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I have a potential job opportunity that could be quite a drastic change from my current situation.
I work 7:30am - 16:00 monday to friday. Commute is 30 mins in a car or 1 hour on a bike (rounded up for ease).
Job opportunity has a few options:
4 day week (either a mon - thurs or Tues to fri) 7:30 - 18:30
or a weekend shift of Sat, Sun & Monday, which is 6:30 - 18:30
The job pays similar to current, with a potential for end of season bonus, but overall a much better benefits package.
so far, so dreamy! The big sticking point is the commute. Its basically two hours each way. Which pretty much writes off the weekday shift. But could work for the weekend if i can either stomach 3 ruddy long days to then reap the rewards of 4 days off (or potentially rent a room for sat and sunday night).
But then working weekends would change my life quite dramatically. On the negative, no parkrun, riding with mates on sunday, quality time with family, socialising etc. But on the plus i could take and collect my 8 year old daughter from school 4 days a week. Not have to work BH mondays, so a two day working week from time to time. More time to ride (alone mostly), my wife is self employed so can have flexible working hours, so we can spend time together. Plus probably a million other pro's and con's.
Not really sure what i am asking here... have you done similar? do you work weekends? Am i seeing a 4 hour daily commute through roses tinted specs? Would it grind me down?
Thoughts, experiences, bringing me back down to earth etc all appreciated.
40 mins each way is the longest i have done and that was more than long enough
4 hours a day? Horrific. Thats meaning 12 hours out of the house for 8 hours pay?
Nope from me
Many moons ago I worked for Halfords at their head office in Redditch whilst living near Peterborough 93 miles each way One hour 45 each way on a good day - up to 4 hours if traffic was bad. I stuck at it for a year but frankly whilst the job was great the commute was awful. At the end of the year my wife and I decided it was best to keep the kids in their current schools, so I found a new job closer to home.
Now self employed, my commute is under a mile and I do the four day a week thing (more if I have catching up to do). It is the future. My office is open Monday to Thursday 8.30am to 5.30pm, all the staff love it and so do the clients.
Similar pay but surely a big uplift in travel costs. Have you factored this in?
4 hours a day is a big ask, would be a hard no from me.
2 hours each way? Not for a golden pig!
Went from an hour each way to 20 minutes a few years back. Wouldn't go back.
nope, add the time you are sat in the car to your working hours and value it like that
however, if you get free riding instead due to the route/distance then that is valuable
i'm weighing mine up atm, went from 9.5 mile30-40 min drive/ same on bike
to 14m 45-1 hour average drive, or 18m 1:15 pedal.. however the pedal is fine in decent weather except the route is hight risk in my opinion...
Current job is 40 miles each way & about 50mins time-wise. I used to lift-share with a colleague, which made it a lot less stressful, more enjoyable & less expensive. He has now retired though so that's gone out of the window.
But, I work Mon & Fri at home, so only have to drive into the office 3x per week. It's manageable but I would prefer to have a shorter commute.
My previous job was 60 miles each way & generally 1hr 20 or so, but on a route more prone to traffic if you timed it wrong or there was an accident.
After 2.5 years of it, I had definitely had enough. This was way before WFH, so core hours were 9-5 each day but realistically to beat the traffic I had to leave the house around 6:30. Leaving before 5 was frowned on, so it was a long working day and definitely had an impact. This was before my daughter was born. I would barely have seen her, had I been doing that job after she was born!
It would be a very hard sell for me.
I used to do an hour each way and it’s only when I stopped I realised how much time and energy it took. You just kind of got used to it.
office now is 500miles away but I only go once a month or so for a couple of days.
4 hours a day commuting! Not a chance in hell!
A long time ago I did Colchester to Farnborough. It was only 6 months max or until house sold, ended up just using hotels a lot as the M25 commute was a killer.
30 miles which is 45-50 minutes drive each way. I actually don't mind it. I enjoy driving, and just relax and listen to a podcast or an audiobook.
I'd love to lose the travel costs though. That needs to be factored in to your very long commute!
damn you all for speaking sense!
I appreciate all the input.
And to be fair, i get annoyed enough with my 30 minute commute 😀
So on the weekend shift you'd be doing 12hr days plus 4hr driving? That's a massive no for me. The time off in the week would be lovely, but that's basically three days where there's literally nothing but work and sleep.
Might be a daft question, but are there any public transport options? If you could train it in a similar time at least you could read a book or something for four hours a day.
Sacked off commuting for that sort of time over 36yrs ago & wouldn't ever go back
The big sticking point is the commute. Its basically two hours each way.
I would be filing that squarely under "**** that" unless they're standing you a hotel.
I commuted around an hour for several years and it is soul destroying. Unless it's a stupid salary and you can hang it out for six months before taking the money and running, then not while I've got a hole in my arse I'm afraid. My most recent commute is 15 metres, is it a job you can do remotely?
Yup,as said 4 hours is a big chunk of time and would be hard in the dark months. Life's too short..
15 miles each way ( Mon-Fri) was my standard commute for years ,but it was around flexible working hours.
I loved it
I've worked weekends in various variations of shift patterns for 25 years.
The time off to yourself on the week is great, it's where most of my riding is done, and I missed that whilst recently seconded into a mon-fri role
Current shift pattern sees me do 3 weekends in a row. We have a 9 yr old. Whilst we're lucky and she's not hard work, I know it has been quite draining on my wife over those effectively 4 weeks where she's working full time then has no down time at the weekend because I'm not there. And to me it feels like I barely see my daughter over that time given that during the week I get home and she's off to bed not longer after tea!
Bear in mind that you won't be doing any family activities at the weekend.
At for the commute, not a sniff, mine is currently a 10 minute walk, couldn't voluntarily give that up!
I used to work with a guy who commuted from somewhere around Peterborough to London Victoria 4 days a week. 2 hours+ each way; he thought it was fine, we all thought he was mental.
I think some people are wired in a way that makes it seem feasible, but most people aren't. And if you're not, you can *try* the 4-hour daily commute, but I'd say you're not gonnna stick it out for long.
It's not just the time, but the cost as well. 2 hours each way is what, 2 gallons of petrol each trip, let's say £20 per day of work. Monthly, that's either £240 or £360 in fuel costs alone which you aren't getting any extra pay for. Add in other consumables as well. (I'm assuming that's it's not an electric car, but something is telling me that the OP likes an interesting car...)
I did Woodbridge to Cambridge every work day for 18 months before I caved and moved to Huntingdon. That killed my car at the time (shitty Rover), but the cost of a mortgage was still cheaper than the cost of fuel and I gained two hours a day.
I took my current job (with a reduction in holiday and pay (in real terms) because I have a 20km commute instead of a two hour commute into Stockholm and then back out. I figured the time saved would compensate for the drop in salary/holiday, that I get to work from home as much as I want is another benefit. I've been asked what it would take to get me to move back to the city (mate wanted to pimp me out as a consultant), but even the salary uplift would mean I was poor when I factored in the mortgage in even a cheap area of town. Somewhere nice and/or central would be ruinous.
Do not underestimate how exhausting and how much a long commute can grind you down over time.
Doing it day after day, you end up with no energy, or time, to do anything else in your life.
That's my experience anyway, but everyone is different.
I had two jobs that were 25 and 30 miles from home, but about an hour travel in the car. Moved back to 10 miles that is easily rideable in 40 minutes, but the car can take 60-90 minutes (traffic). An hour is the max I want to travel each way.
No way! I did 1.5hrs each way a long time ago and not only the time taken, there's so many more opportunities for something bad to happen on the roads. I rolled the company car in the end. Well, near the end, I left shortly afterwards.
Current is 30mins on the bike (or, very occasionally 20mins by car) and it's so nice to get home from an easy commute.
Don't see the question asked (after a skim read of the thread) - any chance of moving closer to this golden job offer??
unfortunately the job isnt possible to do remotely. its fully hands on.
I do work with chaps that commute an hour and a bit each way daily and i think they are nuts, which probably tells me all i need to know about this job. I think the lure of working for an F1 team, a 3 day week and decent benefits is clouding my judgement.
And there isnt an option to move closer either, due to various other commitments, jobs, schools etc etc
I did have a half hour commute, whether it was by train (incl walking to / from the station), car or bike. We then moved office from Hyde to That Manchster. No way I'm driving: when I take the train it's an hour each if I cut it fine, or more usually 1hr 15 when I leave time to spare. Cycle commute is 55 minutes on theway in, 1hr 20 on the way home (guess who lives on top of a hill). I'm not happy about it, but I only go in one day a week, so I can live with it as I enjoy my job and both like and get on with my colleagues. There's no way I'd go for a 2 hour commute
My commute is 55 miles each way, about 1.5 hours each way (when the M1 is truly broken add an hour, but I know all the back routes so it needs to actually be shut). I now do 2 days a week, I used to do 3 or 4 days a week, arriving before 08:00 and leaving after 18:00. It was hard but I took the hit for the family - wife kept her jobs, kids stayed in the schools they liked and were doing well in.
I think I made the right choice but it was tiring and wracked up miles quickly. Cured me of any desire to drive fast - it makes no difference and just adds stress.
Factor that it maybe hard(er) to get a room at weekends. They may cost more as well.
They may have minimum number of nights say at Bank Holidays etc.
I think the lure of working for an F1 team, a 3 day week and decent benefits is clouding my judgement.
Now you tell us the sexy part! 🤣
As long as it isn't Alpine!! 😬
I knew a bloke who worked at Mercedes F1 (and Force India before that) and travelled from mid-Derbyshire every day (think he spent one night away each week).
And I would imagine most who work in F1 accept the hours and family time will be compromised.
No way would I spend 4 hrs a day commuting. In my working life t've never done more than 1 hr each way by train, and it's mostly been more like 30 - 40 minutes by bike. I'd consider a longer one if I could do it by train and it was a couple of times a month or something, but that's it.
Ten years driving 60-80 miles each way daily was 1/12 of my life in a car. That was enough for a lifetime. At least I liked what I did when I got there. I wouldn't commute more than 90 minutes, and that's max cycling. My bike/train/bike to central London is 70 minutes and x2 per week. I'd not go back to driving to work - a third of a million miles was enough!
It would have to be a VERY special job for the commute you are proposing. And I'd consider staying over one night a week at least.
Question that gets asked in some site inductions - how far is your commute? That sort of daily commute would have your permissable working hours on site reduced by a few companies.
As someone currently doing such a commute...absolutely no way, would not recommend.
It ruins your mental health, makes you stressed before day even starts and you feel knackered by the end of it.
Delays can quickly add up.....then you're spending 6 hours a day commuting.
In your scenario, it would only work if your employer (this obviously isn't likely to happen) pays for you to stay somewhere local during that 3-day shift. So then you're just doing the big commute there and back once per weekend shift.
For Reasons I had a steadily increasing commute in my late 20s (Liverpool-Southport, Liverpool-Macc and finally Liverpool-Halifax, followed by the slightly less horrific but still not fun Rochdale to Leeds/Bradford). It's miserable, it's dead time, and it goes through windscreens.
As above it's doable if you're going to commute there Fri am and return Sun night but that depends on family circs etc.
I do 50 minutes/75km each way, 3 or 4 days a week. And it's really nice.
There is mostly bugger all traffic once i get clear of work (the 10-15 minutes closest to work can be a bit slow) and it's beautiful scenery and an open road. Even in the winter/dark it's not exactly stressful. If anything, i get home nicely relaxed after a tough day.
Or i take a bike and stop off at one of the places between work and home to do a couple of hours riding.
Saying all that, my last job in the UK was less than 10 miles and took nearly 30 minutes of dealing with shit driving, crowded roads and arseholes trying to get to the next traffic snarl up as quickly as possible. Also, all but impossible to move closer.
The only way I'd even vaguely consider 2 hours drive each way, was if work location was in a good spot for stuff I do outside of work compared to home, such as cycling.
If there was a direct train that worked well with your work times, at least you could spend most of the journey eating a meal and on the internet, essentially chilling. But probably $$$.
But 2 hours of driving each way is a very hard ask and petrol ain't cheap these days.
I think the lure of working for an F1 team,
Now you tell us the sexy part!
It would have to be a VERY special job for the commute you are proposing
Cleaning the toilets at Sauber is a very sought after job, I hear.
😀
Even heading downstairs seems too far some days
Cleaning the toilets at Sauber is a very sought after job, I hear.
...long commute to Switzerland though! 😜
long commute to Switzerland though! 😜
😀 I was making a guess, and I guessed wrong!
I once did a daily 1hr 30 commute (on a good day) driving back and forward 5 days a week (late 90s). Left after i fell asleep at the wheel and went up a verge. Wake up call - literally.
For the 3 day week, cn you stay over the Sat and Sun nights in cheap digs like a Premier Inn/Travelodge/B&B. Saving in time and money (fuel) pay for the cheap nights stopover?
I used to do an hour and a half every day, but that was on the bus so I could read or snooze or whatever. The only way to think about it imo is to include the commute in your working day, I wasn't working an 8 hour day, it was a 9 and a half hour day and that spreads, it dilutes the payment, etc. I realised after a while it just wasn't worth it. But equally it's a good way to analyse the cost/benefit
I probably wouldn't do it any more tbh but it's all just about weighing the full package. I absolutely would not stay away from home routinely for work, unless it was some amazing dream job, I've seen people do that and it always crashes and burns even for the most career motivated people (actually, I'm pretty sure every last one of them ended up having an affair). I've done travel for work with nights away and even that's disruptive enough.
Did 45 miles each way for four years, 50 minutes to an hour without traffic, beteeen Brum and Banbury. Novelty wore off sharpish - to save fuel I would put a bike in the back of the car, drive to Gaydon and cycle from there which was nice but made it an even longer day. I wouldn't do it again unless it was short hours, big money and zero stress.
For me to do much more than 45 mins each way, there would need to be some onsite facilities, reasonably priced canteen with healthy options so that I can roll out of bed, get showered grab a coffee and get breakfast and lunch on site without any prep or worry, I would probably also want an onsite gym (or close by) so that I could workout a couple of lunchtimes a week.
Commuting isn't my time, so I would want to kind of gain my time back in other ways.
My current commute is 30 mins by car or bike, I can ride through the forest nearly door to door from home to work, cuts the distance in about half and avoids the traffic, but I am only a fair weather bike commuter. There is good bike storage on site, and it is easy enough a ride to wear normal clothes, I like it like that a lot.
Used to do 90 mins into that London place, 20 years ago. Had to drive, as it was both much cheaper and quicker. I had black hair at the start of the 4 years and grey when i left. Great job, but i was worn out.
I did 2 hours each way for 10 years straight out of uni. I stuck at it it for 3 reasons.
1. the pay was ridiculous and it funded my "live for the weekend" lifestyle.
2. I had no dependants and and a very understanding girlfriend. Basically, we both worked silly hours all week and then had extravagant weekends and holidays.
3. It was my first job out of uni so I knew no better and thought that was normal.
It was only when I left that job for one that was a mere 1 hours commute that I realised how much time I wasted on the commute, how much more you could do out of work with that spare time and how unhealthy that lifestyle is. I now work an hour away from work and commute in once per week.
So in summary, run away. 2 hours is bad when you're young and stupid and getting paid loads, if you have any life away from work you'll find it very quickly ruined.