Reply to: How far would you travel for a gig?

[TechJinx]

On a busy commuter train I don't find this works.

doesnt stop people trying

mainly middle aged women I find......

[d000hg]

then there's the whole "shall I be a £%%£$" and put my bag on the other seat conundrum....."

On a busy commuter train I don't find this works.

[TechJinx]

Train seat selection is paramount.

then there's the whole "shall I be a £%%£$" and put my bag on the other seat conundrum....."

[psychocandy]

I find the single seats between the doors and the 2x2 seating on the old district line trains are the best - no one can sit next to you. Plus when you're asleep you cant feel bad for not giving it up for a pregnant/old/crippled person......

I get on the second stop so guaranteed seat and sleep

Train seat selection is paramount. I get on arrive trains wales/cross country and its a choice of table 4 seats or airline style.

Table 4 plenty of leg room but guaranteed you'll have at least 2-3 companions for these. Airline style - limited leg room.
Good seat right at the end behind driver door on some trains. Back to window with wall on one side and back of other seats on other so no-one next you.

[TechJinx]

I used to commute on my motorbike - that was sweet and the best of both worlds. home to central London 45 minutes.

home to canary wharf when I was there was 25 minutes and the parking was free.

I think I need to go out and buy another motorbike...

admittedly the kit cost a bomb, I got knocked off 3 times in 5 years and it needed servicing every 2500 miles, but still....

[psychocandy]

I tend to drive unless public transport is a better solution. So gigs in London, always train in. Other gigs, depends on the service. Personally prefer the car as you can come and go when you are ready. With trains you have to just down tools and flee. Also with the car you can fine tune your journey to miss the worst of the traffic.

Yeh. pros and cons with both. Like you said with train, its a case of having to drop it all to make sure you get your train or missing it. That extra 5 mins where someone appears at your desk makes no odds if you're driving but is not cool if your just about to stick your coat on and leg it to train station. And of course, theres the flexibility.

As I crossed the motorway today on drive to train (10 mins) I realised that by the time I drove, parked, walked to train, allowed some slack you're looking at 30 mins from door. Could be half way to client by then.

Also, not being a tightarse but £14 on train as opposed to 100 mile round trip plus probably £12 in tolls/parking makes it fair bit cheaper for me.

Now if you could take the car and still have a kip on the way that'd be ideal! :-)
But of course name of the game in our business where cost isnt really an issue is get to site in once piece with as little stress as possible.....

[TechJinx]

I find the single seats between the doors and the 2x2 seating on the old district line trains are the best - no one can sit next to you. Plus when you're asleep you cant feel bad for not giving it up for a pregnant/old/crippled person......

I get on the second stop so guaranteed seat and sleep

[psychocandy]

I've just had a new baby - my 54 minute commute on the District line is the only guaranteed sleep I get. Wish it ws longer......

Know the feeling. Trains are ok for kip as long as you can get a seat. Two seats better in case you have to sit next to fat sweaty like me.

[rocktronAMP]

12 hour days don't swing it much for me either! Much prefer to spend those extra 4 hours of my life on my relationship with my friends and family lol.

In Britain, are we still slaving away like idiots? I read an article about co-working spaces that are happening now in the USA. If you think driving distances are bad in Blighty then try driving distances along Silicon Valley, Oregon or Denver.

Here is one co-working space from Denver, Colorado, USA greenspace.com Denver Coworking Spaces | Shared Office Space in Denver 303-720-6850 and there are others

Perhaps, the future of IT in Britain will be some form of remote working part time or full time.

[unixman]

Depends where you live, but my farthest away was 80 miles/90 minutes. Nearest was 10 miles/25 minutes, and they also let me work 2 days a week FH.

When permanent, for comparison, my farthest was 24 miles/40 minutes, excluding regular customer visits which were much further. Closest was about 300 yards door to door!

Current contract is 50 miles/60-90 minutes depending on conditions. Last week I had the opportunity to work 10 miles from home again but the rate was absolutely *awful*, so skipped it. I have a lower commute threshold than most, to stay up to 4 nights even though only 75 minutes from home. I find with a long commute, you are tired before even starting work.

[TechJinx]

I've just had a new baby - my 54 minute commute on the District line is the only guaranteed sleep I get. Wish it ws longer......

[d000hg]

My longest trip for a day's work was to travel to Hartford, Connecticut for a 2 hour meeting. Ah, those were the days

A permie friend fairly recently had to fly to Malaysia (I think) for about a week, for a single meeting.

[psychocandy]

In the last 12 months (As that's when I started looking for contracts) I've seen a single, 5 day project that would be under a 30 - 45 minute commute from home. The nature of my work is short term (Though 5 days IS short - more like 4 - 8 weeks on average) projects, so they're naturally going to be all over the place. WFH doesn't really swing it too much for me, though - I quite like getting on site and forming relationships.

12 hour days don't swing it much for me either! Much prefer to spend those extra 4 hours of my life on my relationship with my friends and family lol.

[Platypus]

God forbid ... I've been WFH for several years now. My alternative would be 2 hrs each way to London. I'm sure I'd earn more in London, but not if I take travel time and quality of life into account. I'd suppose I'd have to commute if I had no other option (benched) or if the money was much much better.

As a permie I spent 15 years driving up and down the A1 to Stevenage, an hour each way. It was ok, I could do it again.

My longest trip for a day's work was to travel to Hartford, Connecticut for a 2 hour meeting. Ah, those were the days

[vwdan]

In the last 12 months (As that's when I started looking for contracts) I've seen a single, 5 day project that would be under a 30 - 45 minute commute from home. The nature of my work is short term (Though 5 days IS short - more like 4 - 8 weeks on average) projects, so they're naturally going to be all over the place. WFH doesn't really swing it too much for me, though - I quite like getting on site and forming relationships.