It's not mileage that bothers me its time.
I had 13 years 5 minutes away then 2 years 1 hour away- this was a real pain (for me), the thought of a 1 hour run home after a long day was dead depressing.
Other than that I have always lived practically on the doorstep, I'm 5 minutes away again now, but am changing jobs soon, so am moving again - to be 5 minutes away.

I move as and when I move jobs - I know not everyone can/is willing to do this.

Yes you are right Chris - I was travelling 100 each way some months ago. Now it is just under 30 miles (depending if the white stuff is about in which case it is 40) and this takes me about 40 mins.

I two spend about an hour traveling each way to work and back - what a pity we are not MPs we could claim an accommodation allowance!

1mile at the moment.

Sometimes 20-25 miles at various jobs in the past

Has been up to 60miles in the past.

Travel time is more important than distance

Currently have a 180 mile round trip but thankfully due to my role get to spend a couple of nights in hotels which cuts down on the travel fatigue during the week.

Have held various positions - one that was a short walk from home, another involved a 90 mile / 2.5 hr per day commute whilst another involved a 50 mile / 1.25 hr per day commute.

Can empathise on the cost of commuting - once took a cut in headline salary as the calculations showed that disposable income would increase considerably due to not servicing the car 3 times a year and putting fuel in for 25K+ miles per annum.

The one that frequently makes me smile / laugh / despair is when a recrutment agency rings up about a potential vacancy and informs you that "according to Google" (other mapping providers are avaiable) "it is only... an hour away".

Sorry being a realist and frequent business traveller I know that 40 miles to Leeds on the M62 at rush hour just isn't.

Currently work from home, often in slippers, jeans & T shirt. Previous was a nighmare commute over 1 hour/8 miles to the office and blessed relief when seeing a client who could be anywhere in the world!

I don't think I would want to be tarnished by being an MP and oddly don't possess slippers. I'm unemployed at the moment so the 90 minutes is what the job Centre expect every unemployed person to be willing to travel. No I would not look forward to the time, but at the moment money would be good.

Like all the comments so far, The job I was shortlisted for recently was only 5 minutes car or 30 if I walked, but alas not to be.

Interesting the journey time / distance comments so far.

Consider the plight of those who live and/or work in London. It can be a nightmare to travel across the city, to get into it, or out again, often packed like cattle in an overcrowded commuter train that gets nowhere fast in circumstances where the parking and congestion charges for your car would blow your calculations out of the water.

Still, what do I care? I got my old folks travel card just the other day, and can now strap hang on the tube, my face pressed into someone' armpit, completely free of charge!

28 miles there and back each day via public transport, which equates to 40 minutes to work and 1hr 20 on the way home. Costs? About £1700pa

(Ian, I still have to pay for the delight of travelling on London's creaking transport network, including the daily dose of my fellow communter's BO. With my annual fare it works out at about £4.20 per armpit) :)

Isn't the DWP criteria based on using public transport? We were told to get on our bikes in the 70's; today the message is the same but the mode of transport has changed, now it is get on the bus! (using free bus passes)

There are so many variables that it is not easy to be specific. I have, in the past, travelled 70 miles each way by car for a couple of years. At first the traffic was fine; a couple of years later it was hopeless and the journey was taking up to 3 hours each way. I just wasn't effective in my role anymore.
I also had a period of commuting 25 miles in the Sth East rush hour each day. Only about an 3/4 hour door to door but it nearly killed me, couldn't hack the overcrowding. I had to leave after a year.
I had another job where I drove approx 40,000 miles a year and had other travel demands on top. Loved it but never realised how much it was taking from me until I stopped doing it. Sometimes we need to be protected from ourselves!
From experience I would seek no more than one hour each way if driving a reasonably easy route and 90 minutes if public transport is reasonable. (e.g. some outer suburban journeys to a nice place in the country)

p48

if you have to sign on, NEVER tell them you have a car, 90 minutes travel is normally alot less distance on public transport.

i live in a village in north wales with minimal public transport, which always helped.

i have had to sign on a couple of times in the last 5 years, they would expect me to travel miles for minimum wage, refuse 3 and lose your benefits.

the most i have ever travelled is 25/30 miles but could take an hour with traffic, half on normal roads and half stuck in city centre.

Regarding the DWP 90 minutes travel time to work: this came in relatively recently (April 2012?) before that it was 60 minutes. As it is impossible to legally run a car on unemployment benefit of £71 a week - assuming you also eat and use SOME heating, the 90 minutes has to be by public transport. This really reduces the range. If there is no public transport (and where I live there is very little) then a 90 minute walk . . . I am not convinced that you can be FORCED to relocate - otherwise there would be nobody living at all in some remote areas of the UK.

My first H&S job was a 2 hour moped / train / tube commute - then 2 hours back. But I found that was a good opportunity to read, study and relax. I was less stressed in that job than less demanding commutes by car later. The train commute would not be pleasant these days, I gather it is standing room only.

I have had quite a few years of weekday lodging with weekend home runs, and it gets to you after a while. The nearest job I have had to home was 12 miles. Bliss. However, if you seek career progression and do not live in or near a metropolis, there are limited options. I chose the long commute over standing still.

Wow, so many of your comments are the thoughts whirring around in my head. Traffic, costs, public transport are all getting worse. Bus to local town 3 miles away, is £3.90 return, so travelling further afield could cost more than you earn. Cars are not much better especially with threats of fuel increases, insurance and general running costs.

Currently they don’t expect you to move ( though may suggest it) but this is only a matter of time looking at the new Gov job seeking site layout. Spending 3 hours a day travelling would not be nice but far more acceptable than staying unemployed. Of course I have a spread sheet to work out wage verses cost so I can easily assess any potential job, and cars can suffer catastrophic failure at a moment’s notice if you know what I mean. Problem is paying £20 in fuel to go to an interview is crippling.

You are correct running a car on £71 a week has only been possible thanks to my sister ( I owe her a lot now), the cost of living increase for me amounts to 70p a week in April ( whoohoo). Cheepo ink for my printer is £25 and I have to print out so much for the job centre. Printer will not print B/W if no colour (grrr). Don’t use my heating anymore ( except on very cold nights for half an hour to stop the pipes freezing only), I have a sleeping bag and hot water bottle which is most efficient.

I have found all your comments on travel very interesting and helpful to know what others are putting up with / getting away with. Slippers indeed ; jealousy strikes, but I’m sure you have worked hard to get yourself in that position, so deserve it.

My last job was around 25 miles away, but even that on some days going home was a bit of an issue especially if I had not had a chance to eat or a proper break during the day. I had to pull over and walk about in the cold on more than one occasion (this is sticking in my mind). The comment we need to be saved from our selves sometimes is so true –worrying about everyone else except ourselves.

Back to job hunting now.

I agree with Chris42 when he states, "cars can suffer catastrophic failure at a moment’s notice".

Whilst unemployed last year and travelling from the interview for the job I currently hold, my car broke down.

In the six months that I have been in the position:

1 replacement clutch
1 replacement gearbox
Shock absorbers replaced
1 replacement tyre

and one occassion when my car was broken into!

Prior to this, two years of no problems with my car.

Oh... and to stay on topic... 18 mile round trip each day to and from the office approx 20-30 mins each way.

I used to drive 1hr 15 mins for a 38 mile commute to work and the same again to come home. At the time I took that post I was unemployed having been 8 months out of work following redundancy so it was irrelevant at the time; earned income is better than zero income even accounting for travel costs. I took a promotion recently and now drive 50 mins for a 45 mile trip, but that's a boring motorway grind and if I don't leave at 6am I could probably double my journey time. I do get to work from home one or two days a week, so that helps.

It seems that in order to get a job you enjoy you have to travel, unless you are really lucky.

Not so. Not when what you have described is not a commute but visiting a site and therefore part of a work activity. I don't know the details off the top of my head but there has been cases of employers being prosecuted for employees crashing whilst asleep at the wheel due to been forced to drive 7-8 hrs and do a full days work.

Personally I haven't commuted, except for the odd short contract, in about 7-8 yrs and I don't think I could ever go back to commuting again. A soul destroying activity.

I work from home and although I might do between 2-6 hrs driving a day, 2-4 days a week, it's not the same as commuting. Different routes, I choose the time of day to avoid rush hour and like I said it's not every day. I consider myself very lucky to be in this situation.

Very lucky at moment - 20 minutes to the office ( although I go out and about during the day ).

Used to work in London - a good 90 mins by tube and then train.

Cost of petrol is becoming a big factor in moving jobs. Could easily have added more to my salary in last few months but would have been pretty pointless once additional cost of petrol was taken into consideration.

18-20 miles a day for me depending on which way i go in, takes about 20-25 mins as a rule from Liverpool City Centre to Kirkby.

Thats when i'm in the office as out approx every two weeks for a couple of days as i cover all of our UK sites which range from Aberdeen to the South Coast and South West England.

On Tuesday did about 6 hours driving home (M6 was up the wall at one junction) on top of a 5 hour day at the site.

Normally about 4.5 hours is the max i'll attempt to do in one go (with at least one break in services) but i usually double up on depots so that makes the driving side easier spread over 2-3 days.

For Aberdeen trips (with another central Scotland belt depot) i will drive to Edinburgh/Dundee the night before (approx 4-5 hrs) to split the journey.

You forgot to add the smell of marmite and lashings of Coors/Carling (other beers are available) make Burton a worthy place to work ;-)