live in Spain, commute to UK
 

Hoe feasible is this to do?
I have the advantage that I can work from home 2 or 3 days a week but need to go into the office occasionally. For the rest, it's all internet or phone meetings.
I've read somewhere that some people do it within 2 hrs but I can't see that being possible. Every time I've been it's been more like 6hrs door to door.
Also, wouldn't it get pricey? I know rents are cheaper in Spain but the flight must be at least £150rtn each time.

Re: live in Spain, commute to UK
 

My friend gets to Dublin for €100 return.. but has to book months in advance with Ryan Air..

Re: live in Spain, commute to UK
 

There are posters on here who do this - often they work on rigs apparently. I suspect the problem is you'll always need to book the flight to arrive the night before your meeting, because of possible flight delays and strikes.

Re: live in Spain, commute to UK
 

Not in two hours but it is possible to live in Spain and work in the UK people do it, I know someone who does, it can be a bit exhausting though.

Re: live in Spain, commute to UK
 

Which airport in the UK will you be flying to? That could be the real costly part - either leaving your car in the airport car park, or catching a taxi. Either way, sounds very expensive. Unless you can fly to either London City or Heathrow I suppose...

Re: live in Spain, commute to UK
 

Yeh, I knew somebody that did it, wife and family stayed in Spain, hubby worked in UK, popping back weekends to Spain. Wasn't long before the novelty wore off though, gets a bit tiring, a bit boring after a while.

Re: live in Spain, commute to UK
 

If you can find any airports that BA still fly too in Spain and locate near them you will be able to collect airmiles & maybe get your flights paid for by your company. My OH used to fly back and forth to Geneva for meetings yonks ago the company paid but then you got the airmiles (think they have a new name now?) on your own account. You need to make sure you are located near a decent airport, if not the novelty of a commute will soon wear off, and it doesn't look great arriving late for meetings etc. Obviously Spain is a bit further to fly but the real pain is all the check in and out stuff, and any delays.

Re: live in Spain, commute to UK
 

Just remembered something else, if you enrol on frequent flyer programmes you get perks like being able to use the lounges etc which you will need if you commute. If you need to fly budget I would imagine Robbin Air and EJet also have some form of Frequent Flyer programmes, maybe not as good as BA but better than nothing and the flights will cost less with them if you end up paying out of your own pocket, and you can cope with flying on them multiple times a month.

Re: live in Spain, commute to UK
 

Not sure if EasyAir have any frequent flyer programme.
Jul, Aug, Sep are not cheap for flights either thoug I guess the rest of the year is.
Based on £64 a week rtn that's
64 x 48 weeks = £3072 a year
+ parking
+ taxis
+ petrol

I guess it can be balanced against cheaper houses, cheaper electricity, etc.
But I suspect that £3k per year is much higher given missed flights, cancellations, extras.
So, more like £6-10k total?

Re: live in Spain, commute to UK
 

We live 25 min from Luton airport at one end and 35 min from Faro at the other with a flight that is scheduled for 3hrs but usually takes less than 2 hr 35 min. The best we have done twice is 5 hrs door to door but normally about 5.5 to 6 hrs is normal when it goes to rat sh*t such as the Iceland volcanoe it took 5 days. We look for £55 to to £70 return at off season times three or four times a year.

Re: live in Spain, commute to UK
 

my husband does this, it can be stressful and you need to plan ahead. Summer can be expensive for flights and you have to book as soon as they are released. Winter problem is a reduced flight timetable meaning flying in at horrendous times, if its very early or late it can put the cost of car rental up and maybe a stay at the airport the night before a flight. We have found that using the big airports such as gatwick keeps flight options more realistic in the winter. We pay for annual airport parking in spain at 300 euros a year to include pick up and drop off. You also need holiday insurance. Yes it gets boring and gutty, however in 4 years only 3 flight cancellations and not too many delays. Another option we use is airport buses and trains in the UK if he does not need a car for work. Average door to door is 6 hours but we live an hour from alicante. He says the worse thing is the hen and stag parties flying on fridays and sunday!!

Re: live in Spain, commute to UK
 

I've done sone sums on this and I can;t see it costing any less than around EUR 11,000 per year:
Tube /Train on arrival in London 140.40 € (£30 rtn once a week per month)
BNB to stay overnight in London 160.00 € (£50 a night 4 nights+ per month)
Flights 520.00 € (average of around 100EUR rtn to Gatwick plus 30% contingency for missed flights, delays, etc.)
Airport parking in Malaga 25.00 € per month
Petrol to airport in Spain 50.00 € min

Seems unaffordable :( I know the rents are cheaper but still.

Re: live in Spain, commute to UK
 

It's not the cost ...... it's the hassle and stress which would be prohibitive for me.

Re: live in Spain, commute to UK
 

Exactly, to be honest if this is supposed to be about improving the quality of your life, then it doesn't really get off the starting blocks, even though its doable.

Re: live in Spain, commute to UK
 

well...depends. If it's Monday-Friday I could see it being stressful.
I was planning on a once per week just staying 2 days in London, 5 days in Spain. I think I could probably deal with the flight stress for 5 days in the peace and sunshine. I'm just not sure if my flight costs are realistic.
Some people say you can get flights for £50rtn or less but looking on the year view on Easyjet, there is nothing under £100rtn.