The People Bulletin

With the rise in recent years of cheap flights and Eurostar tickets an increasing number of workers are opting to commute to the office from another country. While the phenomenon is not unfamiliar in Europe, with people living on the border of one country regularly crossing in to another for work, this is something still relatively new within the UK.

Leaving on a jet plane

In a recent interview in the EasyJet inflight magazine John Justin described how for the past 13 years he has been commuting twice a week by plane from his home in Northern Ireland to his job as a teacher in Luton. He describes how flying home from his job every Friday evening allowed him to spend “quality time at home over the weekend” before flying back to his lodgings in Luton again on Sunday evening.[1]

Similarly, there has been an increase in the amount of people commuting into London via the Eurostar, with people citing improved life style and cheaper property prices as their main motivation – France came top of the best places to live in the International Living Poll whilst the UK was 25^th.[2]

The downside

However, while the pros of living abroad and commuting to the UK might seem appealing this needs to be balanced against how long you will spend travelling and how much actual time you will spend in your new dez-rez. The latest Office for National Statistics poll on commuting to work has shown that the majority of people working in the UK (75%) have a commute of 30 minutes or less to work,[3] while a journey on the Eurostar takes around two and a half hours. Only 5% of commuters in the UK currently have a commute of over 60 minutes.

Gail McNeillie, who regularly commutes between her apartment in Barcelona and her job in London describes how the journey can take its toll:

“It sounds very luxurious this jet-set lifestyle. I work in the City of London during the week and spend my weekends in the sun. But having travelled backwards and forwards for so long I am now starting to feel that I've had enough.

“All that rushing for trains, waiting around at airports (even when there isn't a delay there's a lot of waiting) and finally arriving at my destination very late at night or in the small hours of the morning takes it out of you.”[4]

The way of the future?

For many as flexible working becomes more accessible, living abroad while still working in the UK is certainly a possibility. However, while the scenario of spending weekends in an apartment overlooking the Seine or in the centre of idyllic countryside may sound appealing the reality could be a lot of time spent in airports or waiting for trains.

Do you have an interesting commute to work? If you would like to share your experiences with The People Bulletin please email us at leila@apinfo.co.uk 

[1] www.ink-live.com/emagazines/easyjet-inflight/2011/jul/

[2] http://internationalliving.com/2010/02/quality-of-life-2010/    

[3] www.statistics.gov.uk/hub/index.html

[4] www.expatica.com/es/employment/employment_information/a-life-in-the-day-of-a-euro-commuter-20831_10857.html

See also: ‘The most glamorous commute in the world’ in Stylist, 2011