OT: How long is your (or your partner's) commute to work??

[aliceinwonderland]

For those who work outside the home, that is...

Drive/public transport etc???

If a loong commute, do you mind sharing reasons you do not live closer to work?? Real estate too expensive? better school/neighborhood where you live? etc.
thinking about some things....Thanks so much in advance.

[khalloc]

I live about 9 miles from my job. I would say it takes me 10-15 minutes to drive there. My DH is about 13 miles from his job and its about a 25 minute commute in traffic.

[amp]

Although it's less than 5 miles, he still probably takes about 5-10 min to get to work, just due to sitting at traffic lights.

[LD92599]

I drive 20 minutes door to door. Tack on 10 minutes on the days I do day care drop-off/pick up.

Laura
mom to William

LKibala at optonline dot net

[img]http://lilypie.com/baby3/030305/1/2/0/-5/.png

[KrisM]

Well, we're living in the same city we lived in when I worked, so I'll answer. DH and I worked together, so we drove together 3-4 days/week. We drove separately if I had errands to run after work, or if one of us had something else going on. It's a 12 mile, 20 minute drive. I wouldn't want to live more than about 30 minutes from where I work. It's too much time spent commuting.

[C99]

40-45 minutes via public transportation. To be honest, commute wasn't a huge issue in why we chose to live where we do.

[elliput]

My commute is about 25 minutes (14 miles). DH's is less than 10 min and 3 miles, but he does daycare DO/PU so that tacks on another 15 minutes and 2 miles.

A long commute is relative in my mind - I grew up in a town where it took 20 minutes max to get from end to end in rush hour. So 30 minutes seems like a lot to me, but I work/have worked with people who have a commute time of 1.5+ hours and think it is reasonable.

[bluej]

Right now DH's commute is 23 minutes. He considers this to be a short commute (his last one was 50 minutes on a typical day). When we move somewhere new we usually pick the kids' school first and then buy/rent in a neighborhood w/in that school district that we find fitting for us.

[murpheyblue]

I live 22 miles from the office. If I drive during rush hour it's easily an hour (or more) in each direction. Mercifully, I live right near a stop of the rapid transit line so I take the train to work unless there's a specific reason I have to drive. The train drops me 5 blocks from my office in the city. The train ride is 30 minutes plus a few minutes on either end getting to and from the train and waiting for the train. At least when I take the train, I can bring editting or other work and get some stuff done. Driving in traffic just agitates me.

[tiapam]

I used to drive 20 miles (one way) and if it was not rush hour, I could do it in 30 minutes. This was mostly on the expressway. During rush hour it could be 50 minutes and sometimes, if there was an accident somewhere (stupid gawkers), it could take 90 minutes. And I was doing what you would think is a reverse commute, because I lived in the city and was going to work in the suburbs. Even though there was a train staion near my job, the train wasn't an option for me, because the schedule was geared for people going to work in the city. If I was going to go back to work FT, I would not have returned to that job, mostly because of the commute.

DH takes a CTA train and with his half-mile walk it could take anywhere from 35-60 minutes. I am sure you became pretty familiar with the CTA so you probably understand why. We bought in our neighborhood specifically so we could live within walking distance of the Blue Line, since DH's work is near a stop. Other neighborhoods on the BL just weren't right for us, plus we are pretty close to my family here.

-Pam

Charlotte born October 2004

[daniele_ut]

I live 9 miles from my office in the center of downtown and it takes me 15-20 minutes to get to work depending on traffic. It takes me the same amount of time (and distance) to pick up DS from his sitter and then 10 minutes from her house to ours.

DH, on the other hand, drops DS off at the sitter in the AM and gets on the freeway and drives 45 minutes south to school 5 days a week. We chose to live where we do because it is closer to my job, closer to the cultural center of this area, and because DH teaches cello lessons to students from all over town and we are pretty centrally located here. We are renting a very affordable house right now and struggling to find one we can afford to buy in the same general area.

ETA: We have a great light rail system that I would use (since it only costs me $7 a month for a pass with my company discount), but since I have to pick Logan up from the sitter, I need my car to get there in time.

[aliceinwonderland]

Yes, I am very familiar with the CTA, but not the Metra, which a lot of people there seem to use too :)

[pb&j]

Once we move into our new house (any day now) my drive to work will increase to about 25 minutes from about 15-20 minutes. It seems like a loooong drive for around here, but I know in some more urban/suburban areas, commutes of an hour or more are routine. We're moving farther out to be able to have a bigger, newer house at a more reasonable price than in the city limits where where currently live. Also, taxes in the county are cheaper, and the school system is excellent. The commute isn't bad by any means, and we're closer to the mountains, which is a big plus for us (we're avid hikers). Also, the neighborhood is nice and kid-friendly, with sidewalks, a playground, and lots of other families.


-Ry,
mom to Emma, stillborn 11/04/04
and Max, edd 01/15/06 - it's a HEALTHY BOY!

http://lilypie.com/days/060115/3/25/1/-5/.png[/img] ([img)

[Karenn]

It takes my DH about 20 minutes by car to get to work. Before we moved it was 10-15. We feel very lucky.

[Karenn]

double post

[mharling]

30-40 minutes driving in the Chicago area. That's generally considered short.

Mary - Some days work. Some days don't.
Lane - April 2003
Faye - March 2005

[tiapam]

DH used to ride the Metra up to my work often, usually on Friday nights, so I could avoid the Friday night rush hour. We would have dinner out and then drive home when the rush was over. He prefers the CTA trains to the Metra because he said he finds the Metra trains depressing. I think it's because their windows are different (kind of yellowish, so they make everything seem kind of drab) and the tracks are more isolated from their surroundings, so there is not as much to see. Like people's kitchens and back porches :>.

-Pam

Charlotte born October 2004

[tiapam]

Anything over an hour would almost have me in tears. When I was 6 mos pg I wound up in traffic for 90 minutes, but even when I am not I hate it.

-Pam

Charlotte born October 2004

[aliceinwonderland]

n/t

[aliceinwonderland]

Heh. I can ride the train to school everyday, but most days DH just drives me there, because I find the train ride so very depressing. And the train windows have nothing to do with it...

[Alys the Cat]

My DH works from home, so his commute is ideal! My drive is 35-40 minutes each way -- half of that on an expressway. We bought our house just four months before I switched jobs (dot com implosion), so my commute was initially five minutes.

I'm not crazy about my drive, but in the South Florida real estate market, it's now too expensive to move. An equivalent home near work would be pricey, and we'd take a huge property tax hit.

[kath68]

In good traffic, I have a 10 minute commute, plus 5-10 minutes for the day care drop-off. But if I leave my house an hour earlier, in can be as much as a 45 minute commute.

DH currently works from home, but has in the past worked 1 1/2 - 2 hrs away. He is looking for a new job now, and we will definitely have to move so he no longer has the wretched commute.

[MelissaTC]

DH has a 12 mile door to door commute that can take anywhere from 15-45 minutes, depending on traffic and road construction. We chose to live in this town because of the quality of life, schools and commute distance.

[kristine_elen]

My husband's commute is almost two hours each way (yes, four hours per day). That includes driving to the train station, riding the train for 50 minutes, then a subway ride, then a four or five block walk to the office.

Housing prices are way too expensive near his work, and we don't like the suburban-sprawl wasteland that's inbetween the city where we live and the city where he works.

[morgan47]

Oh, you've hit a sore spot with me these days!! My office recently moved to a different location, and my already long commute has gotten longer. It now takes me about 90 minutes each way, plus 15 minutes more in the morning to drop off DS at daycare. My commute consists of 3 parts: drive to the train (BART) station, train for 45 minutes, then either take a shuttle or Muni for the last 15 (that's the new part). If I miss the train or my shuttle connection, it can take 15 minutes longer.

Why do I do this? Because right now I have no choice. I wouldn't be able to find a job like mine where I live, and I can't move closer to work. I work in San Francisco, and housing prices around here are insane. We have 2 big dogs who need a yard, so we can't do the condo/apartment thing. We wouldn't be able find a comparable house closer in that doesn't cost more, and even if we downgrade it would still cost more. Even if we bought a house for the same price as ours, our property taxes would double.

Right now I only work 80%, and I'm going to start working at home another day a week, so I'll only have to commute 3 days a week. My husband and I are considering moving to Arizona to get out of this situation and be closer to my family. But it's a tough decision to make because we both have good jobs with relatively good pay and I'm not sure how well we'd do jobwise in Arizona. So for now I'm staying put and just complain about my damn commute all the time.

[wencit]

I work 30 miles from home, and the commute takes me about 40-50 minutes. DH works 45 miles from home, and he routinely spends 60-90 minutes in the car, one way. However, we bought this house before DH accepted his current position, so we had no way of knowing his commute would be *that* bad.

We couldn't afford to buy a home in one of the better school districts close to the Silicon Valley. However, we also knew that we didn't want to be in an area where the schools were mediocre, so we purchased a home in a good district that was a little further away from the heart of Silicon Valley. We knew we'd be sacrificing commute time, but decided the trade-off was worth it for our kids to go to better schools.

[jbowman]

We live in a small city about 2 miles from where I work. DH commutes 45 minutes to an hour each way (he works in another city). We chose our home for its proximity to my job. It is convenient, as I can get home very quickly.

[kensjen]

DH drives about 35 miles each way to work. This takes him about 35-40 minutes on most days.
I guess it sounds far compared to many of the other responses, but for around here, it is pretty standard, even a bit short. When we bought our house, we were trying to stay within an hour commute and were happy to find something closer. We could never afford a house near where he works, or if we could, it would be incredibly small and need lots of work. We didn't want to do that, so by living out a bit further, we were able to get a decent sized house and a yard! We still spent a fortune, but feel like we got more for our money than we would have by his job.

It was very hard for us as we moved from a VERY inexpensive area to one of the more expensive parts of the country. The sticker shock still gets to me.

Where we lived before this, I walked to work (it was a block away!) and he worked 3 miles away. We were spoiled!

[g-mama]

Dh works about 15 miles from his office but it can take him anywhere from 35 minutes to 1 hour. It stinks! We don't live that far away, it's the traffic and congestion in the Northern VA area that makes it so rough, and anything closer to his office is prohibitively expensive ($1.3 million + for a normal single family home).



Kristen
Paolo 11-00
Benjamin 8-03
and a *THIRD BOY* coming in December '05

[Moneypenny]

10 miles, 30 minutes. I consider it my time to gear up for work in the morning, and decompress from it in the evening. Once I'm home I don't want to think about the office at all.
Susan
mama to my cutie pie, Avery
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_gold_12m.gif[/img][/url]
We made it to a year!

[hez]

An hour each way. We carpool.

15 minutes to the sitter's, 15 minutes AT the sitter's, 30 minutes to drive down and get to our desks. Same in reverse at the end of the day.

It used to be shorter. 15 minutes to the sitter's, 15 minutes AT the sitter's, 10 minutes to work. And we drove separately, because the ride directly to work was only 20 minutes one way, so gas wasn't as big an issue-- so only one of us had to do the sitter routine.

Why don't we live closer now? When we hired in they were talking about building a new facility across the street from where we were working. So we bought a house in a good school district with a 20 minute (back roads) drive to that area. Then we got a new division president, and hey-presto, instead they renovated an older building and built a new building 16 miles further south, and out of our way for the sitter.

We will NOT move closer to work. It's not a great area of town. All of our non-work activities and friends are focused around the area in which we live. Instead, one of these days I may change divisions and work at the facility that's close enough to ride my bike to.

[babymama]

I live 8 or 9 miles from my job. Takes me about 15-20 minutes. I drop off/pick up DS from school, which adds another 12-15 minutes.

ETA: Commute time, proximity to city amenities (parks, shops, restaurants, unique local places) was very important to us when we chose a home. DH and I would live in the suburbs only as a last resort bc of rising housing prices. As for schools, yes - they are better and newer in the suburbs, but we feel like we can deal with whatever our kiddos are missing out on with outside activities (camp, lessons, etc.) and by being involved in our kids schools.

Lydia
Mama to Santiago, born 11/16/03 and
One on the way, due 01/03/06

[squimp]

My commute is 3 minutes by car, 10 by bike. We live in a great neighborhood (Montessori preschool and co-op shopping 2 blocks away). I hate commuting, and we live near work to avoid a commute. It's our biggest quality of life issue.

[HGraceMom]

3 blocks, but some days he still drives b/c he has to visit a client or meet someone for lunch.

DH started his own co. before we moved back North, and worked from home the first year we were back. Having an office in our suburban town was one of our absolute requirements when he opened his "real" office. Losing an hour or more of family time in a commute when it wasn't absolutely necessary to his success was worth not being "headquartered" in the big city instead of our suburb.

It kills me on days where he drives and then never leaves the office...

[Marisa6826]

Jonathan's commute is about an hour - hour and fifteen minutes door to door. We looked for places closer to NYC, but we just couldn't afford the areas we would have preferred. We're roughly 12 miles outside of the city.

He actually told me just the other day that he really LOVES his commute time. He said it's one of the few times of his day where it's just time to himself. He sleeps, listens to Podcasts or music.

He takes the bus, since the train station is not walkable from our home.

-m

[bostonsmama]

DH is about 11 miles or 15-18 min from work, which is mostly highway miles, but the wait to get his ID checked at the gate slows things slightly. At the 2 schools in which I've taught, one was 7 miles and 9 minutes away, the other was 11 miles or 15-30minutes away b/c there is a bridge to go over that sometimes opens.

We live where we live b/c we knew it was a great safe area w/ good schools, low traffic, accessibility to interstate, and was right in the center of a suburban city w/ lots of local shops/vendors and ammenities. We're walking distance (and DO WALK) to almost everywhere including our grocery store, post office, library, our bank, Starbucks, drugstore, Greek eatery, video store, travel agent, pet store-not Petsmart!, my fav shoe store, a tiny Kmart, a small nail salon, my fav hair stylist and the police station, YMCA and rec center. I love it, and we're equaldistant to all four military bases in our area, which helps b/c we've transfered 4 times and neither one of the transfers meant having to move from our home. We did, however, buy before the housing market soared. We're very lucky as our house now goes for tripple its OG price. I'm very anti-driving when I don't have to, so I ride my bike to most places or carry a rucksack for small grocery runs that aren't from the commisary. Also, now that I'm just teaching part time, I can pick from 6 schools that are very close to my home (and <3 miles).

Larissa
who is taking it easy during her 2ww

http://tt.lilypie.com/ZifKm4/.png (http://lilypie.com)

[VenusElon]

Ditto for my husband. Lately he's been riding with someone in the HOV lane to DC which makes it more like 1 1/2 hours. Last month our gas bill went from $300-$600, but we saved the $200 VRE/metro costs. We would have to live in a shack in DC and we have a nice house here. Plus DH likes to go hunting and there is more opportunity for that here, and his family is here. I'll take my 2 minute commute over his 2 hour one any day. I live only a mile from the school I was teaching at, but of course it didn't matter by the time I take DS to the babysitter and come back.

Venus

[crayonblue]

DH is 10-15 minutes from work and this is the closest he has ever lived to work. We are so thankful he found a job so close! The longest commute he has had was 2 hours one way. That was horrid.

In the past real estate prices definitely had a huge impact on how close to work we live. But, we made the decision a few years ago that we would rather rent an apartment and live reasonably close to work than buy a big house and be 2 hours away. We live in an area where people are doing that and it's just not for us.

[hobey]

10 minutes door to door driving on surface streets (~5 miles). 30 minutes if I decide not to be lazy and bike. :)

I used to have to commute 35-45 minutes each way when we were in AZ and I resented the fact my commute took time away from my DS. When we moved to OR, I wanted to be closer to work (at least until DS hits school age) so that I can recapture the time lost commuting.

Raquel
Nathan's Mom 12/19/03

[barbarhow]

With drop off at daycare it takes me 60 minutes door to door. Without the stop at daycare it is 45-50 minutes. DH has a 60-70 minute commute. We live right between where we both work which is one of the factors that we weighed when picking this town. It has the best school system in the equidistant towns. i could work closer to DH's work (he has been there 18 years) but I don't want to. It gets more rural that way. And we are talking RURAL. I want to work in Portland and it is one of the compromises that reached when I agreed to leave NYC to come to Maine.

[Saccade]

15 minute walk, 2 minute bus ride if it's pouring or I'm lazy. I made it a priority to be able not to drive. I'm much less crabby when I arrive at work after walking.

-- Saccade

DS #1, 7/13/05
http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/eleeleabk20050713_-8_My+child+is.png[/img][/url]

[Saccade]

double post

[Saccade]

TRIPLE post -- sorry!!

[aliceinwonderland]

I don't know how to drive either, never had to, but I guess this is weird now. I know I should learn, but then how can I justify the pink Vespa I want to give myself as graduation present?? ;)

[Saccade]

Oh, I know how, I just don't like doing it unless its fun ;). A pink Vespa would be fun all the time!

-- Saccade

DS #1, 7/13/05
http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/eleeleabk20050713_-8_My+child+is.png[/img][/url]

[aliceinwonderland]

see, not driving at 27 =weird :)

[hellosmiletoday]

We live 6 miles from Dh's place of work. It takes him about 20 min. He currently takes the bus to work b/c parking is expensive in the university and public transportation here is amazingly good (we are in the triangle).

We used to live in S Fla, also @6 mi from work...it took 30-45 min. Too long IMO.

Currently we cannot live closer b/c its too expensive. But no complaints. We live in a lovely relatively rural area (on well water, 1 acre), yet are 20 min from a major medical center! Its the best of both worlds.

[cleo27]

A topic near and dear to my heart...

I loathe my commute. Both DH and I commute about 30 miles each way. During the summer takes about 45 minutes each way; now that school is back in session, it takes about 70 minutes. (yes, it does make that much of a difference to have the buses and teachers back on the road.)

We bought where we did because housing was much more affordable. I would say we got caught up in buying a bigger, brand new house. Well, DH says he does not mind the commute, but I really hate it and it just seems to keep getting worse to me. So much so that we are looking to move in the spring/summer of next year. There are not really any jobs close to where we live now, so I have not found anything like I planned to do when we moved here almost 3 yrs ago.

We are planning to move 5-10 miles from DHs work (much better income than I, and very stable with the government). I will be quitting work and spending some time finding something new - close to our new home!

To me the commute is not worth it. It has really affected my quality of life not to mention that if I let myself think about it too much, I feel like I "sold out". In my heart I really feel bad about the toll we are taking on our environment. But I have hope, since I have finally convinced DH that it is time to make a change.

Good luck with your decision.

Hugs,

[LogansMommy]

I work 36 miles from home and it takes about an hour each way as long as there are no accidents or bad weather. I have been at my company for 10 years, so most days the drive doesn't bother me. I also had to go into the city a day a week before I got huge pg, and that is a 2.5 hr commute each way via public transit (driving would take as long if not longer).

When we bought, we picked a home in an area we liked and could afford that was also close to family and friends. And at that point I didn't have to go into the city. Now real estate is just so out of wack there is no way we could move closer ;-(. DH has about a 12 mile commute that takes him about a half hour.

HTH-
Arianne

[mudder17]

Well, DH works mostly at home, but goes in about twice a week, soetimes only once. However, it takes him, door-to-door, about 2 hours via the commuter train and the metro. At the time we were buying a house, we thought about moving closer to where he works since we knew I would eventually quit my job. However, we decided that

1) since he didn't go in every day
2) housing was more affordable here than near his job and the only affordable places would mean he'd have to drive through traffic to get to work (he HATES driving in traffic)
3) I would hate commuting that far EVERY DAY (I'd have to drive because coming in this direction there isn't enough public transport to make it easy, plus, I'd have to get in by 7 a.m., which means leaving by around 5 a.m., unlike DH)
4) we LOVED our church family

It was an easy decision. :)

Eileen

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/candle.gif for Leah
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_emerald_18m.gif

http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/catcatcvi20040222_4_Kaya+is.png
Kaya's a cousin! 10/1/05, 5lb13oz

[jd11365]

Larissa,
OT: Are you a teacher? I didn't know that! :)

[jd11365]

45 minutes each way for a 20 mile drive. 15 of those minutes are spent trying to get out on to the main road. We live on a road that is becoming heavily populated and there it's the only one going to the main drag. It takes 15 minutes to drive 2 miles in the morning!!!

[marinkitty]

About 40 minutes door to door (and we are about 6-7 miles from downtown). About 7 minutes walking on either end to the el with the el ride in between. When I worked we used to drive in before the rush and it was 20 minutes. During rush hour it is about the same as the el, but more maddening.

It wasn't commute time as much as being walking distance from an el stop that factored into where we bought.

Holly
Mom to Mia (3.17.03) and baby brother Jack (3.23.05)

[Momof3Labs]

I have a one hour train ride to work. We're 3 minutes from the train station. I do it two times per week.

DH has a 1 hour drive to work, but only does it every third day.

We live where we live to be close to family support, and to have help caring for Colin. Also, we can get more for our money here (and much better schools) then some other areas that might be a compromise between commute and family support. But for me, it's much easier to have family close and go a little farther for work.

[RwnMayfair]

My husband's commute is about 45 minutes to an hour, depending on traffic. We don't live closer because this is what we could afford when we were house shopping last year in terms of what we wanted. If we had been willing to lower our expectations some, we could have lived closer. Of course, we also know we'll probably only be in this place for a few years anyway, we'll eventually need a bigger place.

-Melissa

Taran, November 20, 2003
Elowen, August 20, 2005

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_emerald_18m.gif - Eighteen months!
http://b2.lilypie.com/jn4Ym4/.png
http://b1.lilypie.com/slsgm4/.png

[lizamann]

DH drives 65 miles each way, which averages 1.5 hours, but can top 2 in bad traffic. We have chosen to live 65 miles away twice now, because dh is adamant about living in the center of the city with activity buzzing right outside his door. He works in a small rural town, and would just die if he lived there or somewhere like it. I think I could enjoy living in a nice Victorian in that town, though.

It's funny because the reasons you list - real estate and schools - are both better where dh works, and pretty much suck where we actually live. But we chose to live here for the city lifestyle. For DH, that is everything!

[bostonsmama]

Yup, my degree is in English Education and I taught English 10/10Honors (which is World and American Lit). I had a bad principal though (and a witch of a Dept Chair), so I took some time off and am only coming back to it part time so I can make room for fertility treatments and the frequent doctors visits that come w/ the territory.

Larissa
who is taking it easy during her 2ww

http://tt.lilypie.com/ZifKm4/.png (http://lilypie.com)

[american_mama]

We were hoping to find a house where we wouldn't have to buy a second car, and we did, paying a little more for it in the process. DH is a 10 minute bike ride to work. We have been able to avoid a second car for that past 3 years (that was three different homes in three different cities) and we feel this has saved us a lot of money and headache. Three years ago, our household income was less than $50,000 and our rent just under $1,000 a month, but we still saved a lot of money that year. We attribute it to smart/minimal shopping and having only one car, which was completely paid off. Of course, we didn't do any college savings for DD or any retirement savings per se, but we did have plenty of cash savings and disposable income.

[almostamom]

When I was teaching my drive was about 30 miles and took about 40-45 minutes. DH's commute is about 35 miles. Depending on what time he leaves it can take him anywhere from 35 minutes to 75 min. We chose to live where we do because it's a great family oriented community and, at that time, we could buy more house for our money.

I taught at the same school for 13 years but lived in 5 different places. Every time I moved it was further and further away!!

~Linda~
DS 11/04

[Saccade]

>see, not driving at 27 =weird :)

Nah, just = creative at figuring out how to get around...

[Marisa6826]

Uh, Jonathan's 41 and doesn't drive. ;)

-m

[MommyAllison]

I guess I win for being the most spoiled so far :) DH and I both work in the same shopping center (different places though) which is conveniently located across the street from our home. :) We love being so close - DH's work schedule is pretty busy and so anytime he has 15 minutes break, he can come home, gets to come home for lunch everyday, etc. Though it sounds weird that we live so close to a shopping center, we are in a great neighborhood - lots of young families due to the elementary school a few blocks away, park close by, and so on. We choose to live so close, though DH would like to build a house somewhere else, because of convenience w/work: it allows us to have one car (saving lots on insurance and gas $) and allows us to spend more time together. However, I know it's not a long term solution as we only have two bedrooms here...we'll see what happens when baby #2 comes along!

Allison
EDD 10-30-05 It's a girl!
http://lilypie.com/days/051030/0/25/1/-8/.png (http://lilypie.com)

[kijip]

We live equidistant from our places of employment. It is all city street driving and takes about 10-15 minutes in typical traffic. However, one of us will sometime drive the other and then drive to work. There are buses, my husband uses one often since we are on a direct express line to his work (maybe 25 minutes) but I don't bus since it would be quicker to walk it than bus since the route in my work's direction is so slow (45 minutes, maybe more). In good weather, I sometimes walk home. Toby's school is three block from wher my husband works so school days don't make the commute longer (he goes three days).

We live where we do for a myiad of reasons but so far we have stuck to the city to save the great time costs of a commute and because our city neighborhood is walkable and the suburbs near us would mean driving to the store etc and not just to work.

[SweetTooth]

DH & I both drive. His commute is about 12 miles & 30 minutes & mine is about 13 miles & 35-45 minutes. We could've chosen to live closer to one of our workplaces, so one of us could have a short commute, but we decided to live right in between our two locations. Also, we chose to live close to Grandma's house.

My current commute beats my commute before DS - 30 miles & about 50-60 minutes. Chose not to live near there b/c we didn't like the area. Better neighborhoods, schools, etc. where we live.
HTH.

[aliceinwonderland]

we should form a club ;) "Too cool to drive".

I finally met someone else in my class who also doesn't know how to drive. He was raised, for the most part, outside the US.
And I married into a family that has 2 vehicles per capita. I am doing my part to balance the situation, LOL ;)

[Marisa6826]

In his case, it's more like too much of a weeny to drive. ;)

He knows HOW, he's just afraid to.

*sigh*

Better for me and my pet Volvo. :P

-m

[aliceinwonderland]

well, see, that is my reasoning too: I overthink things: no way do i want to be responsible for so many pounds of steel going at high speeds! It is a weapon! So, the thinking goes, even if I did learn, no way I would want to drive Erik around...ANd I'd probably be either too reckless/too chicken to drive on a highway. So why waste the time learning. Pink (or apple-green, not sure) Vespa it is. With matching helmet, of course ;)

[lovin2shop]

My commute is 26 miles and about 40 mins, but I drive outside of rush hour. In rush hour it would be about 1hr and 20 mins. Yuk. We live in the area that we do because of schools primarily, real estate prices, and because my DH loves suburbia. I like the city vibe, so working close in helps me to enjoy it as well. My DH is in sales so his commute varies from 5 mins to up to 2 hours depending on where his clients are located. Most days I don't mind the commute, as it provides some rare quiet time. When there is a wreck or I'm running late, it definitely causes me stress. I do enjoy listening to audiobooks while on the road as I haven't found much time to read lately.

[cmdunn1972]

My DH's commute is 60 miles, one way. It takes him about an hour by car, mostly interstate. DH works in northern NJ, but we live in PA so as to save money on our house, taxes, and auto insurance.

(Edited to clarify and add some critical info that I left out previously.)

[ellies mom]

For a while I commuted 45 miles one way. When we moved to the area DH and I each commuted about 15 miles in opposite directions so we chose a centralized neighborhood that we just love. The company I worked for closed, so I took a job 45 miles away. We didn't move because where we lived is so much better than where I worked and then DH would have to commute even farther. He isn't the commuting type. Plus that job was meant to be temporary anyhow.

We ended up moving closer to DH's work(5 miles 10 minute commute), after DD was born so I could stay home. It works great for him. Now that I'm starting to think about going back to work, it looks like I'll be commuting again. Probably close to 35 miles but it will be an evil commute. We will probably try to move back to our old neighborhood to shorten my commute and make it more bearable, not to mention a better area. DH goes againt traffic so a longer commute doesn't make as big a difference.

[ribbit1019]

Our commute, on a good traffic morning, minus taking DD to MIL's is 15 minutes. This is rare but it does happen.
We work downtown, the area right around the downtwon area isn't so great and we live just outside of the not so great area. We like living close to the city, but we will have to move once Maddy becomes school age. There are much better schools in the outer suburbs.


Christy
Maddy born 06/09/04
http://lilypie.com/baby2/040609/3/4/0/-5/.png
Little Peanut due 03/02/06
http://bd.lilypie.com/cKLom4/.png

[Saccade]

I think that's how my DH feels too... so he hasn't bothered to maintain an active license for many years. I can't say as I blame him, even if it means that I have to do all of the driving on our rare car trips. Then again, those are usually a lot more fun than commute driving (did you say something about reckless highway driving ;) ?).

-- Saccade

DS #1, 7/13/05
http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/eleeleabk20050713_-8_My+child+is.png[/img][/url]

[stillplayswithbarbies]

I commute one hour each way by train. Houses are too expensive close to work, and I don't want to live in the city anyway.

I leave the house at 7:15 AM, drop off Logan at homecare, and I get home at 6:15 PM. DH picks her up at 5:30 PM. His commute is 30 minutes by car each way.

I like my commute. I read the paper and take a nap. It's a good way to wind down at the end of the day, and to have time that is just for me. I sit with the same people every day and we have become friends, of a sort.

[pl71]

My commute is 60 minutes in the morning, 1.25+ hours in the evening. We live 45 miles from where we work. My husband and I work at the same place.

We work 9 hour days so we can have off every other Friday. That cuts out a few days of driving.

Pre-baby, we were in a van pool with 10 others from where I work. That was great. We never had to drive and it took us from near our home right to the front door of work.

Once we had kids, we wanted to use the daycare at work and the vanpool wouldn't allow carseats. So, we drive. Using a local daycare isn't an option because we have to leave too early in the morning (5:30 am).

We live here because my office is in a very bad part of DC. About the closest I could live in a safe neighborhood would still be a 30 minute commute and it would be very expensive and small.

The commute is terrible and making us want to move to a different job/city. But, that would be away from family, so we'll probalby just deal with it. There's no way we could move closer since housing prices just keep going up. Besides, in a few years my boys will be done with daycare and we can go back to a vanpool.

Patty
DS Owen 4/03 and Ryan 5/05

[michlyn]

I used to live 17 miles away from my downtown job, and it was a 50 minute commute door to door, regardless of whether I took the bus or drove. It drove me crazy once I became a working mom struggling with how little I see DD while she's awake during the week, so I found a new job that's 10 minutes away and 15 minutes to her daycare. It's nice to be spending less of my day stuck in traffic.

[kransden]

Orginally it was less than 20 minutes for both of us. Now for me it is 30-40 minutes and it was 45-60 minutes for DH. I had a job change, and his office moved several times. Now we are moving to another city. Our new house is 20 minutes from his office, and there are several places I might get a job in the 30 minutes or less range when I join him.

Karin and Katie 10/24/02

[loewymartin]

I live about 20 miles from work, but depending on the day it can take anywhere from 25 minutes plus. There are 2 main bridges from where I live to where I work, and this morning there was a 6 car accident on one of the bridges. Traffic was backed up for miles and on the second bridge it was busy because anyone trying to get to work after the accident took the alternate route. It took me 40 minutes to get here because of that. During a snow storm I've been stuck in traffic for 2 hours. Thank goodness that doesn't happen all the time! And Friday nights around here are busy since we have the Saratoga horse racing tracks and a concert venue where many out of towners are comingling with the rush hour folks. I've been stuck for an hour or so on Fridays.

DH OTOH has a 3 mile 5 minute commute. I've considered changing jobs to spend less time in the car, and I think that's something I may think more seriously about next year. My job is pretty flexible though in that if I need to work from home certain days I can.

Michelle
Mom to Alia born 5/16/02 and Kira born 7/30/05