Does having kids affect the option of commuting

rjsterry

I think for most of us outer SW London/NE Surrey types, it takes about an hour to get in depending on your route, which compares favourably with PT. My 13-14 miles takes me just over the hour door to door or just under if I keep it lit.

One other thing: Mrs RJS and I have found it much more sociable than when we lived in Putney. In 6 years, we never really got to know our Putney neighbours, but are already on good terms with the new guys over the fence, and Mrs RJS has a good network of other mums to meet up with.

tailwindhome

DonDaddyD wrote:

Did having kids affect you option of cycling to work? And/or cycling in general?

If only someone kept stats on this sort of thing

http://www.startfarm.co.uk/aspStats/minileague.aspx


ETA select 'Married with Kids' from the dropdown menu

CiB

If you keep putting off having kids until everything is just hunky dory and your financial position is perfect, you'll never get round to it. If you're going to do it and providing it won't put you up the creek due to the lady being the only earner and self-employed or whatever - get on with it. You probably won't regret it.

Don't know about housing in the sarf east; it's never troubled me. One thing I've learnt is not to live too far from where you work. A lot of travelling every day grinds you down and eats into your personal time. In the end it's not worth it, unless you're the sort of person for whom it is.

spursn17

edited

DonDaddyD

I agree with the whole putting off kids. I kind of want it to just happen unexpectedly so I have to man up....

prawny

DonDaddyD wrote:

I agree with the whole putting off kids. I kind of want it to just happen unexpectedly so I have to man up....

Dooo iiit.

You wont regret it your never actually ready anyway so it'll always be a shock.

pastryboy

Have kids when you've done everything you want to do such as holidaying and going out because free time will be hard to come by. Remember your other half would be stuck at home all day with a baby so if you're not at work you're needed to help out.

It shouldn't make any difference for commuiting by bike but leisure time will be all but reduced to nil. Obviously this depends on working arrangements between you and your other half. At one point my wife and I worked seven days a week between us so I'd only have weekend time before they woke up to myself.

If I did cycle for leisure the only time I'd have would be a Sunday morning which is fine now but no use in the summer.

You won't necessarily be sleep deprived. A lot of babies sleep right through the night from birth - my little girl has done for the most part.

Bassjunkieuk

I've been cycle commuting pretty much since I've had kids :-) Admittedly the first places I "commuted" to was literally riding down from East Croydon station to the town centre (a mile at best) when I worked at TK Maxx after my driving lessons :-)

Another point where I started cycling a lot more was after I wrote off our car :-( We got a new one but Mrs BJUK refused to add me to the remainder of the insurance so I had a 6 month period where my only option to get around was on the (newly brought) bike or PT.

The only job I've had since having kids that meant I couldn't cycle was when I started with my current employer 4 1/2 years ago but that was because being a field engineer and carrying spares around isn't condusive to cycling, especially when you cover a region that stretches from Margate to Bristol (not in one day......)

At the end of the day I don't really think having kids has effected by opinion of cycle commuting, in fact I think it actually gives me a bit more time with them during the week as I can normally leave later/arrive home earlier when on the bike and I know for certain I wouldn't be able to get away with taking the eldest to school and getting to work before 9am if I was using PT when I'm working at the local council offices!

Also on a positive note all the kids are really pro-cycling. As they see daddy doing it it's always been seen as normal and barely a weekend goes past when we are at my parents house that I don't get asked if they can go out on their bikes :-) The only downside I can think of is that I don't generally get hugs as soon as I'm in the door of an evening as daddy is all sweaty :-D

As others have said tho the options for non-commuting rides can be rather limited but as long as you have a good relationship with your other half and understand that they have hobbies and interests outside of looking after the children and allow them to indulge in them it is possible to get out for a few rides yourself - or just do what I did which was book a place on a long sportive then state you need to train :-P

DonDaddyD

Thanks Bass, but

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

Another point where I started cycling a lot more was after I wrote off our car :-( We got a new one but Mrs BJUK refused to add me to the remainder of the insurance so I had a 6 month period where my only option to get around was on the (newly brought) bike or PT.

Dude... Man of the house.

shouldbeinbed

DonDaddyD wrote:

For those too lazy to read my long posts, to summise:
<snip>

Did having kids affect you option of cycling to work? And/or cycling in general?

What age would you recommend having kids?

wasn't even a factor I considered either way for commuting. in general it means I've got someone to pootle about with at weekends when generally theres other things to be doing and my non cycling wife would pull her face at me disappearing for hours on a bike on my own/with like minded pals leaving her wih all the kids.

Thats 2 questions in one. on what basis? - being too old to hoof a ball round the park and looking like a sex pest at the school gates or having the money to afford them?

if the first - the sooner you have them, the more fun and being a kid yourself you can get away with and the sooner your life becomes your own again.

if the last - never, unless you're on the sort of wage that bumps up the national average for the rest of us by a few grand.

linsen

DonDaddyD wrote:

Thanks Bass, but

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

Another point where I started cycling a lot more was after I wrote off our car :-( We got a new one but Mrs BJUK refused to add me to the remainder of the insurance so I had a 6 month period where my only option to get around was on the (newly brought) bike or PT.

Dude... Man of the house.

DDD

Do you honestly think that men run households?

:roll:

lost_in_thought

linsen wrote:

DonDaddyD wrote:

Thanks Bass, but

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

Another point where I started cycling a lot more was after I wrote off our car :-( We got a new one but Mrs BJUK refused to add me to the remainder of the insurance so I had a 6 month period where my only option to get around was on the (newly brought) bike or PT.

Dude... Man of the house.

DDD

Do you honestly think that men run households?

:roll:

Well quite. Furthermore, DDD is yet again pretending that he isn't totally whipped.

We all know that ain't true...

:P

mickmcg

DonDaddyD wrote:

Did having kids affect you option of cycling to work? And/or cycling in general?

if anything it's made me want to more, to keep fit and as others have said to have a bit of me time - you lose pretty much all free time so anything you can grab is worth it

it also puts me in a much better mood and lets me get rid of the stress of the day before I get home, going to the garage to have tinker with the bike for tomorrows commute is also a nice excuse if you need half hour break!

Mrs mcg has also got more interested in bikes as a result and we all go out as often as possible on the weekends - recommend a Weeride Kangaroo for anyone with kids less than 3

My little boy loves bike and says wow daddy every time he sees one - i've just bought his 1st bike for his 2nd birthday which is another excuse for bike related shopping! I actually spent longer researching buying that than I did my last bike

DonDaddyD wrote:

What age would you recommend having kids?

I was 26, now 28, which nowadays is seen as quite young, you'll never be ready for it and there will always be something you want to do with your money

2 things i'd recommend is 1) that you can afford for your other half to at least be able to go part time and 2) that you yourself can get as much time with the little one. we're lucky enough that we could afford for her to work 3 days a week and for me to work 4 days - that one day less a week isn't much but it's well worth having a day to yourself with the little one

greg66_tri_v2.0

DonDaddyD wrote:

My mind had wandered onto this; if I moved out of London or further out, probably west, south west, I would have further to commute. How far would be too far and what areas are affordable* and nice? I live in Wimbledon work in the city and probably always will as that's where the big players in my sector operate and I like the whole healthcare policy and political arena.

This then bought me onto the realisation that if I had kids, this too would impact on my option of cycling. So of you parent does having children affect your option of cycling to work AND what age do you think is a good age to have kids?

In truth, if you've got moving house and the "k" word on your mind, cycling isn't a major consideration. Moving and kids brings up issues like quality of life, quality of area, green space, and (quite possibly most important) schools.

I'd tend to regard cycling to work as a luxury item in that equation.

Aidy

DonDaddyD wrote:

Anyway, Mrs DDD and I got speaking about potential places to live. My point about living near a tube station increasing the cost and her need to learn to drive were swiftly swept away. Equally when she started talking about moving further out my mind wandered elsewhere. Its good having conversations with loved ones.

So, I've noticed this in a few of your more recent posts.
When did she get upgraded from your girlfriend?

Or, do they know of each other's existance?

Bassjunkieuk

DonDaddyD wrote:

Thanks Bass, but

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

Another point where I started cycling a lot more was after I wrote off our car :-( We got a new one but Mrs BJUK refused to add me to the remainder of the insurance so I had a 6 month period where my only option to get around was on the (newly brought) bike or PT.

Dude... Man of the house.

Let me re-phrase it - due to the accident we would have had to pay quite a bit extra on the insurance to get me on there as well, so the bike seemed like a reasonable punishment. On the plus side I did get a new bike, albeit a Halfords BSO but this was back before I had a clue about cycling and just went for the bike "that looked nicest" i.e one with full suspension and a disc brake :-D

fenboy369

The Hundredth Idiot wrote:

And, perhaps most of all, it's about the only time I get to myself all day - kids suck up every free second you have. Fighting your way to the train station on an evening, fighting your way onto a train, cursing because the train is delayed or cancelled, nose to armpit with someone with poor personal hygiene - that's not quality time to yourself. Jump onto a nicely maintained road bike, clip in, pedal, get the heart rate going, switch off from work, relax and get home in a much better mood. The commute (both to work and home again) is "me time". Sad, perhaps, but true.

+1 for that one!

prawny

For anyone thinking of having kids, be prepared for this.



public service, prawny style.

secretsam

DonDaddyD wrote:

I like the whole healthcare policy and political arena.

Amersham

Anyhoo, what do you do? Healthcare???

secretsam

prawny wrote:

For anyone thinking of having kids, be prepared for this.



public service, prawny style.

I see that and raise it: one day, three hits - p155, sh17 and vomit, all hit skin

Source: my kids (twins), now thankfully beyond that stage...

tgotb

You know you've become a real parent, when you don't bother to change your t-shirt because it's only got a small quantity of barf on the shoulder...

Headhuunter

What's wrong with SE London? I live in Brockley, SE4, it's 2 direct stops to London Bridge, 3 to Waterloo and 4 to Charing X and soon to be on the extended East London Line (from May).

Rent on a 2 bed flat ranges from about £7/800 - about £1000 (I don't know the rental market that well though). A 2 bed flat in the Brockley conservation area (large 8 or 9 bed detached Victorian, double fronted houses with large front and back gardens split into flats) are at about the £250k mark. These are places around the 800-1200 or so sq foot size with share of garden (usually about half an acre).

There are also streets and streets of whole, intact houses - both 2 bed and 3 bed Victorian terraces. Rent on those is about the same. You can buy a 3 bed house around Brockley and the conservation area.

If that's too much, Telegraph Hill conservation area is a bit cheaper I think, then there's Crystal Palace and Sydenham areas. Brockley and Telegraph Hill are in zone 2, CP is zone 3/4 as is Sydenham I think. Then there's places like Denmark Hill and parts of Southwark.

All much cheaper than most if not all of SW and W London....

Headhuunter

DonDaddyD wrote:

I'd prefer to live South West and West London purely because I don't liek South East London, or North London (all of it).

Kids, I love them, always been good with them. I want to spend lots of time with my own. I'm not going to be of those Dad's by association and name. I won't be holding my child who is crying and having to give them to their mother as she's the only one capable of calming them down (unless they're feeding). My child.

I do think about schools cost of living, quality of life. Fact is I could provide more financially if I lived further away from the city but then there is a trade off with time. I area of employment is really London city based and I don't want to spend all my time commuting either.

Oh. Just noticed this. You should give SE London another look if you really want to cut costs. The only thing I would say is that if you like to live on the doorstep of fab bars and restaurants you won't find this. You need to move to Clapham or Islington. I lived in Islington for a couple of years and the moved back down SE. There's a much greater sense of community and people are more "normal", there's more of a cross section of society, young, middle aged, old, single, families etc etc, whereas Islington mostly seemed to be about older people with stacks of loot, people on council estates or 20 somethings just off the boat intent on drinking and smoking their ways along Upper Street every night.

DonDaddyD

I don't want to live in Islington, Camden, Shoreditch or anywhere where the general populous think skinny jeans on guys are cool and being an individual is calling an unmade bed, "art".

Headhuunter

DonDaddyD wrote:

I don't want to live in Islington, Camden, Shoreditch or anywhere where the general populous think skinny jeans on guys are cool and being an individual is calling an unmade bed, "art".

In that case you'll be fine in SE London, although I have to say, the skinny jean population is steadily increasing...

cjcp

Greg66 wrote:

DonDaddyD wrote:

My mind had wandered onto this; if I moved out of London or further out, probably west, south west, I would have further to commute. How far would be too far and what areas are affordable* and nice? I live in Wimbledon work in the city and probably always will as that's where the big players in my sector operate and I like the whole healthcare policy and political arena.

This then bought me onto the realisation that if I had kids, this too would impact on my option of cycling. So of you parent does having children affect your option of cycling to work AND what age do you think is a good age to have kids?

In truth, if you've got moving house and the "k" word on your mind, cycling isn't a major consideration. Moving and kids brings up issues like quality of life, quality of area, green space, and (quite possibly most important) schools.

I'd tend to regard cycling to work as a luxury item in that equation.

+1. (Although I confess that whenever moving house is mentioned, I cringe at the thought of catching the train. 3 hours a day, 15 hours a week...<shudder>)

jonginge

Going OT. Prawny, 2nd place at MSR on saturday was not a bad result. Congrats.

cjcp

JonGinge wrote:

Going OT. Prawny, 2nd place at MSR on saturday was not a bad result. Congrats.

Bingo!

tailwindhome

That guy on the Brompton wrote:

You know you've become a real parent, when you don't bother to change your t-shirt because it's only got a small quantity of barf on the shoulder...

No

You know you're a real parent when there is a brown stain on the carpet and you tell yourself it's chocolate.

Stuey01

lost_in_thought wrote:

Yep, Wandsworth is pretty famous for its low rates/council tax.

However, they can be pretty militant on parking fines etc, keep the £ coming in taking advantage of people's inability to park legally.

To be fair it is pretty easy to avoid getting parking fines, just park legally. I'll take the lower council tax and just park where/when I'm allowed to.

Asprilla wrote:

My mate lived down the road and did have a car, but had to pay about £2000 for an on street parking permit (or something like that).

where? I'm in wandsworth and my parking permit costs me about £100 per year.
prices go up if you have multiple cars (rightly so in my opinion), does your mate have a fleet of cars?

I've been in Earlsfield, Wandsworth for about 4 years now. I'm not the biggest fan of the area really but I can't fault the council. Tax is cheap and have no complaints about the service offered.

Rent is not cheap though, so I wouldn't recommend the area as a money saving option. (c£1200 p/month for a decent 1 bed flat if you want to be close to amenities and train station)