Long commute to contract - experiences?

[northernladuk]

OFFER? You should take, not wait to be offered.

Not in a negotiation..... he offers something and I offer something in return... Simples...

Now sush you

[speling bee]

Not in a negotiation..... he offers something and I offer something in return... Simples...

Now sush you

Too late, sonny.

[psychocandy]

Currently have a 212 mile round trip (NE), still can't drive yet tho due having defibrillator fitted so it's the train for me.

Previous gig was in Swansea (Heads of the Valleys is a nice road!) - almost a 600 mile round trip.

I stay over mon -fri and also due to almost all of my recent roles being SC there is no WFH....

Heads of the Valleys road not so nice in the winter....

[psychocandy]

It depends on your doctor and your dentist plus the client. If you can start at 10.30am but work until 6.30pm then it's not a problem.

Lots of doctors especially in London have early or commuter clinics this means you can book an appointment for between 7.30am and 9am.

However if you are that ill you shouldn't be driving that distance anyway so it doesn't matter what time you see the doctor.

With dentists if your dentist is private then you can get an early appointment.

To be honest the only time I had difficulty with a company with medical appointments in the morning meaning I was in 30 minutes to an hour later was when I was permanent. The company were such f**** I ensured my appointments were in the middle of the day meaning I would go to work for about 2 hours.


One thing you haven't taken account of is traffic.

There are certain times on the roads when they are more busy and if you start your drive late you are more likely to be delayed by an accident. Generally with my commutes if I'm on the road by 6.45am I'm less likely to stuck in traffic behind an accident than if I leave at 7.10am.

In this instance traffic not an issue.

No traffic in rural Wales. Cities and main commuter areas yes. Going the other direction none - apart from sheep.

[doomage]

I've done a 1 hr drive to client co with a 1 1/2 hr drive home.

In the mornings it was virtually a race up the M1 to get a 'free' car park, with lot's of bottlenecks on the way. Parking can be stressful.

I used to hate being trapped on the motorway and needing a pee.

[psychocandy]

You can alleviate this by using HP and handing it back at the half way point as there is no mileage restriction as long as you have the 1974 agreement and not some lease thing.. I've done with the last four cars with the same HP company and it's had no detrimental effect on my credit rating. Only works well with aprox 35K a year.

1974 agreement? I thought all leases were bound by mileage etc.

[psychocandy]

Guess I shouldn't complain since traffic is not an issue a lot of times for me.
But doctors opening at 7am. Not in wales as far as I know.

[MyUserName]

I did a commute of 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 hour journey for 6 months in London. It was an early start to get the train and then a 45 minute doze before a trip on the underground where I played FIFA on my IPhone. Client required 40 hours a week and a mimimum on half an hour lunchbreak. This made the day quite long.

We had my son 2 weeks into this contract so I was getting less sleep than I was use to but the light sleep on the train helped. I got a first class ticket and only had to stand twice.

It was okay, I did not renew as a client less than half an hour away offered me a position so I jumped at it.

If you can then get a doctor/dentist near the cliet as it is much easier.

[d000hg]

Anyone else got experience of doing similar sort of commute? Do-able of course, but I'm concerned that 5 days a week of this for any extended period of time is going to knacker me big time.

I don't think I could do it week in, week out, I just don't care about work or money enough. I'd rather do something crappy nearby.

But then I hate driving and WFH it's one of the reasons I went freelance/contract, more so than the dislike of being a permie to be honest.

[psychocandy]

I did a commute of 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 hour journey for 6 months in London. It was an early start to get the train and then a 45 minute doze before a trip on the underground where I played FIFA on my IPhone. Client required 40 hours a week and a mimimum on half an hour lunchbreak. This made the day quite long.

We had my son 2 weeks into this contract so I was getting less sleep than I was use to but the light sleep on the train helped. I got a first class ticket and only had to stand twice.

It was okay, I did not renew as a client less than half an hour away offered me a position so I jumped at it.

If you can then get a doctor/dentist near the cliet as it is much easier.

That sounds like a killer...

Sometimes I think I'd actually prefer a gig that was only 3 days a week or something. Better to have half decent money for 3 days than work your nuts off and kill yourself doing 5 days.

hmm. Changing doc/dentist every time you change client sounds like a bit of hassle.