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Commuting distance and impact

GER82

Hello- I got an offer of a new job. The journey is 60km, in a primary road and it takes 50 minutes with little or no traffic. Would this be considered to be a long journey each day?

Thanks!

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Stephen15

I would say it's doable but not ideal. Is it into and out of Dublin by any chance?

listermint

A fifty minute commute is not long no.

It seems we don't have a clue of actual commutes people face in other countries . Ireland is tiny

Most people spend longer on the bus to work in the mornings

GER82

No it’s not near Dublin. It’s N4 journey and not going through any towns.

GER82

Thanks for your message

GER82 wrote: »

No it’s not near Dublin. It’s N4 journey and not going through any towns.

GER82

That is very true

listermint wrote: »

A fifty minute commute is not long no.

It seems we don't have a clue of actual commutes people face in other countries . Ireland is tiny

Most people spend longer on the bus to work in the mornings

marno21

I am starting 115km of which 4km is dual carraigeway and 5km is motorway, and this is light compared to some commutes.

People are commuting from Cork, Limerick and Galway to Dublin which is nuts.

[Deleted User]

Realistically that's an hour door to door. Twice a day.
Double what I'd consider acceptable long-term.

Plenty Folks might consider that an unreasonable view but adding on two hour commute time to an 8 hour day and it's not my idea of how to live.

I did it for over a year....I found it grim.

theteal

An hour door to door would be fairly normal here in London. Hell an hour door to door was what I was used to in Dublin with a bit of traffic

zl1whqvjs75cdy

Anything sub one hour each way is fine in my book. But folk are different. What might be grand for me would be hell for someone else.

[Deleted User]

You'll be tired driving that every day - I was when I did it for about two years.
Still do an hour each way but it's on the train - totally different plus I can catch up with reading / music.

magicbastarder

i've been doing an hour door to door for seventeen years, with two clear caveats; these days, it's two to three times a week by bike (the hour includes the cycle and the shower at the other end), and before that, it was always on public transport. i'd have gone nuts if i had to drive that. on public transport, i was able to read or sleep, or just stare out the window and let someone else drive.

ligerdub

You're opening yourself to all sorts of "pfffttt, an hour? Sure people in London, Mumbai, [x], regularly do 2 hour commutes blah blah blah". They don't. At least they don't if they can avoid it, and only put up with it if it made a significant improvement to their cash flow. This is Ireland too, not those other places.

I commuted with a 70 minute journey both ways, I loved the job but left it after about 3 years because I hated the commute so much. If you have to be in early (for arguments sake lets say 8, i don't want any chimers in to tell me 8 is normal, 8 is early!) and don't have a flexible hours system then it's possibly going to present problems in terms of you being happy in the role.

50 minutes is fine I suppose but journeys of that length without traffic are dependent on that no traffic situation staying as is. We've seen big changes in many such journeys over the last 10 years or so which are nowhere near that time now.

Depends on the role, money and what your alternatives are. It also depends on what stage you are in your career in respect of if you expect to move on to a different job in a couple of years or to develop a longer term stint. As was already mentioned the driving aspect is another variable. Getting the bus in requires you to get to a minimum of zombie status until you get on the train or bus, whereas you need to be alert both ways in the car.

jimmycrackcorm

GER82 wrote: »

Hello- I got an offer of a new job. The journey is 60km, in a primary road and it takes 50 minutes with little or no traffic. Would this be considered to be a long journey each day?

Thanks!

My commute is a 45 minute cycle each way. I'd say that time spent is probably invaluable in extending my life. You could benefit to a degree by increasing your knowledge spending that time listening to podcasts.

But if distance is your only concern then it all depends on what it costs you in monetary value.

listermint

2 things,

First
im beginning to think most folks have no real idea of their own personal commutes. Be it by train , bus cycle car or whatever. Ive found when asking friends / colleagues recently (sparked by some commute threads) what their commutes were. Most underestimated them by 20 Minutes plus. When pressed they actually admitted that their estimate was way off.

I think if most people took a stopwatch out the moment they left their door they would see a stark difference in time. And this whole 'sure being away from the family for 1 hour each way a day' becomes a bit more opaque....

Between walking to buses, waiting on buses, walking to the office and so forth. There isnt many who get to work inside 30 minutes. And if they do they live/work locally to their job.

Second.

OP you stated its 60km, You stated its national primary routes. Thats 100Km limit for a length of 60km. which brings the journey @ 36 Minutes.

That commute is nothing as far as im concerned.

People seem to think they should get to work in 15 minutes.... the mind boggles.

[Deleted User]

listermint wrote: »

2 things,

First
im beginning to think most folks have no real idea of their own personal commutes. Be it by train , bus cycle car or whatever. Ive found when asking friends / colleagues recently (sparked by some commute threads) what their commutes were. Most underestimated them by 20 Minutes plus. When pressed they actually admitted that their estimate was way off.

I think if most people took a stopwatch out the moment they left their door they would see a stark difference in time. And this whole 'sure being away from the family for 1 hour each way a day' becomes a bit more opaque....

Between walking to buses, waiting on buses, walking to the office and so forth. There isnt many who get to work inside 30 minutes. And if they do they live/work locally to their job.

Second.

OP you stated its 60km, You stated its national primary routes. Thats 100Km limit for a length of 60km. which brings the journey @ 36 Minutes.

That commute is nothing as far as im concerned.

People seem to think they should get to work in 15 minutes.... the mind boggles.

lol, stopwatch the trips door to door then come out with the 36 mins speel.
Unreal, apply your own "logic" to that

I doubt the person lives immediately adjacent to the 100kph limit

irelandrover

I commuted an hour each way by motorway for 2 years. It seemed fine when i was doing it. My wife was doing the same.

I have now stopped and so has she as we got jobs locally. We are both 10-15 minutes cycle now. Since stopping i see a big difference in our lifestyles. Household chores can be done in the evening leaving weekends free, we eat breakfast together in the mornings which means eating a healthy breakfast instead of a snack on the road, we are less cranky with each other in the evening as we are less tired.

So while i was doing the commute i thought it was fine. Since stopping it i dont think i could go back to 2 hours of driving every day.

ligerdub

irelandrover wrote: »

I commuted an hour each way by motorway for 2 years. It seemed fine when i was doing it. My wife was doing the same.

I have now stopped and so has she as we got jobs locally. We are both 10-15 minutes cycle now. Since stopping i see a big difference in our lifestyles. Household chores can be done in the evening leaving weekends free, we eat breakfast together in the mornings which means eating a healthy breakfast instead of a snack on the road, we are less cranky with each other in the evening as we are less tired.

So while i was doing the commute i thought it was fine. Since stopping it i dont think i could go back to 2 hours of driving every day.

I think you've hit on the crux of the matter for me. Everyone has different criteria, motivations and lifestyles. Also, if all you ever knew were long hours and longish to long commutes then you'd probably adapt and wonder why anyone else would have a problem with it. It's only when you see a different way (shorter commute, flexible hours, shorter hours etc), and the benefits this brings, does the return back to the old way become almost a dealbreaker.

For some people, for arguments sake let's say young people (postgrad to say 30 yrs old), they enjoy a good social life, most likely want to work in a place with a high % of other people of similar age and go for pints after work once or twice a week. For them the idea of a journey of 60 mins + to work is no big deal. They'd rather that than work down the road in a place with no vibrancy and social scene. They've a bit more energy in most examples too, so it's less of a grind for them. Money, hours, chance to progress and a bit of craic are big motivators.

There are other people who are on the higher end of career focus, that they'd be willing to spend whatever time it took to get to work if it meant squeezing out that extra bit of progress on the career ladder. The commute is almost no point of consideration for them. They are content enough to work a 50 hr + (even 60 hr+) working week so commuting for 10, even 15 hours is not a big deal. This can be any age.

There are people who don't have much choice in what jobs they take, and will be happy to have a long commute just so that they can survive.

If you're one of the above then by all means, fill your boots and hats off to you, sincerely.

Outside of that though, say you're reasonably experienced, your salary is well into the higher tax bracket, you've got a reasonable degree of comfort, your opportunities to learn a multitude of new skills in your work are of little use and little interest, I dare say the consideration of the work-life balance becomes that bit more important.

Work is an important part of life, but it is not the be all and end all. Getting up at 6.30 am or earlier, spending an hour on the road trying to charge in for 8am, working until 6pm, spending an hour back to get home for 7pm, eating crappy food, then watching a couple of hours of tv is not living the dream. I suppose the commute has to be factored in to the overall day. A 30 minute commute and a 12 hour workday is less appealing than an hour commute and a disciplined 37.5 hr working week.

Time is a valuable resource, and shaving 30 minutes off your commute both ways adds an hour to your day to do what you want. That can mean better communication at home, stronger ties to your kids, engaging in a hobby (every night if you so wish). These aren't minor considerations, and culminate in a big difference to your health and overall well being.

Cookie_Monster

listermint wrote: »

People seem to think they should get to work in 15 minutes.... the mind boggles.

why?
Takes me 17 minutes to get to work and that's the longest commute I've had in about 9 years. Home takes 22-25 as it's all up hill.

On the bike I'd consider anything up to an hour but driving or PT I'd be aiming for under 30 mins. Anything else is just a massive waste of life.
I'd happily take 8-10k a year less in gross pay for a 20 min rather than an hour commute. Lost personal time alone make that worth while, never mind adding in any of the commuting related expenses.

magicbastarder

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

driving or PT I'd be aiming for under 30 mins. Anything else is just a massive waste of life.

i wouldn't put driving in the same box as PT; based on my experience (which was generally a positive one with PT, which may not be universal). i used to read a book a week. i could sleep on the luas on the way back into town. it's far less stressful than driving.

Chris_5339762

I have very few potential employers. At the moment its about a 40-50 minute door-to-office trip, which is about the higher end of what I'd accept. That said, my employer can move me, and if they did (and forget about any relocation expenses), I could be 90 minutes each way easily.

That said, I think a lot of people think only in terms of time in the car or time on the train. In my case, its a 2 minute walk to the car from my apartment but a 10 minute walk from work-parking to work. 30 minute drive.

So my commute is not 30 minutes, its 42 minutes. I think we all need to consider door-to-door, not time spent on a mode of transport once walking/waiting is involved.

_Kaiser_

As I posted on the other thread, I do just under 200km daily across 2 counties to get to from work.

It's pretty much motorway all the way, and I have flexible hours so I leave the house around 9 and head home around 7 in order to miss the worst of the traffic. Takes about an hour each way unless there's an accident on the route. I can also work from home occasionally so that all helps.

The downside is the expense.. I pay about 550 in diesel a month (now admittedly I have a big car and do another 400km at the weekend, but when you do that sort of mileage you need to be comfortable), pay more for things like tyres and servicing, and the amount of mileage will ultimately make the car worthless so all that needs to be factored in to the decision too.

It also does leave you very tired in the evenings and you'll find your patience and tolerance for idiocy on the roads to be much reduced - it's easy to shrug off the occasional "incident" on a 5 minute commute, but when you experience several "incidents" each journey (tailgating, lane-hogging, lane-weaving to get a car length ahead, undertaking in the hard shoulder because they're too important to queue in traffic like everyone else, no indicating, trucks overtaking at a crawl on the motorway etc etc etc), your ability to put up with it is much reduced.

But unfortunately we live in a country where jobs are concentrated into a handful of cities - most notably Dublin, especially for certain sectors. We also refuse to build up, and are obsessed with property ownership having learned nothing from the crash.

The result is people being forced further and further out as prices (for rent or buy) get higher and higher, traffic getting much worse (because public transport is piss-poor outside the city and not great inside it if it's more than a simple A-B trip, not to mention expensive), and no solution in sight - meaning people have no choice but to commute increasingly long distances every day to get to work.

L1011

I've turned down jobs that require driving in to the city - due to any distance at all becoming 90 minutes when schools are in - or more than an hour PT or driving the other way. Anything beyond that and I find I'm spending my weekends doing stuff I should have got done during the week

If you're specialist in what you do or live somewhere with bad links this would be seriously limiting though

Cookie_Monster

magicbastarder wrote: »

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

driving or PT I'd be aiming for under 30 mins. Anything else is just a massive waste of life.

i wouldn't put driving in the same box as PT; based on my experience (which was generally a positive one with PT, which may not be universal). i used to read a book a week. i could sleep on the luas on the way back into town. it's far less stressful than driving.

You're right. PT is much worse in ireland. Waiting forever for a bus/ train that should have been there 10 or 15 mins ago, hoping it does actually turn up, squeeze on and likely have to stand for.much of the journey, never mind the heat or dripping condensation depending on the time of year. And the complete inability to depend on the same service day in day out turning up and taking the same amount of time... the ability to read a book for 45 mins or whatever doesn't really offset the general misery of it all

[Deleted User]

_Kaiser_ wrote: »

As I posted on the other thread, I do just under 200km daily across 2 counties to get to from work.

It's pretty much motorway all the way, and I have flexible hours so I leave the house around 9 and head home around 7 in order to miss the worst of the traffic. Takes about an hour each way ...................

The result is people being forced further and further out as prices (for rent or buy) get higher and higher, traffic getting much worse (because public transport is piss-poor outside the city and not great inside it if it's more than a simple A-B trip, not to mention expensive), and no solution in sight - meaning people have no choice but to commute increasingly long distances every day to get to work.

......

Lunacy IMO

If you leave work at 7 you're home at 8pm. That's an 11 hour day.

It's the countries fault that you do this, no personal decisions / choices / mistakes have you in this boat of course.

magicbastarder

Augeo wrote: »

Lunacy IMO

If you leave work at 7 you're home at 8pm. That's an 11 hour day.

if you leave the house at 8 to be in work at 9; and leave at 5:30, and get home at 6:30 - a fairly standard day for many people - that's a ten and a half hour day.

[Deleted User]

magicbastarder wrote: »

if you leave the house at 8 to be in work at 9; and leave at 5:30, and get home at 6:30 - a fairly standard day for many people - that's a ten and a half hour day.

ah yes, the ole i hour commutes.
Standard for many but not for most.

magicbastarder

according to the CSO, the average is approx half an hour each way. between 10% and 15% of people claim a commute time of longer than one hour, but as stated above, many people are not good at estimating their travel time.

[Deleted User]

So the CSO agrees with my comment on the ole 1 hour commutes.
Standard for many but not for most

PlaneSpeeking

I do Laois to central Dublin. 6.30am start out of the house and 6.35pm back.

Done it for 11 year now and I'm used to it!

Bless those of you who cycle/drive - the train is wonderful!

coolperson05

It's very interesting to read all your posts. I myself have a 50min drive each way (40 on Friday/1hr at Christmas) but my dilemma is that there are two public transport options - a direct bus + small walk that will take it to 60mins each day, or train but with multiple changes. I've accepted with my house situation and OH who doesn't drive, I won't get any closer to work. I'm wondering how to people make the choice between car and PT? As previously mentioned Irish PT ranges from fine to abysmal. How much value to we put on the convenience (versus the expense) of the car?