So Near to Quitting (Job Related)

[Elbie]

Elbie

July 9, 2018 at 4:31 pm #482

This is probably going to end up more as a rant than anything else!

Basically, I’ve been living in London for over two years now and the novelty has officially worn off. I gave up horses when I moved (and most upsettingly my dogs couldn’t/wouldn’t cope either so they were rehomed too).

My job is great, and with amazing career prospects but I find myself regularly looking up jobs outside of London. I’ve looked at moving out and commuting in but the main factor to why I don’t like it is the public transport. It takes me 1 hour door to door to go 10miles, and regularly standing the whole way, so a daily commute of 2 hours is just getting unbearable (especially in this heat with no air-con!).

My OH needs to be in central London for his career but has said he’ll happily move back out if that means I’m happier. But I’m just not sure what to do…

Do I risk the career opportunities that I have now and focus on being where I want to live, or, do I just keep my head down and work for a little longer and get these short-term career opportunities, which will mean a better paid or even (freelance) consulting job outside of London?

Urgh, decisions decisions!

[Kelly]

Kelly

July 9, 2018 at 4:32 pm #483

I am biased as I would really not enjoy living in London. I lived there as a kid, moved out at age 9 and would not go back for loadsamoney!

[Kez]

Kez

July 9, 2018 at 4:32 pm #484

Can you commute by cycle instead? I used to bike through central London as a student, and it certainly woke me up for lectures! I got around quicker that if I had used public transport.

London is great for a while, but IMHO not for long term. How long do you need to hang in there careerwise to be able to get out advantageously?

[Elbie]

Elbie

July 9, 2018 at 4:36 pm #488

I have certainly looked into it, but it’s just so dangerous. I work closer with 3 people who cycle into work but not one hasn’t had an injury caused by cycling in the last year – most by being hit by vehicles.

[Red-1]

Red-1

July 9, 2018 at 4:33 pm #485

How long would you need to work in London for to build up the skills to make it worth hanging on for? That’s what I’d perhaps base my decision on.

Also you could look at commuting – coming from further out is more costly but can be strangely faster than when you live in London.

We are moving to Surrey so out of London. It will be a 30 or 40 min train ride to Waterloo which is faster than my current journey of train then tubes!!

[Elbie]

Elbie

July 9, 2018 at 4:36 pm #489

I would need another 18months to start seeing the rewards, especially if I were to seriously look for jobs. Looking at it like that it doesn’t seem much really… I have looked at moving out to Haslemere so may re-visit that idea.

[alec]

alec

July 9, 2018 at 4:34 pm #486

Moving out could entail a commute of more than one hour; it used to take my OH two hours door to door in the morning and again in the evening – and that was when the trains ran on time and weren’t cancelled. He frequently had to stand for the 40 min (ha! it rarely was 40 mins) into Padders.

You say your job is great with amazing career prospects. Personally I would keep my head down, work for a little longer and get the opportunities which will mean better jobs.

My daughter absolutely loathes London, but lives there because she couldn’t stand the commute from the home counties. She has to be in central London for her career. She lives not quite 5 miles from her job and it takes her 40-50 mins commute.

[Elbie]

Elbie

July 9, 2018 at 4:37 pm #490

growing up in North Devon certainly didn’t set me up for city life! That’s the major issue with moving outside of London. I’m lucky where I am that there are multiple ways into work if one of the lines is down. I can easily get the Central, Piccadilly, District or South Eastern trains so moving out I would be limited to one line and if anything went wrong… I’d be stuck!

[happyclappy]

happyclappy

July 9, 2018 at 4:35 pm #487

One of the best things about London is that it is so different from area to area so you can often solve many problems by zoning in on what it is, in particular, that is making you unhappy. Your commute does sound awful and would drive most people mad – is there no way that you could rectify that, either by changing jobs or areas? There are few parts of London that don’t have affordable commuting options within 45 minutes. Happy to brainstorm by PM if you would prefer not to give away your office location publicly.

Otherwise, is it the lack of green space? Solvable, if not to the extent of endless rolling hills, but you can find areas either near a large park or full of lots of little ones. Some boroughs have more trees than others.

When you feel a bit down or stuck in life, it can be hard to see the wood for the trees, ie. the changes that would really improve your situation. I know many people who ended up leaving London for a smaller city. They love it, but in reality, they were living the London life in a way that was never going to make them happy. Just a simple location change would have enabled them to keep the aspects of London that they loved (friends, culture etc) while having a quieter life.

Anyway, in summary, it’s probably worth giving it one last shot.

[Elbie]

Elbie

July 9, 2018 at 4:37 pm #491

I’ve moved from Chelsea out to Kew as it was proving way too much living in such a high-paced area but at the detriment of going from a 20 minute commute to now an hour. It’s great being near the large parks and I love spending a Sunday with a picnic on Kew Green or Richmond Green watching the cricket but I just can’t handle the craziness of the commute. I actually spend any spare 5 mins at work planning holidays or weekend getaways – I’ve never been away so much! I work in the St Paul’s area