Daily commute from Barcelona to London

[Warks]

Sam Cookney’s Spain to London work commute

A LONDON office worker who was sick of the city’s rip-off prices worked out that he would spend less commuting to his job from Spain.Three months ago, he actually did it.
Sam Cookney now lives in the centre of Barcelona and catches a cheap flight to London’s Stansted Airport each morning, reaching his desk by 9.30am — and he’s saving money.
The social media manager reached the end of his tether in 2013, when he realised he couldn’t afford to rent a place in the city on his own.
“I think many people thought I was joking when I boldly declared it would be cheaper for me to rent a two-bed flat in Barcelona and commute to London every day than get a one-bed flat here,” he wrote on his blog. “Turns out I was — I could in fact get a three-bed flat.”

That's still a lot of commuting!

I was surprised to read this in there.

The average Australian now spends 29 minutes on a one-way commute — that’s almost an hour a day. Roughly extrapolated, about 10 full days a year are spent sat on trains, trams, buses and in cars getting to and from work.

How many people would dream of a 29 minute commute? (roughly half I guess!)

 

[samh004]

I was just reading this news story. If it truly works out cheaper and even ends up saving money I'm not sure why more people wouldn't consider commuting to London/the UK via plane?!

I also wonder if it would work out better as a weekly commute or not? Perhaps find a budget hotel to stay at during the week.

I'm guessing he flies LCC's though, so he wont be getting into lounges any time soon.

 

[TomVexille]

I'm guessing he flies LCC's though, so he wont be getting into lounges any time soon.

The article I read referenced Ryanair

 

[yohy?!]

5.5 hours each way daily is insane, i doubt that is doable in the long term

 

[samh004]

The article I read referenced Ryanair

I must have missed that bit... no thanks!

5.5 hours each way daily is insane, i doubt that is doable in the long term

That's why I wonder if there's a better way to make it work with a weekly commute

I'm sure the cost of living in Spain is much less though

 

[TomVexille]

I must have missed that bit... no thanks!

How much worse than the bus??? :shock:

 

[Himeno]

How many people would dream of a 29 minute commute? (roughly half I guess!)

My commute is a 7 min, 1km walk each way.

 

[harvyk]

5.5 hours each way daily is insane, i doubt that is doable in the long term

For some people it is. Extremely long commutes are uncommon but not unheard of, I know of one couple whom live in country NSW (Braidwood from memory) and commute to SYD each day, takes them about 5 hours and that's driving.

So flying in and out each day, where as the guy says he can sleep on the plane wouldn't be super stressful, esp as after a few weeks you'd have the rhythm down pat.

How many people would dream of a 29 minute commute? (roughly half I guess!)

My commute is 29 minutes on a slow day, on an average day it's between 20 and 25 minutes, and outside of peak times it can be as low as 15 minutes. With exception to the last couple of KM's at each end, the whole trip is in 80 and 100 km/h zones, and very few traffic lights on the highway itself (2 going to work, 3 coming home)

 

[YSSY]

In the UK many commute on the train with journeys 2-3 hours from the Midlands/North or the South Coast etc and flying from Leeds, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle isn't unheard of. Although I suspect many only spend 2 or 3 days per week in the London Office and work from home the rest of the time. London City airport has also offered better opportunities to commute.
Even on the Humberside-Amsterdam route I used to take when I lived in the mother country, they had regulars on the flight commuting on an almost daily basis.

Barcelona-London is a bit extreme though, and I suspect he must have some flexibility in his work to allow for delays, cancellations etc. El-Prat airport is still a decent train journey in its self from the city, likewise at Gatwick/Heathrow.

 

[Warks]

My commute is a 7 min, 1km walk each way.

Mine is about 5-6 minutes! Walking. Depends if the lights are red.

I guess we're the ones bringing down the average.

 

[Pleb Status]

My commute is a 7 min, 1km walk each way.

Mine is about 5-6 minutes! Walking. Depends if the lights are red.

I guess we're the ones bringing down the average.

My old office used to be less than 400m from my apartment. My current office is more than double the distance away at a massive 900m. The travel time is ludicrously long......

 

[Formal Hall]

The article I read referenced Ryanair

Given that BA is often only £29 from BCN-LGW he could work up oneworld status for not much more.
I suspect however that his work must be near Stansted, otherwise the rail fares would be making a big dent in his savings.

 

[eric2011]

My old office used to be less than 400m from my apartment. My current office is more than double the distance away at a massive 900m. The travel time is ludicrously long......

I guess I am the luckiest of all. I just walk downstairs and I am in the office. But on the downside, on my days off I am still "at work"

 

[jb747]

5.5 hours each way daily is insane, i doubt that is doable in the long term

I can't see why it would take 5.5 hours. I can get to Bali from Melbourne in that time. Sounds more like the round trip time. Anyway, if it was 5.5 hours, that's 11 hours per day. Plus 8 hours at work, and you really don't need a flat at all.

 

[Himeno]

The BA BCN-LON flights are 2h20min block times.

I don't see a 2 hour each way commute that bad. Many people in Australia do that just driving. I've heard of some BA cabin crew who live in JNB and report to work at LHR.

 

[andye]

The Ryanair flight is also the only one that leaves BCN early enough to get to work at a reasonable time

 

[cambriamarsh]

My commute is a 7 min, 1km walk each way.

That's a run not a walk!

 

[Himeno]

That's a run not a walk!

Nope. I've timed and measured it. I've always walked fast.

 

[snabbu]

I guess I am the luckiest of all. I just walk downstairs and I am in the office. But on the downside, on my days off I am still "at work"

How many steps is that? Mine is 11 steps from bedroom to office

 

[whatmeworry]

In another article BA Tickets can be seen, as it mentioned he was only in London 3 or 4 days a month. Plus he has the flexibility of working in Barcelona.

Oops. If you are going to steal a story, get it right. The same man is in today's Evening Standard where he points out that he only travels 3 or 4 times per MONTH not 3 or 4 times per week! He doesn't lose 5+ hours per day and says he couldn't do it if it was more than that!
And... October 2013 isn't 3 years ago. Mind you the Stannurt said he'd been commuting for 2 years so there seems to be a lot of poor journalism (so to speak) going around

The Londoner who commuted to work from Barcelona – because it works out cheaper - UK - News - The Independent