![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
I think its some sort of hybrid project car he made. Which will make it even more heart wrenching when after 6 months of the sort mileage god invented Mercedes E Class for, he needs to throw it in the bin.
commuting 60miles each way, 40mpg, stupid?
- Thread starter GeX
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I think its some sort of hybrid project car he made. Which will make it even more heart wrenching when after 6 months of the sort mileage god invented Mercedes E Class for, he needs to throw it in the bin.
[TW]Fox;15718576 said:
You are on £50k a year straight out of uni? Well done
For me the car, the cost etc etc. is all irrelevant as is the distance.
The single most important factor is how important is that x hours a day you will be loosing to you? For me I would cap a long term commute at an hour each way. Currently it is sitting at 5 minutes each way
You are on £50k a year straight out of uni? Well done
Ok you spotted my maths fail
But I think my point is pretty clear
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The train is the only time I would swap my 1 hour rule. I'd happily spend longer on the train as I could read a magazine, book, watch a film etc. If I was single I'd happily spend a few hours sat on the train a day.
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I know this is a motoring forum, and perhaps such things ought not to be mentioned, but I did so because I commute from Buckinghamshire to Canary Wharf every day by train (roughly 40 miles each way). I could drive, but it would take far longer, and I'd no doubt arrive far more stressed, so it's just not worth it.
I love the train, I get a seat almost all of the time, there are no traffic jams and the only annoyances are they can occassionally be a few minutes late, and I may have to ask someone to turn down the 'boom boom tish tish' iPod (what's with those crap white earphones?).
If it could be an option, then explore it.
A car is great, it affords you a freedom you'd never have with public transport, but it isn't the be all and end all in every circumstance.
Good luck
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£90 a week on petrol. £4320 a year. Is it worth it when you look at your wage, and jobs closer to home? Only you can decide.
My granddad used to commute 30 miles (half B-road, half M6) in a Jag XJ, plus piles of business use. After one year and about 100,000 miles the Jag would be knackered, he had 9 of them back to back. 8 resurfaced having been clocked (letters asking for the mileage when last in your possession), and the other one (which he wrote off) was cloned. When petrol rationing was in force it couldn't make it between petrol stations, so he had to use a Golf.
My granddad used to commute 30 miles (half B-road, half M6) in a Jag XJ, plus piles of business use. After one year and about 100,000 miles the Jag would be knackered, he had 9 of them back to back. 8 resurfaced having been clocked (letters asking for the mileage when last in your possession), and the other one (which he wrote off) was cloned. When petrol rationing was in force it couldn't make it between petrol stations, so he had to use a Golf.
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[TW]Fox;15718576 said:
That hardly seems worth driving!
To the OP:
I do around 50 miles round trip in a rubbish diesel Astra which I dearly want to change. I would imagine mine is a more comfortable drive than the cinquecento, I wouldn't want to do that journey!
There is your answer. Possible long term gain for a 120 mile commute is personally a no-brainer for me. Up until very recently I was doing a 140 mile commute, it quickly becomes just another part of the working day. The reason I did that commute was so that I can be in a position now not to have to do that.
Not sure I would want to do it in a Cinquecento, mind.
I guess my 2.5 miles each was is even worse
In my defence I did use to cycle it but one day I was going to cause an accident as it is a crappy country road with blind bends and I lost count how many times a car would pass me with no possible clue whether a car was coming the other way. So I stopped a while back. I could take the public footpath route and walk but it is all mud tracks and I'm expected to be semi-smart for work and CBA with getting changed once I get there. So it has to be the car
[TW]Fox;15718576 said:
I do 70+ miles for about last 6 years now. Used to drive from Isle of Dogs to Holborn, Medway to Holborn, then Medway to Old Street, now I do 88 mile marathon to White City, across entire congestion charge zone. Mind you, these days, I don't have to do it 5 days a week, and I never had to do it in 10-6 time slots, but overall, it's been the easiest commute of my life. 10 years prior to that, spent in public transport, trains and buses were much, much, much worse and even when I lived in London, it took away similar chunk of time from my life.
Commuting is fact of life. I have never known a world without it. All major corporations, banks, institutions and offices to provide my daily wage in my entire life were always in places that were not convenient to anyone employed there. Canary Wharf. Holborn. Bank. Liverpool Street. Aldwich. God save us - anywhere in West London. At first glance public transport might appear to save some time ("oh, it's just 15 minutes on DLR, 5 minute walk from Monument to Bank, 15 minutes on Central Line and you're there") but in reality it steals more of your time - it's the crowded carriages that you could never squeeze into in peak hours, the signal problems that would hold you hostage for 20 minutes in the middle of the tunnel while pressed against someone's sweaty armpit, the WWII tunnel system that surface in most bizarre places around London (like Mornington Crescent or Southwark, who on earth lives there?) you then have to walk from for half an hour to get home. If you live outside London, it's the trains that run at most peculiar times, so you're either 30 minutes too early, or 10 minutes too late. Trains that don't run when it snows, don't run in heat and don't run when wind blows wet leaves onto tracks. Trains that are 20 minutes late without explanation. Trains that never have empty seats for you to rest, and smell of burger king mixed with toilet disinfectant.
So, out of all options, when the opportunity arose - I started driving to work. And then moved out of London and drove to work some more. And I have my rhytm, and my routine, and the programs and podcast I listen to, and phone calls I make and the "me" time that I actually miss when I don't travel to work for a week or two. 80-90 mile a day car commute doesn't have to be chore, and it's not stealing any more of my time than any other commute would.I go to work when I'm ready, no waiting, no queueing, no fighting for seats. I return when I'm ready. No swearing at departure boards, no checking if some station got closed or some line isn't running. I love driving. I would even go as far as to say it's almost therapeutic. It's my zen.
That said. I would never do it:
- in peak hours
- in cinquecento
- without wage excusing it, travel allowance provided or costs of travel offset against expenses
- without parking arrangements made
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[TW]Fox;15719533 said:
I have no idea what the job is, I'm going on the "springboard" term he used. I'm assuming Gex is bright enough to interpret it correctly for his situation and the job, maybe he'll let us know.
I just think that turning down something prospective right now because of a bit of a commute in a Cinq is indicative of how mollycoddled some of us are, including myself.
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Value judgement really. I've been at my current job 15 months, 50 miles each way. I've done the majority of it in my mx5, and more recently in some very crap cars.
The thing is though, doesn't really bother me in the slightest, and more importantly I really like the job. For me it was a no brainer; I'm in the games industry, and getting an entry level position in the UK outside of london is pretty tough. My pay isn't that high (though that's the nature of the business largely, I'm not complaining!) If your situation is similar, you will adapt.
I spend £300/month on petrol, which is largely offset by paying reduced rent for still living at home. I want to clear all my debts (other than student loan) before I clear off. I am now looking at places within a few miles of work with some friends, but this is of course 15 month later, after I've had a pay rise/ promotion.
The thing is though, doesn't really bother me in the slightest, and more importantly I really like the job. For me it was a no brainer; I'm in the games industry, and getting an entry level position in the UK outside of london is pretty tough. My pay isn't that high (though that's the nature of the business largely, I'm not complaining!) If your situation is similar, you will adapt.
I spend £300/month on petrol, which is largely offset by paying reduced rent for still living at home. I want to clear all my debts (other than student loan) before I clear off. I am now looking at places within a few miles of work with some friends, but this is of course 15 month later, after I've had a pay rise/ promotion.