Who has the longest commute? And more importantly why? I’m trying to make a very important decision on a long commute for more money vs staying where I am close to home but less (much less) money… and want to know what some of you have to go through to get to where you spend your days vs where you call home…
Figure out gas first of all. I am working at a closer place for less money vs. being farther for more money. It all depends on how much more money, how far away ie will you have to get up at 4 in the morning YUCK! also how much of a pain in the ass the commute is.
For example I could go work on the other side of Seattle for more money BUT I would have to drive through Seattle to get there every day, I would have to get up earlier, and the commute sucks cause everyone is going that way.
So I avoid that, I have a stress free commute but I don’t make as much.
But I do get to sleep in a little more and that is…PRICELESS!
a 1 hr commute each way = 1 full work week every month just sitting on the road. How much more money could you make with that extra 40hrs of potential work time?
I’d love to not have to commute at all, just time sitting when you could be actually living, exercising, time with loved ones, personal enlightenment, etc.
One very nice aspect of freelancing is not commuting everyday if you can stick to phone and email correspondance, with only the occasional face to face meeting. You have so much more time to actually do work. It also has it’s drawbacks though.
Mine is typically an hour each way.
I usually use it to let the coffee work its magic, get the news or think about the day. Have the option of the train, but rarely do. At least once a week I take Pacific Coast Highway (Route 101) (Carlsbad to LaJolla.) I lucked out that way–that particular stretch is considered one of the best (coolest?) drives in the world. …So if you hear me complaining, slap me, it’s worth it.
Hour-twenty bike ride up the Burke-Gilman bike trail - perfect length, lakeside views, no cars, iPod in the ears, and burning 600 calories each way. Exercise gets you in design mode right away too.
mine… TERRIBLE
seriously must take me about 7 minutes to get to work every morning
it’s like 1.2 miles each way
I make up for it in rent though
We are currently looking to buy a house
we can’t afford anything within a 30 mile radius of my job,
so my commute is going to get a lot longer very soon.
15 min commute down a 2 lane country road…it’s rough. Might take me 20 if I get stuck behind the school bus!!!
20 minutes down lakeshore drive to downtown chicago, nice drive
I commuted 1.5 hours each way. That is 15 hours a week. I use to work more than 40 a week hours at the standard job and then 20 hours weekly freelance. In the winter I never saw my home in the day light. I was burned out so preformance suffered a little bit, sleep, hanging out with friends, and quality of life suffered. Once I started working all of the freelance work I would leave the main job AT 5:00 on the dot. Did not have time to work over time for free… (wonder if they did not like that?). I quit the main job and did 50 hours freelance work full time at home. Commute was great (bed, bathroom, desk). Casual Fridays were boxers and house shoes. Some times the Fedex lady would catch me in such a state. Oh well.
Try it and see how it works. I WILL NOT ever commute more than 45 minutes each way after that experence, unless it is a train (which I have done before). Try it and then consider moving if you can. Life with commuting stress is not worth the MONEY. If the money is really that good… use it to move closer in. It is one of those live and learn experiences that you have to test and discover yourself… But I do not recommend it.
Regards.
Live and learn… And now I will not work 50 hours a week out of my home. For me the virtual interaction via phone and email with the occational client face to face did not satisfy my desire and pleasure of working WITH people. Quality interaction may be important to some people so if you are considering chunking the commute and working at home… that can wear thin to after about 2 years.
Regards
I just got canned, but my last job’s commute was about 45 minutes (including a stop for coffee and a chat with the cute barista girls). The commute wasn’t too bad, I just dreaded the work environment.
does anyone commute to and from LONDON?? I have the option of a job coming up in london centre but fancy living about 1.15 hrs outside on the train. house prices are cheaper, my mates live close by and my car’ll be safe as opposed to within london… jobs well paid and a laptop comes with the position so work on the train should be a possibility.
Strange to find this post today… my company just announced that our office is moving this fall. My current commute is a 15 minute walk through the north side of Chicago.
It is moving way out west and it sounds like a 30 minute commute to me. This sucks.
35 minute commute each way at 85-90mph (traffic speed)
I prefer my old commutes, all same amount of time:
-dutch bike on dutch canal roads
-chicago loop train
-walking
My previous commute was 1.5 hrs each way, 72 miles. driving fast with all the Lambo’s and Modena’s on Hwy 280. I will NEVER do that again, and moved from SF to Seattle to ensure that statement. Traffic in the Bay Area is heavy and even more awful in the East Bay or up and down 101. It cost me $250 in gas a month, plus I totalled a car on a wet morning. Don’t do it, you’ll hate yourself. If there was a good mass transit solution, I’d consider it, but driving you can’t read, draw, etc.
the parking situation isn’t any better than the traffic in the bay area, even in some place like walnut creek.
if you work in someplace like livermore you’ll be ok.
For now, 5 min on bike ride, pretty nice. However the area is dead, got to take an hr of subway to downtown for anything. Then again, I am never in a rush to go home.
I worked at a place where I had to commute for about 45min to an hr each way. I got off work late everyday and by the time I get home, it will be about 8.30pm. By then dinner was over and I was eating alone at the table. After shower it’s about 9.30~10. I slept at 11, so that left me an hour each day to spend time with family. It totally sucked, especially when it was my summer holiday.
I was working at a place where I took 2h to get there and more 2h (sometimes 2:30h) to go back home…I used to left home around 7:00am and get home at 8:30pm also…I left this place mostly because of distance, and also because I had no benefits to work there, and no extra hours were paid to work at Saturdays sometimes…
Bye!
longest commute i ever had was 92 miles, one way. took 2 hours on a good day. holiday weekends took 3 hours one way. it was a temp/.contract job and so I didn’t want to move closer.
now I’m at 45 minutes because we bought a home and couldn’t afford to live any closer
there was someone asking about commuting to london. well, i was lucky enough to never really needing to commute. i lived closed buy though and had to go back and forth to and from london during rush hour very often.
my opinion? if you think you can work on your laptop during the ride? forget about it, unless youre happy doing so while someone else is sitting on your lap. on top of that, on the way home, youre always in a rush to a) catch your train and b) find a seat. besides english trains never did it for me. most unreliable train system in europe! and i thought germany was bad. be prepared to excuse yourself for being late at least once or twice a week!
i also realized you change entirely as a person when travelling in london during rush hour! you will probably use your laptop as a weapon to smack tourists with their big suitcases who just stop right in front of you more often than you will be using it for work while commuting 