How much cash y'all got ?

fenix

What's that then - 4.5 hours or so ?

Do people really spend almost 9 hours commuting each day ?

dinyull

Lunatics if they do.

meanredspider

Rolf F wrote:

meanredspider wrote:

Fenix wrote:

The Highlands sounds even better - but man it's a long way away.

Yeah - it's just over an hour from Bristol or Luton or Gatwick or Heathrow - and my flight back after Xmas is going to cost me £9.95p - I don't know how I manage

Be fair - it is not an hour is it? The flight time is about an hour but there is the small matter of the shenanigans at the airports plus travel either side. Unless there's now a runway along the South Kintail Ridge! How long does it really take you to make the trip? (Not that I am disagreeing with your point in principal though to make a regular habit of it isn't very constructive in terms of emissions).

You're right - it's not. But Bristol airport is very small and Inverness airport smaller. I check in on line so I just have to go through security - 5 minutes. And, yes, I have to sit in the lounge and have a cup of coffee which is a total bummer. Even taking into account that Bristol airport is in the most stupid possible place, it takes 3 hours door to door. Ironically, it was quicker from Schiphol because it's such an easy airport to get to.

But that's not really the point. Inverness is just generally very easy to get to and from so, whilst it is a long way from anywhere, and "being fair", that's very little issue. And that time and money it takes to occasionally travel south is easily balanced by the almost complete lack of traffic, the cheap parking, the lack of crime etc.

rolf_f

Fenix wrote:

What's that then - 4.5 hours or so ?

Do people really spend almost 9 hours commuting each day ?

Well no - rather more than that. Unless you live in Waverley Station and work at Kings Cross (ie not Bishopsgate!), by the time you've finished pratting about at each end optimistically you will have used up at least another hour or so more like 10 hours.

meanredspider wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

meanredspider wrote:

Fenix wrote:

The Highlands sounds even better - but man it's a long way away.

Yeah - it's just over an hour from Bristol or Luton or Gatwick or Heathrow - and my flight back after Xmas is going to cost me £9.95p - I don't know how I manage

Be fair - it is not an hour is it? The flight time is about an hour but there is the small matter of the shenanigans at the airports plus travel either side. Unless there's now a runway along the South Kintail Ridge! How long does it really take you to make the trip? (Not that I am disagreeing with your point in principal though to make a regular habit of it isn't very constructive in terms of emissions).

You're right - it's not. But Bristol airport is very small and Inverness airport smaller. I check in on line so I just have to go through security - 5 minutes. And, yes, I have to sit in the lounge and have a cup of coffee which is a total bummer. Even taking into account that Bristol airport is in the most stupid possible place, it takes 3 hours door to door. Ironically, it was quicker from Schiphol because it's such an easy airport to get to.

But that's not really the point. Inverness is just generally very easy to get to and from so, whilst it is a long way from anywhere, and "being fair", that's very little issue. And that time and money it takes to occasionally travel south is easily balanced by the almost complete lack of traffic, the cheap parking, the lack of crime etc.

Yep - I wasn't expecting the airports to be the equivalent of Heathrow - I can get out of a plane and into a taxi at Leeds in probably 20 minutes or less but I'm probably still going to use up an hour at the boarding end and I still have to get there. If I did it more often, I suspect I'd get more complaisant about the time I allowed but although security at Leeds often takes less than 10 minutes, sometimes they contrive big queues. 3 hours seems realistic to me. And if you can manage to live really close to work during the week then 3 hours each way at the weekend isn't much. Even my short cycle commute adds up to over 6 hours a week.

kingstongraham

Dinyull wrote:

Cheaper, yes. But quicker?

Flying from anywhere in the UK to London your looking at 3 hours from entering the airport to landing in London. Add on getting to and from the airport....

I used to leave work in Edinburgh at 3pm and in my house in London by 5pm. Through city airport.

meanredspider

Yeah - when I worked in Amsterdam it was pretty common for people to commute 4 hours a day (insane).

I don't know I'd recommend to people to do what I'm currently doing. But that's only because I want my youngest son to finish at the Scottish school his siblings have done brilliantly at. That's just until next summer. It will also mean he qualifies for free Scottish university tuition.

But my original point was just that it's a fabulous quality of life in and around Inverness and, should you want to visit the south, it can be done cheaply and quickly. And the cycling is as good as any in the UK and vastly better than most - I'm really going to miss it. I'll be making the most of my spell up there over Xmas.

dinyull

KingstonGraham wrote:

Dinyull wrote:

Cheaper, yes. But quicker?

Flying from anywhere in the UK to London your looking at 3 hours from entering the airport to landing in London. Add on getting to and from the airport....

I used to leave work in Edinburgh at 3pm and in my house in London by 5pm. Through city airport.

Average, or absolute best possible outcome?

Flights themselves are over an hour - so allowing 10 mins in the airport either side and your left with 15 mins commute either side.

meanredspider

Dinyull wrote:

KingstonGraham wrote:

Dinyull wrote:

Cheaper, yes. But quicker?

Flying from anywhere in the UK to London your looking at 3 hours from entering the airport to landing in London. Add on getting to and from the airport....

I used to leave work in Edinburgh at 3pm and in my house in London by 5pm. Through city airport.

Average, or absolute best possible outcome?

Flights themselves are over an hour - so allowing 10 mins in the airport either side and your left with 15 mins commute either side.

He might be an air steward...

kingstongraham

Dinyull wrote:

KingstonGraham wrote:

Dinyull wrote:

Cheaper, yes. But quicker?

Flying from anywhere in the UK to London your looking at 3 hours from entering the airport to landing in London. Add on getting to and from the airport....

I used to leave work in Edinburgh at 3pm and in my house in London by 5pm. Through city airport.

Average, or absolute best possible outcome?

Flights themselves are over an hour - so allowing 10 mins in the airport either side and your left with 15 mins commute either side.

Usual. 10 mins from the gyle to the airport, 3:30 flight, hour or so in the air, and I lived pretty close to LCY. This was a few years ago now, think security at Edinburgh would add a bit on.

ugo.santalucia

Garry H wrote:

I have shedfs full of money that I'm eager to give away, only thing is it's tied up and you'll need to first give me 10,000.00 GBP in order to release it. I guarantee that you'll at least quadruple your investment, honest. Any takers?

I took money off you in the past...

fenix

Travel by air used to be fun. Now it's just a pain in the bum.

I could do pretty much all of my job online at home - but it's just not the same as meeting real people and it's harder to turn the laptop off at the end of the day.

meanredspider

Fenix wrote:

Travel by air used to be fun. Now it's just a pain in the bum.

Yup - it was never much fun even. I do quite a lot of long-haul flying for work which I'd very happily live without. The only silver lining to that cloud is that it makes the jaunt up the UK seem like a bus journey as at least I still land on the same day that I left and with no jet lag.

Ben6899

I used to work in Dublin. Flew out Monday morning and back home Thursday night. Fridays off, but not from my leave allowance and got paid the full 5 days.

It was okay for the short period of time. I was on a temporary pay rise - making up for being away from home - and I expensed everything, didn't spend a single Euro.

If it remains in my power, this kind of travelling for work is well behind me. It's novel, but I've done my share.

mr_goo

I know of a sales rep in my industry who commutes from Normandy every week. Over on a Monday home on Friday. Can't be much fun.
I'm in a quandary now as I am looking at possible job change which would involve a couple of days a week in London. The trade off being a huge boost in earnings. Downside could be sharing a train with Surrey Commuter.

pblakeney

Mr Goo wrote:

I know of a sales rep in my industry who commutes from Normandy every week. Over on a Monday home on Friday. Can't be much fun.

Dunno. I imagine that spending every weekend in Normandy could be preferable to riding out of the smoke.

surrey_commuter

Mr Goo wrote:

I know of a sales rep in my industry who commutes from Normandy every week. Over on a Monday home on Friday. Can't be much fun.
I'm in a quandary now as I am looking at possible job change which would involve a couple of days a week in London. The trade off being a huge boost in earnings. Downside could be sharing a train with Surrey Commuter.

Don't worry, I won't talk to you

verylonglegs

Surrey Commuter wrote:

Mr Goo wrote:

I know of a sales rep in my industry who commutes from Normandy every week. Over on a Monday home on Friday. Can't be much fun.
I'm in a quandary now as I am looking at possible job change which would involve a couple of days a week in London. The trade off being a huge boost in earnings. Downside could be sharing a train with Surrey Commuter.

Don't worry, I won't talk to you

He'll never fit that chip on his shoulder through the train doors anyhow.

Ben6899

No problem on the Tube though. Stand on the right.

mr_eddy

I got to say reading some of the replies I can't help but think its nuts that you need £40k+ for a deposit etc,

I totally get that if you work in London then it makes sense to live in London but surely there are other options out there, Where I live I bought a 2 bedroom lovely end terrace in a very quiet neighbourhood for £116k. I get a garden that measures 30 meters long x 10 meters wide and I have a 6m x 6m brick workshop at the end of the garden. My front garden has a driveway and a small 4 x 4m garden. At the end of my back garden is a 600 acre country park. My deposit requirement was £9k and I have already paid off about £25k of mortgage. My monthly mortgage payment is £395 and my C.tax is just over £100. Car insurance for me is £300 a year.

I am not putting this out there as a boast as my house is very modest by many of my mates houses standards and several more besides on my street - My house is typical of most people my age / my income around here, I am just simply highlighting the difference between getting a house 100 miles south of my location in terms of price.

The non stop train gets you to King Cross in 1h 40mins (not far off what some people on the outskirts of London take), I can drive to somewhere like Milton Keynes in 50 mins and then catch a train to central London in around 30 mins or I could drive direct into the capital and park in about 2 hours. Yes there is £12 CC and another £10 for parking but compared to paying £1000+ on a mortgage for some crappy little studio apartment it does beg the question why live in London ?

I also have a friend who lives in Bounds Green - He is on £28k a year and he is still renting (same age as me) and he has to make do with a TINY 1 bedroom flat on a fairly dodgy side street. His whole block stinks of weed and he has had his place robbed twice.

In my opinion (and it is only an opinion) quality of life is far better for most people on sub £30k a year north of London. Yes it can be a pain to travel to London and expensive too but the costs savings in terms of rent/mortgage and also the better quality of life I think is something worth considering.

okgo

You are right, but its not £30k a year, its at least double that IMO (if we're talking today).

Of course there are things such as the train from where you live eating up most of your mates paycheque, let alone paying rent or mortgage on a place.

Also you forget that for many in London its not the end goal. My modest flat in the suburbs has gained more equity than your house cost in less than 3 years, I'd imagine that may not be the case where you are. What seems to be fairly common is that you do your porridge in town and if you get bored of it, retire somewhere and buy a large place sans mortgage which would where you are probably be 1 bed flat money in Fulham I would guess (around half a mil).

surrey_commuter

The non stop train gets you to King Cross in 1h 40mins (not far off what some people on the outskirts of London take), I can drive to somewhere like Milton Keynes in 50 mins and then catch a train to central London in around 30 mins or I could drive direct into the capital and park in about 2 hours. Yes there is £12 CC and another £10 for parking.

This is like the ultimate Xmas quiz - where does Mr Eddy live?
His local station is 1:40 non-stop from Kings X is (Doncaster ish)
He can drive to MK station in 50 mins (assume heading North then Leicester)
He can drive into Central London in 2 hours (Northampton?)

bikes`n`guns

Just left offshore as I was sick of it.

Earned 100k last year , will earn 30k this year.

Used my last cash to pay of every single penny of debt and reckon once I settle in and make a little more with my shift allowance the huge drop won`t make that much difference to my lifestyle.

Average was usually 80, last year was a biggie

No debt is a big boost.

mr_eddy

I live south Nottingham - 2 hours in the car has been achieved in the past but that estimate was a bit of stretch maybe closer to 2.5 hrs, My house to MK station is 1.15 but I have done it in 52 mins.

The fast train from Nottingham station takes 1.50 but often its a bit early - I think the driver puts his foot down a bit!

rick_chasey

mr_eddy wrote:

said stuff about living in London.

It's 2 things, and they're related.

#1 - it's where the jobs are. I described that earlier in the thread. That's why London's house prices are so high - because everyone wants to live there, because that's where the work is.

#2 - it's where the jobs are that have the type of career opportunities people are looking for.

For sure, in your 20s, the cost of living vs the income isn't great, but if that's with a view to roles in your 30s which earn six figures plus, you take the hit.

homers_double

Some people make out like there is no other place of employment than the nations capital.

I'm not going to go into details but living on the edge of the pennines running an engineering company might seem like some peoples idea of hell - it really isn't.

rolf_f

Rick Chasey wrote:

mr_eddy wrote:

said stuff about living in London.

It's 2 things, and they're related.

#1 - it's where the jobs are. I described that earlier in the thread. That's why London's house prices are so high - because everyone wants to live there, because that's where the work is.

He's absolutely right. Leeds is a nice place but with all 751,000 of us out of work there's just no future!

mr_eddy

Just because the job is there does not mean you have to live there - You can still commute into London and even a 1 hour train journey gets you into a far better situation. I commute via bicycle and it takes me about an hour - If I were to use a train I could get to Sheffield / Leeds / Birmingham / Leicester etc and the same goes for areas outside of London. Milton Keynes / St Albans / Reading etc. Yes they are not as cheap as the midlands but you still get a lot more for your cash than in C.London

Also there jobs outside of London!

For me its the quality of life - For my wages even if they were doubled I would not be able to have the space or things that I have now. Not to mention the stuff that you has no bearing on finances such as air quality and stress/mental health. Even stuff like broadband speed etc - Many people think if you live north of the M25 then you still breath with your mouth open and have outside toilets! Some of the clients I work with (I work in IT) who are based in London still make do with 5mb ADSL broadband and get regular power cuts etc.

I like London but I think the reason I like it is because I don't have to live there

rick_chasey

Rolf F wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

mr_eddy wrote:

said stuff about living in London.

It's 2 things, and they're related.

#1 - it's where the jobs are. I described that earlier in the thread. That's why London's house prices are so high - because everyone wants to live there, because that's where the work is.

He's absolutely right. Leeds is a nice place but with all 751,000 of us out of work there's just no future!

Look I described it already. When I graduated up North, I had running the grad schemes telling me they were worried about their job, let alone hiring grads.

So I ended up in a very London centric career. *shrugs* that’s how it happens.

mr_eddy

I think a lot of it comes down to life preferences - I really am not bothered about earning £100k a year , I have simple tastes and a modest lifestyle (as per the original post) and so the notion of working somewhere because its the gateway to big bucks does not really entice me in anyway. I could EASILY earn £60k + year given the industry I work in but it would not change what I want in life. I would not all of a sudden want tailored shirts and £100 jeans etc and nor would I want a Mercedes on the drive of 5 bedroom townhouse.

This may make me shot sighted in the eyes of many but for me happiness thankfully comes cheap

dinyull

I think a lot of people just want London on their CV's. A lad left our place a few years ago to go down there - giving up a 3 bed house for a bedsit. All so he could point to it on his CV. I wouldn't care but he wasn't even that good - would never, ever have made associate at our place and we aren't a swanky office.

*I know in some sectors, London is the only/best place for work - but not to the point it's bursting at its seams.