A couple of times a month i drive down to Gravesend where my daughter works from Bromley.
I drive down in the rush hour, yesterday took just over 1hour.
In fact the journey always takes an hour, we go out for dinner and i drop her off in Gillingham and the return journey just over half an hour.
How do commuters do this every day?
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It's a pain sometimes but it's a first world problem.
The most annoying thing is I am no longer doing a job where I need to be physically co-located with. I crack on under my own steam and am very productive, the dip in my productivity is the other dickwads at the location I travel to disturbing me.
Given the power to wield change I'd make it something to attain to, being able to work without supervision and be productive should herald the dawn of people just having staff work from home if they wish. I'm happy on my own and get a lot more done and mentally I am better not having to rush to finish shit before hometime knowing that if I dont get gone I'm just going to hit more traffic.
Anytime I have to commute up town I am ok if it's just for a day, anymore than that and I'm as bad as every other miserable stain on humanity on the train. Head down in book, no eye contact or interaction and march through the underground herds to where I have to be
Takes me an hour door to door, Bexley to CW via train and DLR.
I'm lucky in that I'm usually away around 4 so miss the rush hour coming home. Have started to work from home more recently and is nice to have the option on days like these when the trains are screwed.
It can be frustrating (like this morning) when idiots cause accidents and end up creating massive delays
On the flip side though its better sitting in my own car to being crowded on a train with loads of strangers, dont have to listen to their music and not to mention said train can delay my journey just as much as an accident can
I dont see myself ever rushing back to Central London for that reason (let alone monthly ticket costs) - Even if it means I dont earn as much because it enables me to spend a lot more time with my Son!! - Not to mention I get to work from home twice a week
I like the idea of working from home more but I've found the reality is a lot more boring
occasionally tooting to olympia
in work before 7 so never busy but wanky others ruin it.
I've got no other real choice than train into London Bridge, so that's why I put up with it. And once it becomes routine, you're fine.
Rochester to Bermondsey.
Yeah. It sucks.
It is something you have to do if you have responsibilities but not the ability or confidence to set things up better to please yourself.
As an old git if and when I retire it will be because of the travelling rather than the work in the main although increasing mandatory online stuff which doesn't work properly is stressful too.
There are not many reasons to be pleased to be old but a foreseeable end to commuting is one.
20 minute journey in the car at 10pm becomes anywhere between 25 and 40 minutes on the way to and from work depending on traffic.
As said above, music and podcasts make it bearable, plus a bit of me time to think.
That being said, I prefer it this way. Get loads of reading done and think its worth taking a little bit more time and getting up earlier if it means I can pay a bit less and actually get a seat.
From early 90's to 2012, worked primarily overseas, so any commute I had was either a weekly or monthly return flight, and normally short walk to work mainly in Frankfurt or Singapore. Although there were many other trips to other countries, they never seemed as onerous as the daily train commute to London.
Since then, I have worked from home 95% of the time ... could never go back to commuting.
I work from home once a week as long as I don't have any meeting i have to be in for (previous place of work was much better at being connected and having online meetings etc). Really does make a difference on those days half an hour longer in bed and staying in the comfort of your own environment. Can get life stuff done alongside (put a wash on etc) I am more productive too which is great. I wouldn't want to do it much more though as i do miss the office environment and having people around. Did it 4 days running a while back when there was a rail strike and went stir crazy!
Anything that requires a tube after a train would be a no from me.
This has saved me 3 hours a day in travel time compared to when I was working around central London. It has also saved my sanity.
Doing blackwall tunnel twice a day was a nightmare. Add to that trying to get up and down the Highway to the city and back, parking costs and issues, congestion charges, etc. Life was a constant misery and changes needed to be made.
Now I still get some problems usually on the M20/M25 coming home but I can suffer that.
Quite enjoy the train time for reading or music or CL, and MUCH better than an hour's drive round the M25 to Hemel (utter toilet) that I did for three years. And I'm really enjoying being in the west end again after several years in the sticks.