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Jeez, you guys are the best. These are all really great thoughts to consider for anyone who is thinking about spending a long amount of time commuting most days a week. Really makes you think about commuter culture, personal mental and physical health, etc.
I know this is a decision I need to make for myself, but I am looking for some advice or thoughts on my situation from more objective parties. Thanks in advance for any insight you want to offer!
I recently moved to the Mid-Hudson Valley and just bought a house a few months ago (close to my husband's job), so I am very tied to my current location. A job that would be perfect for me just opened in a department in lower Manhattan where I have a good chance of being hired. However, after looking at all different options for my commute, it looks like there is no way of getting around a commute of a minimum of 2:30 each way, but could be longer depending on timing. That is 5+ hours of commuting each day.
I know I have not been hired yet, but I really do not want to go through all the emotions and drama of applying and interviewing if it is ridiculous to even be considering this option in the first place.
Would you commute this much for a dream job, or have you? Do you think any job (no matter how great) would become a burden with this long/stressful of a commute?
(As a note, I do not need the job to survive, since we are okay financially right now.)
Nor does it ruin anyone's marriage that I have ever heard about. As I said, this is quite common in academia and must be elsewhere as well or you would not see the listings for part-time roommates. Being stuck in a dead-end job would ruin a marriage far faster.
Everyone I know personally who did this networked through colleagues and friends. New York - Boston is common.
I don't know how much of a dream job this is but a commute like this will burn you out, trust me. I knew two people who did very long commutes of 4+ hours. One of them did it for two years but eventually moved into the city and realized life is too short to waste in this fashion. The other wasn't able to make it into the office a lot of times, worked from home a lot and eventually quit due to performance reasons.
Jeez, you guys are the best. These are all really great thoughts to consider for anyone who is thinking about spending a long amount of time commuting most days a week. Really makes you think about commuter culture, personal mental and physical health, etc.
Not really. Many commutes even within the city are one hour. Extreme commuting, as you are considering, is an outlier when it comes to "commuter culture". Yours is more long-distance travelling than commuting, and stands on its own. Not really part of commuter culture.
Studies show extreme commuting affects health in most,... but some are curiously immune.
I don't know what your "dreams" are, but unless you've been offered a CEO position of a Fortune 500, a lead role in a Holywood picture, or an executive chef position at a 3-star Michelin restaurant, don't do it.
I did a similar commute, but a little shorter (like 2hrs/15min or 20min) years ago for about 6 months. It wouldn't be something I'd plan to do long term, but if you had an exit stategy, I'd do it. My commute was on the Metro North train. I would sleep on the way to work, and on the way home I'd ride with a group of people I met on the train. I have some fond memories of my extreme commute actually.
But it was tiring - I didn't feel like I had much of a life outside working and commuting. When I stopped the commute, I felt like I had sooo much time, even though I was still working full time. It's almost worth it to have that feeling after stopping.
Note that she mentioned minimum of 5 hours both ways.. Probably means 6 hours to commute and possibly 7-8 hours under bad weather. That's close to the amount of hours one works.. HELL NO I wouldn't. Max I would go is 1hr 30 minutes each way totaling to 3 hours and even that's pushing it..
Is there really no other location for your dream job? I mean you said you just bought a house so you're obviously not planning to move anytime soon.. You would also have to factor in and reflect if you'll actually enjoy the job for the years to come..
Try to find out if there's a way that you can take the Metro North or Amtrak into the city. Amtrak would probably be speedier if there's a stop nearby. I know there's a few stops in the Hudson Valley area. Amtrak even has free WI-FI on board. Where in the Hudson Valley do you reside?
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