Do you guys commute long distance to work? (1-2hrs)

Is it worth the money buying home far away from work place?

The price of homes in Canada has risen dramatically over several years that many people buy homes in small towns. They commute to work in big cities. Most commuters have to drive 1-1.5hrs to work everyday. It would be exhausting to commute long distance to work. I wouldn't be able to do it for many years. The chances of accidents increase every year.

I live and work in the far NW suburbs of Chicago. It takes me 45-60 minutes to drive from my home to work in the morning. Picture a box and I'm driving from the NW corner to the west side of the box. The time would be cut in half if there wasn't so much traffic - like on a Sunday morning.

I'd LOVE to live closer to work. I hate drive time. The problem is that my emloyers seem to always put office buildings in the middle of really high-cost propery areas. Oh yeah, and it doesn't help that we have horses and need enough room for them.

Ken K.

I had a contract for a year (living in Canada working in Indiana), an it was a 3 hour commute one way. After a month or so, I gave up and made a deal with the client. I work there 4 days during the week working 12+ hours a day and I'll stay in a hotel. Then I got a 3 day weekend every week.

Not a bad gig and was working out well. But stuff happened (i.e. 9/11, USD dollar loosing strength, etc) which made it not an ideal situation any more.

I liked it much better then working in Detroit (across the river from where I was living). Downtown Detroit never bothered me (in terms of safety), but it was the fact you couldn't have a have decent vehicle. The pot holes caused so much damage to my car!!!!!

But for the most part of my career, i've averaged 1-1.5 hours for a commute one way.

Now, I can get to work in the time of playing two 80's big hair rock songs. Also helps to leave before 7am (in island time thats early).

Kris

I currently commute from Marin County down to near San Jose, about 70 miles, or 1.2-1.5 hours, each way. I take side roads to a major congested freeway, cross the Golden Gate bridge, drive through surface streets of San Francisco (there's no highway going through the city), then take two highways down the peninsula to my destination.

It's far more draining than I ever would have imagined - takes a lot of energy and focus and I have to be on the ball the full time. Not sure how long I want to continue this - but I like my job and I like where I live right now, a lot.

I have emergency gear in the car - a BOB, an "overnight BOB", blankets, a stove and some food and water, and so on. The overnight BOB has come in handy often.

Not sure about buying or renting a place down by work - but the longer I stay with the job, the more sense that makes. Hard to balance that with being home with family, pets, etc.

I listen to podcasts on the way if I'm not on the phone (BBC, PBS, Australian National Radio, Scientific American, NPR, and many others - it's amazing what's out there). That makes up for some of the lost time and drudgery (but not all).

One of the real nice things about the rural south is short commutes. I lived in Houston a number of years ago and had to ride about an hour each way.
Presently I commute about 25 to 30 min each way.
Think it could be biked in around 45 min.
A number of studies have found average commutes in the US to be around 20 to 30 min.
The coast and big cities the ride expands to around an hour.
Blue skys

how did you obtain work visa in the US? I want to work contract in US but I don't know the rules.

Can you explain it to me?

Hi Picard

I have to travel about 2 miles to work, which takes about 7 minutes on my bicycle or about a 20 minute walk.

74.4 Miles.
Each way.

2.5 Hours One Way, 5 Hours a day. 3 Days a Week. Yes, that's 15 hours of commuting a week. Most of it is on the bus, though, not a lot of driving.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSApqNJP46o

12 Years now, with one two-year break 2002-2003.

I make - literally - 5 times as much, doing the same thing, in New York City, as I can ANYWHERE else.

The vast majority of my work involves research and writing, so of my work week, I spend 10 on the bus working (the other 5 are getting to and from the bus), 18 in the New York office, and 16 in the home office.

The laptop broadband cards are a wonderful, wonderful invention for the extreme commuter.

If you are a "knowledge worker" and you do most of your work with your head and a keyboard, extreme commuting via mass transit can be some of the most productive time of your day.

I've noticed that a long (1-1 1/2 hours one way) is not so bad when you are single and in your 20's, or even 30's. It is a lot worse when you are older and the family is waiting for you. 2-3 hours a day of lost family time adds up to a lot. More than just the added up time.

I'm lucky now that my commute is 7 miles, and 20 minutes on a bad day. I would never go back to a long commute. I'd trade off income or where I live. You can't replace family.

Commuting by car is an American pastime which I would love to give up. But I've hardly ever worked in an industry that had a lot of players so I've had to go where the work is. I think my shortest commute has been about 5 miles one way, the longest daily commute was 55 miles one way (did that one for almost 7 years).

Right now my office is 35 miles one way and the trip can take from 50 to 90 minutes. Why you ask? Part of it is the 28 traffic signals between here and there. The other part is a highway that goes from 3 lanes to two for no good reason.

I also make weekly trips from PA to Northern Va. That trip is 135 miles. The first 100 miles takes about 2 hours, the last 35 takes an hour (and sometimes 2). Folks who live in and near DC are nodding sagely and sadly.

My wife, 3 miles a day, total.

I'm spending more time working from home, saves gas and keeps the road rage manageable.

One does have to balance the quantity and quality of time one spends in the car vs. the time at home. I like where I live, my wife's family is close and if you're smart the time in the car can be used wisely (listening to Public Radio, the BBC, books on CD, etc.)

But have after 30+ years of spending, on average, 2 hours a day in my car, I'm about ready to call it quits...

My commute (4.5 miles each way) can take as little as 20 minutes if I ride my bike. When I walk it takes 65-70 minutes so it can be a long commute relatively speaking when compared to driving a car.

I lived 2.5 miles from work for 17 years. Then the dotcom music stopped. Now I drive past the old place and keep on going another 46 miles. I'm one of the lucky employed ones.

Terrible waste of time and money to have to go that far.

Unemployment, retirement or moving are not options.

Police scanner for situational awareness (of accidents, road debris, weather issues). CD player for lectures.

Bug out kit in the trunk in case I have to walk home. (it would take awhile)

I get to practice my emergency management skills making decisions about when to head home. Last xmas I left work at 10 AM (after being there 3 hrs). The interstate closed 5 minutes behind me when the final semi couldn't climb a gentle hill and totally blocked the road for 3 days.
My office-mate left an hour later than I did, went a different direction and wound up stranded in his car and was taken to shelter for the night by the police along with all the other strandees.

Unimogbert

Longest commute I ever had was about 65 miles, one way. But I know of a lot of people who drive from central CA for two hours, then park, get on BART, ride into the SF area, then fight for a cab to their offices. Must add up to at least three plus hours each way, and all bets are off in the winter, when the tule fog comes in. Retirement is sooooo great!!!

I've faced it in the past, but that is because what is for me "home base" is 60-100 miles from any decent gigs for me. However, it is an ASAP to move- when you factor in the loss of free time, fuel and the wear and tear on your vehicle, it pays for itself.

However, I generally suggest renting before buying.

I'll send you a PM and we can talk off line.

Kris

Currently driving 28-32 miles, ~45 to ~55 minutes (one way) 5X week, ~70% to 80% highways for the last 9 years. Due to advantageous local traffic patterns, I take a different route going to work than going home. At first, the travel times were averaging 30 to 35 minutes each way, alas however things change and added in the interim years have been two new schools and school zones, multiple shopping centers, ten (or more) traffic lights, and the residential growth in south Florida has been outrageous.

Stopped taking the direct 28 mile route about four years ago and found longer route to be faster. However I still can't get around the remaining 20 traffic lights and one new school zone. Ugggh. Spend the travel time mostly listening to motivational / educational CD's, or simply in silence listening to my own thoughts w/o interruption for a change.

Home location probably will not change until retirement to take advantage of increased real estate values and the commute does allow me time to mentally "wind up" and "wind down" each day. Work location likewise, hmmm...I really enjoy my job (actually look forward to going to work and returning to the home each day). At the moment, I anticipate retiring from this employer when the time comes.

Am prepared with BOB (kept in vehicle) for ~3 to 4 days (however I doubt, and sincerely hope that I never need to go there). When the superbowl was in south Florida the last two times, travel times were in the range of 2+ hours due to heavy localized event traffic. There have been the intermittent 1-2 hour delays due to accidents on limited access highways, these were handled with aplomb due to preparedness mindset, onboard books, food and water. It felt so good to be sitting there relaxing while others around were at a loss as to what to do besides work on their next coronary.

To some, my commute may seem a lot, however after working out of a service truck (eight years for my old boss and then fifteen years with my own company) where I would literally leave at "o dark thirty" and many times not come back until 10 PM, I'm now averaging about 45-55 hours office work time per week (becomes more like 90+ when the hurricanes visit) and I really feel like I'm playing hooky.

The past history of 40k to 60k miles a year average driving a service truck five and six days per week, plus doing the construction trade related service work was rough. Wouldn't give up the experience of having done it, but certainly would not want to have to repeat it either.

Regards,
Comanche7

Hi,

I have a 3 km commute to my office or 4 km commute to where my work vehicle is stored. The area I service is large with much of it being remote, but all travel to the worksite (truck, boat, ATV, snowmobile, aircraft) is on paid time in/on the employers vehicle.

My DW and I both grew up in small towns and decided to raise our kids in the same enviroment; housing is cheaper, life is relaxed and we get to live closer to the outdoors which we enjoy.

My longest commute to a job was about 10 minutes when we used to live in a small house in the bush at the end of a dead-end road. I loved it but my wife hated living in the country, so during our next move we bought a house on the edge of town.

Mike

I live a comfortable 20 miles from work. I travel outside the rush hour times so my travel is under a half hour each way.

I couldn't afford a place closer that had 1/4 the amenities, room, quality of live, nor lifestyle that is closer. I live in a little farming community outside the reach of mass transit and crime is unheard of, the air smells fresh and clean, and the night is filled with the sounds of frogs not traffic.

12 miles/20 min for me. Not bad at all. My last commute was great...15 min through the local metroparks.

I used to have a half-hour commute, but that was far too long. I moved house to about 2.5 miles from where I work.

picard has intended this thread to be focused on economic and real estate side of things. However, I am more interested in the prep side of it. Has your commute influenced your EDC and prep decisions in any way ?

martinfocazio: has your "extreme commuting" affected your type of EDC stuff, especially that a bus commute limits your choices in case of anything happening. I mean that if you have your car, you can even use it as a temporary shelter or decide to take another road , even to another town. That may not be as easy when your bus is crippled and you had to walk carrying your laptop and stuff in a messy situation.

My commute isnt that long (about 25 minutes) but having the kids with me makes me worried some of the time. However, the afternoon trip back home is usually a good chane to see what they do at school and what some of their problems are. If nothing, its time for daddy-kiddy funny chats. I delibrately chose to live a bit far from work for economic and other reasons. In general, if you are paid well, it is too expensive to live there.

Lucky devil

In my current position I commute just under 10 miles each way through mostly residential areas to work. That's the good news. The bad news is that while at work I travel to many of our client locations daily (using my own vehicle and being re-imbursed for mileage). I average 250-300 miles per week on the company dime.

Fartherest distance from my home to client location is 25 miles mostly all interstate, closest is less than 3 miles through the town that I live in.

I use 1 of 2 different Jeeps every day, each one has a GHB in it. Worst case for me would be the 25 miles.

I worked for a company like that and one day they tried to tell me how I was getting rich off of all the miles. So I found a flyer from a goodyear or firestone place and took the prices of all the maintainence and added in the price of gas and insurance, estimated a payment and added it all up showing that one would just break even.

My commute is just around the corner - from the bedroom to the office in my home.

Mostly by reducing what I feel I need. It's easy for me to walk home and shelter in place there, so I don't feel I need a whole lot of overnight stuff at the office.