Long commutes to work.

[alembic]

I used to commute London Colney to Heathrow, 35 miles each way on the M25. Petrol was cheaper in 1997. I certainly would not do that now.

 

My current job is 2.3 miles from where I live and I cycle (when the weather is OK). Takes 10 minutes each way.

 

I can't even stand the 10 mile commute along the M1 to Meadowhall now, where I spent the last 11 years working.

[barleycorn]

I did ten years Sheffield to Huddersfield. Seemed like there were at least one set of roadworks, with poorly timed lights to boot, on the A629 every single day. I've now improved my lot and spent the last 7 years commuting Sheffield to Bradford.

[Dales]

Do you travel a long way to work, or do work with someone who does?

 

I know a girl in Birley who works in Nottingham city centre.

 

I also know a girl in Birley who travels to Nottingham, I wonder if it's the same girl??

[L00b]

A long(er) commute is not necessarily worse, I'd say it's a function of the distance and time more than anything else, and then whether it's at rush hour or not.

 

I used to live (and commute) in Paris, Brussels and London, but the worst commute I've ever had -by far- was only about 6 miles or so, from South Dublin (D16) to central Dublin (near St Stephen's Green). It's the one commute that eventually 'forced' me onto 2 wheels: on 4 wheels, it was an hour (yes, that's 6 mph average). Each way. That was soul destroying.

 

My commute is now 16 miles (Worksop-M'hall, give or take) and, comparatively, it's mostly bliss: bit of M1, bit of A57, bit of queeing here and there every now and then, but mostly moving. I'll have to see how IKEA changes that, though.

Edited August 14, 2017 by L00b

[Cyclone]

I agree that distance isn't the key, it's duration. When I talk about how long a commute is I'm strictly considering the time, if you can travel 100 miles in 30 minutes, that's better than 10 miles in an hour.

 

I read before that changing your commute is the simplest/easiest measure anyone can take to improve their quality of life.

[biotechpete]

The distance matters more for the expense be it train or car. I used to spend hours and £1000s commuting to Manchester. Now I cycle for 20 min and spend that money on other things.

[Cyclone]

True, longer distance = higher cost. But longer time has the biggest impact on life quality.

 

This might have been the article I was remembering

 

https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2014/feb/12/how-does-commuting-affect-wellbeing

 

---------- Post added 19-08-2017 at 12:32 ----------

 

It found that each additional minute of commuting time made you feel slightly worse up to a certain point. However, strangely, once a commute hit three hours then the negative effects dropped off.

 

I think 20 mins is a good distance though. Clear separation of home and work and a bit of free exercise.

 

Although the study disagrees with me.

 

Cycling for more than 30 minutes (cycling less than 30 minutes was associated with lower happiness and higher anxiety)

Cycling a bit further is apparently better!

[carosio]

ITV's calendar or similar did this a few years ago, and the longest commute they found (in Yorks and Humberside anyway) was a chap in Hull who commuted daily to his office in London. He used the train, not sure where he boarded though.

[mickey finn]

I can get to work in about 8 minutes, although getting back on the same route can sometimes take about 40, they are the longest commute times I have ever done.

[hauxwell]

A long(er) commute is not necessarily worse, I'd say it's a function of the distance and time more than anything else, and then whether it's at rush hour or not.

 

I used to live (and commute) in Paris, Brussels and London, but the worst commute I've ever had -by far- was only about 6 miles or so, from South Dublin (D16) to central Dublin (near St Stephen's Green). It's the one commute that eventually 'forced' me onto 2 wheels: on 4 wheels, it was an hour (yes, that's 6 mph average). Each way. That was soul destroying.

 

My commute is now 16 miles (Worksop-M'hall, give or take) and, comparatively, it's mostly bliss: bit of M1, bit of A57, bit of queeing here and there every now and then, but mostly moving. I'll have to see how IKEA changes that, though.

 

Normally IKEA is not to bad here in Gateshead. It's when they have the sales on or scan your receipt to see if you have won a prize when the problems start.