I work for a start-up as a developer and travel 32 miles to work each day - with traffic this takes me 50-60 minutes a day.
Everyone I work with thinks this is weird.
What about the rest of you?
Why don't you work remotely at least a few days a week? The average cost/mile of operating a car is something like $0.50, so you're spending ~$30/day driving.
If you pay a tax rate of 30%, your salary is decreased by ~$9,700, just because you commute that far every day.
Then you have to factor in losing 2 hours of your life every day sitting in a car, the health risks of commuting[1], and your impact on the environment. You could also sleep an extra 2 hours in the morning!
If you have an open office plan, you probably also take a hit to productivity because you're not alone[2].
I'm able to work remotely now, but in the past my commutes were about 30 minutes each way. I think 30 minutes is reasonable, and I never minded it.
At one time I had a job where I was commuting 1.5 hours each way, but that didn't last long. That drive really wore me down and had me completely burned out after a few months.
That sounds awful. I would not be able to sustain that for very long without becoming exhausted and depressed. 30 minutes is about as long a commute as I can stand.
47 miles one way. I time my commute to miss the bulk of traffic and on average it takes me 60 minutes. I also WFH 1-2 times per week and have a carpool partner.
I'm in Silicon Valley and my commute is on the upper range of normal.
Yeah I alternate. There’s about six within a 10-minute walking distance of my house, so if I feel I’m not really getting any work done I’ll just move onto the next or come home for a quick nap.
Working at these places is not for everyone, specifically if you really prefer a quiet environment and without music, even your own. I used to always wear noise-cancellation headphones while working here but now I just use normal-type earbuds and can tune out the background noise without much trouble. The seating is not ergonomic; even if you do the standing desk thing and work at a bar-height table, your neck is still going to be at a position that works against you. So to offset the bad posture you’re going to develop at these places, it’s important to fix that in your off-time (strength training, yoga, massage therapy, etc.). Also keep security in mind: tether when you can, use a VPN if you have to use someone else’s wifi, figure out what you’re going to do before stepping into a coffeshop to work so you can seat yourself accordingly (if you’re dealing with sensitive documents you might get a bit anxious if you work with them with the entire cafe being able to view your screen).
I’ve done coworking before but I haven’t found the spaces in my city to be more than “just a place to work” for me. If I’m going to be going to one I want to have a support network as well, but the coworking spaces here cater to businesses and people I can’t really relate to. You also lose random events like running into a client who just needs a break or a student asking questions about the stickers on your laptop.
12 minutes by bike, 40 min by bus at rush hour (yeah that's a case of terribly inefficient public transportation, an tge reason why 99% of the time i cycle).
I work remote. It sounds like you could swing working remotely a few days a week. Honestly I get a lot more done remote than when I'd go to the office. Less distractions, more productivity, less stress from that drive.
Would that be something you want to do? If you have a good reputation at your company I'm sure they'd be open to the discussion.
2.5 hours, round trip, car+train+walking (1/2 mile one way walking.) Most of the train ride is productive, but I hate walking when there's snow and ice. The summer is awesome though.
I try for remote if I can get it, but can live without it.
47 miles, which will take me about 75 minutes. One way, including a bike ride to the train station, the train ride, and the metro ride to my work. I get about 50 minutes working time during the train ride, and it's the most productive time of my entire day.
I do work 4 days a week, 1 of those telecommuting. So I only commute to the office 3 times a week, which is totally OK. I also religiously leave office at 4.30PM so that I can have dinner with my family. Any remaining work I can do in the evening, but those occasions are pretty rare.
But if you are in bay area, 32 miles can take upto an hour or more depending upon which direction you are flowing... like living in east bay and commuting to peninsula is easy hour one way.
50-60 minute commutes are very common among my coworkers. My boss commutes over an hour each way.
Long commutes make me miserable, so I decided to live closer to work than most of my colleagues. It's a manageable 10 minutes by car. It would be ~30 minutes by bike, but this part of NJ is unbikeable.
48 comments
[ 2.5 ms ] story [ 52.9 ms ] threadWhy don't you work remotely at least a few days a week? The average cost/mile of operating a car is something like $0.50, so you're spending ~$30/day driving.
If you pay a tax rate of 30%, your salary is decreased by ~$9,700, just because you commute that far every day.
Then you have to factor in losing 2 hours of your life every day sitting in a car, the health risks of commuting[1], and your impact on the environment. You could also sleep an extra 2 hours in the morning!
If you have an open office plan, you probably also take a hit to productivity because you're not alone[2].
1. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3261090/
2. http://www.fastcompany.com/3019758/dialed/offices-for-all-wh...
At one time I had a job where I was commuting 1.5 hours each way, but that didn't last long. That drive really wore me down and had me completely burned out after a few months.
I'd virtually never opt for the car (just in bad weather, I guess).
I'm in Silicon Valley and my commute is on the upper range of normal.
Working at these places is not for everyone, specifically if you really prefer a quiet environment and without music, even your own. I used to always wear noise-cancellation headphones while working here but now I just use normal-type earbuds and can tune out the background noise without much trouble. The seating is not ergonomic; even if you do the standing desk thing and work at a bar-height table, your neck is still going to be at a position that works against you. So to offset the bad posture you’re going to develop at these places, it’s important to fix that in your off-time (strength training, yoga, massage therapy, etc.). Also keep security in mind: tether when you can, use a VPN if you have to use someone else’s wifi, figure out what you’re going to do before stepping into a coffeshop to work so you can seat yourself accordingly (if you’re dealing with sensitive documents you might get a bit anxious if you work with them with the entire cafe being able to view your screen).
I’ve done coworking before but I haven’t found the spaces in my city to be more than “just a place to work” for me. If I’m going to be going to one I want to have a support network as well, but the coworking spaces here cater to businesses and people I can’t really relate to. You also lose random events like running into a client who just needs a break or a student asking questions about the stickers on your laptop.
Hope that helps.
(Fucking bridges and people don't work well together with ice, I guess)
Would that be something you want to do? If you have a good reputation at your company I'm sure they'd be open to the discussion.
I try for remote if I can get it, but can live without it.
I do work 4 days a week, 1 of those telecommuting. So I only commute to the office 3 times a week, which is totally OK. I also religiously leave office at 4.30PM so that I can have dinner with my family. Any remaining work I can do in the evening, but those occasions are pretty rare.
I once used to commute about 40 miles one way, used to take 70-90 minutes one way. It was very tiring and used to take all my energy end of the day...
I have since kept, 5 miles or 15 minute principle for my commute.
With my free time I can work on projects like, http://joday.com
BTW, The average travel time to work in the United States is 25.4 minutes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. http://project.wnyc.org/commute-times-us/embed.html
But if you are in bay area, 32 miles can take upto an hour or more depending upon which direction you are flowing... like living in east bay and commuting to peninsula is easy hour one way.
Nash, http://joday.com
Luckily It is just one buss stop then the same subway line all the way, so at least it is reasonably hassle free commuting.
I would prefer a shorter commute but it is not too bad.
If it is snow and ice time then that could be double. Yesterday it was -9F when I left for work but the roads were dry so it was all good.
I can and do work remote at least 1 day a week or more. I love the flexibility I have, but the job is boring as all get out.
Long commutes make me miserable, so I decided to live closer to work than most of my colleagues. It's a manageable 10 minutes by car. It would be ~30 minutes by bike, but this part of NJ is unbikeable.
If I work remotely, 0 minutes.
If I drive 20 - 60 mins
Also have the option to work from home, which I do 2-3 days a week.
20 minutes on foot
5 minutes by bike
5 minutes by car
I'd say I walk about 90% of the time. I don't think your commute is unusual for the US, which is where I am, but I'd definitely be unhappy with it.