Commuting Question

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spigven
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Commuting Question

Post by spigven »

Prior to being made redundant, for the whole of my working life I have been fortunate in that I have had a very short commute, 12-15 minutes. There is a slim chance I may be offered a job in the next couple of days but its 35 miles away. The route is over A and B roads and is not particularly pleasant. I don't even have a car so I'll need to source something cheap, economical and comfortable (HDi Xantia with lumbar support ?) if I get the job. At off peak times and travelling at a sensible speed its a one hour journey, I suspect it will take considerably longer at peak times. As much as I'd like a proper job again (and a proper income) I'm just not sure I'm up to the travelling, I've spent my whole life working excessive hours, shifts, on-call etc and it just feels wrong to start commuting now, (almost feels like I should be winding down) and I'm not sure how I'd cope. I'm interested to hear from anyone who has had a similar experience.
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Re: Commuting Question

Post by Citroenmad »

I commute a 70 mile round trip to Uni four times a week and have done for the past four years. My commute is mostly A roads but then a very tedious crawl into Newcastle City Centre, which can take 40 minutes from the outskirts to the centre. I also travel 30 miles to work, a round trip in the opposite direction. However, some days I do both commutes.

I find you get into a routine and stop thinking about the journey, it just becomes a part of what you do. I dont find it stressful but it is annoying if you have considerable delays on route, which i often do. It requires an even earlier start in order to get there with time to allow for a delay.

Of course this is about 350-400 miles a week, which is noticable in fuel costs and quickly steps up the mileage on the cars too. Luckily I spread my mileage between a few cars.

A HDi Xantia would suit your needs well, however if your after the best seats you need to go for the Exclusive. I find its seats excellent, lumbar support which adjusts top and bottom and the bases of the seats can be tilted up at the front. Very comfortable I find.

I had thought that so much driving would reduce my enjoyment of driving and the car I drive, which to an extent it does. However, if the reason to travel is good enough, then its something which ought to be done. Many people travel many miles for jobs and education.
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Re: Commuting Question

Post by bobins »

I do an 80 mile round trip commute each day 5 days a week across A and B roads, single and dual carriageway, motorway, town and country, and have done for years. I've worked out four or five alternative routes to work so I can change the route depending on traffic levels, weather conditions, and generally how I feel. I used to do exactly the same route every day regardless, but this just became tedious and demoralising. I'd thoroughly recommend studying a map and working out varying routes - even if some of them are a bit longer, just leave the house 5 minutes earlier ! I've never found the need to vary the route home however - with the exception of having to avoid road closures, delays, etc. The drive home is invariably a better journey :)
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Post by addo »

See it as part of the new job, the brief being to get there and back without wastage or aggravation.

The experience is actually good IMO, as short hop commuters are often poor drivers outside the situations they expect to encounter.
Northern_Mike

Re: Commuting Question

Post by Northern_Mike »

spigven wrote:Prior to being made redundant, for the whole of my working life I have been fortunate in that I have had a very short commute, 12-15 minutes. There is a slim chance I may be offered a job in the next couple of days but its 35 miles away. The route is over A and B roads and is not particularly pleasant. I don't even have a car so I'll need to source something cheap, economical and comfortable (HDi Xantia with lumbar support ?) if I get the job. At off peak times and travelling at a sensible speed its a one hour journey, I suspect it will take considerably longer at peak times. As much as I'd like a proper job again (and a proper income) I'm just not sure I'm up to the travelling, I've spent my whole life working excessive hours, shifts, on-call etc and it just feels wrong to start commuting now, (almost feels like I should be winding down) and I'm not sure how I'd cope. I'm interested to hear from anyone who has had a similar experience.
I commute 22 miles each way . I used to do it in an HDi Xantia, great car for the job. I work shifts, 7:30-7:30, nights and days. It's a pain, but it pays the bills well.

Personally, I wouldn't go back to a Xantia now, they're all getting on in age and most HDi you will get will be either expensive or have issues. I'd go for a MK1 C5 2.0HDI, they seem to be a better built car, and are just as comfy. There's also many more to choose from.

Just to add - the 30 mins or so it takes me, down A and B roads is great. It's just far enough so I don't "take work home" with me..
spigven
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Re: Commuting Question

Post by spigven »

Thank you for your replies, it appears the question is redundant now as I've had no further communication about the job. Odd thing is I normally feel quite negative over these matters but for this one I felt unusually optimistic from the start, must have been something I ate.
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