Interstate commuters?

[zephyr]

Hi!

Forgive me if this has been discussed before, I tried searching and didn't really come up with anything...

Wondering if anyone here can give me some advice and practical experience on doing a weekly interstate commute?

I'm currently based in Launceston and work remotely as a software developer (basically a freelancer).

Currently, I'm weighing up my career options in the next 18-24 months including looking for short term (3-6 month) contracting in Melbourne or Sydney. I'd be looking at flying in Monday morning and spending 3-4 nights before coming home in time to tuck the kids into bed and mow the lawn on the weekend.

Just wondering who here has done similar, what their experience was like and how the family (if any) coped? This is not a long term goal, more something that I would look to do for high-value gigs once or twice a year.

 

[StevePER]

You might be interested in this thread.

 

[Commuter]

Zephyr,

I commuted intrastate (approx 2 hours flying each way) weekly for a year, as well as interstate (approx 2 hours flying each way as well) after that - followed by international commuting (this is the pits).

I don't really recommend it as a long-term thing unless everyone in your family is comfortable with it after 3 months or so. But it can have a distancing effect on your relationship with your family - 'absence makes heart grow founder' doesn't always work, and you might find that you end up getting used to living like part-time family members if you do not put extra effort into the family relationship. I was discussing this issue with one of my colleagues recently and we agreed that a long distance relationship is a difficult one - his particular regret was missing out on seeing his child growing up quite a bit due to commuting and being away a lot. I did not have that issue because we do not have children, but the relationship did suffer somewhat - we became a little too 'self-sufficient' so to speak. Holidays made us realise that we ended up distancing ourselves from each other a little too much, albeit we were not intentionally doing so - perhaps the self-defence mechanism as we did miss each other a lot.

I have just done the last of my regular commuting trip. My spouse was then offered a very lucrative commuting contract but he has decided that we did it for too long, so we'll be living under one roof full-time for the first time in ages. Perhaps we will revisit the commuting option further down the track, but I believe you do need a break from the commuting lifestyle, even if it's just to take a break from seeing too much of aircraft interiors! You also can end up

It's also quite hard work going through the 'things associated with flying' (getting to/from the airport, security queue etc). The whole commuting thing was OK for six months or so, but it started to grate on us.

It sounds like you are going to be doing it sporadically though, so you might find that it does no harm. Admittedly the quality of the what little time I spent with my spouse improved somewhat compared to before while I was commuting, so it's not all bad news (and think of all the frequent flyer points you get ). But I just wanted to highlight some of the negatives of the commuting lifestyle so that you would be more prepared and I was.

 

[zephyr]

Thanks Steve, I hadn't found that one when searching.

It sounds like you are going to be doing it sporadically though, so you might find that it does no harm. Admittedly the quality of the what little time I spent with my spouse improved somewhat compared to before while I was commuting, so it's not all bad news (and think of all the frequent flyer points you get ). But I just wanted to highlight some of the negatives of the commuting lifestyle so that you would be more prepared and I was.

Thanks commuter. You're right, this is not a permanent arrangement I'm considering, but I want to have the option on the table for the next IT downturn. As I said, I work remotely from here and would continue to do so for as long as I could, but if the remote work dries up, then I might need to take the occasional contract in Melbourne just to get us through the low period.

The longest I've been away from family for work in the past has been a 3 week US biz trip, which you can't really compare as it's a lot harder to hop home from SFO for a 3-day weekend My ideal situation would see me spending more nights at home than away, so hopefully things wouldn't get too strained over a 3 month stretch.

One of the reasons I asked here is that elsewhere I've only really gotten first-hand advice from people involved with FIFO work in mining/oil&gas, and that advice was basically "AVOID!" but I doubt they were doing 4 on/3 off for 3 out of 12 months, which is what I'm thinking of.

 

[SeaWolf]

A lot of people in WA do this to mine sites, it's called fly-in fly-out. Usually they'll work something like 9 days on site, then get 5 days off. Or two weeks on and one week off. The companies pay them very well, but work them like dogs. I've got a mate who does it and finds it quite a strain on the relationship with his partner.

I have heard that some of them will commute from SYD or MEL to PER and then from PER catch the flight to the site.

 

[bambbbam2]

I have heard that some of them will commute from SYD or MEL to PER and then from PER catch the flight to the site.

Yes that is why Skywest is now offering the Kalgoorlie - Melbourne direct flight and QF is offering the Brisbane-Karratha flights.

 

[straitman]

zephyr,

A lot of offshore workes do this both within Aust and OS. Mostly they are 7 days on - 7 days off or longer though. I have several pilot friends who commute 6 weeks on - 6 weeks off to the Gulf and others working for Cathay or Singapore who commute to/from Perth and Brisbane. It's a hell of a life style but it can be done.

Being home every night has its advantages though. Sounds like you are looking at about the best compromise.

 

[oz_mark]

I used to do a 2 week Canberra, 1 week Perth thing (for about 6 months). I certainly got over it, but different things ork for different people.

 

[zephyr]

Being home every night has its advantages though. Sounds like you are looking at about the best compromise.

That it does.

Unfortunately until more IT employers start to loosen the shackles and get over their need to peer over the shoulder of workers all day, every day, it's a compromise my wife and I need to at least consider. It's happening a lot more in the US, so maybe if we give it another ten years here...

 

[Evan]

That it does.

Unfortunately until more IT employers start to loosen the shackles and get over their need to peer over the shoulder of workers all day, every day, it's a compromise my wife and I need to at least consider. It's happening a lot more in the US, so maybe if we give it another ten years here...

Rather ironic i think the secion of the workforce most able and most capable of working remotly we are the ones who don't often get the chance because managers like to see us in the office !

I often used to do a day or days work in MEL (when i lived in SYD) and SYD (now i live in MEL)

E

 

[zephyr]

Rather ironic i think the secion of the workforce most able and most capable of working remotly we are the ones who don't often get the chance because managers like to see us in the office !

Yeah, and it's counter-productive too, I get much more done when I can take 30 mins downtime to goof off without fear of reprisal after I've been crunching code non-stop for a few hours.

Some companies are starting to get it, but they're still a minority.

 

[oz_mark]

That it does.

Unfortunately until more IT employers start to loosen the shackles and get over their need to peer over the shoulder of workers all day, every day, it's a compromise my wife and I need to at least consider. It's happening a lot more in the US, so maybe if we give it another ten years here...

Problem is that if they can't see you, they think you aren't doing anything.

 

[zephyr]

Problem is that if they can't see you, they think you aren't doing anything.

which is really a dumb attitude. If I drop my car off for a service, I don't stand around watching the mechanics work on it. I come back later to pick it up, get an invoice and can see what's been done. I can check the fluids have been topped up, I have a new oil filter, etc.

I don't have to see the work being done to know that a result has been achieved. Funny how close supervision suddenly becomes a sticking point when you go from dealing with a "supplier" to an individual "employee".

Sorry to rant, but this is just one of my little bugbears