The Commute

[Independent]

When I changed jobs in 1981, I made it a point to live close to the office. My employer had two buildings and I worked in both.

2.5 miles to one and 1.0 miles to the other. No particular traffic either way.

My best commuting memory is one year that we had a blizzard on a Friday. I walked to work because it seemed easier than digging the driveway out before work.
I left that chore for Saturday.

 

[Walt34]

Wow, some of you had killer commutes!

I never had one for more than about 35 minutes. And except for the first three years working, I drove an employer-issued car to and from work so commute expenses were zero. The shortest commute was about five minutes, when I had an apartment about a mile from work but that only lasted two years and when the rent rose faster than my pay I moved to a shared apartment 20 minutes away. I lived in a variety of places, then bought a house about 25 minutes away and stayed there until I retired.

 

[MRG]

Oh yeah one more pleasure about my commute. Since I was employed in KCMO I had the pleasure of paying the 1% earnings tax the city imposed. Of course I didn't live in city limits so I could vote on it! Wouldn't have mattered, no one who lived in city limits voted against it.

 

[braumeister]

I almost forgot about another, my very first commute.

I was only able to go to college because of scholarships, and living there or even nearby was out of the question. So I commuted from home for four years.

Normally it was just 110 minutes from home to school, via one bus and three subway trains. So 3 hours and 40 minutes a day. I got most of my homework and some of my sleeping done on the train, and believe it or not I only missed my stop once in all those years. You can get used to anything!

 

[Golden sunsets]

At one point fairly early in his career, DH had a 22 mile commute on the 60 from Hacienda Heights CA to Pasadena and back. 1.5 hours each way on a good day. Traffic crawled the entire time in each direction. He traded that in for a promotion to Manhattan. That commute started each morning in NJ when he left the house at 4:45 am to catch the 5:05AM bus to Port Authority. He reached his desk at 40th and 5th at 7:00 AM. On the back end he departed work at 4:30 for the 4:45 bus back to Jersey. On a good night he got home at 7. But those were the good nights. More often 7:30.

During the winter months he never saw daylight, except at work from his skyscraper window. He’d get home, put on his PJ’s and eat dinner while watching our toddlers play until their bedtime at 8:00.

He did the NYC commute for five years. One night, after a particularly harrowing night, he came home and announced that he thought he was going to die in the Lincoln Tunnel. The bus frequently encountered traffic jams and would sit for extended periods in the tunnel. The fumes were nauseating not to mention the sense if claustrophobia. So, after his revelation, he contacted a headhunter in our small city hometown in northern New England. 3 months later we were gone. Traded that all in for a 5 mile commute-2 traffic lights.

 

[38Chevy454]

I never lived where using public trans was an option. Never carpooled either. Always drove myself. Also made it a point to live somewhat close to work, so never had a commute longer than 25 mins. Shortest was about 10 mins.

 

[aja8888]

Worst commute - 1981 - 1985 Thousand Oaks, Ca to downtown Los Angeles. Worked for ARCO Corporate. Took private bus, company vans, public bus, my car.

It was about 50 miles each way in the worst traffic in the U.S.

 

[audreyh1]

Not sure if it counts as a commute but I'd fly back to Boston from China every two weeks and back 5 days later for 3 years.

 

[Keim]

10 minute walk.

My wife has it rougher.

She works across town.

5 minute drive for her.

 

[Bamaman]

And to think I used to feel sorry for myself facing 30 miles of taillights 6 lanes wide--stopped dead on I-85 in northwest Atlanta. It took me 2 hours to get up to 55 mph.

But the commutes mentioned above were even worse than mine.

I packed up my family, sold my house and moved to Fish Trap Hollow on the Tennessee River in Ford City, Alabama. We don't know what a rush hour is here. And I kind'a like it that way.

 

[Gumby]

When I worked in Manhattan, I walked three blocks from home to the Metro-North station, took the train in to Grand Central Station and then walked to my Mid-town office. It was two hours door-to-door. And then two more hours to do the evening commute home. I was usually gone from home for 14 hours every day. Now, I just drive an hour each way (but only for 7 more months). I sure won't miss the commute when I retire.

 

[iloveyoga]

A big plus for Des Moines, Iowa. Driving it was about a 15 minute commute, and then another 5-10 to get to my desk. I rode the bus at the end of my working career, that took about 35 minutes total. This was for 33.75 years.

 

[athena53]

A big plus for Des Moines, Iowa. Driving it was about a 15 minute commute, and then another 5-10 to get to my desk. I rode the bus at the end of my working career, that took about 35 minutes total. This was for 33.75 years.

DS lives in Des Moines and his commute is a breeze. I'm so glad for him, especially since DDIL is a SAHM and they have two little girls.

We used to live in NJ. Fortunately I managed to avoid the NJ-NYC commute the entire 25 years I was there. I did drive from Bergen County to Newark for 10 years and had some horror stories when it snowed, but got out with a $900/month non-COLA pension.

Worst commute ever, although others in the area endured it for years: I had a consulting gig in lower Manhattan, late 2001 so you can imagine how grateful I was for it. Four days a week- bicycle to train station in the cold- 1/2 hour. (My town didn't have a working train station; that town didn't have parking for non-residents.) Give $1 to Coffee Lady and warm up while waiting. Get train to Hoboken. PATH trains were out but there was was a ferry to lower Manhattan. I did like that part- was almost always on the top deck. Walk to office. Change into business clothes in backpack. It was 1 hour 45 minutes door to door most of the time.

People commuting in CA have my sympathies. DH and I once drove from LAX to Chico, CA (way past Sacramento) after landing around the evening rush hour and it was the longest, most miserable drive of my life.

 

[misshathaway]

My commute was fine in the morning at 4AM (5AM pool before work at 7), but I had to leave exactly at 4PM or it went from 40 minutes stop and go, to at least an hour, or 90m if it was snowing. So much anxiety during surprise end of the day meetings. That was the absolute worst part of work.

 

[Bamaman]

After my Megacorp "consolidated" offices to big cities (no one would transfer to), they left a few of us behind working from home.

Living in Atlanta, my territory was the states of Louisiana, Alabama and South Carolina--traveling by car. After moving to NW Alabama, my territory was Virginia, Alabama, and Alabama. I often traveled to Florida, Texas and NW Arkansas to help overworked co-workers by car.

I considered myself a professional driver who happened to have 30 hour drives and 40 hours per week working on my job. And those commutes were really killers.

 

[Big_Hitter]

It was two hours door-to-door. And then two more hours to do the evening commute home. I was usually gone from home for 14 hours every day.

and that's typical right?

 

[Gumby]

and that's typical right?

I don't think it is typical for most people, even around here. I lived further out from the City than anyone else in the office.

 

[Keim]

I've always thought putting up with long commutes, like 2+ hours per day, was a little bit nuts.

 

[Big_Hitter]

I've always thought putting up with long commutes, like 2+ hours per day, was a little bit nuts.

NYC ain't Idaho

Guy in our NYC office used to commute downtown by car from past the tapenzee bridge - that's just nuts

 

[Keim]

NYC ain't Idaho

Guy in our NYC office used to commute downtown by car from past the tapenzee bridge - that's just nuts

No, thank God, it is not.

That said, I'll wager they have a higher percentage of decent paying jobs within a 30m commute (maybe even a ten minute walk like I have) than I do!

I'll take QoL over high pay any day.

 

[athena53]

Guy in our NYC office used to commute downtown by car from past the Tappan Zee bridge - that's just nuts.

A former employer had its North American HQ in Armonk, NY and they hired a guy who commuted from Long Island. They did agree that he could work from home a couple of days a week- but that goes into the "nuts" category, too. Just looked him up and, 11 years later, he's still with the company. I wonder if he moved.

 

[Red Badger]

Ex road warrior here. Planes, trains, and automobiles all over the world. Then, sometimes long commutes at the project site. About 3 years before I retired, I negotiated a WFH deal if I wasn't travelling. Knowing I was gonna step away in 3-5 years, I gave my team more "on-site exposure" and face time with our customers. I stayed back more and more (and stayed home). It was a good way to wind down.

Like many retirees here, it is a rare day that I voluntarily leave the neighborhood during rush hour.

 

[aja8888]

One commute that was "different".

In 2001, I was hired to shut down and dismantle a chemical plant (made synthetic rubber) in Odessa, Texas. It was a year long effort and I lived in Houston. So for 52 weeks (or thereabouts), I flew back and forth from Midland/Odessa to Houston and stayed in a hotel during the weekdays.

Remember 2001? That was the time when getting on airplanes became a huge hassle and I was in the thick of it with a newly established TSA. Wow, did that suck.

 

[MRG]

Ex road warrior here. Planes, trains, and automobiles all over the world. Then, sometimes long commutes at the project site. About 3 years before I retired, I negotiated a WFH deal if I wasn't travelling. Knowing I was gonna step away in 3-5 years, I gave my team more "on-site exposure" and face time with our customers. I stayed back more and more (and stayed home). It was a good way to wind down.

Like many retirees here, it is a rare day that I voluntarily leave the neighborhood during rush hour.

You reminded me of my worst commute ever. KC to Johannesburg SA via London. The customer had been raising a stink they were losing data in our application. The support people had requested the customer provide them with diagnostic data, it was never sent. Instead I was. So after 3 days I get there and run several SQL statements to get the data the support people had requested.

There were millions of errors occurring every day. All requests for data located on removable media. I asked the whereabouts of said media and that person suddenly looked very ill. Again I ask what about this media and the guy blurts out; it failed! I ask about the backups location and he looks sicker. Yeah, that is the only copy, no time to do backups.

Had a nice time at a game park.

 

[Retiree_Having_Fun]

it is a rare day that I voluntarily leave the neighborhood during rush hour.

I have been trying to figure out the optimum daylight hours to attempt to leave the house - thinking

9:30 am - 11 am

or 12:45 pm - 1:45 pm