Working Away - Experiences?!

[nomadd]

Living in the North West and presently working in Surrey. I have done weekly commuting on and off in the UK and Europe for almost 20 years. I have never really settled into it and never will, I suspect. But it is needs must right now. Work in Surrey or sit on the bench. I really hope next gig will be in NW but I can't see it happening unless things pick up a lot.

WHS.

I've been "working away from home" (NW) for 22 years.

Still, better than being on the bench.

[Aman]

I prefer to 'work away', to the extent that I view away as home, but then I absolutely loathe where I currently 'live'.
There's naff all work-wise in my home town except oil and gas, even less to do out of work There is even less going out of work in this parochial little tuliphole, it's bloody expensive, cold, dark and dour.

I want a life so I'd rather travel to work in London/SE, Manchester where I can find work, have a life, there are actually places nearby worth going to and a transport system that enables one to travel to them.
I'm haemorrhaging cash getting to London at the weekends, I'd be cheaper living in London but just need the contract.
Agents usually contact me about jobs anywhere but London though.

I had a nightmare with shift working on one contract in Basingstoke and finding accommodation to suit. Other than that only positive experiences of working 'away'.

[SueEllen]

Funny I live in Surrey, but I mostly seem to be getting calls for jobs oop north Guess I should change my criteria from 'only local' to 'as far from home as possible' and I might get local ones

Sods law.

Mind you I've had a few work at home gigs. Though they have tended to send me mad due to being able to work completely when I like.

[RichardCranium]

I've worked away (mainly London area, but all over including Eire) for nearly 15 years and this summer got my first gig where I can commute from home in Lancashire each day.

I leave at 5:30am for 75 min drive to Cheshire down M6 / M56 then back home for 5:30pm (leaving ClientCo at 4pm sharp).

I love seeing my kids every day, but wife hates me messing the house up and eating the stuff in the fridge, so in Jan, when the current contract ends, I'll be searching for a gig back in London area!

Why not kick the wife out?

[rootsnall]

Another NWer commuting down the M6/M40, I can't believe one of you is doing it everyday on the train, you must be on a good rate to pay the train fare !?

I've had a pretty good 5 months of doing it but have hit the buffers this last week or so, previously OK travel has been tulip, and previously OK job has gone double tulip .

So the CV was out on Friday ! Including applying for a Perm job ( what happened to the shoot yourself icon ? ).

For the original poster I'd recommend getting into a house share if you are doing it long term, it works a lot better than hotels for me, cheaper and you can leave your stuff at the weekends, plus socially better if you choose wisely.

[Muttley08]

Done it for last 5 years - gets a bit boring when you've got a family.

Saying that - if you're single, get yourself down to the big smoke - better rates and better social scene.

[Fred Bloggs]

Another NWer commuting down the M6/M40, I can't believe one of you is doing it everyday on the train, you must be on a good rate to pay the train fare !?.

Funny you should say that, this thread prompted me to look at season tickets Crewe > London. I found that you can get a Crewe/Euston London Midland weekly season ticket for £221 First Class. It costs the same as that to do the trip Monday morning Friday afternoon so if you can manage the long commute it actually works out considerably cheaper commuting daily than commuting weekly and staying in hotels. It now takes 1hr 35 mins Crewe to Euston, not bad. How reliable it is I don't know.

[d000hg]

A 90min commute isn't too bad if you can get a decent train seat in 1st. A nice civilised cup of coffee and reading a good book, it's forced relaxation with no family to interrupt

[Fred Bloggs]

A 90min commute isn't too bad if you can get a decent train seat in 1st. A nice civilised cup of coffee and reading a good book, it's forced relaxation with no family to interrupt

Yes, I was surprised that it was only £44 a day (actually the ticket is for 7 days, but obviously only used for 5 days a week). It's no use to me working in Surrey, but it could be a contender to do gigs in London that I hadn't previosuly considered doable as a weekly commute due to expense of London Hotels as well as the Monday/Friday extortion for the train fare.

[d000hg]

Where do you find these cheaper season tickets? Only on each operator's website? Are they usable on any train, or tied to specific operators/routes/times? I don't think I ever saw a ticket that could only be used on one operator's trains except those only valid on a single train.