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your work commute

Discussion in 'General Discussions' started by ralphie250, Oct 29, 2013.

  1. ralphie250

    ralphie250 Fully Erect

    Location:
    At work..
    how far do you commute to work? what do you think is realistic? what is the farthest you have commuted to and from work?

    asking cause I have been offered a job and am considering taking it. but its kinda far
     
  2. Borla

    Borla Moderator Staff Member

    I work from home some days, go to the office occasionally, and travel to customers' places other days.

    When I work from home the commute is about 10 seconds. When I go to the office it is about 20 minutes. Most of my customers are 2-4 hours away. However, on the days I go to my customers I am often in a hotel the night before and/or after, and the drive is part of my work time (and in a company SUV).

    The furthest I ever commuted on a daily basis was 35 miles (same company, different job, and I lived further away). I did that for about 9 years. By the time I moved closer it was taking me about 45 minutes to get there and 55 minutes to get home, due to traffic. I was driving a full-sized truck, so it was killing me on gas too.

    As far as 'how far is too far?', that depends a lot on the amount of money made, how easy the drive is (lots of traffic? all highway?), how much time will be wasted in the car, and if the entire travel expense is coming out of my pocket or my company's pocket.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  3. CinnamonGirl

    CinnamonGirl The Cheat is GROUNDED!

    We live about 10 minutes from the shop, which is awesome. There's a bridge under construction right now on our regular route, but even going around that still means the commute is only about 17 minutes.

    I've driven just over an hour for two separate jobs in the past... they were both seasonal work though. One was for a haunted event at a theme park, one was at the Renn Fest. The haunted house was totally worth it, Renn Fest ended up sucking beyond the telling of it.

    I don't mind driving, so the commute itself doesn't bother me. I hate getting up early, though, so that would be a bigger factor for me.
     
  4. Fangirl

    Fangirl Very Tilted

    Location:
    Arizona
    I don't commute (work from home).
    I have worked a job that entailed me driving at a moment's notice from one end of a large county to the other--in my own car, after I'd already commuted 20 miles to get to work. I hated that. I don't like driving in congested areas and I'm hyper aware of wasting petrol/polluting so I would factor that into my work commute consideration as well as wear and tear on both me and my car.
     
  5. arkana

    arkana Very Tilted

    Location:
    canada
    Regular commuting over long distances is a scourge on our society. Think of the hundreds of hours a year some people spend in cars. What else could they be doing?

    My main destination is 3 minutes away on bike, 10 minutes by foot.

    My secondary destination is an 80 minute subway ride (round trip) done twice a week.
     
    • Like Like x 4
  6. Speed_Gibson

    Speed_Gibson Hacking the Gibson

    Location:
    Wolf 359
    One of my drives is a whopping 1.5 miles and the other one is 8 miles across the state line.
     
  7. redux

    redux Very Tilted

    Location:
    Foggy Bottom
    Two block walk to the Metro, 15 minute train ride, two block walk to the office.
     
  8. Japchae

    Japchae Very Tilted

    I've commuted 40m, to drive about 18 miles for one job.
    I used to put 1200 miles a week on my car doing home visits.
    Driving doesn't bother me. If the money outweighs the increase
    in fuel costs, it may be worth it. if you don't mind driving.
     
  9. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    About 20 paces.

    I think 30 minutes (one way) is reasonable. Up to an hour is reasonable if you love your job and/or where you live.

    Besides my "commute" to my home office, I tend to measure the commute in time rather than distance, as that's what really matters (especially if you live in or near a big city like Toronto).

    I couldn't imagine driving to work if it was under 30 minutes to walk—unless the weather is bad.
     
    Last edited: Oct 29, 2013
  10. arkana

    arkana Very Tilted

    Location:
    canada
    But does the money outweigh the time you are spending in a car? How much is your time worth?
     
  11. Remixer

    Remixer Middle Eastern Doofus

    Location:
    Frankfurt, Germany
    Usually my work is where my phone, laptop or PC are.

    If I go to customers, distance varies between 5km and 4,000km. If it's project negotiations, industry conferences or scheduled sales training it can get up to 9,000km.
     
  12. fflowley

    fflowley Don't just do something, stand there!

    My commute is mainly by bicycle. We live on a very big hill, and work is down in the valley. So it takes me 25 minutes to get to work and 50 minutes to ride home.
    I wouldn't be able to do it in reverse cause I am all sweaty after riding the big hill.
    When I drive to work it takes 9 minutes.
    You may want to look at this article, just recently published: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/28/commutings-hidden-cost/?_r=0
     
    • Like Like x 3
  13. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member


    Agreed. I'd like to live as close as I can to work. Right now, I'm about 15 minutes from my regular job, but the commute is very pleasant. I drive over country roads to get there and enjoy the scenery during these fall mornings. Today, for example, I got to enjoy the sunrise over a frosty field. It was gorgeous. My other workplace is about 5 minutes by car, 10 minutes by bus, 10-15 by bike, or 30 minutes on foot.

    I would prefer to commute less than 30 minutes a day in total. Where I'm at right now with my commute is just about perfect. The 15 minute drive home buys me some time to unwind.
     
  14. mixedmedia

    mixedmedia ...

    Location:
    Florida
    I drive east about 5 minutes to work and west about 5 minutes to school.
    Thus far, all of my clinical sites have been less than 10 minute drives.
    It's a good set-up.
    Except for the traffic.
     
  15. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member


    I saw that too, and found it very interesting. Growing up, my activities were limited to two things at the most--sports and dance. Dance right after sports meant driving to another town right after I finished practice. I spent at least 3 hours a week in the car for activities, plus another 6 hours a week in lessons, and 8 or so hours a week in practice for sports. That said, my bus ride was also very long, and I typically spent about 2 hours a day riding the bus to and from school if I wasn't participating in sports. On non-dance nights, I'd get home from sports half an hour later than the bus, so it didn't impinge on my free time. However, dance nights I didn't get home until 8:45, and I had to get in the habit of taping My So-Called Life.

    My 8th graders last year were very different from that. Multiple sports, club sports, dance, music lessons, language lessons, etc.--it all gets piled on. I had one kid who had to have a nanny despite his age just because his parents couldn't drive him around to all the stuff they forced him to do--Spanish lessons, French lessons, violin, and so on.
     
  16. Japchae

    Japchae Very Tilted

    I'm probably the wrong person to debate that one with.
    Personally, I loved the alone time. And the 100s of audiobooks that I did during that 7 years of driving a lot was worth it.
    I actually miss it. I truly enjoy the long drives with the windows cracked or open, depending on speed, and listening to someone read me a novel.
    Because I have ADHD, the words keep me engaged in my drive. Music is somewhat annoying when I drive.
    I have four novels lined up for the 24 hours (two 12 hour stretches) of driving home for Thanksgiving.
    Having awesome families at the other end of those 40 - 50 mile drives each way probably increased my enjoyment, too.
    Daily commutes of 40+ minutes just to the office didn't bother me.
     
  17. mixedmedia

    mixedmedia ...

    Location:
    Florida
    I didn't mind it when I had a 40-60 minute commute, either. You just don't know what that alone time means until it's your only alone time.
     
    • Like Like x 3
  18. ASU2003

    ASU2003 Very Tilted

    Location:
    Where ever I roam
    I have a 5 minute bicycle commute, or 12 minute walking commute when it snows.

    I will never sit in traffic for long periods of time. No way.
     
  19. Levite

    Levite Levitical Yet Funky

    Location:
    The Windy City
    Around 45-55 minute drive to the school where I'm teaching, which is in the city, and I'm up in the burbs. Not ideal, but Jewish education jobs are so scarce, I'd probably commute half that again if I had to. Most of my jobs have been over half an hour commutes, wherever I lived-- seems like nothing ever ends up being close to me. But c'est la vie.
     
  20. CinnamonGirl

    CinnamonGirl The Cheat is GROUNDED!


    This is a good point. My hour+ commutes were all state routes and back roads, so I didn't have rush hour, or really much traffic at all, to worry about.