How long is your daily commute?

[PRyker]

I am pretty sure I am going to be offered a great position with a great company making a great salary! The problem is I would be looking at close to a 2 hour commute. No chance in relocation as we just bought a house in the country on 4 acres and will not move. Now, I have driven 1 hour and 15 minutes to work each way in the past and although it was not fun I did not mind it too much. Are their guys out there that drive more than 2 hours each way to work? If so, how do you cope? I would be driving mostly highway but through some heavy congestion (DC Beltway). Thoughts?



Thanks



Phil

 

[HoleshotHolset]

That job better pay VERY well - DC traffic is obscene. Been there, done that, beat on a rental Chevy Blazer...



My commute is 22. 5 miles (takes about 1/2 hour) - I drive past about 12 dairy farms until I get to the West side of Madison (Middleton)... then it starts to look like a city/suburbia.



Matt

 

[lizzyhermit]

yo phil, what about being a remote employee or telecommuting ? I travel 2. 9 miles, the dodge doesn't even get warmed in "winter" and I think I have too long of commute.



... ... . or if not work from home, can you work off-peak hours? it makes a huge difference here in lizard land.

 

[MFalkinham]

It really depends on the individual and their family situation. You didn't say what your current commute is like, but this new job will result in up to 4 hours per day and 20 hours per week being taken from your life. If you have a wife and/or kids, how are they going to handle being without you during that time? It may not be worth the additional strain on your family life for the bigger paycheck, not to mention the extra costs for fuel and vehicle maintenance/depreciation. Only you can decide that. I commute 50 minutes each way right now, and to me it seems like too much wasted time away from my family, which is why I'm looking for something closer to home.



- Mike

 

[NPloysa]

yo phil, what about being a remote employee or telecommuting ? I travel 2. 9 miles, the dodge doesn't even get warmed in "winter" and I think I have too long of commute.



... ... . or if not work from home, can you work off-peak hours? it makes a huge difference here in lizard land.

I have you beat. I think my commute is . 5 mile.

 

[Turbo Tim 1]

I could take a different position in my company and get off of shift work for the most part and get a $3 an hour raise but that would mean driving the 62 mile one way drive 1-2 more days per week and for me it's not worth it. I am making close to twice as much as I could locally so the drive itself is worth it but to add on 2 more days a week for $3 hour is not worth it. An hour drive is my limit.

 

[ladyjaine]

I agree, it had better be one heck of a BIG raise. You are looking at 12 hours a day sucked up by work. When do you have a life? I travel the beltway and there are tie-ups EVERY morning. Is that two hours including the regular slow downs or not? Leaving the house early avoids the tie-ups, but the drive home always takes longer. In good weather, I ride my morotcycle and I can take the HOV lane. In bad weather, I leave really early.



Check the vacation package, and sick leave and the snow policy. You will never make it to the office if it snows. No matter if your truck can do it, the traffic will come to a standstill in the snow.



For a year or two, to gain $$$ or position or particular experience, it's worth it. It is not worth it for the long term.



Jean

 

[mcoleman]

I drive around 75 miles round trip daily. It's worth it to me as I can't stand being in town and I need acreage for my horses.

 

[nickleinonen]

mine is less than 30 min if i get clear traffic [sometimes if the lights are right, 25min]. if i hit traffic, it can take over an hour

 

[loncray]

Oh, ick - my commute doesn't involve the DC Beltway but I occasionally use it travelling up and down the coast - that road is NEVER without some sort of backup someplace. Every traffic study I've seen puts DC second or third worse in the country (LA and SF California usually worse) and the Beltway is the worst part much of the time. If you spend 2 hours a day on that road you'll be pulling your hair out within a month. Bleah!

 

[ladyjaine]

I drive around 75 miles round trip daily. It's worth it to me as I can't stand being in town and I need acreage for my horses.

75 miles round trip is about a 1 hour commute, one way in the DC area. More or less depending on traffic and the time you leave the house. Leave at 7:30 and you won't get there until 9:00 or later. Leave at 6:00 and you arrive at 7:15. I do a 70 mile round trip each day in the DC area. I go to the gym in the am, so I leave the house at 4:30 and I'm at work around 7:00 to 7:30 depending on which gym I go to.



Jean

 

[PRyker]

I hear everyone loud and clear on this. The job does pay VERY WELL and is he kind of place I could retire from. With that said I am always the first person to tell people money isn't everything. I do have a wife and two kids (teenagers) and being away from them for that period of time would not be any fun.



They really want me badly and I have some wiggle room. I am thinking that I will ask for a 90 day contract to hire so we can "test" each other out. If the commute kills me (probably will) then I will say goodbye. If the job is really just that darn good then I can look at potentially buying a new home out west (leesburg Va. or further west) but I am doubtful I could find a place as nice as I have now. All of the DC yuppies think they is country folk now and have been moving out into rural areas and have started what they call a small farm (pretty funny actually). It scares me when I see them on tractors as they have no clue what they are doing!!!



The commute would take me from north of Baltimore into Alexandria Va. I have a few options as I can take I-95 or 295. I would be putting some miles on the truck but heck, that is why I bought a Cummins... because it will last and last and last... Oh, and I do not have a job no so my commute is non-existant!! When I was employed I traveled most of the time so my commute was to BWI airport to catch a plane and gone for three days and then back home.



Thanks to all for input.



Phil

 

[Hale on wheels]

If your previous job had you gone for days at a time, I don't see a long commute being more time consuming in taking you away from your family than that. I live 25 north of Dallas, and the commute for me ranges from 40 minutes to 1. 5 hours, depending on how many morons get creamed while crossing 5 lanes to exit. I, like you, made a trade-off for more land vs. how fast I could be at work. I am growing weary of the drive however as time progresses. Only you can decide if the drive/job is worth it to you.

 

[NVR FNSH]

Buy a condo in town and live there during the week.



Brian

 

[duaneparks]

I live less than 4 miles from my job. Not good for the truck, but awesome for my quality of life, temper, and overall disposition. I spend less than 10 minutes getting there, and less than 5 some mornings!



Duane

 

[mgonske]

My 29-mile commute runs 35-45 minutes, depending on how asinine security is being, backing up traffic at the gate. That's not much of a trade-off for me to have three acres, lots of room for toys, no one to tell me how to live on my own land, and neighbors who really take care of one another. Actually, the way things are located here, the closest it's even possible to live to work is about a twenty minute commute.



One option for some people is to cut the total commuting time by working fewer, longer days. Working four tens would cut your weekly commute from 20 to 16 hours--any chance your new employer would go for that? Maybe with some sort of telecommuting on-call option for the fifth day?



I got to do that briefly in a previous job, and sure wish it was an option now. In that case, it was one of several programs that were pushed on employers by the local enviro-control freak government agency, which forced them to meet a minimum work-hours to trip ratio (other options included incentivizing the use of mass transit or car pools--the latter by forcing non-car-poolers to park way the heck out in the sticks). You could always toss out the saving the environment bit as part of your rationale if you get a chance to negotiate for it.

 

[NVR FNSH]

. One option for some people is to cut the total commuting time by working fewer, longer days. Working four tens would cut your weekly commute from 20 to 16 hours--any chance your new employer would go for that? Maybe with some sort of telecommuting on-call option for the fifth day?

Down side to fewer longer days is you have less time to spend w/family or sleeping on those work days. I work 12 hour shifts and have a hour commute each way - doesn't leave much time for anything else.



Brian

 

[ladyjaine]

Hey, have you looked into commuter busses? See if you could get your employer to pay for a bus trip daily. You'd have to either cross the drawbridge (construction there) or take 395. I work in Alexandria. Is parking paid? On street parking is funky and 4x4 trucks are too tall for the older Alexandria garages. You might be able to 'slug' in to the Pentagon and take public transit from there.

 

[Mgeary]

Hi

Many people here in SoCal spend 3-4 hours to go 60 miles. I work a firefighter's schedule, 2 days on and 4 days off. I drive 300 miles one way (4 hours). I tell myself that it's not that bad untill I can move closer

 

[TPCDrafting]

I agree with Dan (at least in this thread :-laf )

I work out of my house and use the truck about once a week if that.