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Post by sprite on Jan 5, 2024 17:07:33 GMT -5
I'm going to be working in Glasgow for the next 6 months (helloooo Weeg, haha!), and will be going by train.
I've worked out that I'll spend 18% of my pre-tax income on transport (providing I cycle to my end of the train station). I'm used to cycling 95% of the time, so have never really factored in transport costs when considering a job, only time.
Is this high or low? Do you know how much of your work income goes to work transport? What would you consider too high?
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Post by tinaja on Jan 5, 2024 18:22:30 GMT -5
I did some calculations but I am not sure if I am doing it right. 18% seems high. But pretax might help you pay less tax overall.
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Post by Liiisa on Jan 5, 2024 18:35:24 GMT -5
18% is very high. But if I had to go into the office 5 days/week and drove instead of taking the bus, then the parking plus gas and maintenance would be about that much, and people do that. Sometimes you can't avoid it, especially if it's a good gig.
Plus the train sounds nice - you can catch up on your reading, prep for class, etc - so you could consider part of the cost entertainment.
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Post by psw on Jan 5, 2024 19:23:28 GMT -5
Are there weekly or monthly train passes? Does your employer have a rail discount program for staff?
And yes, on the way home you can put your feet up and relax.
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Jan 5, 2024 22:40:10 GMT -5
My job requires travel between worksites, which I can either claim monthly or annually as a tax deduction. (If it is over a certain amount, we are provided with vehicles). So I’m no help.
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Post by wombatrois on Jan 6, 2024 0:01:39 GMT -5
That does seem high. For example, my rent in the city is 13% of my post-tax income [and my car lease is taken out of my pre-tax income, so I don't pay so much tax (salary sacrifice - does that exist elsewhere?)]. But then I suppose it's all relevant to how much your income is vs the train costs.
Of course on top of that I have fuel, electricity and other additional costs driving up and down and keeping 2 x households.
BTW I've just started wondering if I should feel guilty about having two households when housing is so tight here!?!?
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Post by lillielangtry on Jan 6, 2024 4:11:21 GMT -5
Ugh, British train prices are crazy.
I have the ticket that Germany introduced last year for regional transport. It usually costs 49 euros a month, but my employer pays about half. So for 27 euros a month, I can take any bus, tram or regional train anytime, anywhere in Germany.
(For political reasons it's not certain this ticket will be continued indefinitely. It's obviously subsidised. I used to pay about 70 euros for transport in my region, which honestly I also thought was good value).
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Post by Queen on Jan 6, 2024 4:31:26 GMT -5
I also can't help.
I pay zero.
If I work from home my company pays me 2 euro a day. If I commute the company pays for my travel (2nd class ticket).
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Post by sprite on Jan 6, 2024 6:30:34 GMT -5
When they offered this contract, They thought I was living in Glasgow. In Feb and March, the other 2 days a week, I'll work a slightly longer shift, but only a 15 minute cycle from home. So if I look at it from the perspective of total earnings from this company, it's a little lower percentage.
There are passes available, but because I only go 3 days a week, day returns are cheaper. There's some sort of gov't scheme to make train commuting cheaper which is why the day return is cheap, but I don't know what it was before.
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Post by fishface on Jan 6, 2024 6:35:20 GMT -5
That seems nuts unless there is a big disparity somewhere in those calculations. Either income being particularly low or there being a "premium" component of your travel (eg like travelling on a fancy airport bus rather than a regular city bus). Otherwise I would hope that you're looking at the price of single separate tickets in error rather than like a monthly pass or a regional pass.
Otherwise heck.
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Post by Liiisa on Jan 6, 2024 8:10:32 GMT -5
wombatrois I don't think you should feel guilty, since you're doing it because of your work. It's not like you've got a summer house and a pied-à-terre etc. Plus you're saving carbon emissions (and sanity) by not making a massive commute every day.
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Post by Webs on Jan 6, 2024 12:33:28 GMT -5
I pay less than 3% of my income for transit. And that's basically door to door.
But I live in a large urban city with tons of transport options within a block of home and office.
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Post by whothingie on Jan 6, 2024 13:58:43 GMT -5
My costs are minimal so can't help. That seems high though. Is the journey at least an hour?
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Post by snowwhite on Jan 6, 2024 14:18:47 GMT -5
You may (or may not) be able to find some relevant statistics looking at data from the National Travel Survey, which is run by the DfT - I work on it from time to time. I'm not sure exactly which data they publish, but they will provide the raw numbers as well, although I'm not sure exactly how that works.
We collect data on individual and hh income and also ask people to keep a travel diary, which includes information on how much people pay for public transport, if they use it.
But 18% does sound VERY high!
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Post by sprite on Jan 6, 2024 15:42:17 GMT -5
Yes, to be clear, I'm taking a 1 hr train between E'burgh and Glasgow, which a lot of people do, but usually for full time jobs. I am at a point where I'm willing to sacrifice some income if it gets me a decent contract for a good employer, and they are starting to do more work in E'bugh too.
falling down a travel stats rabbit hole now!
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Post by Liiisa on Jan 6, 2024 17:24:17 GMT -5
There are people here who live really far out of town and have a really long/expensive commute, so their housing is cheap and transport is expensive - so that's another way to look at it - ideally housing needs to cost like 30%, so then if housing is only 20% for some reason, then there's room to crank up transport an additional 10% without too much trouble.
Plus like you said, if it's worth it career-wise, then even if it's not strictly affordable, it's worth it if you can swing it.
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Post by Webs on Jan 6, 2024 23:13:05 GMT -5
If the cost is temporary because the position is temporary then look at it as investment.
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Post by fishface on Jan 7, 2024 1:36:28 GMT -5
Yes, to be clear, I'm taking a 1 hr train between E'burgh and Glasgow, which a lot of people do, but usually for full time jobs. I am at a point where I'm willing to sacrifice some income if it gets me a decent contract for a good employer, and they are starting to do more work in E'bugh too. falling down a travel stats rabbit hole now! See i think that is reasonable. 18% of income, crazy. But a short term 18% that allows future you to get work/contracts you want is much less crazy. Like webs said, it's an investment.
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Post by riverhorse on Jan 7, 2024 2:56:09 GMT -5
There are people here who live really far out of town and have a really long/expensive commute, so their housing is cheap and transport is expensive - so that's another way to look at it - ideally housing needs to cost like 30%, so then if housing is only 20% for some reason, then there's room to crank up transport an additional 10% without too much trouble. Plus like you said, if it's worth it career-wise, then even if it's not strictly affordable, it's worth it if you can swing it. Unfortunately in the UK, both housing AND transport is horrendously expensive so it mostly doesn't balance out that way. I had a look on some real estate websites a few weeks ago at places in the commuter town I used to live in in England. It's been 8 years since I lived there and the rent on a similar house to one I used to live in has more than trebled in the time since I've left there. And a monthly ticket price for the 10 minute rail journey I used to commute to my job in Reading is £94 a month. For a 10 minute rail journey. And a quick Google of job seek websites shows that the current salary for the exact same sort of job i was doing in the same town has not increased a single pound from what I was earning 10 years ago.
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Post by Liiisa on Jan 7, 2024 7:42:07 GMT -5
Wow river. Well it would be the same here if someone decided to commute on the train, but lots of folks live out in West Virginia in a cheaper place and then drive 2.5 hours each way to work. To me this is nuts, but it's the situation I'm describing.
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Post by tinaja on Jan 7, 2024 11:47:18 GMT -5
I have always opted for an affordable house that required a commute up to an hour. When I bought my first one in 1991, this side of the river was "gu". Geographically undesirable. But I rode it out and now have a quite desirable location. Lots of things to consider when you are younger and more tolerant of issues. At least you don't have to factor in day care for little ones.
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Post by sprite on Jan 7, 2024 12:12:28 GMT -5
yup, if I had to factor in childcare, it wouldn't be worth doing this job at all.
I think it'll be very good for my mental health because failing at getting work is getting to me, and if I get organised, I might even be able to use it for a course I want to do.
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Post by lisamnz on Jan 7, 2024 16:54:31 GMT -5
ugh. I see the logic of doing that as a short term option that may pay off in the longer term, but as an ongoing situation with no end, I'd be moving jobs or home.
BUt then I have a zero$ commute and any travel I have to do for work is reimbursed. The last time I commuted to work was in London and that was a zone 2 tube ride to the city; I think my weekly oyster card cost was 30 pounds??? Something like that.
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Post by kraken on Jan 7, 2024 18:13:57 GMT -5
I'd say that although it's high, if you can afford it, do it - sounds like the benefits outweigh the negatives.
As webs said, treat it like an investment.
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Post by Queen on Jan 8, 2024 4:40:08 GMT -5
Any option to convert a commute day to a wfh day?
perhaps not immediately but that would make it more doable I think.
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Post by groo on Jan 8, 2024 5:09:08 GMT -5
We recently spent a few years near Gosford in NSW. Lots of people there commuted to Sydney (similar distance to Edinburgh / Glasgow) and we travelled regularly on those commuter trains to look after grandchildren while their parents worked in the Emerald City. Weekly and seasonal train tickets were reasonably priced, but for us there was a better option - aged over 60 and unemployed we could do the run for $2.50 return, including busfare from our beach.
Assuming that such a deal is available in Caledonia, could you dye your hair grey, carry a walking stick and assume a geriatric disposition?
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Post by wombatrois on Jan 8, 2024 8:33:50 GMT -5
Any option to convert a commute day to a wfh day? perhaps not immediately but that would make it more doable I think. I thought Sprite was a teacher? That probably won't work!
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Post by Queen on Jan 8, 2024 9:27:02 GMT -5
pfft kids were calling it in for three years.
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Post by sprite on Jan 8, 2024 12:28:49 GMT -5
Assuming that such a deal is available in Caledonia, could you dye your hair grey, carry a walking stick and assume a geriatric disposition? Best idea yet. Yes, it's group teaching, and while I could do it online, this place won their contract to do it in person. However, they are expanding into my city, so if this goes well, I could have a decent part-time gig here.
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Post by sprite on Jan 8, 2024 13:08:57 GMT -5
So! I took the train into the city centre, then caught a local train out to the place I'm working. My plan was that from Friday, I'll take my bike on the train and cycle from the centre to my work. But I've just realised that the last stop before the centre is about 3km from my work--so I'll hop off there and bike directly, rather than mess around with the main station. Both cycles are similar times, but the new one is on a much quieter route.
If I were surpremely lucky, this might translate into a slightly later train, but let's not tempt fate! (sadly, fare is no cheaper)
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