travelling from south coast to canary wharf every day

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bigc

New member
Jul 5, 2003
5,740
Lammy said:
I worked near Edgware Road for a while. That was an absolute SLAG of a commute.

I survived.

I walked home from Edgware Road across Oxford Street in the snow today, that was far from fun.
 




eastlondonseagull

Well-known member
Jan 15, 2004
13,385
West Yorkshire
Out of interest, how much does a season ticket cost from the South Coast up to London? Me and Mrs ELS are considering a move back down there...but cost is gonna be one of the deciding factors...
 


aftershavedave

Well-known member
Jul 9, 2003
7,168
as 10cc say, not in hove
eastlondonseagull said:
Out of interest, how much does a season ticket cost from the South Coast up to London? Me and Mrs ELS are considering a move back down there...but cost is gonna be one of the deciding factors...

about £3,100 per year i think. my ticket has faded away!
 


Tricky Dicky

New member
Jul 27, 2004
13,558
Sunny Shoreham
eastlondonseagull said:
Out of interest, how much does a season ticket cost from the South Coast up to London? Me and Mrs ELS are considering a move back down there...but cost is gonna be one of the deciding factors...

I've always bought monthlys, and it's currently £361, although that includes the tube for the Eharf (the extra for the tube was I think £50)
 


Stinky Kat

Tripping
Oct 27, 2004
3,382
Catsfield
if you commute 2 hours each way 5 days a week 48 weeks a year then you are spending 40 days a year travelling, thats over a month. Do it for 20 years thats 800 days or a staggering2.19 years of your life you will spend on trains.

Personally I'll earn crap money, see my family and friends and get home 10 minutes after I leave work
 




terrymendez

New member
Nov 22, 2006
227
Dials
Money is motivating if you get enough of it.

I feel sorry for the people who can't afford to give up the commute.

I spose once a sprog comes along, the missis gives up work and there is still a house to pay for it is the only option for some people..?
 


Tricky Dicky

New member
Jul 27, 2004
13,558
Sunny Shoreham
Stinky Kat said:
if you commute 2 hours each way 5 days a week 48 weeks a year then you are spending 40 days a year travelling, thats over a month. Do it for 20 years thats 800 days or a staggering2.19 years of your life you will spend on trains.

Personally I'll earn crap money, see my family and friends and get home 10 minutes after I leave work

and do 30,000 miles on the train each year- the equivalent of once round the world.
 






tedebear

Legal Alien
NSC Patron
Jul 7, 2003
17,117
In my computer
Stinky Kat said:
if you commute 2 hours each way 5 days a week 48 weeks a year then you are spending 40 days a year travelling, thats over a month. Do it for 20 years thats 800 days or a staggering2.19 years of your life you will spend on trains.

Personally I'll earn crap money, see my family and friends and get home 10 minutes after I leave work

I did it for a couple of years - and to be able to double pay the mortgage payment each month for 2 years was a bloody bonus... Wouldn't do it now though, maybe in the future some time I would again, but not now....
 


Tricky Dicky

New member
Jul 27, 2004
13,558
Sunny Shoreham
Stinky Kat said:
if you commute 2 hours each way 5 days a week 48 weeks a year then you are spending 40 days a year travelling, thats over a month. Do it for 20 years thats 800 days or a staggering2.19 years of your life you will spend on trains.

Personally I'll earn crap money, see my family and friends and get home 10 minutes after I leave work

That does infer that the time spent travelling is "wasted time" and not useful. If it wasn't for the train I'd probably never read a newspaper, a book, listen to a lot of the music I listen to, or talk to many of the people that I talk to. Sure, if I was at home I'd be doing other stuff but I don't see it necessarily as wasted time, but that's just my view.
 


eastlondonseagull

Well-known member
Jan 15, 2004
13,385
West Yorkshire
Tricky Dicky said:
I've always bought monthlys, and it's currently £361, although that includes the tube for the Eharf (the extra for the tube was I think £50)

To be honest, I thought it would be more than that. I pay £130 per month as it is, just for a zones 1-4 travelcard.
 




eastlondonseagull

Well-known member
Jan 15, 2004
13,385
West Yorkshire
terrymendez said:
Money is motivating if you get enough of it.

I feel sorry for the people who can't afford to give up the commute.

I spose once a sprog comes along, the missis gives up work and there is still a house to pay for it is the only option for some people..?

Trouble is, if I re-located back down to Brighton, I'd be losing so much money. Cos my two-bed terrace house up here in SE London is way cheaper than the equivalent in a decent part of Brighton / Hove and even Worthing etc
 


bigc

New member
Jul 5, 2003
5,740
eastlondonseagull said:
Trouble is, if I re-located back down to Brighton, I'd be losing so much money. Cos my two-bed terrace house up here in SE London is way cheaper than the equivalent in a decent part of Brighton / Hove and even Worthing etc

Where do you live in London exactly?
 


Lammy

Registered Abuser
Oct 1, 2003
7,581
Newhaven/Lewes/Atlanta
Tricky Dicky said:
That does infer that the time spent travelling is "wasted time" and not useful. If it wasn't for the train I'd probably never read a newspaper, a book, listen to a lot of the music I listen to, or talk to many of the people that I talk to. Sure, if I was at home I'd be doing other stuff but I don't see it necessarily as wasted time, but that's just my view.

Also when I did it I just got up earlier and slept on the train for an hour. This is simply an hour I would have been asleep at home.

the only real downer I found was missing out on the hot weather in the summer. By the time you get home, you don't feel like firing up the barbee.
 




ROSM

Well-known member
Dec 26, 2005
6,792
Just far enough away from LDC
I have commuted for 11 years to london (4 of them to Canary wharf). Start points have been Shoreham, Durrington, Hove/Portslade and now Brighton.

The extra tube journey is the killer - it ws more enjoyable when I could walk from london bridge station to the office. I tend to use my mornings reading. For various reasons I dont travel as much with the 5.32 crew as I used to so I do work on the way home but try and get out the office on the dot of 5.00.
 


aftershavedave

Well-known member
Jul 9, 2003
7,168
as 10cc say, not in hove
Tricky Dicky said:
That does infer that the time spent travelling is "wasted time" and not useful. If it wasn't for the train I'd probably never read a newspaper, a book, listen to a lot of the music I listen to, or talk to many of the people that I talk to. Sure, if I was at home I'd be doing other stuff but I don't see it necessarily as wasted time, but that's just my view.

i'd agree there
 


eastlondonseagull

Well-known member
Jan 15, 2004
13,385
West Yorkshire
bigc said:
Where do you live in London exactly?

Plumstead, SE18. My place (two-bed house with 50-ft garden) is worth about #170,000 and we're looking to expand into a three-bed house instead. Brighton's just too expensive, even before you factor in the commute :(
 
Last edited:


Bozza

You can change this
Helpful Moderator
Jul 4, 2003
57,327
Back in Sussex
Tricky Dicky said:
That does infer that the time spent travelling is "wasted time" and not useful. If it wasn't for the train I'd probably never read a newspaper, a book, listen to a lot of the music I listen to, or talk to many of the people that I talk to. Sure, if I was at home I'd be doing other stuff but I don't see it necessarily as wasted time, but that's just my view.

I commuted for a couple of years or so and people who didn't would often ask about the commute, and I used excuses like you have above.

I bloody hated it. I hate routine and commuting becomes very much a routine with most people up at the same time ievery morning, to the station at the same time, to stand on the same bit of platform, to get in the same train door and sit in the same seat. I tried to vary my train times into London to try and break the routine but I was only kidding myself really.

And then come the end of the working day, feeling the pressure to get out at a certain time because you knew if you didn't you'd miss your preferred train, and even more of your precious evening time at home would disappear. In the Summer months, especially, this became more pronounced.

I do wonder how much time those who commute get to spend with their children, particularly young kids who may well be in bed before they get home.

And to those who say things like "I can't afford to take a job locally" and the like, what you're really saying is you're still prepared to make the significant time sacrifice involved in commuting in order to maintain other aspects of your life - the house, the car, the holidays etc etc. You could change those too if you really wanted to. You choose not to, for the timebeing at least. Taking a paycut is difficult, because we are sort of programmed to move jobs for more money, not less. From where I was though, getting out of the commuting grind was one of the best things I ever did...
 




terrymendez

New member
Nov 22, 2006
227
Dials
Bozza, I did exactly that..

I now go away in the Camping instead of 5 star all inclusives. I dont eat out 4 / 5 times a week, I cook. I sold the car and get the bus to work.

I know I enjoy life more without the commute. I dont miss the money, in fact the change has really done me good. I will never commute again.
 


lost in london

Well-known member
Dec 10, 2003
1,838
London
I'll be going the other way for six months as from September, maybe a year, Wimbledon to Brighton each morning. Work pays for the commute and I'll be getting an excellent training so it should be worth it; envisaging lots of reading and psp time. I'm also hoping that the trains will be quieter going that way, will that be the case?
 


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