Commuting... how long is too long?

networker050184

Remedymp wrote: »

Does anyone here not use Waze or Google maps prior to leaving out for work???

Is that a new time machine app that can cut your commute? Kidding. I do (or did when I commuted anyway). It definitely helps avoid accidents and such, but not much it can do to help traffic on a daily basis.

beads

Depends on the trade off really. Living downtown Chicago was awful on a number of fronts but that's where the opportunities were - not in the suburbs. Now that my wife dragged me out to the burbs I find far fewer opportunities but a nice view of the forest preserve out the back yard and as far as one can see.

So my commute is more likely to be "the midwest" where I travel from client to client over the course of a week. This to me is worth being able to live wherever I want. Besides, I hate being in the same place too long. I bore easily.

Also meet many people who commute up to four hours from Indiana to the Northwest burbs of Chicago, daily! Yes, that eight straight hours daily but for them keeping their kids in a rural school is precious to them and they are more than willing to put in the hours. For me that would be the definition of insanity.

Currently driving about 40 minutes, one way but yearning for the open road.

- b/eads

NOC-Ninja

im commuting 30-40mins without any traffic right now. I am happy! I used to commute 1hr and 30mins one way before. I refuse to do that again. I add commute to my calculation for my pay. Your time matters!

Chinook

beads wrote: »

Currently driving about 40 minutes, one way but yearning for the open road.

- b/eads

While the open road > than congestion, a long drive is a long drive. I speak from experiencing living in the mountains and making very long commutes to work on a road that often had no traffic for the first hour. It still gets old fast. Bring on the self driving car!.

The best commute you can get is the one where you walk from the bedroom to your office & start your day.

markulous

It definitely depends. If it's over an hour one way it's too much no matter what.

Robertf969

Currently I commute 5 maybe 6 seconds from my Bedroom to my office. Its nice when i'm not traveling (Im a consultant). But I am starting a new job and my commute will be 1 hour and 5 minutes each way (AHH!). I will be moving closer to the job in a couple of months though because 2 hours driving a day is too much on me and my car/motorcycle.

blatini

Chinook wrote: »

While the open road > than congestion, a long drive is a long drive. I speak from experiencing living in the mountains and making very long commutes to work on a road that often had no traffic for the first hour. It still gets old fast. Bring on the self driving car!.

The best commute you can get is the one where you walk from the bedroom to your office & start your day.

Actually have done that before where my office was two blocks away. Sounds weird but I preferred having a bit more distance to get my head straight. Living in CO it was a give and take having to walk in the weather instead of shoveling my car out or just the crazy weather we would tend to get.

Queue

A guy I work with decided to move out to the country. The town he moved to is 40+ miles away. I'd say on a good day and within the speed limit it's a 45-55 minute drive. We all commented, "Wow, might be leaving the job soon?"

Fast forward, he has started to apply to jobs closer to home. He mentions that he's already getting burned out of the drive and its only been a few months.


Personally I live 7 miles from work it takes 15 minutes. I could definitely do a longer trip, but then I'd have to buy a new vehicle.

I think ultimately every situation has to be analyzed differently. Make a pro/con list, etc.

BillHoo

chrisone wrote: »

There is no price on a short commute to work.

Amen!

My current commute is 7 minutes.

But for 10 years, I used to go from Central NJ to Midtown NYC, a commute of 2 hours each way. And when weather was bad or there was a jumper on the tracks, it could take 6 hours.

Generally my routine was 20 minute drive to train. Ten minutes waiting on the platform. 55 minutes on the train. 5 minute walk to bus stop. 20 minutes on the bus and 10 minutes walk to the office. On the way home, I would leisurely walk to the train station, so it was really a 3 hour commute back home. Dinner would be chicken fingers, pizza, or a bag of zeppoles to eat on the train home.

Funny, some weekends I had to go into work and it was just a 30 minute drive, total.

aaron0011

Anything more than 15 minutes is too long for me. I could deal with 30 minutes max if I had too. Most days take me about 10 minutes and it's hard to put a price on going to the house everyday for lunch.

I just couldn't imagine spending 2+ hours a day in a car. I would move before I would do that.

koz24

About 10-15min for me as well. 2 hours a day of stop-and-go traffic would leave me absolutely miserable and depressed so I would not take a job where I would have that type of commute. I either move closer to work or find something closer, those are my only options.

UnixGuy

if driving, then yeah 15minutes max! I did the 40mins driving in traffic - never again.

Now I commute by train/trams, and it's absolutely pleasant. I'll usually have my coffee and listen to music on the train, and commute back from work with friends/neighbors - good times!

Modern Legacy

For me it's totally dependant on a lot of things - where I live, how I live, how much I like where I live, how much I like my job, what traffic is like...

When I lived in Alabama I was willing to go as far as Atlanta for I.T. work, and you had to because work was a LOT more scarce there than in Seattle when you were just starting out, the pay was awesome though due to lack of competition. That's about an hour drive in light to moderate traffic with some heavy traffic in small spurts. I forget how many miles that is.

Where I am now, I commute almost 30-min to 1 hour to work depending on traffic going about 21 miles total each way. I could not take anything longer as the traffic near where I work is full of rich jerks whom care not for traffic laws very much and therefore drive me to rage. Maybe if I work somewhere else eventually I will end up being more willing to take a longer commute (ie going north and/or west instead of south and east). Although traffic and commuting in your own vehicle anywhere in that area from Everett to Tacoma between the rural end of the east side of all those areas and the coast is going to be a bit harrowing at times no matter where you work or what you do as the populace is still expanding and has been since I moved here in 2005.

BradleyHU

sillymcnasty wrote: »

Being from NYC, I think they did a study that we have the longest commute times of anybody. 1hr max, for me. If I take the train to work, it is 45 minutes at the FASTEST. 55-60 on the normal.

If I ride my bike, it is only dependent on the wind. 30 minutes on a normal day. 35 on a super windy day with traffic. I bike as often as I can.

I've thought about biking to work, since MTA prices are getting OD crazy! bring back $2 fares, and the $65 30-day unlimited...lol!


my train, depending on how the trains are doing that day, is usually 40 minutes door to door. I could do an hour commute, but that would probably mean, I'm working in CT(like Stamford or Norwalk) and driving up there...

blargoe

I'm doing 30-35 minutes currently and don't see myself doing more than that for a M-F commute, though I would double that for 50% telecommute situation.