I've ridden parts of the UK that'd I'd never visit purely for a bike ride.
I mostly enjoy it. Not so much when you've promised to be home for a certain time and get stuck on the M6 with 200 miles left to drive.
I might go back to it once the kids are older.
Not working away in blocks of time, but I have spent quite a few years doing about 100 nights away per year, major cities in the UK and Ireland, mostly Premier Inns.
Travel was always the challenge. Being somewhere for an 0900 start, then finishing after 1600 and trying to battle out of the cities. I'd leave home at 1600 in order to get to London at a reasonable hour.
I work alone, but fortunately I'm a miserable bastard so that's always worked well.
Last 2 years have had me WFH delivering training. I've branched out into other contracting now and can't see myself going back on the road. It's just too convenient - I walk the kids to school, stroll home, start work and can be done in time to pick them up. A few years back, I paid c.£15k for childcare for a year to cover for my trips away. Now it's £30 per month.
I used to live off fast food, McD typically, as it was always a case of grabbing what was available, fast and cheap. Since then, I've probably gone to a meal there every 2 months or so.
I've just been asked if I wanted to travel to London for one day of training, and I've said no. Which is something I never thought I'd say!
I used to work away a lot when I lived in the UK. Initially I just used to do long commutes then got various places to rent. Had a very good social life whilst away as most of the people I was working with were similar age and in similar circumstances. Having a rental place made it easier to have a "normal" life.
After that I spent a lot of time on the train for a few nights away in that-there-London (or Telford!) most weeks.
When I moved to Canada, I got a job which meant some irregular travel around Canada and US but rarely for more than a couple of days and never to the same client. Thankfully, that's over now as I moved into a different role but I was offered another job (very similar role) in a different company but ultimately turned it down mostly because of the extra travel needed to support their clients...
I've got some good stories of trips I did in the US, but I don't miss travel for work at all. Hell, I've only been into the office for two days in the last 2+ years and am holding out WFH as much as possible now...
This seems to hit upon the biggest variance in what working away from home means between roles/companies/levels of seniority. Some people travel in work time and their time away from home is recompensed. Others are expected at their work venue the other side of the country/world first thing on a Monday and if getting there means setting off on Friday night and travelling through ‘their’ weekend then so be it. I could see that the difference would make a very different attitude to the concept.
I suppose it depends what your salary is like in the first place and what contract you negotiate.
For me it's ok and I get paid travel after the first 1/2 hour and anything outside of 8am-5pn is overtime.
Overseas is a higher hourly rate.
When I'm driving my heart rate is not far off my resting rate,even in London.
I'd hate to be sat in all that traffic in my own time, unpaid. Even then I'd probably just chill and go with the flow.
I worked for a few years in a role that would see me out to relatively remote locations in Australia working very intensely for 3 days or so, meeting interesting people and then returning exhausted to tiny children. Sometimes I'd feel guilty that I was leaving my wife to manage the little ones, but sometimes I found it helped us both. I could never get over how a one year old could appear to grow so much in three days!!!
I got to drive some pretty outback roads, run in places i'll probably never go back to, and even stay in some really weird accommodation (would need another thread for that).
But ... i then got a job which has very little travel and means i've sufficient flexibility to get a genuinely good work/life balance. I never get the Sunday night dread - because I almost always ride MTB on a Monday morning. I've a choice of offices to work from and no real boss to speak of.
I guess I miss the travel a bit, but it's the longest i've stuck around in any job which has to say something.
They’d apologise profusely, give her £250 cash and bump her to the 6:15 flight. Like clockwork. She made an absolute fortune from it.
I use to do this in the US when I was moving between places (hotels), but evenings rather than mornings as I'd always prefer to get to somewhere and stay rather than rushing in a morning. Obviously only when there was a flight within the hour.
This seems to hit upon the biggest variance in what working away from home means between roles/companies/levels of seniority. Some people travel in work time and their time away from home is recompensed. Others are expected at their work venue the other side of the country/world first thing on a Monday and if getting there means setting off on Friday night and travelling through ‘their’ weekend then so be it. I could see that the difference would make a very different attitude to the concept.
Well I think it's the difference between getting a job away from where you work (common one in the UK being in London) and traveling for work, where you might technically have a base somewhere in the UK that you are required to be at while not away, but you work requires you to be in country X or miles away from base etc in which case the travel is payed.
There's another bit that hasn't really been touched on, and that's how you get time for yourself and your hobbies when you travel a lot
At its peak, I spent the best part of a year flying home on a Friday night or Sat morning, saw the wife, change of clothes, and fly out on a Sunday night or Monday morning. Was enjoyable but exhausting. Saw loads of part of africa and learned loads, that was pre kids. I still travelled when I had young kids but not so bad, generally no more than 4 weeks a year when they were pre school ish.
Have had a job for a few years that rarely involves travel and it's so much easier on family life. But, importantly, I get time for myself. Riding/friends/garage/workshop/bikes/motorbike/car etc. I can go away for the weekend and while it's still not straightforward, if I was travelling a lot it would be impossible. The travelling I was doing was generally by plane, with the odd train. Very little in the car. Found it hard to get time for myself on those trips, generally quite heavy on the work front
For me the big difference was kids. If you want to see them and spend time with them, it's pretty difficult to manage when you're travelling
I had similar issues. Actually get more time on my hobbies now with two small children. Still not very often but anything in more than zero!
i would slog 40hrs out in 4 days and have Friday off. Fridays were for riding while kids/mrs were out at work/school, then i had all weekend with them without itching to piss off on my bike... would stlll sneak another one in at some point over the weekend too usually.
plus i would ride while i was away in the evenings as well..
I paid c.£15k for childcare for a year to cover for my trips away. Now it’s £30 per month.
Why so expensive back then? And so cheap now?
Why so expensive back then? And so cheap now?
WFH, doesn't need it
Much smaller deal but spent two and a half years going to sites in the UK to deliver training - if it was far enough to need a hotel, all good, but otherwise I spent a lot of time in the car. Generally disliked always being on someone else's turf and my presence was largely unwelcome as it meant they're learning a new IT system - decided to jack that in when I had to go to the office on a Friday in Hull for a meeting and on arrival my colleague refused to meet until four, so I'm kicking my heels all day before an entirely unecessary rush hour commute back to Birmingham.
Went inhouse with a great company, covering Brum and London, doing a week in both and that was fab - my turf, all newcomers so far less dickish behaviour. Then covid struck, now it's all WFH - that's good, but I do miss going to London... Could do the same job in London for 15, maybe 20k more, but the travel, expense and being away from home all week every week do not appeal!
Been there, done that. Spent 4 years in that London a decade ago, and since then I've only ever done the odd night away. It's dead easy to do in the industry I work in, but simply don't want to.
It messes up family life and your own life to an extent, you literally couldn't pay me enough to do it on a full time basis again, unless an awesome relocation package was included for the whole family to somewhere both the wife & I would want to live - speaking of which I did get offered one, to work in Singapore for 5 years, but the wife was pregnant with out first so it was let go.
Well I think it’s the difference between getting a job away from where you work (common one in the UK being in London) and traveling for work, where you might technically have a base somewhere in the UK that you are required to be at while not away, but you work requires you to be in country X or miles away from base etc in which case the travel is payed.
when i was adhoc it was very lucrative for me to travel.
Travel was always paid.
All expenses paid
When i went to rotation - travel was in my time , expenses were not paid and it was not (so)lucrative for me any longer - they sold it on the more stable time off (ie you know when youll be home or away and can plan) but i could cope with that - then they started trying to take my time off away- trying to errode it at each end ..... the straw that broke camels back was "you need to be at the airport tomorrow" .......in the middle of my 5 weeks off.
Did three years in Afghanistan - great money (tax free), three months away, three weeks back home. Everything paid for by the company. I'd do it again but the new Mrs might not be so keen (i was single at the time).
