Commuting Poll – How Long is Your Commute?

While contemplating a long drive to an appointment almost an hour away, I thought of commuters. My friend Mike lives in the Woodlands and commutes daily to downtown Houston. That’s 45 minutes on a good day, without bad traffic. I asked once if he minded the long drive back and forth and he said “Of course” – but added that it is a lifestyle choice for his family so he bears it.

I guess in Houston many of us are spoiled – at least I am. I purchased a home that is centrally located and that takes 10 to 15 minutes to get just about anywhere I am going. Downtown is only 20 minutes away – with traffic. I have consciously chosen NOT to have a long commute through my adult life– I stress while driving and in traffic, and who needs added stress?

But I thought back to my early working days when I was quite young – and an hour was pretty much the norm for a commute back when I still lived in Philadelphia. Many people commuted by public transportation, and so you had to allow an hour for that. I did that; plus I moved farther north during graduate school. As I worked for the Phillies at the same time, I had to commute all the way to South Philadelphia where the stadium was located– about an hour’s drive because there was ALWAYS traffic to contend with. Grad school was equally far away. I was in my car all the time it seemed.

Back then, two hours for commuting out of my day didn’t seem unreasonable, yet now the very thought of that would send me reeling.

So I am wondering, for those of you still working the 40 hour week in your careers – what is your commute like, and did you factor that in at all when selecting your job?

This is interactive, and I want to hear from you. Telecommuters need not reply!!!!

9 comments

  • I hate driving in car. Feel lucky I live close to my office. My daughter commutes to work over 50 min a day by public transportation in DC, considering moving to Fl and I reminded her it is much different when the commute is in your own car. ..no texting, sleeping, or answering emails

  • I read an article recently that was talking about a study they did in Sweden which stated that people who commuted 45 minutes or longer were statistically more at risk for obesity, stress and even insomnia. Even before reading this post this article got me thinking about what kind of commute I could deal with on a regular basis. Short is winning these days. Traffic is probably my biggest pet peeve and I know I always feel stressed after. 20 minutes or less seems perfect for me right now.

    Here is the link to the article: https://www.slate.com/id/2295603/

  • Wayne S Strouse

    I commute about 15 minutes (each way!). I might see one or maybe two cars. I’ll definitely see two lakes shimmering in the sun as I come over the hills on my winding country road. My version of a “traffic jam” is if I get stuck behind a Mennonite horse and buggy right before a blind turn. I might have to slow down for a little bit, but I get to wave to the kids looking out the back of the buggy. Eat your heart out, all you urbanites who look down upon us rural farmers! I LOVE my “commute”.

    • Hi Wayne, old buddy! Thanks for commenting on the poll. Your commute sounds great! And you are not in a horse and buggy, but a car, right?

  • you know my opinion, but for the right place to live combined with the right job/program, anything is possible! as long as you’re happy before and after. and consistently updating your ipod.

  • My commute is from the bedroom to the office where the computer is set up for my home business..can’t beat that! I know someone who commutes from the NJ suburbs near my home to Hartford Connecticut daily..almost three hours each way! I think I’d opt for homelessness!

    • We know someone who is coming from Durango Colorado and spending work week here and weekends back home. OY!

      • One of my all time favorite cumeotms was when I was riding a rush hour train on the Port Washington line. The 17 year old girl in front of me grabs her blackberry from her huge Louis Vuitton bag (why the heck does a 17 year old need a blackberry and more to the point, an LV bag?) and proceeds to have a conversation at the top of her lungs about absolutely nothing. Of course, she manages to insert the word like into that conversation at least 47 times. When the scintillating conversation finally comes to an end (boo hoo), my new buddy decides to bust out a bottle of nail polish and give herself a manicure on the train! I mean, who cares about the 100 other people in the car that have to breathe in those fumes, right? I mean, like, I have plans now and, like, I have to like look fabulous when called out by myself and other annoyed passengers, she acts as if she’s in shock and didn’t realize what she was doing was inconsiderate. Who raises these people??!! Where do they come from?!

  • I lived in Holland, Bucks County, PA from Dec 1979 til June 1999. We were an hours drive from Center City Phila (in traffic) and a little over 2 hours from New York City. It was about a 20-minute drive to Trenton NJ, where the train filled up with suburbanites who commuted to New York 5-days a week. This include several of my neighbors. I would see them when I took the train to New York to see customers, which I did a couple times a month and I couldn’t understand how people could spend so much time commuting. There were a couple groups who flipped the seats so they would face each other and play cards. I think the same group did this for 30-years. There is something about commuting by train that is easier than driving in traffic, or shall I say, sitting in traffic. And those days did not include smart phones, iPads or Android tablets that allow you to do whatever, wherever. Hmmm? Were those the days?

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