Comments on: How to decide if your commute is too long http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/12/20/how-to-decide-if-your-commute-is-too-long/ Advice at the intersection of work and life Fri, 29 Aug 2008 22:47:13 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 By: Will G. http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/12/20/how-to-decide-if-your-commute-is-too-long/#comment-148106 Will G. Wed, 28 May 2008 15:46:19 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/12/20/how-to-decide-if-your-commute-is-too-long/#comment-148106 My wife and I (recently married) live in NJ and work 30 miles from home in opposite directions. For her, she goes against traffic which take a nice 20-25 minutes doing 60 mph down a highway. Meanwhile I face a mean 1-1 1/2 hour drive on Rt 287 doing about 8.7 mph (lol). Plus I cut through Rutgers University which during the school year adds on about 30-45 min. My road options are pretty limited being the way the roads were built and other transportation is not an option (train, bus, etc). Getting to work on time is dicey because it is hit or miss how many accidents or how much contruction I will see each day (notice I didn't say "IF"). Last week a truck accident caused me to spend 3 hours and 40 min crawling to work. Oh and for the wonderful gas prices which keep increasing, I fill my tank every three days at approximately $60 a shot. That's about an annual $3000-$4000 excluding weekends. Tack on the several accidents I have been in (rear-ended, side swiped, etc) the car bills chip away too. Anyways, thanks for letting me vent and your article made me realize that this is not nor is it healthy. A loose rule of thumb should be: if you commute by car, try to work in your own area code and/or county. My wife and I (recently married) live in NJ and work 30 miles from home in opposite directions. For her, she goes against traffic which take a nice 20-25 minutes doing 60 mph down a highway. Meanwhile I face a mean 1-1 1/2 hour drive on Rt 287 doing about 8.7 mph (lol). Plus I cut through Rutgers University which during the school year adds on about 30-45 min. My road options are pretty limited being the way the roads were built and other transportation is not an option (train, bus, etc). Getting to work on time is dicey because it is hit or miss how many accidents or how much contruction I will see each day (notice I didn't say "IF"). Last week a truck accident caused me to spend 3 hours and 40 min crawling to work.

Oh and for the wonderful gas prices which keep increasing, I fill my tank every three days at approximately $60 a shot. That's about an annual $3000-$4000 excluding weekends. Tack on the several accidents I have been in (rear-ended, side swiped, etc) the car bills chip away too.

Anyways, thanks for letting me vent and your article made me realize that this is not nor is it healthy. A loose rule of thumb should be: if you commute by car, try to work in your own area code and/or county.

]]> By: orlando http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/12/20/how-to-decide-if-your-commute-is-too-long/#comment-135173 orlando Mon, 04 Feb 2008 20:16:53 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/12/20/how-to-decide-if-your-commute-is-too-long/#comment-135173 I live 300 miles from where I work at this time. I stay with family to cut the daily commute down to 60 minutes each way. I ride a shuttle bus that costs $90 for a one month pass. On Fridays I drive myself to work so that I can head straight home after work. With gasoline prices rising and the cost of car maintenance and the bus fare it is getting pretty expensive. I have been doing this for 3 1/2 years and I was hoping to finish 5 years to get vested. There is an office where I live and I work there when I have had car trouble. My boss has tried to get me moved but upper management says no. I live 300 miles from where I work at this time. I stay with family to cut the daily commute down to 60 minutes each way. I ride a shuttle bus that costs $90 for a one month pass. On Fridays I drive myself to work so that I can head straight home after work. With gasoline prices rising and the cost of car maintenance and the bus fare it is getting pretty expensive. I have been doing this for 3 1/2 years and I was hoping to finish 5 years to get vested. There is an office where I live and I work there when I have had car trouble. My boss has tried to get me moved but upper management says no.

]]> By: Second outing: On commutes, public transport and jobs « La Vie Quotidienne http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/12/20/how-to-decide-if-your-commute-is-too-long/#comment-135124 Second outing: On commutes, public transport and jobs « La Vie Quotidienne Mon, 04 Feb 2008 06:02:11 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/12/20/how-to-decide-if-your-commute-is-too-long/#comment-135124 [...] post started forming in my head when my reply to Penelope’s post yesterday on how to decide if your commute is too long failed to show up on her blog. She raises some good points about weighing up commuting decisions [...] [...] post started forming in my head when my reply to Penelope's post yesterday on how to decide if your commute is too long failed to show up on her blog. She raises some good points about weighing up commuting decisions [...]

]]> By: Mapgirl’s Fiscal Challenge / Opining on Shorter Commutes http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/12/20/how-to-decide-if-your-commute-is-too-long/#comment-133859 Mapgirl’s Fiscal Challenge / Opining on Shorter Commutes Wed, 09 Jan 2008 17:17:50 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/12/20/how-to-decide-if-your-commute-is-too-long/#comment-133859 [...] Money Finance coincidentally posted an article on shorter commutes by Penelope Trunk, on the same day I said that a shorter commute is one reason why I switched jobs. [...] [...] Money Finance coincidentally posted an article on shorter commutes by Penelope Trunk, on the same day I said that a shorter commute is one reason why I switched jobs. [...]

]]> By: Fred http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/12/20/how-to-decide-if-your-commute-is-too-long/#comment-130000 Fred Mon, 24 Dec 2007 20:02:45 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/12/20/how-to-decide-if-your-commute-is-too-long/#comment-130000 I believe a person's commuting time should be a secondary factor; secondary to such things as whether WHAT they're doing and WHO they are working for. One of my favorite quotes of all time is: "What makes men happy is liking what they have to do" - Anonymous I believe a person's commuting time should be a secondary factor; secondary to such things as whether WHAT they're doing and WHO they are working for. One of my favorite quotes of all time is: "What makes men happy is liking what they have to do" - Anonymous

]]> By: JoyChaser.com » Is Your Commute Too Long: How That Long Drive May Be Hurting Your Life - A blog for those in pursuit of happiness http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/12/20/how-to-decide-if-your-commute-is-too-long/#comment-129947 JoyChaser.com » Is Your Commute Too Long: How That Long Drive May Be Hurting Your Life - A blog for those in pursuit of happiness Mon, 24 Dec 2007 17:38:03 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/12/20/how-to-decide-if-your-commute-is-too-long/#comment-129947 [...] Trunk recently posted about How To Decide If Your Commute Is Too Long; it’s a really great post that mentions some of the ways a long commute can have a negative [...] [...] Trunk recently posted about How To Decide If Your Commute Is Too Long; it's a really great post that mentions some of the ways a long commute can have a negative [...]

]]> By: kristi http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/12/20/how-to-decide-if-your-commute-is-too-long/#comment-129812 kristi Mon, 24 Dec 2007 11:00:17 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/12/20/how-to-decide-if-your-commute-is-too-long/#comment-129812 Penelope, I'm reading your blog tonight from my baby's hospital bed and what a chord you struck. I have a great job that used to be a 25 min commute but is now an hour each way. My family outgrew our rental and we were priced out of the city, so we moved where we could afford a house, saving over $150k, so not small potatoes. After 6 months, I approached my boss about working from home 2 days a week. I had proven myself doing this for the first year on the job, though not on a set schedule. I even leveraged the fact that there was a job opening just blocks from my house, but I would stay with my firm if I could work out a regular at-home schedule. Guess what? No dice. The VP says he's not "prepared to manage others wanting to do the same." So I applied for the new job. If it doesn't come thru, I will stay put because my family needs the benefits and I'm currently the sole provider as my hubby is just returning to work in real estate after a work injury. But I've been debating on what cost it will be to my family? As I said, my baby's hospitalized, following an out-of-the blue staph infection that went wild. This has put life in perspective like nothing else can. I've done the calculation...but mine is in time, not dollars: 13 work weeks a year are spent driving to/from work. I'd love to hear more about convincing your boss telecommuting is the way to go when the objection is not about productivity, but altering the institution of business as they know it. Waiting on Gen Ys masses to force the issue will take longer than I can wait. Penelope, I'm reading your blog tonight from my baby's hospital bed and what a chord you struck. I have a great job that used to be a 25 min commute but is now an hour each way. My family outgrew our rental and we were priced out of the city, so we moved where we could afford a house, saving over $150k, so not small potatoes. After 6 months, I approached my boss about working from home 2 days a week. I had proven myself doing this for the first year on the job, though not on a set schedule. I even leveraged the fact that there was a job opening just blocks from my house, but I would stay with my firm if I could work out a regular at-home schedule. Guess what? No dice. The VP says he's not "prepared to manage others wanting to do the same."
So I applied for the new job. If it doesn't come thru, I will stay put because my family needs the benefits and I'm currently the sole provider as my hubby is just returning to work in real estate after a work injury. But I've been debating on what cost it will be to my family?
As I said, my baby's hospitalized, following an out-of-the blue staph infection that went wild. This has put life in perspective like nothing else can.
I've done the calculation…but mine is in time, not dollars: 13 work weeks a year are spent driving to/from work.

I'd love to hear more about convincing your boss telecommuting is the way to go when the objection is not about productivity, but altering the institution of business as they know it. Waiting on Gen Ys masses to force the issue will take longer than I can wait.

]]> By: Nirav http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/12/20/how-to-decide-if-your-commute-is-too-long/#comment-129233 Nirav Sun, 23 Dec 2007 10:48:27 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/12/20/how-to-decide-if-your-commute-is-too-long/#comment-129233 Indian perspective ... Basically I am from a small city in India. I did my MBA from Mumbai (one of the most populated city on earth) and started working here. I travelled around 2 hrs each side and to top up it, extra commute to meet clients !! At Mumbai, we have public transport, just for the sake of name, trains are so crowded that u feel lucky if u can board one in the first place !! And travelling by road would cost u a bomb and a life time to reach ur destination. My life got hell, and was on verge of quarter life crisis. Now after working for 2 yrs, I decided that I have had enough and has recently got a job at my hometown and will soon relocate there. I hope now my life would be more "livable" even though I know this step of mine has hampered my career a little. Indian perspective …

Basically I am from a small city in India. I did my MBA from Mumbai (one of the most populated city on earth) and started working here. I travelled around 2 hrs each side and to top up it, extra commute to meet clients !! At Mumbai, we have public transport, just for the sake of name, trains are so crowded that u feel lucky if u can board one in the first place !! And travelling by road would cost u a bomb and a life time to reach ur destination.

My life got hell, and was on verge of quarter life crisis. Now after working for 2 yrs, I decided that I have had enough and has recently got a job at my hometown and will soon relocate there. I hope now my life would be more "livable" even though I know this step of mine has hampered my career a little.

]]> By: How to decide if your commute is too long « Lake County Motorist http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/12/20/how-to-decide-if-your-commute-is-too-long/#comment-128442 How to decide if your commute is too long « Lake County Motorist Sat, 22 Dec 2007 03:30:21 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/12/20/how-to-decide-if-your-commute-is-too-long/#comment-128442 [...] 21, 2007 In her December 20 blog post, Penelope Trunk recounts many disadvantages of a long [...] [...] 21, 2007 In her December 20 blog post, Penelope Trunk recounts many disadvantages of a long [...]

]]> By: Melanie http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/12/20/how-to-decide-if-your-commute-is-too-long/#comment-128295 Melanie Fri, 21 Dec 2007 21:53:54 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/12/20/how-to-decide-if-your-commute-is-too-long/#comment-128295 It would be great to have a shorter commute but the living expenses are a lot higher in the city. I got a nice starter home in the suburb instead and commute 45 minutes to work. Riding the vanpool keeps me sane and less stressed out - it's always on time (give or take 5 minutes), and I've developed relationships with them that makes the whole commuting thing more social. The downside to living in the suburb is that I'm at least 20 minutes from the freeway (and the mall) so I feel like I commute a lot on the weeknights and weekends too! It would be great to have a shorter commute but the living expenses are a lot higher in the city. I got a nice starter home in the suburb instead and commute 45 minutes to work. Riding the vanpool keeps me sane and less stressed out - it's always on time (give or take 5 minutes), and I've developed relationships with them that makes the whole commuting thing more social.

The downside to living in the suburb is that I'm at least 20 minutes from the freeway (and the mall) so I feel like I commute a lot on the weeknights and weekends too!

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