How far can you reasonably commute by car?

My uncle does Bristol to London 3 times a week, doubt he'd have the nerve to do it 5 times a week. I'd hate to be a commuter, I wana be able to walk into my future job.
 
i do 22 miles manchester<-->warrington daily which is nice and simple 90% motorway. can get there in 25 mins, but getting back most days will take 45 minutes. I don't mind that too much, as i enjoy listening to the radio. if there is an accident however, it can easily push the time over an hour.

Also, have only been doing this job around 2 months, but so far the commute isn't bothering me at all. In fact, most days I enjoy the drive - it's only queues that bother me :(

Oh, and the fact I've got an electric gate and electric underground entrance where I live is the closest i'm ever going to get to feeling like james bond - which makes the whole thing bareable :D
 
It's a very personal thing.

Currently I drive 50miles each way to/from work and have done for the past four years. It takes between 60-90mins depending on traffic.
I listen to the radio or music and I don't find it difficult at all, people I know think I'm mad to do that distance.

Soon will be moving in with the gf and means an 80mile one-way trip (and thru Dartford :eek: ), but I like my job and want to live there so it's the price I pay for that.
 
i currently do 6 miles door to door

takes me 10mins, unless i get stuck behind a tractor and a long queue of people then maybe 15 :D


I have commuted to london for a few months which was taking about 1.5-2 hours with a combination of car/train/tube
 
I do 35 miles each way which takes 45-60 minutes depending on what CD I have in the car. :o

I don't mind the drive but the cost in petrol, insurance premium for the extra mileage and depreciation on the car is starting to take it's toll.

If road tax starts being charged by the mile I'll be looking for a new job :(
 
MNuTz said:
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PS: Im sure i saw a program advertised last night about a man that commutes 500 miles each way and has to fly, obviously in a jet as his arms would get awful tired :)
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He's also been an adviser to the government on environment matters and as such has been telling people to travel less :confused:
 
Currently I drive 50 miles each way daily, which takes around an hour and 15 mins each way. Done it for almost 6 years, driven one car until the wheels pretty much fell off and the 2nd is halfway there now.

You get used to it, but that's not to say it's nice. I guess I put up with it because the job is better than anything locally, pays better and also I don't want to move away from where I live now.

I suppose you weigh up all the options and make a personal decision from there.

Couple of pieces of advice - 2 hours a day or more in the car is a waste of time, in a big way - and it will destroy and devalue your car in no time, so don't get a nice car, get something fit for purpose - diesel, comfortable cruising on the motorway.

Secondly - never estimate the journey based on best timings. An hour may sound do-able, but add in bad weather, traffic, school run, etc and you'll find that hour happens less frequently than you think.

Sorry to sound negative, it's not all bad of course - get some educational CDs etc and the time can actually be productive.
 
Im doing a 50 Mile round trip each day..25 Miles each way..Dont bother me that much..Only takes 35 minutes each way on a good day..45 at its worst
 
If commuting to a normal job then i'd want a maximum of an hours travel each way. The distance is somewhat irrelevent, as its time in the car which is all that matters.
 
neocon said:
i am hoping to get a job in london, which would require a 1 hr commute by train each way.

i think its acceptable because i can read during the journey.
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Same here, would take about 1hr 15 mins each way, still cheaper and less stressing than a car I would think.

neocon said:
Sure its expensive, about £18 I think, unless you buy a monthly ticket. :mad:
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Or a yearly...
 
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I used to do 30 miles each way.
When I started I was on a 100cc motorbike with L-plates and it used to take me 50 minutes. After I passed I took to the motorway (on my 100cc) and the time went down to 40 minutes. Then I got a real bike (500cc) and I could get to work in 30 minutes or less. This was 12 months a year in all weathers as I didn't have a car.

If you want to commute longish distances in reasonable times without relying on public transport, a motorbike is what you need.
 
I think it would depend on the time it took rather than the distance, to be honest. I did a commute of about an hour each way to uni and back every day for a few months, and I hated it. I don't think I could have done it on my own though - I shared the driving with my ex.

I probably wouldn't want to have more than a 30 minute commute. I've had a 5 minute drive to work (10 at most during rush hour) for the last 3 years, and that was nice and easy :).

I really wouldn't want to get to the stage where I lived so far away from work that I needed to stay away from home. I've never met anyone who has been happy doing that long-term. My mum has been away from home for the last 6 years, and it drives her nuts to be living in hotels all the time.
 
My mileage is getting me down at the moment.

I do between 500-600 miles a week, but it varies day to day. Mondays is 20 miles to work, two trips of 10 miles during the day, and then 20 home. Thursdays is a pain: 40 miles to work in the morning, about 10 miles during the day, then 40 further away from home for a lesson in the evening, before the long 80 mile slog back home in the evening.

It's getting too much, and is taking it's toll on my car.
 
My step dad does Exeter to Milton Keynes (at one point it was Exeter-Bristol-Copenhagen!!), but thats only twice a week as he spends the week days there, poor sod! but id do the same on his money!!
Personally, i have a 20min walk and that does my head in..........
 
lol, just been having this discussion with my mates as I am applying for grad jobs in the SE. I used to do 28 miles in 60 mins (morning) or 45 mins (afternoon) - camberley - epsom via the M25! HELL - it drove me nuts and i moved to epsom for a while (previous thread of mine). I think it is the start-stop traffic which is worse. I doubt I would be able to drive more than 45 mins each way. Ideally it would be <30 mins.
 
I do 30miles each way, a good mixture of country roads, town and dual carriage way! I think the car and the route will have big impact on it, if you dont really like your car and its loads of M-way that would p**s me off pretty quickly.

But being able to have a quick blast down some b-roads could get rid of any stress you may have. thats my opinion anyway. I really enjoy driving though :D
 
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