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Comment by Nursie | Hacker News Reader

This is what happened with me a few years back. Was there nearly ten years. Five years in I would have laughed in your face at the idea of leaving, but the expense, the cramped conditions and crowded feel, the bad air... all eventually got to me.

I now live an hour and a half away by train. It's nice here. And I can still come to visit some of my friends in London quicker than they can visit each other.

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This would be great, except if the rent doesn't get you, the train fare will. Coming from the U.S., I had to pick my jaw off the floor when I saw what they charge, it's obscene. Say what you will about U.S. public transportation, at least it's cheap. Here in the UK if you so much as glance sideways at a city bus, it'll be five-pounds-change.

That's a london thing, it's (approximately) only a pound or two in a lot of other places.

>>if the rent doesn't get you, the train fare will.

Hence why I only go there visit friends, I don't work there.

Well, I did for a while last year, but the rate on offer was large enough to offset the cost. It wasn't large enough to offset the 3+ hours a day spent in a train though, so I don't do it any more.

Eh, all bus journeys in London cost exactly 1.50

Outside of London we were gifted the 'marvels' of deregulation in the 80's though and the prices & service are now pretty bad. I remember watching the minister responsible at the time espousing how marvellous deregulation was going to be and how he'd been inspired after seeing two empty buses going over Tower Bridge - yet London largely escaped despite being the inspiration. Count yourselves lucky ;-)

This Guardian piece has some numbers : http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/aug/26/bus-deregulat...

The underground is £4.80 for a single fare in zones 1-3, £2.30 if you use the oyster; double for return ticket.

Yes, but rarely anyone pays that. Mostly because there's a daily cap of less than £10 (depending on which zones you traveled during the day).

Not sure about cheap. I spend about $350/month for the Metro North train ride from Connecticut into NYC, and half the time am riding in the 40-year old cars with dilapidated, uncomfortable seats. The NYC subway just bumped up its rates to $2.75/ride, which means I'm spending around $115/month for the subway. All that, and it takes me two hours door-to-door.

I live in Connecticut because the houses are slightly more affordable and my kids can go to decent public schools. As soon as they're out of high school in a few years we're considering moving, but all my contacts and the interesting, well-paying jobs are in NYC.

Steep, but it's about half what I'd pay to go a much shorter distance into London (if I actually went 5 days a week). Replace 'half' with '25%' if we're accounting for exchange rates...

I intend to leave Paris for the same reasons.. but I don't know where to go :). All the reasonable dev jobs seem to be in expensive, crowded and polluted places these days..

Well, when I left, I went to Australia. Perth is expensive, not crowded and extremely clean :)

But after a few years I ended up back in the UK, on the south coast. It's nice here, and I have friends (unlike there!)

Yeah - it's about the same amount of time from my local station (east Greenwich) to Euston as from e.g. Milton Keynes to Euston.

the issue with the travel from milton keynes to euston is that the peak hours virgin trains are completely packed and will struggle to find space in there.

A fair point. Although I'd be happy with the Midland Mainline trains that take ~50m (IIRC) since I can work on the train.

Plus my plan is no more than two days a week actually commuting since there's zero requirement for me to be in the office as a developer.

niicee ! Yeah apparently midland trains are quite empty. Maybe I l do that as well !

I live about 40 miles from London in the middle of kent. It takes me only 10 mins or so longer to get in than people in Richmond on the District line.

HS1 with the £6600 per annum travel card? :)

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