Long commute - car or train?

[Duque de Bragança]

Is the train route reliable? How are the trains? Old or new? How is the track? Is it on time on a day-to-day basis? You'll only know after using the line for a while I guess.
As for the road, does it jam often during commuting times? I suppose the road is in good condition. Are you used to driving on the left btw?

[Martinus]

Train is better, especially a bullet train. Goes faster, no traffic, you can sleep, and there's a bathroom.

What the fuck are you talking about? Have you even read Tamas's post? 

[Liep]

Train is better, especially a bullet train. Goes faster, no traffic, you can sleep, and there's a bathroom.

What the fuck are you talking about? Have you even read Tamas's post? 

When you think about it it's crazy that he's so wrong. There should be high speed trains in the UK, it has the population and geography to support it.

[Eddie Teach]

Some advantages of cars:
No waiting around.
You can listen to music/audiobooks without headphones(they give me headaches).
You can make detours whenever you want.
You can let farts rip whenever you want.
You never have to stand.
Can go places that are off the train & bus lines, or more direct routes to places that aren't.

Disadvantage:
Driving sucks.

[Syt]

If it's a crowded drive, remember:

[Martinus]

Train is better, especially a bullet train. Goes faster, no traffic, you can sleep, and there's a bathroom.

What the fuck are you talking about? Have you even read Tamas's post? 

When you think about it it's crazy that he's so wrong. There should be high speed trains in the UK, it has the population and geography to support it.

But not on a 1 hour commute. Why would you want to sleep on a short distance suburban "bullet train". It's idiotic.

[Liep]

Train is better, especially a bullet train. Goes faster, no traffic, you can sleep, and there's a bathroom.

What the fuck are you talking about? Have you even read Tamas's post? 

When you think about it it's crazy that he's so wrong. There should be high speed trains in the UK, it has the population and geography to support it.

But not on a 1 hour commute. Why would you want to sleep on a short distance suburban "bullet train". It's idiotic.

Many people nap on the way home from work if they commute by bus or train.

[Josquius]

But not on a 1 hour commute. Why would you want to sleep on a short distance suburban "bullet train". It's idiotic.

Means you need to get less sleep at home and makes the journey go quickly.
In Japan a lot of people sleep on the morning commute.

[dps]

A nap of the length we're talking about here is going to be just long enough to make you groggy without getting rested.

[grumbler]

Sign up for a car club like Zipcar or similar for quick car rental whenever you need it, even if it's just a monthly big grocery shop.

http://www.zipcar.co.uk/car-hire-offer

Yep.  Rental is the way to go.

[Josquius]

A nap of the length we're talking about here is going to be just long enough to make you groggy without getting rested.

I dunno. From what I've read if you keep it under 45 minutes it has a regenerative effect without grogginess since you won't have entered a rem cycle

[Caliga]

My commute is all car as public transit is nonexistent here.

I love my morning commute though as I just fly down the interstate at 85 mph in the left lane.   Afternoon commute is a bit more hairy though... can sometimes take twice as long cause traffic is so bad until I get out of the city.

[Tamas]

Thank you guys.

With the timing of other stuff, I will probably postpone the car buying to January (if I buy one).

So, different topic: what kind of a car? What I have had in mind was kind of re-buying the car I had back in Hungary: a glorious 2005 Toyota Corolla. Automatic so the abomination of having to shift gears with my left hand won't obscure me from the horror of driving on the left.

This plan would place me in the bracket of paying anything between 2000-3500 pounds for a 10 years old car.

I have two dilemmas:
-Shouldn't I use that as downpayment for buying a newer car (say, 5-3 years old) on loan?
-Shouldn't I assume that this is a temporary car in the grander scheme of things, and buy a really cheap one (after, say, the 11-12 years old mark prices start to plummet), expecting to get rid of it in a few years?

[Josquius]

I found it pretty easy to adjust to dealing with gears on my right. It was only when I became sleepy that I started punching the door when I wanted to shift

[The Larch]

Thank you guys.

With the timing of other stuff, I will probably postpone the car buying to January (if I buy one).

So, different topic: what kind of a car? What I have had in mind was kind of re-buying the car I had back in Hungary: a glorious 2005 Toyota Corolla. Automatic so the abomination of having to shift gears with my left hand won't obscure me from the horror of driving on the left.

This plan would place me in the bracket of paying anything between 2000-3500 pounds for a 10 years old car.

I have two dilemmas:
-Shouldn't I use that as downpayment for buying a newer car (say, 5-3 years old) on loan?
-Shouldn't I assume that this is a temporary car in the grander scheme of things, and buy a really cheap one (after, say, the 11-12 years old mark prices start to plummet), expecting to get rid of it in a few years?

Thanks for confirming that you wanted to buy a car all along and just wanted validation for the choice you already made.