Commuting for work - how far is too far?

You better plan on moving closer to your new job. 2 hours a day commuting will be a regret with a family.
 
John U said:
You better plan on moving closer to your new job. 2 hours a day commuting will be a regret with a family.
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I knew people back when I lived in NJ in the 1970's who commuted 1-1/2 to 2 hours a day each way!

All they wanted was to be away from the cities and in the suburbs to spend peaceful tranquil time with their families on the weekends.

I went to school in Long Island 79-82 and these people got on the LIRR trains every day 2 hours each way so they could live in the country on the weekends. That's the extreme for sure, and I'm sure their are people up there still doing it today.
 
When I lived in NH I used to have a commute into MA. At times, that 45 mile drive could take 3 hours... or more, depending on weather and traffic. The longest it took me to get home once was during a blizzard and it took me 6 hours to get 45 miles. All be it, I see you live in FL, so snow is not a condition to deal with.

What I found after my daily commute was severe sciatic nerve issues, tension, stress, weight gain, my blood pressure went up, and my eating and exercise habits were bad. I left all that to seek another way... "Home Office." I've been Home office for the last 5 years and I hope to NEVER commute again. Now I eat healthy, all my pain is gone, I have time during the day to get in a 20 mile road-cycle.

A "dream job" should include home office, not 2 hrs a day in the quaint village known as "car". Try to negotiate something... If you are the candidate for them, they will work with you.
 
bill110 said:
I drive 45 min each way. No traffic. Have to because no good paying jobs in my area in my field.. But, I love where i live. 16th fairway butts up to my back lawn and the lake is a 5 min. walk.
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Hey guys, Bill has golf balls for sale. Cheap!!!
 
LSNAutoDetailing said:
When I lived in NH I used to have a commute into MA. At times, that 45 mile drive could take 3 hours... or more, depending on weather and traffic. The longest it took me to get home once was during a blizzard and it took me 6 hours to get 45 miles. All be it, I see you live in FL, so snow is not a condition to deal with.

What I found after my daily commute was severe sciatic nerve issues, tension, stress, weight gain, my blood pressure went up, and my eating and exercise habits were bad. I left all that to seek another way... "Home Office." I've been Home office for the last 5 years and I hope to NEVER commute again. Now I eat healthy, all my pain is gone, I have time during the day to get in a 20 mile road-cycle.

A "dream job" should include home office, not 2 hrs a day in the quaint village known as "car". Try to negotiate something... If you are the candidate for them, they will work with you.
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Really great of you to share that most personal experience, Paul.

I'm happy you have found another path, and wish you guys well out there in AZ.

That said, I've met many people who have no problem jumping on the LIE (Long Island Expressway for those out of the NY area), and jamming 70 miles to work.

Then, there are others (like me) who get pissed at a guy going 20mph on my daily coffee run around the corner. Lol

"To each their own" is an expression, but it certainly rings more true than others.
 
My commute is...8-10 steps. It used to be 30-35 minutes. I know a guy who commutes 2 hours each way, and is happy to do so. He's not ashamed to explain why - he met the love of his life, but she couldn't relocate, so he relocated to her.

OP, since they're willing to give you flexible hours, maybe try to start 1 hour earlier than you currently do. Then you have the same amount of time in the afternoon with your daughter, before she gets put to bed.

Like you mentioned, spend the drive time profitably - listen to worthwhile podcasts to learn about a new subject that is interesting to you. Listen to the Bible, if you find it important. There are plenty of ways to use the time well. Also, if you get to telecommute one day a week, you're actually only increasing your away time 3 hours total, right?

Just some thoughts. Maybe too at some point they'll allow you to telecommute more.

On the other hand, you're correct in what's most important, which is family.
 
LydiaGP said:
My commute is...8-10 steps. It used to be 30-35 minutes. I know a guy who commutes 2 hours each way, and is happy to do so. He's not ashamed to explain why - he met the love of his life, but she couldn't relocate, so he relocated to her.

OP, since they're willing to give you flexible hours, maybe try to start 1 hour earlier than you currently do. Then you have the same amount of time in the afternoon with your daughter, before she gets put to bed.

Like you mentioned, spend the drive time profitably - listen to worthwhile podcasts to learn about a new subject that is interesting to you. Listen to the Bible, if you find it important. There are plenty of ways to use the time well. Also, if you get to telecommute one day a week, you're actually only increasing your away time 3 hours total, right?

Just some thoughts. Maybe too at some point they'll allow you to telecommute more.

On the other hand, you're correct in what's most important, which is family.
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:applause:
 
PaulMys said:
Really great of you to share that most personal experience, Paul.

I'm happy you have found another path, and wish you guys well out there in AZ.

That said, I've met many people who have no problem jumping on the LIE (Long Island Expressway for those out of the NY area), and jamming 70 miles to work.

Then, there are others (like me) who get pissed at a guy going 20mph on my daily coffee run around the corner. Lol

"To each their own" is an expression, but it certainly rings more true than others.
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The LIE, better known as the Long Island Raceway!

I remember some crazy drives on the Cross Bronx Expressway with my dad on the way to Kennedy Airport back in the 1970's, NASCAR style, bumper to bumper at 70 mph. Nobody used breaks or rode their breaks!
 
this really is a to each your own type of thing depending of your situation. If you can fit the travel time into your current life without really missing the time lost. do It. I actually live less than 1 mile from my job but travel at least a few days a week to my girls home (only 15 miles away) but takes at least 1hr to get there during normal travel times. Because I hate traffic and have the luxury of stopping at my home before going to work I don't mind the trip. I actually leave her house at 5 am to get home. cuts my travel time in half. Not sure if I would do the commute without these circumstances.

however : dream job= dream money =dream happiness? Decision time! good luck and let us know what you decide to do?
 
I have always tried to have as little commute time as I could.

I think you will have to do the math and decide for yourself if it is worth it or nor. The day you can work at home will help with that. How much total commute time do you do right now per week and how much will It be with the new job? Are the advantages you gain from the new job worth the extra time and expenses to the commute? Also, would it be possible for you to move closer to the new work place in the future?

When I calculate my salary, I take into account the commute. So for instance if I need to commute 30 mins in the morning and 40 mins at night I add that to the time worked and divide my salary by the total time spent from leaving in the morning to returning at night. This to me is the most accurate way of calculating salary. Sometimes a job that pays more might not be as attractive when you deduct the commute time and car expenses.

Hope the offer turns out to be worth it for you.
 
My experience is consistant with what you've read so far:

A) It depends on the person. Some won't mind the drive (or actually enjoy it); others will consider it a waste of their life.

and B) It depends on the drive. I did an hour commute years ago that was half heavy traffic and half bumper to bumper. I hated it. Later in life, I had a 45 minute to hour commute that was wide open driving. I loved it.
 
natewood70 said:
Hello my fellow geeks!

Like many of us on the forum I work in a different profession by day and let out my inner detailer at night and on the weekends.

That being said, where I am now is a place where I do not see much growth anymore. In fact, I get bored at work and spend the majority of my days browsing the Internet and studying new technologies (I'm a network engineer).

I received an offer for a new job that is absolutely my DREAM job, but it will take my commute from 30 to 60 minutes. They are flexible on work times, and will even allow me to telecommute 1 day out of the week, but I'm just nervous about the longer commute eating into time with my wife and daughter.

So... that being said, does anyone currently have a ~1 hour commute? If so, how do you pass the time so you don't go crazy? I was thinking audiobooks and podcasts would be a good start, but I'm just not sure if the commute will beat me down enough to the point that I regret my decision.

Anyway, thanks for any advice or input you all can offer!

-Nate
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you will get use to it.The downside is the.extreme mileage on your car in a year.I had a 13 charger that I purchased new for 34k.After.2 years of.commuting the car was.only worth 10k with 80k.If you can swing it buy a Toyota or Honda used and drive it to death without a note on it.
 
Please excuse the extra periods on my i phone fingers to big.
 
My commute is 45-60 min each way. In the morning, I leave between 0500-0530, and there really isn't much traffic. I have to look out for wildlife though!

In the afternoon going home, there is some traffic, but it normally isn't too bad.

Strange thing is, I have actually gotten used to it over the last 8 years. I get in the car and just drive. It helps having a car I actually enjoy driving though! I have an Acura TSX with a 6 speed manual. Makes it a little more fun, at least! Just rolled 177K on her this week!

I guess I see the drive as therapeutic. I think about what I need to do for the day, my goals for myself, kid's schedules, etc. So when I get to work, I am ready to go. When I get home, I am ready to cook dinner, get the kids to practice, whatever.

Do I wish my commute was closer? Yes. Do I regret having a job where I have to commute that long? No.
 
1. At one point in my life I commuted 2 hours one way to a job I didn't even like.

2. My husband is in IT and he'd say don't stay in a stale job that will make your skills out-dated.
 
FrankS said:
I know exactly where Royal Palm Beach is. You are just a few miles west of me. I'm in West Palm Beach. My sister lives in Royal Palm behind Costco.

I work for a company which does construction material testing and inspections and we have offices in Riviera Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami. I'm also an Engineer, Civil though.

I've traveled quite a bit throughout the South Florida area and I've had to make the trip to the Weston area many times from West Palm Beach, actually from our office in Riviera Beach.

The Turnpike and the Sawgrass Expy is your best bet.

If you can manage to start work early and leave early you can avoid the rush hour traffic and it's not that bad of a drive. The Turnpike is less stressful than I-95.

I have a co-worker who commutes from West Palm Beach to our Fort Lauderdale office everday, not as far as Weston, but he gets there early and leaves early before the rush hour hits.

Weston is a nice area...who knows, you may find a nice place live there.
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Wow... what a small world! I actually live behind the Costco as well in Seminole Lakes! (for now)

The weekend before this new job starts my wife and I are actually moving to a new house that we just bought, but still in Royal Palm off of Okeechobee.
 
DetailKitty said:
My husband is in IT and he'd say don't stay in a stale job that will make your skills out-dated.
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This is 100% true. In this career (like many others), the day you stop learning is the day you kill your career. Where I'm at now has begun to bore me to death because I'm doing things that I learned about when I first broke into this field 5 years ago.

I sincerely appreciate everyone's responses. So many of them that it would be difficult to respond to each one individually!

I think this is 100% a go for me. It's a fantastic company from what I read (Been in the top 25 of Fortune's best places to work for close to a decade), and I'll have room to continue my growth within my field with some EXCELLENT engineers I can bounce ideas off of and learn from. To compare it to the detailing world, I will be working with Mike Phillips like experts in the Network Engineering world... Time to be a sponge and soak up all that knowledge!

Seriously... this is what makes this forum so great. A lot of different opinions that range from encouragement to maybe taking a look at things from a different perspective. I can't say enough of how thankful I am for the responses!
 
I drive +/- 93 miles round trip to & from work, 45 minutes to an hour + depending on traffic and weather conditions. There is practically no detailing work near where I am, so it's not uncommon for me to drive an hour or so to do a detail.

As for the new job, what can I say that hasn't already been said?

1) You have the full support of your wife
2) It's your dream job
3) it's ONLY a few minutes more travel time

My car has a CD player, so I listen to my favorites on the way to & from. Sometimes I turn off the radio and amuse myself by listening to the car & engine - traffic noises etc. I wouldn't do anything that takes too much of your concentration off the road though. Distracted driving is not a good thing.

Good luck with your decision.
 
I have been commuting 30-60 mins a day for past 25 years. Once you get accustomed to it there is no real big deal. If it's your dream job I say...
GO FOR IT !!!:props::props:
 
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