Living in London vs commuting from Birmingham

[Adam1997]

So I have an opportunity in London however, I current live in Birmingham. I don’t think I’ll need to be in London more then 3 times a week and I’ll only need go into London for 8 months over the course of this year and next. My question is how much would doing this cost. I’ve been looking at season tickets vs normal ticket booking and they’re quite confusing. I just wondered if it would be significantly cheaper then renting and moving too London.

So I have an opportunity in London however, I current live in Birmingham. I don’t think I’ll need to be in London more then 3 times a week and I’ll only need go into London for 8 months over the course of this year and next. My question is how much would doing this cost. I’ve been looking at season tickets vs normal ticket booking and they’re quite confusing. I just wondered if it would be significantly cheaper then renting and moving too London.

Just to add if I were to book non season tickets I’d be using a 16-25 rail card.

 

[Gloster]

Do you know what sort of times of day you will be travelling?

 

[Adam1997]

Do you know what sort of times of day you will be travelling?

It should be a mixture of peak/off peak times in the morning and all off peak times in the evening. Sorry I can’t be any more detailed

 

[Watershed]

There are a lot of factors that will influence the best option. For example:

• Where in London is the place you're heading to?
• What time will you need to be there for, and when do you want to return?
• What days of the week will you be travelling - is there any flexibility to "compress" the days so you can do Wednesday to Friday one week, and Monday to Wednesday the next week for example?
• Is journey time more important, or are you prepared to accept a longer journey in exchange for a lower fare?
• Would you be willing to buy Advance tickets tying you to a specific train, or is flexibility important to you even if this costs more?

In general, I would imagine commuting from Birmingham 3 days a week will be marginal cost-wise compared to renting in London.

But from a decade of personal experience of various commutes involving the WCML, the biggest problem of such a long commute isn't even the cost (I have at various times had commutes paid for, or had travel facilities that made them free or nearly free) - it's simply the amount of time it takes out of your day, even if you take a fast service and everything goes to plan.

As soon as anything goes wrong you are looking at arriving at work or home late. The WCML seems to have problems nearly every day, ranging from minor 5-10 min delays to major disruption with no trains at all running. Over time it becomes very exhausting and frustrating. Delay Repay doesn't make up for needing to make excuses to your boss or loved ones for the millionth time.

So regardless of the practicalities - and we can help you with that - I would not suggest it as a long-term solution. Personally speaking I have accepted that a London job is not really compatible with a frequent, long commute to the "shires" and that downsizing to move closer to London is a necessary evil if you want/have to be in an office more than (say) once a week.

 

[gray1404]

Which part of Birmingham will you be leaving from and where in London would you need to get to?

Would it be consecutive days working in London whereby you could rent a hotel or bed and breakfast rather than having to commute each day?

 

[signed]

Where in London as well is important

But a shallow analysis shows the following :

• A straight Any Permitted Season ticket to London Terminals without a Travelcard will be £331.30 per week (with a Z1-6 Travelcard £351.70)
• A Chiltern-only VIA HIGH WYCOMBE is £263.10 per week (with a Travelcard £294.50)

For reference, all the single/returns are here :

Look up fares for any train journey in Britain

Full details of all British rail Single, Return & Season tickets and Travelcards. Built-in Season Ticket Calculator.

www.brfares.com

 

[Roger1973]

I agree with much of what @Watershed said.

Depends how close to home / work the stations at each end would be to commute from current home to London job. If you're very close to rail station at each end, it wouldn't be as bad, but if you've got a long walk, or bus / suburban train journey, or drive then park at the Birmingham end, and / or going to have to do underground at the London end, that will add cost and time to each day.

There will be days when something goes wrong, which will mean you'll be late for work some days and late home others (or sometimes both).

Is job the sort where they are flexible about the hours you would work, or is it the sort where they would expect you to be flexible and come in early / stay late some days depending on workload / meetings? Is it the sort of job where socialising after work is seen as part of the job? (Rail season tickets are usually any train any time - although there may be options from Birmingham that involve only one train operator - advance booked tickets are more likely to be for specific times trains only.)

I did a few years of what was a nearly 2 hour journey each way from Berkshire to a London location that meant train - another train then bus or underground each way. I left to take a job nearer home and I don't want to do that again.

 

[Deerfold]

I don't know a lot about your circumstances or what facilities you'd need in an evening, but if your work days are consecutive, it may be worth looking into cheaper hotels or even youth hostels.

I did 3-4 days a week in the office for nearly 8 years, mostly staying at youth hostels.

They've jumped up in price since I did it, but are still often cheaper than a return between London and Birmingham - you can find dorms midweek for £20 a night. Do read reviews, though - there's a few that are below par.
I used hostelworld.com to book.

 

[Adam1997]

Which part of Birmingham will you be leaving from and where in London would you need to get to?

Would it be consecutive days working in London whereby you could rent a hotel or bed and breakfast rather than having to commute each day?

I’d be travelling from Birmingham new street to London Euston though I could travel from moor street to marlybone too

There are a lot of factors that will influence the best option. For example:

• Where in London is the place you're heading to?
• What time will you need to be there for, and when do you want to return?
• What days of the week will you be travelling - is there any flexibility to "compress" the days so you can do Wednesday to Friday one week, and Monday to Wednesday the next week for example?
• Is journey time more important, or are you prepared to accept a longer journey in exchange for a lower fare?
• Would you be willing to buy Advance tickets tying you to a specific train, or is flexibility important to you even if this costs more?

In general, I would imagine commuting from Birmingham 3 days a week will be marginal cost-wise compared to renting in London.

But from a decade of personal experience of various commutes involving the WCML, the biggest problem of such a long commute isn't even the cost (I have at various times had commutes paid for, or had travel facilities that made them free or nearly free) - it's simply the amount of time it takes out of your day, even if you take a fast service and everything goes to plan.

As soon as anything goes wrong you are looking at arriving at work or home late. The WCML seems to have problems nearly every day, ranging from minor 5-10 min delays to major disruption with no trains at all running. Over time it becomes very exhausting and frustrating. Delay Repay doesn't make up for needing to make excuses to your boss or loved ones for the millionth time.

So regardless of the practicalities - and we can help you with that - I would not suggest it as a long-term solution. Personally speaking I have accepted that a London job is not really compatible with a frequent, long commute to the "shires" and that downsizing to move closer to London is a necessary evil if you want/have to be in an office more than (say) once a week.

It would just be London Euston from Birmingham new street my office won’t be far from there.
Timing wise it’ll be from between 9-12ish and in the evening I’ll have complete free time to decide what trains to catch.
There won’t be any flexibility unfortunately no
I’m happy to buy advance singles too. I would prefer to travel with Avanti (quicker journey) or chiltern (nicer journey)

I agree with much of what @Watershed said.

Depends how close to home / work the stations at each end would be to commute from current home to London job. If you're very close to rail station at each end, it wouldn't be as bad, but if you've got a long walk, or bus / suburban train journey, or drive then park at the Birmingham end, and / or going to have to do underground at the London end, that will add cost and time to each day.

There will be days when something goes wrong, which will mean you'll be late for work some days and late home others (or sometimes both).

Is job the sort where they are flexible about the hours you would work, or is it the sort where they would expect you to be flexible and come in early / stay late some days depending on workload / meetings? Is it the sort of job where socialising after work is seen as part of the job? (Rail season tickets are usually any train any time - although there may be options from Birmingham that involve only one train operator - advance booked tickets are more likely to be for specific times trains only.)

I did a few years of what was a nearly 2 hour journey each way from Berkshire to a London location that meant train - another train then bus or underground each way. I left to take a job nearer home and I don't want to do that again.

Oh as long as I’m there before 12 it’s fine. I have to be in the office 3 days a week (which days I don’t know yet) It’s pretty flexible with hours I can work in the afternoon though I’d prefer to do most of my work in the office and work late and then have shorter working days when I’m at home.

In terms of rent as a comparison in London the cheapest and most decent places I’ve been able to find hover at around 1000 per month (flat share) Plus TfL travel costs to my office. I’ve found a place for £1050 a month but the contract is 12 months and I’ll only need the place for 8 months until I can go to fully remote.