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Need Advice -- Should I Take This Job in Scarborough?
http://www.hawthornevillager.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=25694		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  AYS Mark [ Sat Apr 10, 2010 9:31 pm ]
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Well for what its worth the 407 will cost you $12.40 EACH WAY!. That will eat up the 5 G's and then some. If you can ride it out for a bit on EI worst case, I would keep looking. You still have 3 months to look, and something better will come along. It always does if you do the legwork.

I would really hate to say goodbye to 3+ hours of my day, or 2 hours and $500 in toll fees each month.
Author:  AlphaMale [ Sat Apr 10, 2010 10:01 pm ]
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That is my old 'hood where I used to go to high school, and if I were you and you like your house in Milton, I would decline due to the distance. It's a bad drive during rush hour and very grueling over time. Makes no sense to work that far unless it is very good money, like six figures.

My $0.02.
Author:  Absalon [ Sat Apr 10, 2010 11:03 pm ]
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Personally, I would stick it out. As previously mentioned, that extra cash is easily eaten up on commuting alone. And the only bonus is the added stress sitting in traffic all day long. Just wait until winter storms hit and the eventual rise in the price of fuel...No way in hell would I do it.
Good luck. Things should hopefully get better real soon.
Author:  Totalpkg [ Sun Apr 11, 2010 12:12 am ]
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Don't do it, IMO. I'm about half your drive from Milton and thinking about transfering closer to home. The gas, 407, and frustration is not worth it. My drive is unpredictable. Some days its 15-20mins. Bad days 45+ mins. The 401 is brutal...
Author:  petah [ Sun Apr 11, 2010 8:20 am ]
Post subject: 
AlphaMale wrote:
That is my old 'hood where I used to go to high school, and if I were you and you like your house in Milton, I would decline due to the distance. It's a bad drive during rush hour and very grueling over time. Makes no sense to work that far unless it is very good money, like six figures.

My $0.02.


+1. The brutal commute is not worth $5000 increase. I used to live in Scarborough as well.
Author:  ppst99 [ Sun Apr 11, 2010 9:20 am ]
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Occasionally I have to travel to Oshawa to do site visits. On the days i do this i drop my wife downtown TO so she can avoid taking the GO train on those days. We take 401 to 427 to Gardiner to downtown

I can usually get her to work (downtown University + Dundas) in 45min to 55min (excluding heavy snow days) and then proceed to drive accross downtown to DVP back to 401 and out to oshawa.

The Slowest part of the journey is the DVP north to the 401.
Going through downtown isn't a big deal. DVP heading north tends to be slow between don mills and 401.

On the way back i just take 401 to 404 to 407 till 401 and i'm home.


Overall its not a bad drive but not something i'd want to do daily
Author:  fmir [ Sun Apr 11, 2010 10:45 am ]
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I have done 3 years of commuting from North York to Waterloo (against the traffic). After that we moved to Mississauga and I founded a better job in Scarborough. Even though it was a shorter distance but I used to get tired going with the traffic especially with a "manual" car. With 1.5 yrs of commute to Scarborough, I had enough and switched jobs.

Depending on your job and pay, it might be worth to commute rather than taking the risk of taking EI. The last time I checked into EI (few yrs ago), they gave 60% with a capped salary of 40K. Not sure if it is the same or has changed lately. You have to measure your financial situation and see if it is worth to commute and pay your bills.
Author:  proudowner [ Sun Apr 11, 2010 11:20 am ]
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Any hiring manager or HR that reads this suggestion will cringe.
Take the job and continue actively looking for another job closer to Milton. When you get that job you quit this one, it can go either way, you quit or they let you go after a month.
Who knows, it may turn out you really like the new job and you stay. Just remember, statistically people that hold a job have a better probability of securing another gig.

All the best with your decision.
Author:  xishuangshanhe [ Sun Apr 11, 2010 6:57 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Need Advice -- Should I Take This Job in Scarborough?
Bamelin wrote:
Currently I work in Milton. 50 percent of my company received lay off notices effective at the end of July.

I applied to a few places and one responded. The pay is even better than what I'm making now by about 5 grand a year.

The problem is the location. It's in Scarborough, Markham and Ellesmere (near Scarborough Town Centre). Would I be crazy to be considering commuting there? I'd be going during rush hour, very likely across the 401.

To further complicate things, some mornings I would have to drive my wife to her job in Oakville (near the mall on Trafalger) first, before heading to work.

I'm aware of how long it takes to get to where this company is located outside of rush hour (it takes about 50 minutes). I'm not sure however how long it would take to get their during rush hour. Would the 407 be worth considering?

Is the job even worth considering based on the distance?

I'm worried about taking the position, if it doesn't work out and then I'm screwed Employment Insurance wise, whereas right now I'm guaranteed EI.

Additionally this position is only contract until October (my current position contract expires in July), although there is a good possibility of renewal at this new position.

So basically the options are to ride out my current contract and hope I find something closer (if not EI will kick in), or take this new higher paying position that will require travelling during rush hour to Scarborough and pray the contract is renewed come October.

Opinions?


Bamelin,

If you like that Job, I recommend you take it for the Scarborough Town Center one. One of my friend was living in Milton and with the Job there in the Scarborough Town center and all is good. Basically you can take go-train and time is great only take you about 40 minutes to the work...
Author:  sunnier [ Mon Apr 12, 2010 8:18 am ]
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I work at Yonge/Sheppard and honestly I cannot imagine commuting further than that. Two years ago I had a job in the vicinity of the airport and even that drive was getting me down.... Milton to just the airport on the 401 in the mornings takes about 45 minutes (over an hour home in the evenings) - that's not even driving across the entire city of Toronto... Yikes. I think some commenters on here are seriously underestimating your commute time.

Living in Milton, we have just come to accept that we are unable to go after or take any jobs east of Yonge St.

I would stick it out at your current job - you haven't been laid off yet - and keep looking.

I would suggest not taking any job east of Yonge St. unless the pay and/or job is just too good to pass up - otherwise you simply won't be happy. And if you do take a job that far away, I would consider moving - I find that just the traffic getting out of Milton and onto the 401 these days is quite bad...

Good luck with your decision!
Author:  Fred D [ Mon Apr 12, 2010 8:22 am ]
Post subject: 
First off, I'd like to say sorry about the position you're in, but a HUGE congratulations to you for trying to plan ahead and look out for yourself. Many people would just quietly stay in that situation until they are laid off, and then scramble afterwards.
Good for you for looking into possibilities for change!

It's a tough and personal choice, so everyone's opinion will be different, so I just wanted to add one thing that I don't think has been mentioned yet... TAXES.
That$ 5,000 extra will really only be about $3500 for you (give or take a few hundred depending on what tax bracket you're in, of course)
That's about $300/month, which will definitely not cover your 407 bill, and I think the 407 is a MUST for that commute. Add gas, wear&tear of your car, and the hours lost, and it really comes down the choice between:

1) not working for a while, looking for something else, and
2) working in scarborough, for LESS money net, and having much less free time.
I thinks that's the real choice here.

Remember, with less free time, I'm not sure if you pack a lunch or buy it now, but you likely won't have time to pack a lunch anymore :) so add 7 bucks a day for lunch too hehe.. that's $140/month right there :)

Personal choice for sure - good luck, and let us know what you decide!

btw, Have you looked for short term contract roles that pay a little more?
Author:  Fred D [ Mon Apr 12, 2010 9:25 am ]
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How about this job?
14 month contract, pays about $60K (not sure what range you're looking for...) there are tons of contract jobs out there paying between $30-$80/hr and more depending on experience and skillsets!

http://jobview.monster.ca/HR-Consultant ... 74757.aspx
Author:  AlphaMale [ Mon Apr 12, 2010 2:46 pm ]
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Good decision!

Trust us, it's a terrible drive. I grew up in that area of Scarborough, and even on a good traffic day with no hold-ups, it's about 45 minutes door to door from HV to that part of the 'Hood if you're driving the limit. During rush hour, it's brutal. The intersection of Markham and Ellesmere is very busy as well during rush hour, and tons of bad drivers in that area. Where I used to work, the COO had a crazy commute, and he told me with all the traffic and bad drivers he encounters, that when he rolls home, he needs to sit in silence in his truck for several minutes to de-stress before going into the house so he won't freak out on his wife and kids.
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