Originally Posted by
Seosan
Slightly off topic but where on earth do LHR short haul Nigels live? Quick glance at rentals in West London is enough to make your eyes water.
Even Home Counties, Herts, Sussex, Berks etc. They’re tremendously expensive places. A look on rightmove- £1000/month gets you 1 perhaps 2 bed noddy and big ears box - some look like they’ve been the scene of the odd crime. £700/800 month a room share. Student life. Not so ok when you’re 30s onwards. Suppose depends if single or spouse can contribute. Children etc.
You can start further away down the M4 or up the M40 but you’re into petrol cost and sometimes hotels before earlies and extra duty hours at the beginning and end of your day sitting on the motorway in traffic.
Best stretching it as far as you can feel comfortable driving without dipping frequently into hotel before duties territory. That’s the road to notown doing that long term. You’ll blow lots of your time off and money on hotels and fuel just to do the job and it’ll drive you crackers eventually. I’m in that position, not by choice. I think it’s sometimes overlooked that BA agreed pay is fairly good but it’s perversely a very expensive job to do. Either upping one’s life to live nearby or spending £300-£900 a month getting to and from work with hotels/petrol or flights. That’s £3k-£9k a year allowing for leave. So as a commuter knock £5k min off the annual salary (and the delta too)
My advice if you’re looking at doing the BA thing with years on SH is draw a circle around Heathrow based on a radius of time factoring in you’ll have been operating knackered for long duties. It won’t actually be a proper circle as going too far round the M25 means 30/45 mins say is awful close whereas it’ll arc out a little more down the M4. (On a bad time of the day 30 mins still has you watching aircraft take off above your car just outside Heathrow)
Good luck.