What would you do- one hour commute?

[rob base]

A 1 hour commute? (due to traffic not really due to distance....distance is about 40 miles) What do you think?  it will be the longest commute for me........The longest my commute has ever been is 30 minutes.......

Right now I live 10 minutes away from work in a temporary apartment....but once our tenants move out in a few months I plan to move back there....and the commute is about an hour.....and $8 in tolls (total per day round trip)......

We really got along great with our neighbors at our house, so we would have a good support system (although it's been about 7 years since we lived there...)

Worst case I figure we can move closer to my job if the commute gets too much or if we don't reconnect with neighbors well......also I figure I will listen to a podcast or something to be productive with my time in my car during the commute......I figure I can make my car into an entertainment / relaxation trip for me....

Also I plan to start early (my work hours are a bit flexible as long as I am there for "core" hours) to hopefully beat some traffic....

Anyone else commute an hour? thoughts?  Suggestions? ideas?  Is it possible to do it and keep my sanity?

[zibazinski]

Id get audio books or Sirius 

[Deleted]

We have a facility an hour away and I get sent there sometimes.  Right now every Monday, Tuesday and Friday.  It's pretty much hwy and interstate the entire way and very little traffic. I really don't mind the drive mainly because they pay me mileage and let me drive on the clock , but in the Winter it can really suck.

I like to drive, so I can keep myself amused with the radio, but occasionally I'll get an audio book and the time flies by.

[msventoux]

I wouldn't do it unless I was desperate.  Part of the reason I've stayed with my employer so long; the 5 minute commute is awesome.  To get a comparable or better job I'd have to commute about 50 minutes on a good day with perfect traffic.  Which almost never happens; there's at least 3 or 4 accidents each week that totally shut down the highway in one or both directions, and there's really no alternate routes, so you can bet that at least a couple days each week your commute will be 1.5-2+ hours one way. 

If it wasn't for that, I don't think I would mind the commute that much.  I'm perfectly happy listening to music, podcasts or just thinking.  The commute in would suck a bit because I'd have to get up earlier and I'm not a morning person.  The commute home would give me a chance to decompress from work and have some alone time before transitioning to whatever demands on my time there are at home. 

As for how to pass the commute time, some ideas I've seen when I have had to make the commute:  Shave, get dressed, eat a bowl of cereal, read the paper, do a crossword puzzle, play on your phone, take pictures, scream at your fellow commuters and make obscene gestures, braid your daughters hair (go on, let the little 10 year old girl take the wheel while you braid her hair ). 

[Shooby]

You can try it.  You can always move closer.  Do you have the option of doing 10 hr shifts or a 4 day work week?   What are your long range plans?  How long do you plan to be working there?  5 yrs?  25 years?  That matters.  Do you love the job?  Could you find a closer job to where you really want to live.  Could you move half way in between?  I think you have a lot of options.  Nothing wrong with trying it and see.

[grumpyhermit]

For me it wouldn't be the hour that was the deal breaker, it would be the traffic. 

I have had longish commutes that I was fine with (because there was basically no traffic). I have absolutely no patience for traffic. 

[obelisk]

A one hour commute will get longer with time, so no.

[wvugurl26]

My trip to work is about 35-45 minutes to work and a hour home. I just listen to the radio. Sometimes I'll make calls with Bluetooth. Most of my jobs as a professional adult have had a similar commute. My current job is in a bad neighborhood. No one has less than a 30 minute commute.

[milee]

What would I do if I had a one hour commute in heavy traffic?  Move.  Seriously.

Quality of life outside work is very important to me and there is no way I'd stay sane wasting that amount of time (and money) in traffic.  I wouldn't care how good the 'hood is, it wouldn't be worth it to me because I'd have so much less free time to enjoy it plus I'd be arriving home tense and unhappy from the drive.  When I was in public accounting before I even had children, there were times I'd have clients that were a 45 minute drive and I vividly remember how much that sucked.  To work a long day and add 2 hours drive time to that?  Nope.  

[chiver78]

Sept 15, 2016 20:08:18 GMT -5 obelisk said:

A one hour commute will get longer with time, so no.

....?

[TheHaitian]

I spent over half a million on a townhouse so I did not have to seat in traffic 1-2 hours getting to work... I live in the Metro DC area where if you leave at the wrong time a 20 minute commute turns into a 60 minutes commute.

[haapai]

I couldn't do it.  A year of a forty-minute commute in heavy traffic was all that I could handle. 

Looking back on it, one of the things that made it much worse was not being able to stop at the grocery store on the way home.  All of the grocery stores and gas stations seemed to be on the left hand side of the road and getting into or out of their parking lots during rush hour was a nightmare.  I'd basically fight my way home, wait for the traffic to calm down, and then attempt the 20-30 commute to a place that sold food. 

[chiver78]

I currently have an hour commute. 62 miles, all but a little over two are highway. I also work a 4x10h week, which I saw someone else recommend asking for already. the shift I was hired for was also technically "off hours" at a 9-730 schedule. I personally don't function well by 730pm, and have adjusted to an 8-6 (I eat at my desk 95% of the time) schedule. 

what do I do? on my drive in the morning, I typically call my mom. she's not working (planned, my parents are about to list their house and she's doing the cosmetics/planning the rest) and is an early riser. in the evenings, I will either call my sister or listen to a language learning cd. 

have you asked about flex schedules or working from home? I'd go there first, and explore the "what to do with my time" question once you have those answers. just my two cents

[chiver78]

Sept 15, 2016 20:48:13 GMT -5 haapai said:

I couldn't do it.  A year of a forty-minute commute in heavy traffic was all that I could handle. 

Looking back on it, one of the things that made it much worse was not being able to stop at the grocery store on the way home.  All of the grocery stores and gas stations seemed to be on the left hand side of the road and getting into or out of their parking lots during rush hour was a nightmare.  I'd basically fight my way home, wait for the traffic to calm down, and then attempt the 20-30 commute to a place that sold food. 

I think I would have killed someone by then. I routinely pick up stuff I need for that night's dinner at any of the handful of grocery stores within a highway exit of my office (I can spit and hit the office from my exit, it's not far) and there are a few exits with stores right there. I definitely bulk shop the non-perishables, but the majority of my produce? not so much. 

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

Meh. I've done commutes as long as 1.5 hour each way. Fortunately, I was able to work 8-4 so I best the worst of the rush. I certainly wasn't going to be home any sooner with a closer commute anyway. I used the time for me. I liked the job and a move was not in the cards. You do what you have to do for the right situation.

[wvugurl26]

I should mention I used to live closer to my job and I hated every minute of those two years. I still had a 30 minute commute in order to live in a safe area. That was all in traffic and now I go against traffic. I was generally not super extra productive with that extra hour I had each day. Yes, I drive further but I don't hate my home and where I live and that's worth the commute to me.

It was so far away from everything else in my life that my mileage was still 30k a year. I work 7-430 and 9/10. I have travel like this week, can telework and also have weeks in DC where I take the train.

Those DC weeks drain me a 1000% more than my normal commute. I generally allow close to double what I need due to potential for train issues. I drive 4 miles to the train station but by the end of the week I'm just done.

[justme]

I could maybe stomach a one hour drive with no traffic. I can't do one that is more than 30 minutes on average in traffic. Pisses me off too much.

[midjd]

I think it really depends on your personality and the traffic situation... but I have a 50-mile/1 hr commute each way, and I don't think I'm insane
 
I listen to satellite radio, stream music from Amazon, talk to my mom on the phone (usually on the way home) or just decompress. I enjoy driving and the traffic on my route isn't bad unless there's a wreck. 

Two of the factors that drove my decision were a) traffic on the surface roads by where I work is so congested during rush hour that I would be guaranteed at least a 30-45 minute commute even if I lived much closer (and would pay twice as much for a house); and b) my mom and ILs both live in the opposite direction so moving closer to work would take us farther from family, and I am much more likely to take a local job eventually than either of them are to move. DH also works practically across the street from our kid's school and has a flexible enough job that he can handle dropoff/pickup/sick calls, which is a big help. But those are pretty individual factors, so your mileage may vary (ha ha).

[Lizard Queen]

I used to get stabby when my 10 minute commute turned into 15. Like others, I can handle longer on the highway, but getting stuck in stop and go traffic drives me up the wall. Plus, there were recent articles that said a long commute shortens your life.

[Ryan]

I used to do a door to door commute of about 1 hour, 15 minutes when I took the train.  That didn't feel all that long because I did a 15 minute drive to train, 45 minute train ride, and 15 minute walk.  Later I ended up with a 45 minute commute, which was a pretty easy drive.

Now I have a 10-15 minute commute and I can't imagine going back.  I can drop my kids off at school, run home if I need to, or take the kids to the doctor mid-day if needed.  It just leaves a lot more flexibility.

My wife and I both worked in the same general area, but couldn't really carpool so we ended up doing about 80 miles round trip (2 cars) and now we're down to about 10 miles.  To me, it's worth it to be close.

If I didn't have kids, then I think I could make it work without any issues.  I don't really mind driving because you can listen to music, podcasts, or books. 

[bean29]

I've pretty much been doing 40 mins+ depending on weather AM and 1 hour pm in the eve for 9 years. You can do it.

[Cookies Galore]

I have 35 minutes of active train time on my commute (one line is 25 minutes, another line 10 minutes). I did move a few stops further down the line and added 5 minutes to my commute.
I can get to my station in 2-4 minutes, depending on if I hit the lone light on this particular street and where it is in the cycle. I then have a two block walk to the office.
I enjoy my commute. I would hate every second of an hour commute by car.

ETA: I now live a little more than 16 miles from work, I used to live a little over 12 miles from work. I drove to work for the first two months I worked here, switched to public transit as soon as I could make the switch (work covers either transit pass or parking; old policy was we could switch our mode of transportation in January and June if we wanted). If I left before 7:15 then I could get to the office around 7:45ish, on the way home, though, it was more like 45 minutes to an hour. I'll take the train over sitting in traffic any day. The Schuylkill Expressway sucks.

[billisonboard]

Every commute has its issues. I have to be concerned with cross traffic of deer, flocks of wild turkeys, and the occasional moose. The ski area across the valley from my work is doing a serious construction project so getting behind a gravel truck doing 5mph can add a lot to my 15 minute trip up the winding mountain road. And soon the snow is going to start flying. Life's trials and tribulations.

Actually reading this thread reminds me of how good I have it.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Nope not for the type of job i do for a living.   I had the unemployment office ask me if I would take jobs in Lincoln and I said not unless whoever is hiring REALLY makes it worth my while.  I told him if I am going ot commute that far for what I make I might as well take jobs farther out in Iowa then at least I only have to pay one state income tax instead of two.

[Tiny]

So, this 40 mile commute - is 38 miles on the expressway and the other 2 are getting to and from it? I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around going 40 miles in under an hour (assuming you are timing door to door and not just "in the car" time). But then I live in a place where it takes 15 -20 minutes to go 3 miles to get to the expressway/highway.

OK, that's not particularly helpful... I take public transportation.

That said, the people I know who spend a lot of time in their cars - listen to audio books (I can't do this as I tend to zone out and stop paying attention to driving!) or their cars are set up so they can plug in their phone and talk to people (make calls) or they listen to the radio/music.

There's not really a whole lot you can do in your car - other than drive.

[Deleted]

I did it for a decade- for a company that NEVER closed due to snow (this was in Newark, NJ) and before teleworking was an option.  I liked the work and I needed the money.  I just listened to the radio since there were no high-tech options.  Now I'd just load up on podcasts.

Long commutes suck up a big part of your life but in some areas they're almost inevitable.  Talk to people who live in LA or SF or who commute into NYC.  Two hour one-way commutes are common for people who don't have the bucks to live closer. 

It's just one of the things you take into consideration when deciding whether or not to accept a job. 

[billisonboard]

Sept 15, 2016 20:46:34 GMT -5 TheHaitian said:

I spent over half a million on a townhouse so I did not have to seat in traffic 1-2 hours getting to work... I live in the Metro DC area where if you leave at the wrong time a 20 minute commute turns into a 60 minutes commute.

I had a commute for a semester to a teaching job in the Puget Sound area where my choices were leave by a certain time and get to the school an hour early or leave five minutes later and get there fifteen minutes late.

[Phoenix84]

I hook up my MP3 player to my car speakers and play audio books.

And sometimes I'll call friends or family on Bluetooth, or just listen to the radio, or just enjoy the silence and think.

[obelisk]

Sept 15, 2016 20:43:39 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

Sept 15, 2016 20:08:18 GMT -5 obelisk said:

A one hour commute will get longer with time, so no.

....?

Traffic will get heavier with time, therefore the commute will just get longer.

[alabamagal]

I loved when I had a 7 mile/10 minute commute to work.  Too bad that the job sucked!

You just have to figure out what is valuable to you in life.  Moving closer or staying far away.

The other thing to consider is that driving 40 miles one way will cost you.  Not just gas, but wear and tear on your car.  You will need to replace your tires and do other maintenance faster.  The IRS reimbursement for mileage is supposed to cover the average cost to use your car and it is over $0.50 a mile now, so consider driving 80 miles a day costs you $40 in vehicle expense.  If you cut down to 5 mile one way it is $5 per day so a difference of $35 a day.  If you drive to work 240 days a year that is an extra $8400 that the drive is costing you.