pammy831
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Post by pammy831 on Feb 16, 2011 19:56:09 GMT -5
I wanted to start this thread because I have a dilemma. I am currently living in PA while my husband is deployed but I will be moving back to Clarksville, TN this summer. While Clarksville is not a small town (it's the 5th largest in TN), I have lived there on and off for almost 6 years now and the job market plain out stinks! I guess it's a combination of too much job competition (1,000's of military wives competing for the same jobs) and places not wanting to hire someone with a degree (aka me) in lieu of hiring someone that they can train and pay minimum wage! Anyway, because of these issues, I am considering commuting to Nashville for work. The main place that I'm considering is Vanderbilt University because they have so many positions open and because I do have some experience already in a University environment. My best guess (because I obviously don't know exactly what department or building I'd be working in yet) is that my commute would be 55 miles each way. Since I have a 2007 Ford Edge, the gas buddy site told me that that'd be a fuel cost of about $17 per day. I'm hoping that I could start out making at least $12 per hour. So basically I just wanted to get advice/opinions from people who commute on this topic. Would that money even be worth it? Is driving so far everyday very stressful? Do you feel like you have no time to have a life outside of work? Basically, is it worth it? I appreciate any input! Thanks!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2011 20:12:24 GMT -5
$17 in gas per day gives you a total costs of $4,250/year and that is working 50 weeks (assuming you would get 2 weeks vacation)
And at $12/hour that is a salary of $24,960 with no overtime.
So basically the costs of gas will be 17% of your gross income and that before you add in the costs of insurance, mainteance, etc.
Personally I would not do it unless they would be paying me much more. Can't you find a job closer for $12/hour?
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CCL
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Post by CCL on Feb 16, 2011 20:15:29 GMT -5
Don't forget - the price of gas can easily fluctuate at any time, more likely up than down.
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haapai
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Post by haapai on Feb 16, 2011 20:16:16 GMT -5
Do you have any kids?
Do you have incredibly cheap rent lined up in Clarksville? You're describing a rather competitive job desert, so what is the upside?
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wvugurl26
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Post by wvugurl26 on Feb 16, 2011 20:46:23 GMT -5
I'd assume the upside is that's where her husband would be stationed when he returns from deployment. My aunt and uncle live there. I had no idea it was a job desert. Aunt is an interior decorator so works for herself and my uncle's got 20 some years sales experience. This may be way off but is there anything closer in KY? I only ask bc when they moved there originally my uncle was VP of operations for a plant in KY. It may be too far away, I seem to remember something about him getting gas costs covered. My slightly snobby aunt couldn't live in KY bc of the quality of the school system. Then they go and buy on the wrong side of the tracks in Clarksville and end up in a bad school district so she's homeschooling the kids. I've done a commute of about 100 miles/day was mostly interstate and took me a hour. Both times I did it I knew there was an end in sight. The second time was for $10/hr job and it lasted 7 months. This was late 2009-mid 2010. Job market was still pretty horrible even by WV standards. I think the experience did get me my current job so not a total loss.
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cronewitch
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Post by cronewitch on Feb 16, 2011 20:48:45 GMT -5
Why not move to Nashville and only go to Clarksville when you have a reason? You can take the last train to Clarksville according to what I heard in a song.
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pammy831
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Post by pammy831 on Feb 16, 2011 20:56:19 GMT -5
cawiau: I never thought of putting it in percentages but that 17% really opened my eyes. That is such a high percentage just for fuel costs. In addition, the $24,960 that you gave is not even after taxes according to my calculations, so the percentage would be even higher than 17%! This really puts it into more perspective lol. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to find anything in Clarksville that I can get an interview for that pays anything close to $12/hour. I have a Bachelor of Science in Business/Finance but can’t even get an interview for anything in the accounting field and I really have no interest in being a financial advisor or anything like that. A little less than a year ago, because of the lack of jobs, I decided to start training for driving a school bus and I completed it and drove for a few weeks before I decided to come back home to PA while my husband’s gone. They pay $12.55/hour and you get a minimum of 5 hours/day. The paycheck that I brought home after taxes was $289 and the fuel cost to go back and forth to the bus depot 2 times a day was $6/day. This leaves me with an actual take home of $259/week. I figured up that working in Nashville for $12/hour would leave me with a take home of $332/week after fuel costs. There are major downsides to the bus though. I don’t really like kids (lol) and this job has nothing to do with what I went to school for. It couldn’t be further from it and I feel like I’m wasting my education. Also there is no work in the summer. The only advantage is that the hours are really good and I would get off for Christmas and stuff almost as much as my husband would. The only long-term goal I can think of with the bus driving job is that I can apply for other administrative type jobs in the school system after I become a full-time driver for 6 months, which would probably take about a year since they keep you as a sub for about 6 months. I could also try getting in at a bank (which is what I do now as a teller in PA) and make probably about $9.50/hour, but who knows what the fuel costs or anything like that would be at this point. I would appreciate any additional feedback now that I gave some more back information.
cheesecakelady: I’m really not sure how bad the traffic would be. I probably need to actually go drive it once I get back down there and see how long it realistically takes me at the peak traffic times of the day. You have a good point about my vehicle and the high mileage I’d be adding. I really like my car and don’t wanna run it into the ground that soon lol. I’m really not that familiar with the system at Vanderbilt so I couldn’t even make an educated guess about how long it would take to make some significant career progress.
Haapai: No, I don’t have any children. We live in Clarksville because it’s close to my husband’s work, and since he’s active duty in the military, that’s the backbone of our life and my career is just kind of an additional thing lol. In addition, even if we were willing to move closer to Nashville, we have already tried to sell our house in Clarksville 2 times with no luck so far.
wvugurl26: I always appreciate an opinion from a fellow WVU’er LOL. I went there for 2 years starting in the fall of 2003. My parents live right over the border in PA and that’s where I’m staying now. Well I haven’t had much luck finding anything on the KY side. There really aren’t any big towns in KY that are close to us. I can’t even believe your aunt made a living as an interior decorator in Clarksville. Most of the population of Clarksville doesn’t strike me as the type to afford/use an interior decorator LOL. I do have to say that living in TN is better in my opinion because I’ve heard numerous times that the utilities are higher in KY and plus TN has no state income tax, which is awesome. They make up for it by having 9.5% sales tax, but KY only has 6% sales tax, so I can go right over the border when I need to make a big purchase, it’s like the best of both worlds lol. So where does your uncle work in Clarksville doing sales? I’m just thinking of Vanderbilt as being like WVU. My Mom started working there in the 70’s as a cafeteria worker and has now gone up to being the supervisor in the parking department so I just have to wonder if I could make the same progress at Vanderbilt and therefore make it worth it.
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pammy831
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Post by pammy831 on Feb 16, 2011 20:57:57 GMT -5
cronewitch: Bahahahaha!!! You're definitely right about the song. But I just sent my previous post as to why I can't do that lol.
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Post by robbase on Feb 16, 2011 20:58:26 GMT -5
her husband is stationed at Fort Campbell (which is adjacent kind of a part of Clarksville) so once he returns from deployment that is where he will be working
is there no work on post as a GS employee-considering you have a degree and should have spousal preference?
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stats45
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Post by stats45 on Feb 16, 2011 21:00:25 GMT -5
I can't imagine a commute that long. There was an article in the NYT not long ago about how a long commute was rated one of the top things people most wanted to change about their lives.
Financially it might not be a lot of money, but there are other benefits to working. If your husband is going to be deployed a lot, you might just want something to do. It is a good thing to build that into your model as well. A job can just help you feel happy and social, and if you don't need the money, I'd worry more about finding something close to home than worrying about a small difference in net wages but driving so much.
My dad was in the Army for 25 years, so I saw a lot of military families including my own, and I think that military wives who worked at least some were a little more happy and less frustrated about the some of the things about the military that could frustrate anyone. I think working at least some is a net positive for nearly anyone, even if their circumstances don't require it.
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wvugurl26
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Post by wvugurl26 on Feb 16, 2011 21:15:41 GMT -5
Oh I remember you now. Hi! I wouldn't say my aunt makes a living at it. She's only in the past two years gotten back into it. Between home schooling and having a small child when they first moved to TN, its taken her awhile to build up a client base. I'm not sure but the work she's doing may be closer to Nashville. I know my uncle has struggled to find a job but I figured that was bc he's upper management level now. He's willing to be the sales guy but few companies want to hire him as a sales guy when he was most recently vp of sales and then vp of operations. I lived in Bridgeport and drove to Morgantown every day for 7 months so I know about the crazy commuting. This would probably be hard to find out from PA but any chance Vanderbuilt does the 37 or 37.5 hour week thing like WVU? That would help make it a little better. Also if I found something in Nashville that looked like it had growth potential, I might try to find someone to carpool with. On the face, yes it looks like it would eat up a lot of your income. On the other hand the same people here saying that are the same people who would have been griping if I had said I was just going to collect unemployment instead of taking the $10/hr job with 100 miles/day commute bc the money was the same after deducting commuting costs.
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Post by robbase on Feb 16, 2011 21:46:12 GMT -5
also not sure of husband's long range plans or how far out from retirement and stuff...but what about joining the Army yourself?
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Post by gsbrq on Feb 16, 2011 22:29:39 GMT -5
IMO, a commute is just unpaid work. I'd guess that your commute would take at least 2.5 hours daily, plus the cost of parking and other car upkeep costs...seems you'd be better off working for $8/hr in Clarksville than for $12/hr in Nashville.
If you could get a higher paying job at Vandy...say $18/hr...it would make sense. Or, if you could get a job where you worked four 10-hr days instead of five 8-hr ones, that might work.
However, if you really have good job advancement opportunities at Vandy, then go for it. Nashville's a nice place to live...too bad you can't sell your Clarksville house.
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pammy831
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Post by pammy831 on Feb 16, 2011 22:39:42 GMT -5
robbase: I would love to be able to get a job on post. However, the spousal preference isn't as simple as it sounds. You only get spousal preference if you have PCS'd (Permanent Change of Station) with the soldier at some point in the past. My husband was already stationed at Ft. Campbell when we got married and we have never moved so I don't have the preference. I was submitting crazy amounts of resumes for jobs for a while and one of the people at the ACS Employment office called me in. I got all excited because I thought it might be leading to a job. But alas, it was a very informal meeting in which he told me that I had left out a few pieces of info in my application and that I would basically never be able to get a job at Ft. Campbell because I don't have the spouse preference. It's a major bummer. As for joining the Army, I don't think I could do it lol. First of all, I'm not nearly enough in shape to do it. Second, I have "biomechanical foot failure" (per a very well respected podiatrist) and probably wouldn't be able to hack all the physical stuff. Second, it's not a guarantee that the Army would keep me and my husband together all the time and there's absolutely no way I'd live like that. It's bad enough not to see him when he's deployed, let alone if I had to deploy too and be on a different schedule than him. As for his plans, he's just a few days away from having 7 years in and plans to stay in until retirement. We have been at Ft. Campbell that long and I love it and hope we never have to leave lol (all except for the job issues that is lol).
stats45: I don't think you could be more right. I feel better about myself and happier about life in general when I have some kind of work to do. I always feel so guilty when I'm not working even though my husband says he really doesn't care if I work or not. I think I feel compelled to work even more because we don't have any kids and aren't really planning on any. If I'm not gonna have kids, I should have a career, right? That's the kind of stuff I ask myself sometimes lol. With all the costs and hassles of going to Nashville, it might be better to stay in Clarksville even though it would be less money and possibly not as good for my career.
wvugurl26: Yes, I think we have crossed paths on here before and we've both been on these boards for a while lol (well MSN and then here that is). Not that I've ever had positions comparable to your uncle, but I can kind of understand what he's going through. Like I said in my original post, I think a lot of places would rather hire the person without the degree and pay them less than hire the person with the degree and pay them more. I'm not 100% sure about the 37.5 hour work week, but I saw that some of the jobs had the hours posted on there and they were 8-5. However, maybe some departments would let you do 4 10 hour days or something like that like some places in WVU will. As for carpooling, I know there is a park & ride at exit 11 on I-24 (I would be coming from around exit 1 and going to about exit 45 or so on I-24, plus then a few more miles on another interstate), but I can't seem to find any information about it online to find out how it works, a schedule, etc. If something like that would be useful to me, that would save A LOT of the costs. I'm not sure who to contact to find out the information though. I can't find anything about it on the websites of the Clarksville or Nashville public transit systems. Maybe I just need to give them a call. I don't expect you to tell me where you aunt and uncle live, but I'd love to know her idea of the "wrong side of the tracks" since you said she's snobby LOL. (P.S. I have also thought of becoming a realtor in Clarksville since I used to work at a Century 21 office there and I learned a lot of the ropes but the start up costs are outrageous and I'm just worried I'd spend money instead of making it lol.)
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Feb 16, 2011 22:48:19 GMT -5
I've been commuting about 40-45 minutes each way for 8 years (it's a little longer than that now that I'm in a vanpool with 9 coworkers, we have to stop in another town to pick up a few of them). At first I saw the drive as the only time I ever had to myself (I'm a single mom we haven't seen my ex-h in years, if I wasn't at work, my son was with me). That was nice, I could just play the radio or CDs and have some "me" time. After a while I started carpooling with a couple coworkers, gave up the "me" time but saved money. We started the vanpool over 2 years ago and it's been nice--I nap if I want to I make enough that the cost of gas doesn't hurt too bad, but I also work 4 10s, I'd rather spend two more hours at work than drive another day. I don't want to live any closer to my current work location, but I wouldn't mind transferring closer (transfers are hard to come by) so to me it's been worth it. Is there any way you could find people to carpool with? Sometimes you can, sometimes you can't.
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shanendoah
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Post by shanendoah on Feb 16, 2011 22:57:33 GMT -5
Haven't read everything, but wanted to comment. I used to have a 50 mile each way commute that I shared with DH. We were able to take the carpool lanes, so it made a difference. In the morning (leaving the house between 5:30 and 6am) the commute took anywhere from 50 minutes (if we left at 5:30am) to 1:15 (if we left at 6am). The commute home, even using carpool lanes, never took less than 2 hours. Most days it was closer to 3. And this was leaving work at 3:30. For every 15 minutes later we got out, the drive lasted 30 minutes longer. It didn't help that during bad traffic, we lived 30-45 minutes from the freeway, with only 2 main roads going from the freeway to our subdivision. It meant, that at a minimum, we were out of the house 11.5 hours/day. With 2 dogs, it just became untenable. We also ate out, A LOT, because we'd get sick of sitting in traffic and pull over at a restaurant. If you're considering this, drive the commute before you decide - and not on a weekend or the middle of a weekday. Drive the commute at commute time, taking the routes you would take. That's the only way to know if you can handle it. If you have kids or pets, I would totally recommend against it. However, if your other option would be sitting at home alone being miserable and missing your DH, it might be good for you.
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pammy831
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Post by pammy831 on Feb 16, 2011 23:20:05 GMT -5
gsbrq: Yes, I have to agree that you’re right about a commute just being unpaid work. I think you’re probably right about working for less money but in a much closer location. I don’t think I’d be able to make that much at Vanderbilt because while I have a degree, I’m only 25 and don’t have the best work history because I have moved back and forth between Clarksville and PA 3 times now during my husband’s deployments. I probably need to come to terms with the fact that I’m gonna have to stay put in one place in order to really get a good solid work history established. I wouldn’t mind living in Nashville but I could never convince my husband to move there lol. We live 0.6 miles outside of post right now and he already worries about moving a couple more miles away if we do manage to sell our house lol.
apple: I’m definitely going to try and look into the carpooling avenue. I thought about looking on Craigslist, but I’m a little nervous as to what crazies I may come across on there lol. Like I said in a previous message, there is a park and ride that I need to check into more to find out the details. My aunt rides a bus into Atlanta to go to work but it’s worth it for her because she makes $27/hour at a law firm. She uses her time on the bus to crochet. I could definitely use that time to read since I love to read but always seem to find other distractions at home (aka my DVR, Facebook, and these boards lol).
shanendoah: That commute sounds dreadful. What city was that in, if you don’t mind me asking? I think living so far from the freeway must have been a big inconvenience to you too. We have 2 dogs also and that absolutely has to be factored into the decision. I feel bad leaving them now for 6-8 hours a day, let alone 11-12!! Even though I think I have been talked out of this by everyone on here and Your Money, I will probably still do the drive at peak traffic time to see exactly what it’s like. I don’t think I will have to sit at home doing nothing at all if I don’t take this job. A little less than a year ago, I started training to become a school bus driver because of the lack of jobs. The pay is $12.55/hour and you get a minimum of 5 hours/day. I brought home $289/week after taxes. The fuel cost would be $6/day to go back and forth to the bus depot 2 times. So basically that ends up being $259/week. If I worked at Vanderbilt making $12/hour for 8 hours/day, I’d bring home about $417 after taxes. However, the fuel cost is $17/day, so that ends up being a take home of $332/week. So it’d be a difference of $73/week. It’s not that big of a difference, but there are definitely advantages and disadvantages to driving the bus. Advantages: good hours, almost as much time off around Christmas and such as my husband gets, not having to dress up, and being somewhat independent while driving around. Disadvantages: not using my degree at all (I have a Bachelor of Science in Business/Finance), and the kids are very hard to deal with lol. The only upside is that I could maybe eventually switch to something else in the school system probably about after a year because it takes them about 6 months to switch you from a sub to a permanent employee and then you have to be there 6 months before you can try to transfer to a different department. It’s a very tough dilemma lol.
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cronewitch
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Post by cronewitch on Feb 16, 2011 23:40:46 GMT -5
What about starting your own business? You could train to do income taxes which would give you a solid 4 months work. Maybe work from home or a temp doing accounting or admin assistant work.
If you take the school bus job you can fit some work at home jobs or temp work around it. There has to be local work even if it is low paid and not what you want. Drive a bus a few hours then be a waitress or something.
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HappyCat
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Post by HappyCat on Feb 17, 2011 0:52:23 GMT -5
Pammy: I commuted for two years almost an hour each way. Not only did I gain 25 lbs in two years from having a high stress job, commuting two hours a day, studying all night and having a desk job; the stress of driving in all kinds of weather conditions really took its toll. I ended that commute Jan 28 and I can't believe the difference in my days and how happy I am now. Commuting is really work on top of work. I know there are folks with commutes longer and harder than I had...and I know there are people that sail right through their commutes and love the "down" time...but for me it was torture. I would advise against a commute unless its a job that you really REALLY love or you have no other choice. Why don't you do some research online and get certified as a bookkeeper and start you own bookkeeping service in your new city?? Do the basic stuff and build up from there. I know several people who have done well with that and love the freedom and flexibility. Just a suggestion...
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HappyCat
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Post by HappyCat on Feb 17, 2011 0:53:13 GMT -5
Sorry Crone...I didn't see your suggestion about starting a business.....like minds I guess.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2011 7:33:08 GMT -5
Pammy: I commuted for two years almost an hour each way. Not only did I gain 25 lbs in two years from having a high stress job, commuting two hours a day, studying all night and having a desk job; the stress of driving in all kinds of weather conditions really took its toll. I ended that commute Jan 28 and I can't believe the difference in my days and how happy I am now. Commuting is really work on top of work. I know there are folks with commutes longer and harder than I had...and I know there are people that sail right through their commutes and love the "down" time...but for me it was torture. I would advise against a commute unless its a job that you really REALLY love or you have no other choice.. Here you go... -> My wife hates commuting and driving 1 hour to work every day for her would be torture. Which is why we choose our current appartment location and even if it is somewhat expensive we are staying there. She is 10 minutes from work. -> As for me, I love driving and yes it is my down time. I crunk the music up and people 4 cars down can hear it and I sing my lungs out, shaking my head, dancing, etc. That and going to the gym are my "me" time where I can just relax, and have a blast. You will not know what 1 hour (2 hours round trip) with good music and you just singing, dancing can do to your mood. I can be pissed as hell leaving work; by the time I get home all is fine with the world.
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Urban Chicago
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Post by Urban Chicago on Feb 17, 2011 12:03:01 GMT -5
I hate commuting.
However, I think your real problem is that you've not decided what you want to accomplish with you job.
Do you want something that gives you a little extra money, but still allows you to spend time with DH and the dogs?
Do you want something with real potential and the ability to support your family (a career)?
If the former is the case, the you need to forget about the "prestige" of the job, and and fact that you may be overqualified for it with your degree. Just get a local, low wage job.
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thinid
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Post by thinid on Feb 17, 2011 12:37:44 GMT -5
I think commuting distance is all about your state of mind. I only have a 30 minute commute each way, but I enjoy the "alone" time twice a day to listen to the radio or my favorite cd's. I also have it set up so that every errand I have to run, grocery shopping, pharmacy, dry cleaning, etc is along my route so I don't really feel like I'm wasting time.
However, if you're just concerned with actual cost, a 2007 Ford Edge only gets 22 MPG on the highway. Are you in a position to trade it in on something that will get better than 30 MPG? Doing that could save you about $1,200 a year (assuming your got a 32 MPG car) and as gas prices increase, the savings becomes greater.
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bobosensei
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Post by bobosensei on Feb 17, 2011 12:38:56 GMT -5
pam- I'm a fellow military spouse so I totally understand where you are coming from. DH and I have lived at Forts Bragg and Sill and now we are in Germany. Each move means me being out of work for 6-8 months except the move from Bragg to Sill where it was sheer luck that the company I worked for had just taken over at Sill and I was able to do a direct transfer.
Military preference is almost no good when you factor in the thousands of other spouses with preference. I've made things work by volunteering and networking in the community. I try to keep my work in something that will transfer to any post which is why I was in property management, ACS, the American Red Cross etc. I make my face known at every garrison meeting and do favors for anyone that comes into my office. You'd be surprised how often you run into people later on down the road. They can make referrals for you and help you get jobs. The army really is that small.
In my periods of unemployment I volunteer and I've found that makes all the difference. I have a bachelors in English and have been able to earn anywhere from 35k to 55k a year on post all working non-GS jobs.
Good luck!
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Frugal Nurse
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Post by Frugal Nurse on Feb 17, 2011 12:40:34 GMT -5
I would NOT consider commuting to Nashville for work. The 55 miles on the interstate doesn't sound so bad, until you've driven it at rush hour. Even without rush hour, there seems to ALWAYS be some sort of road construction happening in and around Nashville. I'm in KY and travel between KY and AL a lot. Nashville is the worst part of my trip. You hit Nashville metro and all of a sudden, the traffic starts crawling at about 25-35 mph. ugh. I would think you'd get rather sick of Nashville traffic pretty quickly. I estimate your commute would take 1.5-2 hrs each way, on a good day. If there's car accident ahead of you? Well, let's just hope your bladder isn't full, because its going to be awhile!
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Feb 17, 2011 12:56:47 GMT -5
Have you thought about the idea of renting a room Mon-Fri and return home Fri evening? If you could do that, it'd allow you to work and would eliminate some of your commuting expenses, but increase housing.....BUT it would decrease the wear on your car and you.
FWIW, I commuted 70 miles through mountains to work when I lived in upstate NY. Fortunately, only for 3 months but it was NOT easy. I only commuted from June through August , so didn't have to deal with weather issues. However, I do know other people who did the commute and I did carpool.
One thing to consider is that if the OP is getting employed at a university, the benefits really need to be factored into the equation. To start with, once you can get your foot into the system, you become an internal candidate for advancement. You may get free educational opportunities for further education. Healthcare benefits are excellent, as is retirement. All of these benefits are not likely going to be available if she accepts a local job and they ARE very valuable.
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Peace77
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Post by Peace77 on Feb 17, 2011 13:58:05 GMT -5
You can go to google.com Click on maps Click on directions Enter your home address and Vanderbuilt University then click on Traffic to get real time traffic information. Do this during rush hour to get rush hour information. Doing it now I see that there are lots of lane closures. My husband had a job with an hour commute but it was opposite most of the traffic. Myself, I find driving in busy traffic very stressful and I would not do it on a daily basis. Have you considered working at a hospital? Hospitals rarely advertise except on their own websites. Here is a job in Springfield, TN with a much better commute. www.northcrest.com/CareersatNorthCrest/OpenPositions/tabid/141/Default.aspx
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Post by linarex on Feb 17, 2011 17:46:36 GMT -5
Commuting in traffic is by far the worst part of my job. If I could change that I would be a happy camper. I've done a commute 60 miles each way with no traffic, and that is much better than sitting in a car while crawling by at 10-15mph.
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oreo
Familiar Member
Joined: Jan 4, 2011 19:42:49 GMT -5
Posts: 577
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Post by oreo on Feb 17, 2011 19:23:21 GMT -5
I also hate commuting but know many people who do it and don't mind. I think your best bet is going to be trying it and see what you think. If you don't like it, you can always look for something closer and when that comes around, great, you quit the commute. That length of commute should definitely have an impact on the next car you buy!
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wvugurl26
Distinguished Associate
Joined: Dec 19, 2010 15:25:30 GMT -5
Posts: 21,730
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Post by wvugurl26 on Feb 17, 2011 19:59:00 GMT -5
I'll have to look up their address and see if I can get an idea of the area. Supposedly the school system has students who would exposure their children to undesirable things. I think they might be trying to shelter them too much but mom has a coworker who just moved to WV from Clarksville. She said there was a lot of crime and bad areas. I've never even visited so I have no idea. I don't think I'd advertise on Craigslist but look for carpooling websites in TN. There's a guy on EE who used a carpool website to find a carpool in CT. I'll see if its a national site or just for his area. I guess coming from where 2 hour/one way commutes aren't uncommon, I could see an hour being ok. I had an appt for labwork at 4pm today. Should have taken 20 minutes. I left 45 minutes before the appt. The traffic was crawling so bad my gps asked me if I wanted to switch to pedestrian mode. Talk about adding insult to injury. Bottom line, I'd do the commute when you'd be doing it and try it out. I wouldn't rule it out but I would spend some time seeing what you could find if anything in Clarksville once you move back. Sometimes its easier to find something when you are there. Having no clue about the economy there, do the temp agencies have anything? I worked a couple times in Morgantown making $10/hr in long term positions and my undergrad's in finance. Good luck with whatever you decide. I know its not easy being somewhere that has no jobs paying more than $8-9/hr with crappy companies.
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