Poll: How long is your daily commute?

[Fausto]

Just curious. As a resident of Atlanta, I am constantly amazed at what people are willing to put up with commute-wise in order to own a big house in a "nice" area. It has gotten to where there is now officially only one county left between what is technically metro Atlanta and TENNESSEE:Q when traveling up I-75. 1.5 hour commutes EACH WAY are not at all unheard of here.

Personally, I went the "buy a smaller house closer to town and have a decent commute" route. I live just inside I-285 (makes a loop around Atlanta) and commute by bicycle to the CDC. Takes about 30 min and we have showers and lockers at work so I won't offend coworkers' noses all day. The funny part is that it usually takes about 10 min longer to drive to work (I don't cycle in the rain if I can help it) simply due to the congestion on the smaller roads intown. Granted, my house is half the size of those I know who live further out, but I'd go insane if I had to deal with gridlock every day.

Fausto

 

[jjones]

<< None!! I work from home! I'm wearing a bathrobe, drinking coffee and downloading the Pam 'n Tommy video while you worker drones are stuck in your cars!! Bwaaahahaaaahaaa!!! >>

 

[JayHu]

blah..
mines about 45 mins each way.. on a good day with good weather and no accidents.
though earlier this year i remember spending 3 hours to get home after work one day; mainly snow combined with drivers who still think its summer.

 

[Spamela]

i do three hours per day (and not because i want to have a big house in a nice area).

 

[SpecialEd]

I usually takes me about... 6 mintues to drive to work, 10 mintues if the traffic is bad.... poor me

 

[rippy]

I can drive to work in under 5 minutes. Man, it sucks

 

[vi edit]

Around 25 minutes each way. Total distance is about 17 miles.

 

[Saltin]

I live and work in downtown Toronto. I can walk to work. I'm starting to get tired of the city though, and my overpriced apartment. Those big relatively cheap houses out in the country are starting to look awfully attractive. Especially now that I'm nearing the child raising stage of life.......

 

[hoihtah]

my ex roommates worked a block and a half away from our apartment.
it was crazy... 'cause it would take 2 blocks to drive there. but if you walk you can shorten the commute by walking diagnally across the block.

but that didn't stop one of them from being late.

 

[daveman]

45 minutes each way. Interstate 40 almost all the way.

 

[StageLeft]

1.5 miles each way. Takes about a song to drive it hehe.

 

[arigato]

I can make it to work in under a minute unless there is traffic, then maybe a minute and a half I sure don't miss having to commute to DC everyday.

 

[notfred]

12 minutes. About 10 miles.

 

[EagleKeeper]

I pulled 2.5 hrs each way in Indiana (Indy - Dayton) for the last 18 months.

Now 5 minutes into the office.

 

[Parrotheader]

About 22 miles from my house to the office. On an average day it takes about 25-30 minutes each way.

I opted for the "bigger house in a nice area" approach. And with the exception of having to go the office I never have to venture more than 5 or 10 miles from my house for anything we need. The only drawback to being so far from the office is that I can't zip home on my lunch break to visit the dog and have a quick meal.

As long as there's not a wreck or heavy congestion I don't mind the commute. It gives me a chance to unwind and listen to my CDs or sports talk radio. But if I get stuck in gridlock it drives me INSANE. Am I the only one who would rather pull off the interstate (or whatever major highway) and take back roads JUST so you can avoid gridlock EVEN if it takes you a little longer? I'd rather be moving than sitting still.

 

[mackdawgson]

My commute used to be between 1hr - 1.5hrs each way. I did this for 2 years before moving downtown this summer. Now my commute is a 15 minute walk each way.

The funny part is that I am now late for work everyday, where as before, I was always early.

 

[neovan]

<< 15 min to work
15 min home
1 hour to girlfriends house >>



45 min. to work
45 min home
2 min to girlfriends house

 

[Fausto]

Wow, no "work from homers" so far. I figured the poll would be skewed that way as many of us are programmers/etc and this lends itself to telecommuting.

Feel free to toss in any good anecdotes while you're at it, or reasons for your long commute, whatever.

Fausto

 

[Azraele]

My commute is a couple of blocks. I walk to work.

 

[TuffGirl]

<< I'm wearing a bathrobe, drinking coffee and downloading the Pam 'n Tommy video while you worker drones are stuck in your cars!! Bwaaahahaaaahaaa!!! >>


That video's from like 3-5 yrs ago isn't it? I doubt anyone would be downloading that now.

 

[dullard]

For those that drive 1 hour each way, think of this: in a 5 day work week you spend 10 hours in the car. The entire week is 24*7=168 hours. Thus you are spending 10/168 = 6% of your life just traveling to and from work. I couldn't stand it! I could never throw 6% of my life down the drain like that. My commute is a 4 minute drive to the nearest parking lot and then a 5 minute walk to work.

For those at 2 hours, it is a whopping 12% of your life!

 

[bigrash]

When I used to work my commute was an hour each way. Now that i'm back in school it's about a 15 minute ride

 

[Fausto]

My sentiments exactly. However, sometimes it just works out that way...imagine you buy a house and then land a pH@t job that is a long commute a year later. Do you sell the house (and take a financial beating) or just put up with the commute?

The folks I don't get are those who buy a house knowing full well how hellish their commute will be. Hell, it's not unheard of for some here to live on the outskirts of Athens and commute to downtown Atlanta every day. I would gnaw my own arm off in that kind of traffic.

I'm actually very lucky in many respects that I am able to commute by bicycle since Atlanta is about as friendly to cyclists/pedestrians as Wyoming is to young gay men. I just happen to be able to cut through relatively car-inaccesible neighborhoods and a few ped-only parks on my way to work. Most places here are 4-lane roads or nothing and I won't touch those with a 10-foot pole (cars doing 50+ and no bike lane= dead Fausto).



<< That video's from like 3-5 yrs ago isn't it? I doubt anyone would be downloading that now. >>



Uh....yeah! Who the hell would be downloading that? hehe...not me, that's for sure....um..

Fausto

 

[Parrotheader]

I knew when we bought our house that I'd be facing a 25-30 minute drive to and from work each day. But I wanted my wife to have the shorter commute to her job (which is in the opposite direction from mine.) And I knew about the math Dullard presented which can be a little freaky if you consider that wasted time. I typically don't. Like I said, I typically consider it time to unwind and catch up on the news on the radio.

Personally, I don't want to be THAT close to work and the more crowded urban areas anymore. I like walking outside each day to a big yard with the only sound being birds and dogs barking in the distance. The relaxation that setting provides more than makes up for the time I have to spend on the road (which admittedly isn't that bad compared to a lot of people.) If I were single and didn't plan on having kids in a few years, it might be a little fun to have a place in the city for awhile. But with a family comes responsibilities and those responsibilities come first.

I wish they had more of those ultra-tiny little aparments/tubes they used to show Japanese workers living in. I'd love one of those near my office so I could go by there and take a nap when I get tired at work. I've often joked that I'll start borrowing my parents' motorhome for my daily commutes. Traffic jam? No problem. I'll just go in the back, make some pancakes and watch a movie while we wait.

 

[ShotgunSteven]

Five minutes, if I hit the Wendy's Drive Through on the way.