Commute or Hotel

jamesf

Standard Member
Junior Lawyer
  • Mar 2, 2021
    5
    98
    Hi All,

    I recently secured a Winter Vacation Scheme with a city firm and I am wondering if it is best to commute or stay in a hotel.

    The commute would be
    1. A 30 minute drive.
    2. 30-40 minute train.
    3. Then a 15 minute tube to the office.
    Is this feasible every day or is it too risky? Does anyone have any experience with commuting for vacation schemes against staying in a hotel.

    Thanks in advance.
     

    Jessica Booker

    Legendary Member
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    Gold Member
    Graduate Recruitment
    Premium Member
    Forum Team
    Aug 1, 2019
    13,342
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    Hi All,

    I recently secured a Winter Vacation Scheme with a city firm and I am wondering if it is best to commute or stay in a hotel.

    The commute would be
    1. A 30 minute drive.
    2. 30-40 minute train.
    3. Then a 15 minute tube to the office.
    Is this feasible every day or is it too risky? Does anyone have any experience with commuting for vacation schemes against staying in a hotel.

    Thanks in advance.
    Hotels are going to be pretty expensive, but I can understand the logic of at least exploring it as an option thinking that it may save time.

    However, unless you are staying close to the office/very centrally (which will be expensive), you’ll typically find commuting across London can take time anyway. I am in zone 2 and it still takes me 50 minutes to get into the city door to door (and that’s only 5-6 miles). When I travel from my parents, which is similar to what you have suggested it’s only an extra 30 minutes but is over 20 miles in total.

    A lot of people do commute and it is reasonable to do so, especially for a short winter scheme. You could potentially connect with other vac scheme students to see if anyone has a spare room in their student house if they live/rent in London (it may be the case their roommates have gone home for the winter break).
     

    James Carrabino

    Legendary Member
    Future Trainee
    Gold Member
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    Junior Lawyer 11
    Oct 12, 2021
    666
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    Hi All,

    I recently secured a Winter Vacation Scheme with a city firm and I am wondering if it is best to commute or stay in a hotel.

    The commute would be
    1. A 30 minute drive.
    2. 30-40 minute train.
    3. Then a 15 minute tube to the office.
    Is this feasible every day or is it too risky? Does anyone have any experience with commuting for vacation schemes against staying in a hotel.

    Thanks in advance.
    Congratulations on securing your winter scheme, that's a huge achievement! In addition to @Jessica Booker's points, I might personally prefer to commute from home just to avoid the uncertainty of being in a new environment whilst doing the scheme, but ultimately it has to be what you are most comfortable with.
     
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    TC fiend

    Legendary Member
  • Apr 27, 2021
    191
    429
    Hi All,

    I recently secured a Winter Vacation Scheme with a city firm and I am wondering if it is best to commute or stay in a hotel.

    The commute would be
    1. A 30 minute drive.
    2. 30-40 minute train.
    3. Then a 15 minute tube to the office.
    Is this feasible every day or is it too risky? Does anyone have any experience with commuting for vacation schemes against staying in a hotel.

    Thanks in advance.
    I think it also depends on what time your last train home is. There may be opportunities after work to socialize / network with other vac schemers or people at the firm. Would be a shame to miss out because you have to catch the train home. That said, hotels are expensive. I guess ideally see if you’ve got a friend whose couch you can crash on if things go late!
     
    • Like
    Reactions: jamesf

    jamesf

    Standard Member
    Junior Lawyer
  • Mar 2, 2021
    5
    98
    Hotels are going to be pretty expensive, but I can understand the logic of at least exploring it as an option thinking that it may save time.

    However, unless you are staying close to the office/very centrally (which will be expensive), you’ll typically find commuting across London can take time anyway. I am in zone 2 and it still takes me 50 minutes to get into the city door to door (and that’s only 5-6 miles). When I travel from my parents, which is similar to what you have suggested it’s only an extra 30 minutes but is over 20 miles in total.

    A lot of people do commute and it is reasonable to do so, especially for a short winter scheme. You could potentially connect with other vac scheme students to see if anyone has a spare room in their student house if they live/rent in London (it may be the case their roommates have gone home for the winter break).

    Congratulations on securing your winter scheme, that's a huge achievement! In addition to @Jessica Booker's points, I might personally prefer to commute from home just to avoid the uncertainty of being in a new environment whilst doing the scheme, but ultimately it has to be what you are most comfortable with.

    I think it also depends on what time your last train home is. There may be opportunities after work to socialize / network with other vac schemers or people at the firm. Would be a shame to miss out because you have to catch the train home. That said, hotels are expensive. I guess ideally see if you’ve got a friend whose couch you can crash on if things go late!
    Thanks guys, I think I shall commute last train out of Euston is at 1:30 so if I wanted to socialize/network there would be plenty of late trains to get.
     

    123Law1234

    Star Member
    M&A Bootcamp
    Junior Lawyer 36
    Sep 4, 2019
    29
    16
    Hi All,

    I recently secured a Winter Vacation Scheme with a city firm and I am wondering if it is best to commute or stay in a hotel.

    The commute would be
    1. A 30 minute drive.
    2. 30-40 minute train.
    3. Then a 15 minute tube to the office.
    Is this feasible every day or is it too risky? Does anyone have any experience with commuting for vacation schemes against staying in a hotel.

    Thanks in advance.

    Congratulations on securing the vacation scheme and good luck!

    When I completed in-person vacation schemes I commuted. The main issue I found was that the trains weren't always reliable. I left fairly early to leave time in case of delays and I often arrived home late.

    If you are on a winter scheme then it may be more feasible as they are generally for a shorter amount of time. However, if I was going for a in-person vacation scheme again I would almost certainly stay in a hotel.

    If you stay in a hotel then you should look at ones which are near a tube line rather than a train as the tube is much more frequent and in my experience a lot more reliable.
     

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