What's your average commute? What's the maximum you would commute?

[NC211]

I do Brambleton to Tysons corner every day. Office is just inside the beltway off 7. I go from exit 6 to 16, and all the way through tysons. On average, 35 minutes. 20 miles door-door. Honestly, that isn't bad at all in my opinion, for what you get in return for living standards. I unwind out here tremendously..

Where we came from, Glen Ellyn Illinois (Ill&Annoyed), it took 70 minutes each way to go 13 miles door-door. Talk about losing your freakin' marbles! Plus, it was an ugly commute, nothing to look at other than concrete, potholes, and not so friendly drivers. Did that for 2 1/2 years before moving here. I agree with the poster about traffic vs driving time making the difference. I'd be in a foul mode when I'd get home in chicago. Here? Not so much (other than what my 4 year old son does to me as he continues to be in that "testing authority" stage of development).

[Smoke_Jaguar4]

Originally Posted by vauser

1. What's your average commute?
2. What's the longest you have done (and for how long)?
3. Whatever you consider as an uncomfortable commute time (meaning, "would move to the next job as soon as you get one"), what is the %age hike (if any) that would convince you to take up this new position (and bite the bullet on the commute)?

Average commute: 8 minutes by bike, 10 minutes by car/bus, 35 minutes on foot. I live and work in Arlington.

Longest: 45 minutes - I'm a Reservist and I do this on weekends.

Uncomfortable: Occasionally I have to travel to Gaithersburg or Reston. on the trip home that's easily more than an hour. It never fails when I have travel out it always rains; folks here can barely drive when it's dry. I do this around once a month.

If it became more than once a week, then I start getting testy. It's not a money issue, it's a Quality of Life issue. I start mentioning comp time to my boss. Fortunately we're very flexible so usually it's not a problem. We're pretty big on telework so that's an option as well. Work is something you do, not somewhere you are.

[Catamounts]

Current commute: 1 minute
Longest commute: When I was younger I commuted 2 hours each way for about 5 years and didn't mind it.
Before we moved here I had planned on looking for work in D.C. After we moved here I realized there was no way I would commute there every day. Now I work from home. The pay is much less than I would be making in a "regular" job but for now the higher quality of life we get from my working from home is more important to us.

[vauser]

Originally Posted by NC211

I do Brambleton to Tysons corner every day. Office is just inside the beltway off 7. I go from exit 6 to 16, and all the way through tysons. On average, 35 minutes. 20 miles door-door. Honestly, that isn't bad at all in my opinion, for what you get in return for living standards. I unwind out here tremendously..

Where we came from, Glen Ellyn Illinois (Ill&Annoyed), it took 70 minutes each way to go 13 miles door-door. Talk about losing your freakin' marbles! Plus, it was an ugly commute, nothing to look at other than concrete, potholes, and not so friendly drivers. Did that for 2 1/2 years before moving here. I agree with the poster about traffic vs driving time making the difference. I'd be in a foul mode when I'd get home in chicago. Here? Not so much (other than what my 4 year old son does to me as he continues to be in that "testing authority" stage of development).

Love to hear this. I would be living in Brambleton and try not to interview beyond Tyson's. So, if home to work is 45 minutes or under, I am not complaining. Of course, I worked 2 miles from home for about 3 years, and 20 minutes from home for about 6 years, so you get used to this kind of luxury. Work from home right now, but expect to be on the road very soon.

Funniest experience was a recruiter calling me for a position in Owings Mills, MD (about 70 miles and 2.25 hours at the least) and asking me to take up a position with a "traffic and commute won't be too bad" remark!

A co-worker once told me that they did a 3 hour commute each way (by train) for 8 years. I didn't believe them. Is that even humanly possible?!!?

[Pandoras]

Originally Posted by vauser

As we are getting ready to make the soon-to-happen move to Brambleton, commute times have once again cropped up as points of discussion in the family.

I am very comfortable with 30 to 45 minutes of commute, each way, but an extremely uncomfortable for every additional minute. Trying to win some employers with a 2 day telecommute option but it ain't flying very well.

Is it reasonable to not want to do a 70+ minute commute each way, every day of the week? Or, is that considered being unreasonable?

1. What's your average commute?
2. What's the longest you have done (and for how long)?
3. Whatever you consider as an uncomfortable commute time (meaning, "would move to the next job as soon as you get one"), what is the %age hike (if any) that would convince you to take up this new position (and bite the bullet on the commute)?

1. 40 minutes
2. I had a 1.5 hour commute for about a year.
3. I would not do a 70+minute commute. I could not do that on a regular basis. Life is too short to be stuck in traffic.

It really depends on your mode of transportation. I can usually deal with a long commute if I am driving. I can't imagine a 40 minute commute on Metrorail...especially during the summer.

[sonnymarkjiz]

Originally Posted by NC211

I do Brambleton to Tysons corner every day. Office is just inside the beltway off 7. I go from exit 6 to 16, and all the way through tysons. On average, 35 minutes. 20 miles door-door. Honestly, that isn't bad at all in my opinion, for what you get in return for living standards. I unwind out here tremendously..

Where we came from, Glen Ellyn Illinois (Ill&Annoyed), it took 70 minutes each way to go 13 miles door-door. Talk about losing your freakin' marbles! Plus, it was an ugly commute, nothing to look at other than concrete, potholes, and not so friendly drivers. Did that for 2 1/2 years before moving here. I agree with the poster about traffic vs driving time making the difference. I'd be in a foul mode when I'd get home in chicago. Here? Not so much (other than what my 4 year old son does to me as he continues to be in that "testing authority" stage of development).

Yup. Me and you have basically the same commute. Tyson's is really easy to get to from Brambleton. Even easier if you go in extremely early (at 6 am) and take the Greenway. It took me about 20 mins to leave my house to pullin into to my work parking lot.

[foursixtwo]

My current commute takes about 25 minutes and generally goes against traffic. Ite's great, and it's also about the max I'd want to do at this point in my life. I have two young kids, so getting home and being with them are a priority.

When I was young and childless, though, I did a 75 mile (one way) commute every day. I usually took the train, so I actually didn't mind it too much. Gave me a chance to read, catch up on my sleep, listen to music, etc. With kids, though, it would be out of the question now. And the few times I did have to drive, I pretty much hated everyone and everything by the end of the day But it was a heavy-traffic route.

[vauser]

Based on all the responses, it doesn't seem unreasonable to be less inclined to pick up a job that requires an hour's commute each way. However, it seems to upset recruiters when you call out for commute as a reason for declining an offer.