Expert: Willie Wallace - 11/2/2011

Question
Hello

I hope this message finds you well. I have a couple of questions about london and the UK and I would appreciate any help

1) if I stay in manchester (bolton or rochdale).. how much will it cost to commute to london daily and get back... would a railcard help with this matter...and long will it take..

2) I am told that i should get an oyster card for my commutes in london.. but on the oyster website i got lost in the many options.. I basically would like to commute from zones 1 to 3.

would the oyster card be any beneficial if i end up choosing to stay in manchester


Cheers

Answer
Hi Mandean,

The fastest way to travel from Manchester to London is train.  The shortest journey time is two hours each way.  That is from the city centre to centre.  You would slso have to factor in time from where you stayed and to where you work.  The minimum time, realistically, would be three hours each day, each way - six hours a day travelling.  A single ticket next Monday morning from Manchester to London would be GBP140.  With a season ticket, you would pay substantially less, but overall it will be extremely expensive and you wil spend a quarter of each 24 hour day travelling t and from work.  That is NOT  a very satisfactory lifestyle, I woldn't say.

The Oyster card would probably be your best bet.  You may only use it on five days, but the convenience of being able to jump on busses and tubes would make it worthwhile.  Compared to the price of the train from Manchester, it would not be a noticeable expense.

I think the answer is NO to commuting from Manchester.  Why not choose somewhere like Essex or Sufolk. which are close to an hour from the centre of London by train, but pleasant areas to live?

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/

Shows three bedroom houses available in Essex for less than GBP1000 per month, which is not a bad price.  It will be perhaps slightly more expensive than Manchester, but altogether easier than commuting from Manchester and there are some really nice areas of Essex within 45 minutes of central London.  Click on the link and narrow down the regions you want to live in, until you find a good place and price.

Even if you chose Manchester because of friends and relatives, it is not commutable to London, sorry.

Hope that helps,

Willie