How much would it take to get you to travel 150 miles to work? (Scranton: hotel, house)

[JimmyLane]

I'm curious if there's anybody out there who commutes from PA to NJ or NY over 100 miles. How far do you travel, how often, and do you ever feel you're burning out doing so? Share your stories here.

Also, how many of you would be willing to travel 150-miles (appr. 2.7 hours roundtrip) -- doing something you don't mind -- for a pay of $320.00 before taxes for 8.5 hours,, once a week, on either a Saturday or Sunday?

[ff18wife]

$320 for 8 1/2 hrs??? What kind of work is it?

My husband commutes from Milford area to Saddle Brook every day as it is now. I think he gets tired of it at times but as of right now, he doesn't really have a choice. There are no other positions with his company that are closer to home.

[JimmyLane]

Originally Posted by ff18wife

$320 for 8 1/2 hrs??? What kind of work is it?

My husband commutes from Milford area to Saddle Brook every day as it is now. I think he gets tired of it at times but as of right now, he doesn't really have a choice. There are no other positions with his company that are closer to home.

My OP is stating a hypothetical. I am just curious how much money it would take to motivate people to travel that distance.

Milford to Saddle Brook is pretty far, I'm guessing an hour forty-five minutes...without traffic. Yuck. I see what you mean though, if you don't have a choice you have to suck it up. Tough situation to be in.









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[SteelCityRising]

I'm assuming I'll be offered a position next year at around $40,000 annually as a CPA in the ScranBarre area (if I'm lucky and the recession doesn't worsen), and I'd be happy supporting myself on that salary. I'd be willing to commute from Scranton to Northern New Jersey to work since I don't have a social life the way it is, but only if the salary was substantially higher (perhaps $65,000) to justify the expense of gasoline, increased wear and tear on my sedan, and the stress of driving westbound through the Stroudsburgs along I-80 on Friday evenings in the summer! I'm not very obsessed with cash. My dreams include a small Victorian fixer-upper with a turret, front porch, and perhaps even a balcony with a view of the city, a Siberian Husky, a Mini Cooper convertible, an apple tree, a hot tub, and (hopefully) three adopted children when my partner and I are finally secure financially. I'd be happy "peaking" at a salary of $70,000 when I move up in the corporate sector.

[Vinny536]

i used to commute from bear creek to allentown for school and my first professional job. As soon as i found a job in scranton i was thrilled to be done with that ride. i did it everyday for a bit over 3 years.

The good:
I always liked taking a long ride to clear my head after school or work.
I was able to live with my parents, that offset the cost of the commute for sure.

The Bad:
When i got done with school or work i knew i had at least an hour before i could be home
If there was an emergency at home i would have needed a secondary plan, a big consideration for those of you with kids.
The wear and tear on my cars was insane. After i got that first job i bought a brand new car, and it had 100,000 miles on it in under 3 years.
Consider what your alternate routes would be, including a hotel room to stay near work if need be. I had one night that took me 6 hours to get home because of an ice storm. In hindsight i should have gotten a room and drunk
the relaxing drive i used to enjoy would turn into the most grating thing i could imagine some days
I lucked out and never got one, but speeding is very easy to get snagged for when you drive the same route continuously.

[bloominscranton]

It would take a helicopter service to get me to do it! Of course with car service from my home to the heliport. Since that would never happen...I am safe! In my former life...I use to have to travel throughout the US...liked the ride from the car service and getting on a plane...but all of that changed for me after 9/11.

[scrantonluna]

I could do it by train or bus, if it was 35 hours a week and for no less than 60k a year. I couldn't drive it. I wouldn't consider any weekend shifts and the benefits would have to be good.

[pocopc]

For one 8.5 hour day to make 320.00 i would make the trip. If nothing more that is an extra 1200 per month for 4 days of work per month. I would gladly suck it up and put up with whatever traffic i had to.

Now as for doing it every day, Monday thru Friday 9-5 i don't know if i could handle that. I'd need to be paid 50,000+ a year in order to consider that. To much crap can happen on the highways to and from. Accidents, road work, storms.. all that can turn your 2.5 round trip into a 6 hour or 8 hour trip.

[FightinPhils]

Nothing could really want me to give up my family life just for a job. I would not want to ignore my duties as a husband and father just so we could have a bigger, newer house or luxury cars or fancy vacations. Long distance commutes are grueling and take its toll on families. Being gone from 5 am- 9pm every day is not the life for me.

[weluvpa]

I did it for 10 years. Back and forth from Mt.Cobb to Old Bridge NJ. 2 1/2 hours each way on a good day with no traffic. If you have never commuted a long distance you have no idea what wear and tear it has on you, your car, and your family. My father did it for 35 years so I can tell you that if we didn't own the company there would be no way that we would ever put ourselves thru that again. We sold the business in 2001 and it was probably one the happiest and sadiest days I can remember.

By 2001 my 1994 diesel blazer had over 436,000 miles on it. I did on average about 2000 or more miles a week between going to work and going to see customers all over NJ.

With that said I would not do it now for any amount of money. Move closer to work becasue the money that your saving on taxes is just going into your gas tank and vehicle maintenance. Also you can't put a price on the time you miss with your family.