Long distance commuters

AmDaMan

AmDaMan

AmDaMan

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
4,023
Location
Wellington, NZ
Hi, just a general question really. I'm just wondering how many of you commute long distances to work, or for each day? I'm considering some jobs but some of them are quite a way away from home (50miles). Doing a 100miles each day sounds silly but I need to stay at home (at least for a bit) to sort things out before I relocate.

So does anyone travel quite a lot each day for work? How do you find it?

Cheers.
 
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I used to do 100 miles a day.

Only two things made it bearable:

a) The fact I did it in my 5 Series so I was able to pull onto the A38, engage the cruise and cruise to work in comfort, arriving relaxed
b) My employer had relocated me so allowed me to come in late and go home early to make up for the extra travel time, and paid me 53p a mile expenses on the additional mileage.

I only did it for 3 months but it put a load of stonechips in the front of the car, a load more mileage on it, and were it not for my employer letting me come in late would have taken 2 hours out of my day, every single day.

No thanks.
 
I travel just over 40 miles each way so its around 400+ miles a week before i start doing anything at the weekends!

I don't find it too bad personaly BUT i do live in north wales so 40 miles only takes me 45 minutes which im sure is a lot less than a lot of peoples normal journey covering only a few miles in a city!
 
I did 40 miles up the A59 and M6 to Lancaster and 40 miles back every day. I had to be there by 9 and finished at 5. Took about 40mins when people haven't fallen off the road and I was doing this in my 1.4 Peugeot 206. I did this about about 6 months and although I hated the time taken away from me, it wasn't uncomfortable or tiring.
 
I started my current job on the 1st of July and I do a 46 mile each way journey. Currently takes me about 50 mins. Its not that bad I just sit on the motorway pretty much the whole time. Put the radio on and settle in for the ride. Long journeys don't really bother me that much and I still just enjoy the chance to get in my car.

Aero

EDIT: I work from 7:30 till 4 so i leave at preety much half 6 and am back by 5.
 
I did a 100 mille per day commute for nearly 7 years..

It was easily bearable because it was mainly motorway (quite free flowing) and with cruise control it was a good 45 mins to mentally wind up before work, and wind down after work..

We still have quite a few people doing 60-120 mile a day commutes, and they don't seem bothered either..

I think the key is the journey type, if it's mainly freeflowing where it takes no effort, it can be tolerated..
 
Yeah, I certainly wouldn't want to do it in the Clio! I travelled to Nottingham from Sheffield almost everyday for a year on my work placement and that was only just bearable.

I had flexibility and the option of working from home some days which helped a lot though. It's when there it lots of stop start traffic that started to bother me. I was spending at least £10 a day on fuel too while putting mega mileage on the car. I really wanted to buy a nicer car when I got a placement too but if I'm going to be travelling it can still be nice I suppose but not the performance I was hoping for :(
 
I did a 45 mile commute for a year and a half. Was ok I guess, but I suppose it totally depends on what the route is like. Mine involved the A23 which is the main road from Brighton to London/Gatwick. So one accident on the way (particularly on Handcross which is where the 3 lanes narrow to two up a windy hill) and you are screwed. You can go another way if you find out early enough but its a bit out in the sticks.

I didn't mind driving at all but other people's driving frequently wound me up. So many shocking example of driving. Slow driving, being in the right hand lane whilst doing 60 etc.

Plenty of road rage too.

It's nice being in a tin can with your music especially when it's cold and it rains (I've moved job now and cycle 7 miles). But looking at the miles it put on my car and the maintenance cost, I probably wouldn't want to do it again.
 
I wouldn't say mine is a long commute (55 mile round trip per day)
I've cycled it a few times, when the car has been off road, or weather is nice.
 
A collegue of mine commutes 100 miles each way (Leicester to London) each day, takes a minimum of 2 hours to get to work and 2 hours back, 3 hours on a Friday though, poor guy :(
 
Depending if the commute was mostly in traffic jams would finnish me.

Hence my working at home a lot. Kent to the city these days is a farce.
 
Tim said:
Er, Nottingham to Sheffield isn't far off 50 miles, so it'll be just like that?:confused:
Click to expand...

It was Junction 27 so right off the motorway. Basically it was the M1 from junction 35 to 27 so a nice straight road.

The route i'm looking at now is Sheffield to Northwich! It doesn't look like a very easy route.
 
I do 8-10 miles a day and being a busy holiday resort, during peak times (8-9am 4-6pm) traffic can be horrendous, so much so that I can take in excess of 45 minutes to get into work on occasion.

I've actually resorted to using the country lanes to bypass all the traffic, actually adds a few miles onto the journey but gets me to work quicker.
 
I do 100 miles a day from Stone to Warrington. Takes me an hour each way which isn't too bad in the grand scheme of things. I leave home at 7am to start work at 8 and usually leave work at 4 and am home for 5.

If the M6 is goosed I can go the back roads which adds about another 40mins but is much more fun than sitting going nowhere!
 
MadMossy said:
I do 8-10 miles a day and being a busy holiday resort, during peak times (8-9am 4-6pm) traffic can be horrendous, so much so that I can take in excess of 45 minutes to get into work on occasion.

I've actually resorted to using the country lanes to bypass all the traffic, actually adds a few miles onto the journey but gets me to work quicker.
Click to expand...

Reminds me of Totnes. I used to work one side of Totnes and live 24 miles away in Plymouth. My girlfriend lived the other side of Totnes, a distance of 2 miles from the office. It would take longer of an evening to get to my girlfriends than it would to go home.

Traffic for the lose.
 
I do 76 miles round trip in a CTR.

As long as you budget for the fuel, frequent services, and depretiation; its the time thats more important, and has more impact on your life. A little flexibility from your employer can really make a big difference, just missing the peak hours by 20-30 minutes can really cut times.

I'm looking at 50 minutes in the morning, and 40 minutes in the evening. This is ok for me, but significantly more would be irritating.
 
i do about 60 miles, but it takes me around 3hours total due to the rubbishy traffic on the London 5 miles of the journey :(

the things that make it bearable are the job, pay, music / podcasts / audio books & a comfy easy to drive car and chatting to the misses / friends on the phone.

Also coming home to a house on a little village green with a good sized garden and more than two room instead of the 2 bed flat i'd have in London helps :)

When i was looking for jobs i wrote the one i'm in off as too far away, did the interview anyway for the experience and then just couldn't turn down the offer!
 
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