With bright lights, rooftop bars, the best restaurants, and actual proper nightlife, city life is a buzz. But think for a moment, what’s the best reason to live in London, Bristol, Birmingham, Southampton, in fact any UK city? I’d hazard a guess it’s not work life, but your social life, and that’s where reverse commuting comes in.
Put simply, a reverse commute is a round trip, regularly taken, from an urban area to a suburban one in the morning, and returning in the evening. It is almost universally applied to trips to work in the suburbs from homes in the city, and boy does this have advantages. You get to escape the city when it’s at its most stressful and bursting at the seams, only to return when things have settled down, and everyone is finally letting loose.
Royal approval
Little Red Rooster is based in Royal Berkshire at the green, lush end of the newly established Elizabeth Line. Our office borders a nature reserve with a wild lake that’s home to wintering birds. We even give staff a pair of their very own wellies and encourage them to go exploring. And we have pubs. Properly eccentric village pubs. Our local has an aviary in the beer garden.
For anyone from Twyford, it feels wholly weird to be on the Tube map, but to be able to get into London direct in half an hour is a vibe and that’s not even the best bit. Elizabeth Line trains are brand new, silent, air-conditioned, with free Wi-Fi and plenty of seats, and because you’re travelling against the grain heading out to the sticks during work hours while everyone else is converging on the city, carriages are nearly almost always empty. You could even bring a bike.
I commuted to London from Reading for years and couldn’t wait to get home. It was a key factor in me quitting what was at the time my dream job and nearly killed my love affair with the capital forever. Paying through the nose to sniff someone’s armpit in the unbearable conditions of the Central Line at rush hour is no fun, whereas reverse commuting means you arrive back in the city at the precise moment it comes alive, free from stress.
Levelling up
So why tell you all this? If reverse commuting is so great, why let the secret out? Well, we’re hiring. We’re on the lookout for PR and social media superstars of all ages and backgrounds, and before this blog gets misconstrued being London-centric, allow me to let you into another secret. Twyford is five minutes from Reading; the best-connected rail hub in the country outside of London and Birmingham New Street. That means you’re under an hour from Southampton, a smidge longer from Bristol, and a smidge longer still from Birmingham.
We also totally encourage you to let the eco-friendly train take the strain so we’ll pay half your public transport costs – good for the planet, good for your wallet, good for clearing that rooftop bar tab.
The work perks don’t end there. Hybrid working isn’t a new phenomenon around here, so you might not have to come to the office every day anyway. If you’re running late or like maximising time in bed, there’s always free breakfast and gourmet coffee in the kitchen.
We offer unlimited holiday – yes, you read that right – and if money’s too tight to mention for whatever reason, we’ll help alleviate the cost-of-living crisis in some very cool ways, such as paying part of your phone bill, having a free team lunch on Wednesday, plus a bonus structure that sticks readies in your account in January, when you need it most. That’s reverse thinking as well as reverse commuting.
