posts up there's an account of someone doing Great Barr to Derby, with tales of woe about the M6 and the M42. What? Surely out along Queslett road, past Sutton park, through Shenstone and hook onto the A38 at Wall island. M6 and M42? FFS!

[Colonial]

Aldos Army said:

alternatively 38 mins on the train, one roughly every 15 mins

If work/home is in close proximity to stations this would be my choice, broken up with driving.

it's not that far.

[GC8]

The Crack Fox said:

Birmingham to Derby - isn't this what trains are for?

Anyway, take the 43p a mile, it's hardly LeJog.

And Im not sure about motorways either - surely it will be the A38. Without question drive.

[GC8]

That said, Derby is FAR NICER than Birmingham. Move and stay there.

[caziques]

Make sure you can charge up at each end...and buy an early Leaf.

Six months, car will be paid for - sell or keep.

[Liggle]

42 miles each way is nothing in the right car. I'm doing 54 each way in an Octavia vRS and its a breeze, fast roads so an hour each way ish. Used to take me 40 mins in my last local job 7 miles away because of the route across town.

I regularly move around contracts and always commute, I'd rather be at home and near family and friends every night than stay away but some would disagree, depends on your life style and situation.

[ATG]

Depending on distance at either end, 40ish minutes on the train sounds OK. It's a good opportunity to read a book or watch some crap on the iPlayer. Driving can be a good wind down in the evening as it requires concentration so encourages you to stop thinking about work as soon as you leave the building, but in the morning I find it a bit of source of stress as I tend to cut it a little fine and you never know if you're going to get held up.

[E36GUY]

CivBrum said:

Buy a cheap, comfy, fuel efficient diesel barge for 1k or something, pocket the 180quid a week they give you, profit.

This.