How far and how long are you willing to commute to work?

I know lots of people live outside London and commute to London (or vice versa). But how far is too far?
My first assignment might be in Reading and it seems quite far to work there while leaving in London (Fulham Broadway to be exact). There's the crappy District line to Paddington, and from there, train to Reading. I'm guessing at least an hour of commute each way? That's a lot and probably quite expensive. I'm guessing I can just live and work in Reading, and just visit London during the weekends.
Doable to commute from London to Reading? Or should I move?

District Line from Fulham Broadway to Paddington is about 15 minutes, and Paddington to Reading is about 30, so between 45 minutes and an hour is a good estimate.

How expensive it would be depends on whether or not you could use a weekly/monthly/yearly travel card, which would be cheaper than buying individual tickets.

For example, the weekly tube card for zones 1 and 2 is £29.20 and the weekly rail ticket for Paddington to Reading is £95.40, for a total of £124.60/week.  If you bought each ticket individually it'd be £5.50/day for the tube and £37.00/day for the train, for a total of £42.50/day.  If you got monthly or yearly tickets, it'd be cheaper.

I'm in a similar situation in that my wife and I are about to move to Biggleswade, and I'll occasionally need to take the train to King's Cross and then tube to Farringdon.  The time/money is roughly equivalent to what you're looking at for your trip.  To me, it's worth the trip because we can't afford to buy a house any closer to London than that, and I'm freelance, so it's not a trip I have to make every day.

Whether or not it's worth it for you only you can say.

I think the train from Paddington to Reading stops at Ealing Broadway, which is Zone 3 west London, which may be more convenient for you..It would also let you skip the tube journey altogether.

An hour commute in/around London seems doable.

I recently started a new job, (as in yesterday), but the commute takes 2 hours. Which, is still doable, but it is a lot..However, starting my career is more important to me right now, which means I'm willing to commute as long as it takes-- as long as I can get a full night's sleep at the end of the day!  It also most certainly helps that I have someone to pick up the slack for me.. Today the flat was spotless, and dinner was just about on the table by the time I walked in.

 I have yet to get the timing down, but since trains are only every 30 minutes, I worry that if there are any tube delays then I'd get into work too late.   I was quite late getting home yesterday because westbound central line was closed...so I had to take the Circle line  from Liverpool St. to Paddington, to find out most westbound rail services were delayed, but I did finally make it home....So I guess what I'm saying is don't depend on the tube to run perfectly and get you to the train service into Reading on time.  It might be more convenient to live either right next to Paddington (if feasible), or somewhere else along the train journey.

Good luck!

Would it be cheaper though if I move to Reading? £124 a week for transport is about the same as rent. If I could find somewhere to live close to work, that would be ideal, don't you guys think? I don't have a contract with my current place and can leave with one-month notice. Anyway, I will find out this Friday if it is indeed Reading.

I guess that would also depend on the cost of rents in Reading...
I would look into the rent prices there, before deciding.

I know that living close to Paddington Station is very expensive!

Personally, I wouldnt do it - the commute would kill me esp on hot days like this! But many people do with absolutely no problem.

I really like Reading - great shops/restaurants, close to the Cotswolds for weekends away, nice villages nearby.  Here's some market information - http://www.home.co.uk/for_rent/reading/current_rents?location=reading

Living in Reading will be a lot cheaper than living in London. I have a friend who commutes from a couple stops past Reading into London so people do it. He has a rail pass though. His company paid for it and then garnished his wages over the course of the year to make it affordable.  You, at least, would be going against traffic. Unless you're absolutely in love with where you live, I'd look at relocating.

I had commuted 1.5 hours in the States driving, but don't think I could handle that long on public transport!

DH commuted from Herts to SW London (1-1.5 hours), which really started to wear him down after about 6 months and we had to move closer to his work.

Have you been to Reading? You should take a trip to see if you could live there. Commuting costs can really eat into your budget & I found some reverse commutes can be more expensive than coming into the city. We ended up being able to live in a nicer area of London for the same price as our flat + commuting costs from hertfordshire- depending on the living costs of Reading, you could end up being much better off there.

I also have some friends who commute to Reading from Richmond, as there is a direct train. Which might save you a bit on the fares (definitely save you the trouble of ever having to deal with Earl's Court) while still being in London.

Good luck on the job!

What's the point in paying the premium to live in London then commuting to Reading? You wont get any of the benefit of living in London as you'll be shattered during the week and not up for doing anything.
The times Camascota have quoted are on a good day if all the stars are aligned and nothing is broken, and you make all your connections easily which is beyond unlikely. Technically my tube commute was 35 minutes, did it  take me 35 minutes to get to my office ever?! No.
Live in Reading, pay cheaper rent and just come into London on the weekends.

Also if you do decide to do it, don't try moving to Bayswater, move to Ealing Broadway and just get the train from there

The times Camascota have quoted are on a good day if all the stars are aligned and nothing is broken, and you make all your connections easily which is beyond unlikely. Technically my tube commute was 35 minutes, did it  take me 35 minutes to get to my office ever?! No.

Haha!  Chesbsit has a point that's worth thinking about.  For me, the system works about 80% of the time, but the other 20% - when someone steals the signal wires or there are leaves on the track or it snows the wrong kind of snow - it'll be a real disaster.

I had commuted 1.5 hours in the States driving, but don't think I could handle that long on public transport!

Odd, I think a long public transport commute is much more do-able than a driving one. On a train or bus, you can read or sleep or veg out instead of fighting traffic and paying attention.

I have a very long commute. In traffic it takes an hour and a half door to door, with no traffic a little over an hour, and on public transport about 2 hours. I choose public transport (train then bus) because I can do stuff with that time; I read, I listen to audiobooks, I knit, I take a nap, I watch shows on my iPad. I get to work chilled and not full of road rage. Sometimes I have to drive, and although I get there sooner, I am always frustrated and annoyed, my poor 10 year old car is huffing and puffing, and I spend more on petrol than I do on my season ticket. However, I can always get a seat on the train and bus, and that makes a big difference; I imagine the London commute is often jam packed and awful.

I agree that it would be daft to live in London and work in Reading. Cheesebiscuit's advice is spot on.

well when i get the chance to and we move to Edinburgh or a town close by, i would say my limit is, no more then an hour away

I always thought the average commute in and around London was at least an hour.  Loads of people near me in South Bucks commute to London and by the time you park at station, get train into Central London and change to Underground, bus or whatever you've easily hit 1 hour.

I commuted from High Wycombe to Swindon every day in 2011 and nearly all of 2010.  After a break away I'm back to the same commute, 134 miles round trip although only 1 hour 20 mins.

But it depends on your work situation.  Are you contracting or consulting or at a permanent position in Reading?  I was consulting and now contracting so I only have 6 months contract (which could be extended) but I know at the end of the day that I won't be going there year in and year out and could be at another assignment closer to home or elsewhere.  Having said that, for the past 7 years my commutes have been between 88 miles and 140 miles per day mostly driving apart from 2 years of trains into Central London.  You get used to it.

Having said that, unless you really have an affinity for living in London (which I can understand) your commute to Reading will be reasonably long, will cost quite a lot, you will pay more in rent most likely so unless you're very tied to London or you're on a temporary contract then you may want to consider moving to Reading - although I wouldn't suggest central Reading, probably better to be in a nice village nearby.

A few other things to consider....housing, generally, can be a lot cheaper (or you get more for your money) if you are outside London.  We are one stop away from Reading and have a house for the price of a small flat in London.  I commute into London each day, it's about 30 minutes on the direct trains, but it's costly on an annual basis.  The quality of life is different--London experience by day, Berkshire countryside in the evenings/weekends.  It works for us, but it's not for everyone.

If you did commute out, beware trying to pick up the 'local' train out of Ealing Broadway--it will stop just about everywhere on its way to Reading and that journey will usually be about 45 minutes (minimum) without any of the delays described elsewhere on this forum. You might be better off going to Paddington and catching the direct train to Reading-there are lots of them and they are fast.

Reading is a bit underrated in terms of convenience and amenities.  Fairly good town centre, very good transport links, and a good jumping off point to some very interesting places in the West Country.  Good luck with your move should you take it on.