Your Long Commute May Cost You More Than Time and Money

I can see the arguments for particle pollution and increased risk, but I can’t understand why you would consider a long commute to be a waste of time.

If I had a 30 mile commute, I would use that time to listen to podcasts, audiobooks, or learn a foreign language with a pimsleur language cd set.

That’s not to say I would trade my 6 mile no-traffic commute for a 30 mile one just for that reason, but I certainly wouldn’t waste that time just driving.

It certainly isn’t a complete waste, you’re right. I’ve been trying to learn German, and I tried the audio CDs for a while, but it wasn’t sticking, so I ended up trying the Rosetta Stone on computer and find that 100 times easier. Could be just my learning style.

But entertainment and some occasional education in the car twice a day can only go so far. I’d much rather spend those 90-100 minutes every day doing something a bit more productive.

I am a contractor. I work in my basement office from 8-5 and sometimes 9-12 PM. The long hours take their toll so I try not to work five days a week like that, but having no commute helps a lot with my health because that gives me upwards of 30 or more minutes a day with my family. They come first and I can tell that my girls know they’re loved. And that’s good for my heart.

How to make a long commute more productive (aside from listening to education podcasts, etc.)? Put your butt on a bike seat instead of in a car seat every morning. Depending on your situation, this might even allow you to sell your car, or at least one of them. In a congested, downtown area biking is actually faster than driving (ask those bike couriers about this). Some metropolitan areas have good bike trails.

However, I do struggle with myself regarding the air pollution. Is the cardiovascular health benefit of biking (vis driving) worth the direct exposure to automobile exhaust, not to mention the risk of a bad driver hitting a careless biker?

I’m going to share this post and those ideas about listening to audiobooks or language CDs with my best friend (though I doubt he’d take the book/language advice, because he’s a bum). He drives 1.5 hours to work (and 1.5 hours back), usually more like 2 because of traffic. 70 friggin miles to work.

He’s ridiculous. He does it because it’s the first job he got out of college and he became complacent. But spends so much on gas it boggles my mind.

I wish I could ride a bike to work! But 30 miles down a rural 2-lane road 55mph takes long enough, but the exercise sure would be nice.

And 70 miles might seem insane, but around here the hour or longer commute is more of the norm. My parents both drive about 60 miles each way and I know quite a few people that drive the 1.5-2 hours into Chicago around here.

I worry about this a lot on my blog, so I really enjoyed (if that’s the right word for commuting posts…) this take on it. I drive AND take public transportation each day, so I have the worst of both worlds. Public transportation wears you down, but I imagine a 70 mile car commute would drive me out of my mind very, very quickly. It’s a problem that’s going to continue to grow as people are willing to settle for longer commutes to get bigger houses. I did it to myself – I used to live in Manhattan about 5 minutes’ walk to my work, but after starting a family I ‘needed’ a bigger place…

If it takes more than 15 minutes to get to work, I am not purchasing that house or taking that job.

1.5 hours each way in a commute? What a disastrous use of time!!!

Yeah, I’m not a fan of wasting time on commuting. My commute used be 45 minutes and I hated how long it took me to get home (mostly because it was actually only about 4 miles on slow public transportation system). Can’t say how much happier I am with a 20 minute commute…

commuting = stress. I hate getting to work stressed out in the morning and coming home stressed out in the afternoon. Oh, how I wish I could work from home!

I hate commuting. I’ve been working from home for the last few years. It looks like we may be moving to the DC area in the spring and if so I will most likely need to get a job outside of the home because of the high cost of living there. I am not looking forward to a commute.

I have a longish commute time at just under an hour but I do it walking – unless its raining its brilliant. By the time I’ve got home I’m completely switched off from work.

Jeremy,
I light of the bridge collapse in MPLS/ST. Paul – which is the metro area I line in, it seems commuting cost a few people their lives.

Since we don’t have a spare bridge sitting around anywhere some commutes that were 30 minutes will now increase to 90 minutes. Luckily for me, I don’t need that bridge.

I offer one a week of tele commuting to our programming staff and I may expand it to two days in 2008. We’ll see.

I’ve had 3 day a week tele-commuters and the lose touch with the organization. All this commuting seems silly, but tele-commuting has its cost too, social costs. I commute about 30 min each way and I never want any more than that.

Oh, actually I just remembered something –

When I was in high school, my girlfriend at the time’s parent were both professionals. One worked out of the home, the other commuted to new jersey 2.5 hours each way(!). Well, a couple years after I broke up with her, I sadly heard he died in a car accident. Basically he rear-ended a semi-trailer on the way to work. It was such a shame. But that convinced me that the more you drive, the greater your chance of having an accident is.

The really sad thing though is that for the area we lived in, they were extremely wealthy (I think they were both psychiatrists or something). They could have probably still been well off if only one worked.

I commute 5 miles to work and my husband the same. We bought our house first, right out of college and then found jobs. I know most of the time it does not work out this way I guess we got lucky. Now living so close to where I work, I dont think I could ever switch to commuting a long distance, its not worth the anxiety for me. I know a big yard is nice for some, but living in a small townhome can be cosy and a nice way to have family togetherness, then again I dont have kids yet!

@Steve–my sympathies on the losses to your area with the bridge collapse. A horrible tragedy.

My husband commutes 35 miles each way into New Orleans each day, and the commute now is hellish on a good day. Since we’re surrounded by water, there are bridges everywhere here, too. The main bridge he drives each day is the one that collapsed into Lake Pontchartrain two years ago with the hurricane. For the first year, he telecommuted, and it worked quite well (except for the wear on MY nerves from having him underfoot all the time), but because of our drastically shifting population, combined with really stressed out drivers and a bridge span that’s closed almost every week for re-inspections (we really worry about its integrity, but the new one won’t be complete for a couple more years), his stress level is through the roof. The lake bridge is held together with prayer and baling wire, it seems. I wish there was a way for him to not have to deal with the drive. He’s always loved his job, but he’s thinking of transferring, almost solely because of the commute. We grew up here, and our elderly parents are here; moving is sooooo not an option, as we’re also very involved in the rebuilding of our community. Catch-22.

I can’t believe the reference to a nice neighborhood and good school district is made to sound like a poor choice. I grew up in a bad neighborhood, and I would not do that to my kids. I don’t want someone breaking my 10 year old’s nose. So to say “just” to have a good school district/nice neighborhood for my kids tells me a) you have no kids, or b) you have messed up priorities. You would rather your kid get a subpar education and risk being victimized so you can have a shorter commute?

Wayne, you don’t have to move 1+ hours away to find a decent neighborhood and quality school district. Even in the worst of cities there are plenty of upscale suburbs within a 15 or 20 minute drive at the most.

So no, you don’t want to subject your child to a bad environment, but you also don’t need to move halfway across the state to find that place either.

You have to have priorities the other way as well. If you move somewhere that is 1+ hours away from work just to find that ideal school, what good is it if you’re never home because you’re on the road and can’t get home in time? How many missed t-ball games or school plays will that be? What happens if both spouses need to drive that far? That is less quality time with your child which could completely negate any positive influence a better school might have.

Jeremy,
I can appreciate what you’re saying, but in TX an hour drive is nowhere near half the state. It can take 45 minutes to drive from north Dallas to south Dallas. And yes, you can find plenty of upscale suburbs within a 15 or 20 minute drive at the most, however they are cost prohibitive. Every person in my dept (except the supervisor) drives a minimum of 30 min to get to work (I actually ‘only’ drive 40 minutes) because they can’t afford the cost of living near work.

As far as missing out on my kids’ lives, I don’t. My priorities are exactly as you described they should be. Since I can’t sacrifice drive time to be with them, and I won’t sacrifice dad time with them, I sacrifice me time. Doesn’t do much for my sanity, but my kids are well adjusted (so far).

I understand what you’re saying, Wayne. I forget how different it can be in other parts of the country. I was going on my experience up in the midwest where these extremely long commutes are more common.

It all comes down to striking a balance that fits your goals and priorities.

This is one of those easier said than done things. I use mass transit but truth be told, I can see people buying a house close to work, then losing the job and having to take a new one that requires them to commute. I think though, many work places are not in easy locations to commutte, and the people with ideal work / live commuttes are few and far between. It is sadly not the norm.

I put more of the blame on the urban planners that thought it was a good idea to have tons of houses in suburbia and the nearest grocery store is in a strip mall four miles away.

When I take the train I find that I enjoy my commute more. I enjoy the walk to and from the train stations. It takes longer (extra hour per day), but I save gas and wear and tear.

I live in SoCal and my husband and I decided early on that we would sacrifice square footage and a yard to minimize our commute. We live less than 20 miles from work but it takes over an hour to get to the office during morning rush hour, longer to get home in the afternoon. To compensate, we work flex hours that allow us to start and end our work day earlier than the norm. I’ve long since stopped trying to understand my friends’ and colleagues’ decisions to drive 40 miles or more one way for work each day.

Yeah it’s all about tradeoffs. I’m willing to tradeoff square footage for location. Others are set on having more space. I take about one 6 cubit feet of space, I don’t see why I need a 2000 square foot home…

Yes, my commute is killing me. Well, not so much, as I don’t really mind the drive. I have a 30 minute drive to work and then a 30 minute drive home from work. In the morning, the 30 minutes gives me time ti listen to Bob and Tom on the radio and then the drive home gives me a little (much needed) time to unwind.

I think you and I have the same feelings about the idiots on the road. I never ceases to amaze me the way people drive. It’s like they have a death. If people used just a small portion of common sense while on the road, things would be much better. The people that really get me are the ones that see that the lane closes in 1/2 mile yet they still drive in that lane up until the very last second and then dart over in front of someone. I guess they don’t realize that it just slows everything down that much more by doing that.

Sorry to go off on a tangent there I have a little animosity toward the idiots on the road especially when I drive a lot each day and my life is in their hands.

Oh man, you have NO idea how frustrated I get with people who fail to merge properly. These are people who drive the same roads every day like I do and know that the lane ends for about a mile before they get up there, yet they continue to try to zoom past a half dozen cars just to squeeze in.

What does that get them? About 100 feet closer to their destination which might save 10 seconds, yet cause traffic to slam on their brakes for another half mile back, not to mention endanger those they are cutting off.

Oh, and I’m also a bob and tom listener. Sometimes that is the only thing that gets me through the morning drive. The ride home on the other hand, that is a whole different story

It is absolutely okay for me since I live 1.2 miles from work. It does make me feel like I live at work though!

Yeah, for me, it’s Bob and Tom in the morning and Sirius Radio on the way home. The comedy stations on Sirius Radio crack me up.

I’m giving up a 5 minute commute to start a one hour commute because I live 60+ miles from an urban center and the only technical job here has dried up and there’s nothing left for me to do. Before you say “MOVE,” I’ve already done the math and even after having to spend $4,000 more per year on gas, I’m still saving $1,800 per year on property taxes and other “taxes” that I just don’t have out here.
45% of the working age people here commute this every day…it looks like the town is evacuating every morning M-F.

I here you on this one. I moved from London because of the commute. 4 hours a day in the car, congestion charge and parking, nightmare for anyone….

I have a 90-minute commute each way to work every day. I do it by necessity because I need to eat. The comments about using your commute time wisely by getting audio books or something to that effect are nice in theory, but it’s difficult to be in the throes of a story when you’re in stop and go traffic — and quite frankly, I don’t want to be on the road next to someone who’s too into a John Grisham plot twist to pay attention to the road.

I used to have a 1hr commute each way, and couldn’t take that anymore. It’s an individual choice, and my choice was to live in a smaller place, but closer to work.

I must say that I love being on the road, it gives me time to make my phone calls. When I’m at the office I dont make the calls, I interact with the office, but being on the road gives me the time to touch base with clients.

On weekends I enjoy getting in the car and just driving it helps clear my head, new scenery, big open spaces.

Author James Kunstler has written extensively on this very topic, and his theories, while controversial, are really fascinating. He predicts that the suburbs will be the slums of the future as gasoline becomes less and less affordable. In some new suburban developments heavily affected by the housing bust and foreclosure, three garage mini-mansions are already being taken over by squatter manufacturing meth.

Last week I had to spend about 5 hours in traffic jams. It`s really frustrating.
For me sometimes even more than losing a few bucks in stock market.

You know what else I’ve always been interested in finding out? The actual dollar value of all the gas wasted by people stomping on their brakes in traffic jams.

It can be worth it to commute. It can also be completely against financial security.

My husband and I work 70 miles apart. I have a 60 mile commute, he has less than 10. Due to the direction I drive, I have almost no traffic – and it’s all interstate. I have no desire to move closer to my job. For one thing, my stepson lives with his mom – 30 milesin the OTHER direction. For another, I make more than twice as much as if I had a job closer to home – and my husband’s chances of getting a move-worthy job are almost non-existant.

I’ve met so many people who say “you’re wasting time”; “You’re wasting money”; “Don’t you care about anything but money” when they hear that I drive an hour to work and another hour home. But every situation is so different. I tend to get very defensive when anyone judges people because of their commute, because it really can make sense for some people. And – luckily for me – I love NPR.

Everyone judges others on their commute, because most people aren’t in your situation. The majority commute just so they can have a bigger house. The funny thing is these are the people taking the biggest losses in this real estate market and the biggest losses to quality of life.

People said I was nuts to take my current job, since the pay’s far from extravagant. However, the commute’s about three minutes. I’m feeling smarter every day… Thanks for bringing this article back to the top. For many people, it really is time to run the numbers and see how many hours of their day are spend earning the money needed to drive to work and back.

I was having a conversation with a coworker about what it would take for either one of us to take a job out in the burbs of Chicago. There was a lot of hemming and hawing and another coworker jumped in with “$100,000.”

And with that the conversation was over. There was no debate.

I used to commute and I can tell you that the best thing is to do something productive.
When you are a driver, the best idea for me are audiobooks.

If you aren`t you should take a nap or read a book.

Don`t waste your time.

I can relate to the stress in driving. But that is nothing compared to the stress in trying to make a living in addition to that. My commute is nearly 2 hours while some of the other electricians and helpers that work for our company are about the same give or take 20 minutes. Most of us are going to walk off the job so soon as the one we’re currently working on is completed. (the next one is even farther away) We don’t get any vehicle allowances or compensation nor can we write off these commutes on taxes. After two years of wage freezes, and a 10% company wide wage cut, and another wage freeze that went into effect this year, this crap is no longer sustainable. Some guys are making less than $11.00/hr and are mad as hell. The company is banking on them to quit so they can skate around unemployment. To make matters worse, there are no jobs to be had closer to home. So it appears that if they are denied unemployment, they will sue for it or some of management’s heads will roll because they should have laid them off a long time ago. Think about it, when some of the guys there are not able to afford bringing a lunch to work because they spend their lunch money at gas station, you can only imagine the anger escalating at our jobsite. The same goes for the plumbers and HVAC guys who work there. It’s getting to the point where I’m about ready to ask for a layoff or pack heat because I’m concerned somebody is going to snap and go postal.