Commuting to work

[RickyR]

For the first time in my life I'm commuting to work. As many people know i'm a seafarer, and whilst I still work on ships, I now commute to the ship. Work give me a house to stay in near work with my family, and as long as the ship isn't sailing (obviously), I can go home home in the afternoons.
My commute takes about 10-15 minutes and involves going along the highway through some small mountains before facing the blue ocean and driving into the port to the ship (with a few salutes on the way).
I've never liked and understood the idea of commuting, having been at sea pretty much since I left school. The commute for me before has always been a case of waking up, showering and walking upstairs to the bridge or to my office. Whenever i've been on leave in the UK, I've always found it scary when I've seen people sat in their cars in the traffic at 7am, puffing away on a cigarette and wondering about the meaning of life.
Whilst the 28 degrees and guaranteed sunshine here helps, I find myself listening to 'Darren' on the local radio station with his inane jibberish, is this really what normal people listen to?
Just made me wonder, what sort of commutes to work people here have, and how they cope with them. Would you ever consider living closer to your work to avoid the commute?

[stevewool]

you are very lucky ricky, my travel is by car just 10 minutes thats all but so much stress sometimes, very very few people have the time to be kind to let you out of a junction or they are to frightened to loose there place or are just so ignorant , i class myself as a very good driver but i do have to many times just use the size of the lorry to get out of junctions now days, best thing to do it aircon on radio 2 and just smile and wave to all

[Englishman2010]

I used to commute for 25 years, but now I work from home and only go out for meetings when they are required. I don't think I could go back to the 45 minute nose to tail 5 mile journey into the office

[joebloggs]

I'm lucky the traffic jam every morning is coming to Manchester, while I work outside of Manchester , 10 mins to work, and 10 mins back, means i can take the kids to the child minder and pick them up, commuting means I've never been away from little Joe for more than 9hrs aday oh and most of the times the misses to

[subseastu]

I suppose we're the lucky ones Ricky, you even more so now. I remember driving hire cars down to heathrow to fly out to join ships and looking at all these folk with their jackets hanging up in the back windows of there cars. It used to stress me out just watching them, all hunched over the steering wheels, getting stressed about traffic, deadlines and god knows what else. I honestly say there is no way I could do anything like that, alright I'm away for about 200 days of the year but it beats sitting in a traffic jam 5 days a week and having to do battle with everyone in the supermarkets, b&q at the weekends!!!

[mickcant]

As I have al;wsays lived on the Isle of Wight, when I was working any drive to work would be 20 min at most, for the last 23 years it was a 10min cycle ride for me
Mick.

[lastlid]

I walk to work. It is about 300 yards away in a sleepy town on the IOM. Prior to that it was a 20 minute cycle ride along the coastal road. Nice.

[lastlid]

But about 6 years ago, for many years, I also spent at sea (in the main) commuting back and forth to various oil rigs, many in the North Sea but also many around the globe. One big commute each month. It had its plusses. No traffic jams to sit in every working day......

[joebloggs]

I suppose we're the lucky ones Ricky, you even more so now. I remember driving hire cars down to heathrow to fly out to join ships and looking at all these folk with their jackets hanging up in the back windows of there cars. It used to stress me out just watching them, all hunched over the steering wheels, getting stressed about traffic, deadlines and god knows what else. I honestly say there is no way I could do anything like that, alright I'm away for about 200 days of the year but it beats sitting in a traffic jam 5 days a week and having to do battle with everyone in the supermarkets, b&q at the weekends!!!

if i go to work on the bus it takes an hour, if by car 15 mins, but when i've done my 8hrs i go home, everyday i go to work, i either pick the kids up or they are already home, most days my wife is there, going home to your own bed and having my family there is the most important thing to me

[johncar54]

Most of my working life involved a 60 minute drive each way if I was lucky, from Orpington into London. It was often longer, often 90 mins and when it got to 2.5 hours one day I bought a motorcycle. That got it down to about 50 mins but often I arrived wet and cold.


My working day was alternate days of around 10 hours one day and 13 the next. I retired when I was 48.

[Terpe]

I was lucky enough to not have actually commuted as such.
When in UK I did spend plenty of time on the motorways travelling to the airport.
It didn't cause me stress though as I was always excited and looking forward to my new asignments. Maybe that's how a workaholic tends to think.
I was always a workaholic and passionate about my work.

[somebody]

I quite like my Commute I actually choose public transport over the car most of the time as I find I get some time to myself read a book, browse the web, write etc. It also gives me a chance to prepare for work and chill out after work.
On commutes I have studied for exams, prepared for many a meeting, presentation, thought about issues, chatted with friends all over the world,read up about alsorts of subjects that interest me, sorted out the Wife's Visa and countless other things..


I guess its about making the best of whatever you have in front of you..

[worthingmale]

do about 1000 miles a week to and from work

[South-east boy]

It takes me around 50 minutes on a good day to an hour and a half on a bad day to drive the 26 miles to work along residential, country roads and motorway. I then have a 10 minutes walk from where I park my car to work as the car parks are way too expensive to park in for a whole day every work day. It's always far worse during school time and there's around a 1/3 less traffic on school holidays. As the school year goes on the traffic very gradually gets better. It's always worse when it's wet with more cars and more accidents etc. The last couple of days have been rubbish with accidents, broken down cars & lorries and queues! Those journeys have taken an hour and 10 minutes to an hour and 20 minutes. I hate traffic and it gets me down/stresses me out! I'd rather drive a longer route and keep moving rather than a shorter route stuck in traffic.

I can't live nearer to work as it's more expensive here to live and I don't further away from family and friends.

[joebloggs]

I quite like my Commute I actually choose public transport over the car most of the time as I find I get some time to myself read a book, browse the web, write etc. It also gives me a chance to prepare for work and chill out after work.
On commutes I have studied for exams, prepared for many a meeting, presentation, thought about issues, chatted with friends all over the world,read up about alsorts of subjects that interest me, sorted out the Wife's Visa and countless other things..


I guess its about making the best of whatever you have in front of you..

going to work on the bus is not that bad, like you, i get to listen to me mp3 player, read the metro or what ever else i have to do or even better relax

[grahamw48]

- One of the reasons I choose to live in North Yorkshire...having worked in London when I was very young.

We all have choices in life, and no way could I tolerate years of sitting in (unhealthy) traffic jams getting stressed out.

That's not to say I don't drive.

I too have been covering around a 1,000 miles a week for most of the past 40 years, but no rush hour stuff because of my generally late starts and finishes.

Most of that time in sales (of course ).

[les_taxi]

It takes me about 7 secs to get to work bloody nuisence

[scott&ligaya]

longest commute was Fareham to Farnborough for 2 years around 55 miles of mainly M27 and M3.. I actually enjoyed it most days, gives you time to listen to good music, learn a language, organise your day in your head and hit the office all revved up and cokking on gas, same going home except winding down, get in very calm and not still buzzing or wound up about a work issue.. also lived on a complex once for one year and hardly ever left it, 2 mins to work and 2 mins to canteen, and accomodation. did not particularly enjoy that!! Currently my client is 35 mins drive on M42 /M40 and just about right.

[lastlid]

I also spent several years driving to work in Aberdeen. It took an hour each way (on a good day) for a 10 mile each way journey. Hated it. A complete waste of 2+ hours of my life in nose to tail traffic and a waste of fuel too.

[grahamw48]

It takes me about 7 secs to get to work bloody nuisence

Driving in Harrogate...

It's quicker to walk on that god-awful Skipton road.