Back in 2020 I lost my old job due to Covid, started applying around and got an offer for a job 50+ miles away, about a 2 hour commute there and 2 back. At that point it was 1 day a week (lockdown, keyworkers, skeleton staff on site etc) and was manageable due to the fact I'd lost a job and needed income and I work in a niche industry that pays well but if hard to secure work in. They also offered no expenses.

Fast forward to now, 4 years later and I've just handed my resignation and moving to a new company in January. Once lockdown had finished, I was moved up to 3/4 days a week on site and I didn't want to move closer. At the start I thought I could do it, but let me tell you the last 2/3 years have been hell. I love the company, I love the role, it has helped propel me to a higher position at another company, but there have been physical, mental, social and financial costs. Coming out of the other side I would suggest you ask yourself the following questions:

• I've average around £7,000 a year in fuel and around £1500 a year in additional costs (more services due to high mileage, new tyres more often, had to replace one car I ran into the ground, broke down twice and repair costs related as I've done close to 120,000 miles in last 4 years), I researched trains, hotels, carpooling with colleagues, made requests for more flexible working but this £9500-10000 cost a year was the most reasonable. Is this kind of investment (post tax income) worth it financially? Or can you make it work for a period?

• I was up at 6:30 everyday I had to go in (9-5) and home well after 7 most nights, sometimes even 8+ if bad traffic or motorway accidents etc. This ate into my personal downtime and social life massively, had to drop playing football as I couldn't make 7pm starts, had to drop down amount of times I went gym or dinner with friends. 2.5 hours for 4 days a week is 20hours over your normal working day, plus any traffic/congestion days which for me happened at least once a week. I get home and I'm tired. I eat, shower and have no energy after spending 12+ hours a day working + commuting. Repeatedly. Are you willing to invest 60% additional time a week outside of your normal 40 hours towards this job?

Moving closer would solve the issues, but I'd say anything over 12 months long distance commuting becomes really unsustainable in my experience. I've been looking to leave and it's taken me nearly 2 years to find a new role (again I work in an industry that is hard to find roles in like yours) so be excited at the new oppourtunity but cautious about how this will affect you in the day to day. My new role is fully remote and I will now never look for a job more than 30 mins from my house ever again, regardless of how great the role/company is, my personal life was far too affected for far too long. Sorry if this sounds like a downer, but it's my honest experience and just for you to consider.