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).