For those who drive to work, what is your commute time?

[MichelleCarmen]

This question is for those who drive to work (not take public transportation). . .How many miles is it to your place of employment and generally how long does it take you to get there?

 

[Dreamgirl]

About 25 minutes in
30-35 minutes home

I think its 10 miles

 

[777_LDY]

I don't work but when my husbands commute was over 45 minutes, working 10 hr days, and I was at home with the kids it was awful... He now commutes about 15 minutes. I don't know the mileage though.

eta, each way.

 

[Elmorton]

I teach on 3 different campuses, so on any given day it takes 25 mins, 20 mins, or 10 mins (including parking and getting into the building). It''s a little longer at 8am, 2:30pm, or 5pm because of rush hour/schools. I have no idea what the actual mileage is because I live in the midwest and miles and minutes are the same No seriously - I think it''s about 15/12/3 respectively.

I had a 40 min commute for my first teaching job and it killed me. The 7am hour commute was fine because I''d spend the entire way listening to NPR and planning my lectures/lessons for the class I was headed to teach, but at 5pm, there were so many times where I was so exhausted that I''d pull over at the rest stop (15 minutes from my doorstep) for a cat nap before finishing the rest of the drive. Never again.

 

[Sabine]

Mine is about 10 miles, and it takes me about 15 minutes on the way in, and 20-30 on the way home.

 

[musey]

My work location is different every day, but my husband's commute is 8.7 miles and takes him about 30 minutes (in west LA - surface streets, not freeways).

He just got a Prius about two weeks ago and is LOVING it. He had a ford taurus before that, which got HORRID gas mileage, and his prius has been averaging about 50mpg!!

Lucky guy... I'm still getting about 18mpg...

 

[geckodani]

Don''t know the mileage off hand, but it takes about 20-25 minutes in the morning, and 30 - 40 in the evening. DH has about a 5 minute commute, LOL.

 

[elrohwen]

My commute is 22 miles long and generally takes me 45min or so each way (I've done it in 35 when no one else is on the road). It's all on a two lane road with some stoplights, so I can't go faster than 40-45mph, but there also isn't any unpredictable traffic like the highways have.

 

[Allison D.]

20 miles; takes about 30-35 minutes.

 

[zhuzhu]

8 miles, about 15-18 minutes each way.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Okay, the deal is the reason I'm trying to gain perspective. . .I'm possibly getting a job that would be around 1 hour commute (possibly 1 hr 20 mintutes) and I'd have to work around my kids' schedual and they are in school for 7 hours, so basically, I'd be driving there, working 4.5 hours and then coming back home. Then I'd work weekends. This would NOT be permanent and life wouldn't continue in this cycle forever - it'd be for a few months and I can pick my own hours. If I get the job, I have to take it since it pays really good.

The alternative is having my kids go to the onsight daycare at school and working 8 hours on Mon-Wed., plus weekends, but then I'd be shelling out $ for that and defeating the purpose of driving all that way for the good income (for someone who's been a SAHM for many years - no current job experience and bad economy).

Crazy drive, huh? I'm hoping *somebody* says they drive a long way for a good job opportunity. . .

 

[radiantquest]

19 miles, 30 minutes

 

[Erin]

2.3 miles
3 minutes if I make the stoplight

 

[diane5006]

Hi MC...before I moved (i'm not working here yet)...I had a 61 mile commute (one way) it took me about 65-75 min there mostly highways no traffic in that direction...home about the same...maybe longer..I was in less of a rush...I used the time to think, chat on phone (headset) or listen to books on tape...

It made it easier for me that there were distinct 'segments' of the trip...not just 60 miles of flat nothingness

I did that for a year and a half...

Before that I lived outside of boston...45 miles...commute no traffic 45 min (all highway...very little surface street) average day 60 min there...home less 50 min or so...worst 3 hours (accident)...did that for several years

Best of luck

In between those I hade a < 5min commute which was nice

 

[NOYFB]

I drive 6 miles (surface streets of Chicago) and it takes anywhere from 25-45 minutes depending on weather and traffic.

 

[panda08]

About 40 miles. How long it takes depends on traffic. Without traffic, about 40 minutes one way. With traffic, anywhere between 1 hour to 2 hours.

I''ve been driving this for about three months. I''m not sure how much longer I can hang, as it really wears on me because I have to get up at the crack of dawn in order to avoid some of the traffic. I''ve been at my job for 3.5 years and it''s a good, stable one. The long commute is my own doing, as I chose to move farther away about a year ago. I''m gonna angle for some telecommuting time soon...

If your potential commute doesn''t involve traffic, one hour isn''t too bad. It''s the sitting in traffic that''s really annoying.

 

[somethingshiny]

My commute is approximately 10 seconds, I''m a SAHM

. DH''s commute is right around an hour. (I believe it''s 58 miles one way) He gives himself about one hour and twenty minutes to get to work every day. Part of the extra time is in case of flat tire, and he does stop and pick up another guy on the way. They have to walk over a mile to get to where they need to be once they get to work. Sometimes they get lucky at work and get these GIANT tricycles to ride.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

So 2 to 2.5 hours in the car to work 4.5 hours? Wow, it must be an amazing job to make it worth it! And are you saying you''d be working 7 days a week??? Just remember that gas prices can very easily be back at $4 a gallon at any time. At the moment, I cannot think of anything that would tempt me to drive that far.

My job is 10 minutes away, but I am usually dropping off a child at school on the way, so it takes about 20 minutes.

 

[EricaR]

My commute is about 4 miles each way and takes me between 6 and 8 minutes, depending on how many red lights I hit.

I''ve had commutes as long as 30 miles that took between 45 minutes and an hour and a half. I found it to be incredibly draining. On the other hand, my FI commutes an hour away twice a week and he loves the drive. He finds it relaxing and loves listening to books on CD.

 

[joflier]

Its about 20 miles and it takes me 25-30 minutes as long as the weather is good.

 

[elrohwen]

I wanted to add that many people I work with drive over an hour each way every day. I work in an area that is very expensive to live in, so many people (including me) live reasonably far away to be able to afford a house. I have a non-traffic commute, but many sit in traffic for an hour morning and afternoon (and if there''s an accident, forget about it). It would drive me batty to drive that far in traffic, but without traffic it''s not so bad. I think it helps when your co-workers have a similar commute because everyone understands if you need to leave early one to day avoid traffic.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Not sure of the mileage, but its about 15 minutes w/out traffic and about 25 minutes with traffic, on city streets.

My poor DH commutes over an hour each way, but fortunately is able to work from home at least 2-3 days a week most weeks...

 

[Miss Fortune]

17 miles

50-60 minutes to get in

and


60 - 80 minutes to get home

I live in Los Angeles

 

[tlh]

My hubby and I have carpooled for the past 3 years. We chose to work close enough to do so.

Our city has a HOV (carpool) lane which takes some time off from the trip. 18 miles each way. In the AM it takes about 22 minutes... in the PM between 30 and 45 minutes... but we work early... (we leave the house at 5:55 AM and leave work at 3:30... mainly to avoid the congestion of the streets!)

At one point in my life I did drive to work over an hour each way! (AGAINST TRAFFIC!) and that was just brutal!

 

[Italiahaircolor]

I live in Naperville IL, but my office is on Michigan Avenue in Chicago...I am approximately 45 minutes from my work, if I don't hit traffic or don't stop for coffee or anything.

I usually leave my home around 5a and arrive to work slightly after 6a...So an hour going.

I usually leave my office around 6p and arrive home around 7:30p...so an hour and a half if I manage to wait out rush hour all together, or at least catch the end part of it.

However, when I was in process of getting my cosmetology school educator license and before I bought my home in Evanston Illinois, I lived in Naperville and commuted 70 miles (each way) to work daily, in rush hour, both ways. My commute to work was about 2 hours, and my commute home was about 2.5 hours. After about 3 months of that I broke down and bought a condo a block away from my work/school.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 1/6/2009 6:59:44 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006
So 2 to 2.5 hours in the car to work 4.5 hours? Wow, it must be an amazing job to make it worth it! And are you saying you'd be working 7 days a week??? Just remember that gas prices can very easily be back at $4 a gallon at any time. At the moment, I cannot think of anything that would tempt me to drive that far.

My job is 10 minutes away, but I am usually dropping off a child at school on the way, so it takes about 20 minutes.

Eh, yeah. Well, I wouldn't work Friday because my kids get out of school early, so 6 days a week (I doubt I could fit in 40 hours). It's not as if the job is super "amazing," it's more someone is trying really hard to get me a job and the thing is, she hasn't really talked to me about it, moreas, she's just gone about it on her own and if she offers me the job, I cannot let her down. All my family is striving hard to help me find employment and my kids have always come first, so now, I'm juggling my little ones AND the need to prove that I'm not a slouch being a SAHM while both kids are in school during the day (hence me driving a ton just to work 4.5 hours).

I posted this once a while back that I'm the ONLY, and I mean ONLY, mom who doesn't work on DH's side of the family!!! NONE of them have EVER EVER been SAHM's. All worked when their kids were little. . .so I'm the odd one out and am expected to enter the workforce.

 

[fieryred33143]

I live 30 miles from work.

On a normal day with normal traffic, its about 45 minutes. With heavy traffic, anywhere between 1 to 2 hours.

When I'm feeling "fast and furious" 20 minutes.

This is all highway time. I don't "do" local streets.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Date: 1/6/2009 5:53:14 PM
Author: MC
Okay, the deal is the reason I''m trying to gain perspective. . .I''m possibly getting a job that would be around 1 hour commute (possibly 1 hr 20 mintutes) and I''d have to work around my kids'' schedual and they are in school for 7 hours, so basically, I''d be driving there, working 4.5 hours and then coming back home. Then I''d work weekends. This would NOT be permanent and life wouldn''t continue in this cycle forever - it''d be for a few months and I can pick my own hours. If I get the job, I have to take it since it pays really good.

The alternative is having my kids go to the onsight daycare at school and working 8 hours on Mon-Wed., plus weekends, but then I''d be shelling out $ for that and defeating the purpose of driving all that way for the good income (for someone who''s been a SAHM for many years - no current job experience and bad economy).

Crazy drive, huh? I''m hoping *somebody* says they drive a long way for a good job opportunity. . .

I honestly think that you get used to it...My commute used to be about 1.5 hours each way. Both DH and I work downtown, but wanted to live in a sleepy seaside town far from the city. We loved it and while the commute really wore on us (by the time we got into work we felt exhausted), it was worth it for us. We''ve since moved closer to the city to *see* if we''d like it better. Yes, the commute is better but when we buy a house, we''ll be moving right back to the sleepy seaside town and doing the commute again. We''re just working on how to make it easier next time around (will probably take a commuter rail so we can work on the way).

I honestly think you can get used to anything and because it''s only for a few months, I think you could easily handle it (you might get burned out after doing it for a year or more). Good luck with the decision!

 

[coda72]

My commute is about 15 miles. Depending on the time of day, it takes me 25 minutes to an hour to drive it.

 

[laurel25]

Mr.L and I drive 30 miles each way to work and it generally takes us about 35-40 minutes. When I lived around Detroit I had an 8 mile commute which took 40-45 minutes - yechhhh!