Your commute... How bad does it suck?

[Ryan]

It takes me about 45 minutes to get to work in the morning, but I kind of like the time because it allows me to prepare myself for whatever I have to that day.

So you are the type that shaves in the car? I suppose you change your pants and eat in there too.

Bastard.

[Matt_Fury]

No...I do all that at home.  In the Jeep it's either drinking my coffee (to work) or soda (from work) and maybe changing the sogns on my iPod. 

[Ryan]

You're still a bastard.

[JesseVader08]

I've got a 20 minute drive to work, but the traffic is usually fairly light so it's a pretty easy drive.

[ruiner]

I have an hour drive..one way.

No traffic at all, but it's still a waste of time, gas and money.

I think it's time I found a new job even though I like my current one.

[Morgbug]

My commute is kind of long, but it's not too bad.  I live in Ft Collins, Colorado but the base to where I'm assigned is up in Cheyenne, Wyoming.  It takes me about 45 minutes to get to work in the morning, but I kind of like the time because it allows me to prepare myself for whatever I have to that day.  It's also nice going in home because I get all the cussing and screaming from my frustrating assignment out of my system before I get home.

Seems like we have the same sort of drive Matt.  Mine's about the same length as that now, down from an hour after we moved.  But on mornings like this it really sucks.  It's been snowing all weekend and the roads are just **** right now.  Heavy wet snow on the sides that pull you right in if you drift over and the main part of it is covered in snow/ice meaning maybe 45 mph tops, stretching that 45 minutes into more like 70.  Of course the morons driving in the blowing snow with no headlights don't help either

[Madcow]

I just moved so the 1 hr commute has been downgraded to 30 mins. I'm still training in this office til mine opens up and that new office will be 5 minutes from my house. And even better, it's right in front of a Target. 

[name]

I've never had any commute worth mentioning.

When I taught high school, I lived less than two miles from my school.  I've had two jobs where I lived on the campus where I worked, so my office was either attached to my apartment or just a building over.  The furthest I've lived from work was 5 miles.  Now I live 3 miles away.

[Rob]

I have an hour drive..one way.

No traffic at all, but it's still a waste of time, gas and money.

I think it's time I found a new job even though I like my current one.

How rooted are you in your community?

I'd personally probably rather move if I liked my job - but of course there are all kinds of circumstances that factor into something like that...

[Morgbug]

I have an hour drive..one way.

No traffic at all, but it's still a waste of time, gas and money.

I think it's time I found a new job even though I like my current one.

How rooted are you in your community?

I'd personally probably rather move if I liked my job - but of course there are all kinds of circumstances that factor into something like that...

Heh, I'm not rooted to my community that much, but a move is unlikely.  My employer moved me to that drive.  I used to work on the same campus as my wife until we were decentralized and moved away from the city.  Thankfully it's not too far, but it is that waste of time, gas, money, natural resources, etc.  And thanks to politics, I can't transfer back into the city.  So we either move out here, stay where we are or go in between.  We looked at it and moved across the city to reduce the drive for me (there were other benefits to the move as well) but there wasn't much point in moving out to the country or halfway.  No sense in both of us commuting long distances (we live about 7 minutes drive from my wife's work) and risking being on ****** highways in the winter.  So I drive, my government thinks nothing of it and crows about how pro-Kyoto they are  

[ruiner]

I have an hour drive..one way.

No traffic at all, but it's still a waste of time, gas and money.

I think it's time I found a new job even though I like my current one.

How rooted are you in your community?

I'd personally probably rather move if I liked my job - but of course there are all kinds of circumstances that factor into something like that...

Not very. 

My wife likes her job too (and is paid very well for her industry).  She only has a 10 minute drive, but she has to drop the kids off at day care on the way to work.

Yeah, we could move somewhere in the middle, but that really doesn't save anything in regards to money -- we're just splitting the difference vs. one person taking one for the family!

That and I really don't want her on the roads with the kids in the Midwest weather.

I almost lost my mother in a car wreck (the day after my first was born) so I'm kind of weird about my family driving...

[stormie]

My commute situation has changed a bit, too. Though I'm still at the same company, our office has moved to a different building in the same city. As a result, taking the train isn't viable anymore. The new office is much farther from the train station, so I'd either have to bike or take a shuttle from the train station to work. The streets are totally not bike friendly and the shuttles are only on the hour, so those solutions don't work. So, I now drive to work. Luckily, the drive to work at 4:30-5 am is pretty smooth, so it only takes about 30 minutes. The drive home in the afternoon takes about 45 minutes.

I'd love to live closer to work or work closer to home, but moving to where I work would take a much larger paycheck than I get. And moving to a different job would entail a company actually looking for and willing to hire someone with my "skills." Or, in a best-case scenario, forcing me to work 80-hour weeks.

However, I'm trying really hard to get a research/analysis position within my current company, which will definitely help monetarily, so everyone, please keep your fingers crossed. This'll make the commute all the easier to stomache.

[jedipurge]

Except when I'm at home actually sleeping I swear I spend more time sitting in my car then I do at home.  Home to work 1 hour to an hour 15 minutes, then work to home about 45 minutes to an hour.  Then I stay home for a half hour maybe 45 minutes then I'm off to the second job which usually takes anywhere from 1/2 hour to an hour.  Which sucks because you have to give yourself time because you never know on the traffic so I can either get there right on time or could sit in the car or break room for half an hour depending on how bad or good the traffic is, then from work back to home about 1/2 an hour.  So all in total I spend anywhere from 3 1/2 hours to 2 hours 45 minutes in traffic a day.
  blah!!! got win the Lotto   

P.S.  Good luck on the job Stormie.

[JediJman]

Oh my commute is horrendous.  It must take me 8, maybe 9 minutes to get to work and back.  And that's on a clear day!  Imagine when it snows - its like 10-12 freaking minutes in the car!   

[Morgbug]

My commute would be better if my ******* car would cooperate

I got in an accident back in January.  Finally get to the day before it goes to get repairs and the power steering goes out.  ****.  It takes them two ******* weeks of dawdling to get the damn thing back to me.  ****.  I get it, looks great, steers great but an engine light warning is on.  Roll over to the oil change shop (it was due the day of the accident) have them look around, nada.  Take it back to the repair shop, the ECU reads manifold.  ****.

Driving next day, it's feeling like it's going to stall out.  ****.  Into the shop, they check it, can't find what's wrong but recommend full service with new plugs, cap, etc.  Fine, whatever.

Drive to work today, get there fine aside from the ******* snow trying to pull me off the road.  Go to go home, car won't start.  ****.  Lots of juice in the battery (though I confess I'm due for a new one), even hooked it up to boost it, no start.  ****.  Starter or Alternator.  ****.  I'm guessing the latter because of the stalling out.  ****.  Into the shop tomorrow.  ****.

Deductible and repairs for power steering: $500 (ok, a shade under)
Full service and check up for problem: $500 (makes up here cuz a shade over)
Tomorrow, alternator (probably) and might as well get the ******* battery: $500

****.  ****.  And **** me.   

Oh, and it's still ******* snowing.