Living an hour from work?

[ATC Guy]

I will soon be transfering to a new location for my job. The job itself would be about a 50 minute drive on most days (all highway) from my hometown where both families (my wife and my own) live. We haven't lived close to family in the last 5 years and it would be really nice to be that close to help with our 1 year old (and we have one on the way).

Family isn't the only reason we want to live there. We both know the area very well as we were raised there and feel it would be the perfect setting to raise our kids (good schools, lower cost of living, plenty of activities, family...etc, etc).

Don't get me wrong, there are other areas we would consider living but both are about a 35 minute drive to work. The way I look at it, we get our dream location for an extra 15 minutes each way. My wife does not currently work, so it would only be me doing the commute. I used to have a 45 minute communte each way and felt the drive helped me relax after work before getting home. Also, with family in town, it would be easier for her to pickup some work as well.

What do you guys think? Did anyway else commute almost an hour by choice? I'm a little worried it may get old after a while. Just looking for other opinions to help us decide on what to do here.

 

[Whisper66]

Many people around where I used to work would travel that much to get to work. I only did for a very brief time. For me personally, I didn't want to spend >10% of my waking hours (2 hrs per day / 16 hrs awake) during the week driving and not being around my family. So instead, we chose to live close to work (I had a drive of < 10 minutes) and enjoyed the added family time.

 

[MRG]

Yes for 10 years I drove 62.5 miles one way, 6 of those on gravel. My commute was at least 1:15 one way, often longer. There was no work from home. We were in a very rural area where wildlife was amazing; watching turkeys and deer fighting to defend their mates, bobcats and coyotes were frequent visitors, holding injured birds in our bare hands to get them out of shock... Peace, solitude, nature were our closest neighbors. Three hour commute on snowy days, I'd take a day off if there was major snow falling.

I really never minded the commute, the property was too much for me to take care of, DW was tired of living on multiple levels. I am remorseful we moved, but it was the right thing to do.

 

[dallas27]

I consider commuting literally burning hours of your life away. Think about it, thats 10 hours a week you lose, that's a lot of your discretionary time.

I always have moved very close to work, or telecommuted. Haven't driven to work since i was 22.


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[ivinsfan]

Are you being realistic about the commute time, in my experience people who sign-off on a long commute tend to minimize the time it really takes to make it look better.
Will it been in an area that has weather issues of any kind, we are in central MN and the winter would be a deal breaker for even considering this.

And last of all, will you ever need to put in more then an 8 hour day? If you have any overtime paired with a longer commute means you won't see your family much during the week.

 

[jollystomper]

40 minutes commuting each way is my limit. My work location will change later in the year, and if I desired an office there, my commute trip will go from 40 miles round trip/30-40 minutes each way to over 100 miles round trip/1:15-2 hours each way.

If I were younger I would deal with it, but at 57 time and energy are my most valuable assets, which I'd rather not waste commuting. Fortunately I have the choice to work full time from home and that is what I will opt for.

 

[Totoro]

I've done consulting work where the client was pretty far away. It's tolerable for a while, and it helps if you can get work done in the car too (phone calls).

Statistically speaking though people tend to get fed up and move once their commute hits 45 minutes. That's across all kinds of jobs and societies, even farmers in Africa move their house or swap fields if the field is too far away.

So, prepare for it getting old after a year or two I'd say.

 

[MichaelB]

What do you guys think? Did anyway else commute almost an hour by choice? I'm a little worried it may get old after a while. Just looking for other opinions to help us decide on what to do here.

So many people have long commutes because of job or housing issues and become resentful and unhappy because they have few or no options. This isn't your case. If it is a dream location, the whole family benefits and you don't mind the commute, why not?

 

[soupcxan]

Is it 50 minutes in rush hour traffic or 50 minutes flying down the highway? For me, the latter is much more tolerable long-term than the former, even if the number of minutes in the car is exactly the same.

 

[ivinsfan]

So many people have long commutes because of job or housing issues and become resentful and unhappy because they have few or no options. This isn't your case. If it is a dream location, the whole family benefits and you don't mind the commute, why not?

Just be sure it's what you want. The only "why not" would be once you buy a house and get the kids settled in schools and such most people won't relocate.
So you might end up hating your commute, but feel you have no other options.

 

[ATC Guy]

We are also considering renting for a year there to see if it is tolerable. I just hate the idea of moving twice (once into the rentla, and again into a homoe we buy).

 

[beanctr88]

I have commuted 37 miles, about 50 minutes, since 2004 as all of the family's school, sports, friends, church, etc. are near our house. The company provides me a car and gas, so there is no cost issue to me. When I started this, I thought it would be a few years. I can't say it is ideal, but it has worked out ok. I've never missed an important event in their lives, but I work for a family who is very flexible.

The kids will graduate from high school next year and go away to college. We may move closer to work if we can find an area we like and pay for it with the sale of our existing house. The only thing that concerns me about that is that I will be moving from just outside of downtown to the far off suburbs. I plan on only working about 8 more years, at that point I'm not sure where we will want to live. Not sure if we should move for that period of time.

 

[ivinsfan]

We are also considering renting for a year there to see if it is tolerable. I just hate the idea of moving twice (once into the rentla, and again into a homoe we buy).

Yes, a double move is no fun, but it's the only you have some flexibly with this decision. It could cost you some money too, if the area has a hot housing market.

 

[Lakewood90712]

Is it 50 minutes in rush hour traffic or 50 minutes flying down the highway? For me, the latter is much more tolerable long-term than the former, even if the number of minutes in the car is exactly the same.

+ 1. My last location assignment was 50 minutes (25 miles) in thick, but moving traffic on the way in and 2- 2.5 hours in bumper to bumper on the way home. I had worse short term situations when I was young, but it really consumed my time and soul. Weigh the whole situation.

 

[ATC Guy]

Is it 50 minutes in rush hour traffic or 50 minutes flying down the highway? For me, the latter is much more tolerable long-term than the former, even if the number of minutes in the car is exactly the same.

I work a lot of shift work, so my hours rarely align with normal traffic flows, but it is not generally in a large city. All highway, any traffic usually only adds a 5-10 minute delay during rush hour, otherwise it is a smooth 75 mph. It is about 52 miles though.

 

[rodi]

My first job out of college was 40 minutes (if there was no traffic). It sometimes took longer than an hour.

I swore I'd never have a commute longer than 30 minutes again. If you have an emergency and need to get home... If you get sick at work and need to get home... all of those become awful if the commute is long.

My short (in miles commute) was starting to regularly take at least 30 minutes on the way home a few years before I retired. Then freeway construction made that into 40 minutes on a regular basis. It was a contributing factor in my retirement.

I agree with the recommendation to rent in the area first and see if the commute is tolerable. You have a young child and do you really want to spend the time in the car, away from that child?

 

[MooreBonds]

I will soon be transfering to a new location for my job. The job itself would be about a 50 minute drive on most days (all highway) from my hometown where both families (my wife and my own) live. We haven't lived close to family in the last 5 years and it would be really nice to be that close to help with our 1 year old (and we have one on the way).

Family isn't the only reason we want to live there. We both know the area very well as we were raised there and feel it would be the perfect setting to raise our kids (good schools, lower cost of living, plenty of activities, family...etc, etc).

Don't get me wrong, there are other areas we would consider living but both are about a 35 minute drive to work. The way I look at it, we get our dream location for an extra 15 minutes each way. My wife does not currently work, so it would only be me doing the commute. I used to have a 45 minute communte each way and felt the drive helped me relax after work before getting home. Also, with family in town, it would be easier for her to pickup some work as well.

What do you guys think? Did anyway else commute almost an hour by choice? I'm a little worried it may get old after a while. Just looking for other opinions to help us decide on what to do here.

I haven't seen anyone comment on the fact that they are very close to family. If the wife picked up a job, then you would have to drop off the children at your family's house. That would take much longer (presumably) than the extra 20 minutes each way you would be adding to your commute. Plus you don't mention what kind of work/what area your wife might get a job at. She would have a commute - would hers be shorter in this new area?

The way I look at it, it's 20 mins in the morning, and 20 mins in the evening. not much different in the morning, so would you really notice 20 mins extra in the evening? Add in the lower cost of living and good schools, the much shorter commute to your family, and to me it's a no-brainer to move!

 

[Sarah in SC]

I have an hour commute, partly on rural roads and then some heavy congestion in town. It is killing me. I've been doing it over 10 years and it has really started wearing me down on both ends of the day.
Not really any other option for me but to suck it up, but I wouldn't wish it on anyone else. That's a long time to spend in the car each and every day, I can tell you.

 

[Ronstar]

I had a 35 minute commute from 1974 to 2014. I hated it toward the end. Luckily there was never a lot of traffic.


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[MBAustin]

As traffic got worse the last few years before I ER'd, my evening commute went from 35 to 45-55 minutes. Those extra 10-20 minutes were he11. Morning was still under 30 as long as I left the house by 6:55, which was fine by me. Now if I need to go downtown for something first thing in the morning, it takes a minimum of 40 minutes even if I leave by 6:45am (now known as the middle of the night). So I would check out traffic trends before committing to that long of a commute.

 

[H2ODude]

We all have different tolerance levels for commuting and value other things to spend time on differently. I always looked at it that once you deducted mealtimes, dress time, etc you really only have maybe 2-3 free hours of discretionary time each week day which makes commuting a real "quality" time gobbler. My first job out of college was downtown St. Louis with an hour drive mainly on I-70. I swore I would never ever have that again. After that commutes were never more than 15-20 minutes. That's MY value system; you have to apply your own. Heck, now I won't even leave the house during the modest "rush" hours here to run errands! I don't mind driving, it's the other drivers I can't stand!

 

[Philliefan33]

For 20+ years, I had a 15- minute commute each way. Then, two years ago, my company moved to a new location and my commute increased to 50 minutes in the morning (if I was on the road by 6:00 am) and an hour in the afternoon. No highway driving-- all local roads with stop lights. When it snowed, forget about it. The new commute was horrible. I resented losing 1.5 hours per day, my mood was terrible, and I had very little time to exercise or pursue other hobbies. The new commute was a big factor for me to ER.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I work a lot of shift work, so my hours rarely align with normal traffic flows, but it is not generally in a large city. All highway, any traffic usually only adds a 5-10 minute delay during rush hour, otherwise it is a smooth 75 mph. It is about 52 miles though.

I had a similar schedule and commuted 43 miles each way for 21 years. My j*b was in downtown Milwaukee and my home is on 40 acres. I found the most stressful part of the commute involved the last 15 minutes of the trip, which I would have had to deal with even if I had lived in an inner-ring suburb.

The biggest unanticipated hazard was wildlife, especially deer (my commute home was usually after dark). I recall at least four car-deer collisions on the way home from w*rk; only one resulted in significant damage, fortunately. But I remain a little twitchy while driving at night on rural roads.

 

[Walt34]

My longest commute was 35 minutes and I grew to hate it even though the employer was paying for the car and gas. When the divorce happened and the house sold I swore I'd never do that again. But like H2ODude notes people's tolerances vary widely - I've known people with an hour and a half commute that they said was relaxing.

Do you have an alternate if your main route is closed for a wreck? That would be a major factor for me too. Some of those major truck wrecks can take most of a day or night to clear.

 

[W2R]

I consider commuting literally burning hours of your life away. Think about it, thats 10 hours a week you lose, that's a lot of your discretionary time.

I feel the same way about long commutes.
When it came time to buy, I chose a house that was six minutes from work. Most of my co-workers had much fancier homes in upscale communities an hour from work, but not me.

After work, I'd zip home, get a cold drink, kick off my shoes, put my feet up, and watch the traffic reports on TV. For the next hour, while my co-workers were battling traffic, I was relaxing at home. To me this was much better. In the mornings, I'd set the alarm for 5:30 and I'd be sitting at my desk by 6:00 AM.