Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I came across this article in the AJC today where the author asks, "Is your commute turning you into a monster?" The article doesn't have much substance, but I am AMAZED by the commenters on the article.
I know we've had these discussions before regarding commute times, but I think it is a worthwhile conversation to continue to have. There are commenters on the article stating that they have 30+ miles commutes everyday, and acting like commutes that far SHOULDN'T be taking them that long. I'm well aware that not everybody has the choice of a short commute - companies move, money is tight, etc etc. But I am amazed at the shear number of people commenting that they are commuting such long distances, which often add up to 1.5-2+ hour daily commutes ONE WAY! People are admitting that yes, this does make them a monster, and more public transportation is needed.
I commute by bike and go about 4.5 miles from home to work and back, which is a predictable 23 minutes in each direction. If I drive, it is an unpredictable 20 - 40 minutes, depending on traffic. When I take MARTA, it is a predictable 33 minutes in each direction. For me, I am able to bike, and it makes complete sense for me to do so based on my commuting times. Biking helps me to de-stress before I get home, and I am very happy with my commute because I never have to sit in traffic. Especially on days like today (sunny and 70 degrees), biking is amazing. I get home in a good mood to see my wife and my son, and I'm home at a predictably early time everyday, while I watch the news and see 2 hour traffic delays for people up 75 and 85.
What do y'all think? What are your commute times, and is it making you a "monster"? How do you think commute time effects your emotional health? If you think it is and are against funding for alternative transportation (bikes, MARTA, express bus lanes, toll lanes), then why? If you have the ability, would you consider uprooting and moving closer to your job to cut down your commute?
Isn't the economy changing such that fewer and fewer people have true commutes? If you work from home, work in the trades, do contract work, work in the arts or in sales where you make sales calls, are a stay at home parent--you may drive a heck of a lot but it won't be a straight commute. I drive an average of 35 miles a day, but I am not going to the same destinations at the same times every day--it's all over the map. "What's your commute?" seems to me to be a more and more obsolete question.
Isn't the economy changing such that fewer and fewer people have true commutes? If you work from home, work in the trades, do contract work, work in the arts or in sales where you make sales calls, are a stay at home parent--you may drive a heck of a lot but it won't be a straight commute. I drive an average of 35 miles a day, but I am not going to the same destinations at the same times every day--it's all over the map. "What's your commute?" seems to me to be a more and more obsolete question.
I'm sure a lot more companies are allowing telecommuting, but isn't it still a minuscule number that purely telecommute? I'm allowed to work from home one day a week at my office, and I don't know anybody else that telecommutes 5 day/wk. I do notice that when I'm biking on Fridays, there are a LOT less cars on the road. Maybe Friday is a work from home day for a lot of people, or people are more flexible with their working hours and leave earlier. I don't know. I don't purely commute home to office either I guess, but very rarely do I need to go more than 5 miles from my house. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones.
When I decided to buy a house, I did so about 28 miles away from downtown, even though I worked downtown. However, I NEVER worked normal hours, my usual day was 1p-9p. So I never had any traffic either way. It took about 35 minutes, but I got to have a decent house in a good neighborhood, instead of a much crummier house in a terrible area, that maybe was 10 or 15 minutes closer. Not worth it. I did consciously decide to have a house located close to a major artery, as traffic hang-ups for my commute were red lights, not interstate traffic jams.
But then I decided to change jobs. I was really conscious of the commute. So I selected a company that had flex time, allowing arrival to work any time between 7am and 10am, with one work from home day per week.
A few months after I got there, the company changed its policy. Now, you had to be there by 9:30am, and the work from home day was gone. I was sold a bill of goods for sure, but by then, it was too late.
NOW, here's the thing: I don't like this job enough to move closer to town for it. I'm thinking about my next job. And one of the things I'm really looking for is something with flex time or work from home. Or else, something closer to where I live. The only way I would make a choice as large as purchasing a home based on where I work is if:
1) I loved my job
2) I was relatively sure the job was stable
If you move every time you get a new job, you're constantly chasing the dragon. Even if you think most of the jobs you will get are in a certain part of town, how expensive is it to live there? Is it midtown? If something unexpected happens, how long can you afford to keep the house with no income? No matter what you think, you're probably 1 or 2 crappy quarters away from getting canned at any time.
These are extremely real concerns.
So now, yeah, my commute is often an hour each way. And I hate it. I can't stand it. I leased a Nissan Leaf not for environmental concerns, not to save money....strictly to buy myself into the HOV lane. We can say the solution is to live closer to work, but work can be unreliable. What about all those people who bought houses in Johns Creek, Duluth, and Suwanee to be close to their jobs at NCR? Stuff like that happens.
The real answer is to create options for people who commute, whether they do so voluntarily or because they have no choice. I definitely support mass transit. I believe that it's only a matter of time before rail reaches Gwinnett county, at least I like to believe that. I could sell my home in Duluth and get a crappy townhouse off Buford highway somewhere and be closer to town, but if I did that, guess what would be around the corner? A brand new job in Alpharetta. I'm completely convinced of that.
And that's just me. The later you get in life, the more this happens. You end up with spouses who have made choices based on where you live, kids you don't want to yank out of school, etc. You simply can't expect people to pull up and move every time they get new jobs to be located close to them. Like it or not, commuting is here to stay.
There will also always be companies like mine, who promise candidates the sun and moon to get them to come aboard, and then change policies or reveal that flex time really means you can arrive any time between 8:30 and 9. The world is fluid, and stuff happens.
My commute is on average 25 minutes door to door, on Marta. I walk 5 minutes to Midtown station, ride the train for 10 minutes to Buckhead station, then I walk about 8 minutes to my office. Within that time, I get to read, listen to music, and also get exercise. Definitely not making me a monster. I still wouldn't mind working from home a day or two a week, simply because I really enjoy my neighborhood, and I also really like just rolling out of bed and not having to get ready.
I can appreciate ATLTJL's points and I do hope reliable transit can reach nearby where he is some day. Just like him, I have requirements that I will not compromise on while searching for jobs. An easy walk to a Marta rail station is an absolute requirement to moving forward with a job prospect. Fortunately for me, that opens my search to most of the job centers in the metro area (Downtown, Midtown, Buckhead, Perimeter), so it's not a very difficult requirement to fill. I'm in my late 20's and I have a condo in Midtown that is paid off. I'm not moving anywhere else anytime soon.
I have a reverse commute...although it's about 20 minutes each way it is in minimal traffic. While most others are coming into the city in bumper-to-bumper traffic, I'm whizzing by them traffic-free.
I'm sure a lot more companies are allowing telecommuting, but isn't it still a minuscule number that purely telecommute? I'm allowed to work from home one day a week at my office, and I don't know anybody else that telecommutes 5 day/wk. I do notice that when I'm biking on Fridays, there are a LOT less cars on the road. Maybe Friday is a work from home day for a lot of people, or people are more flexible with their working hours and leave earlier. I don't know. I don't purely commute home to office either I guess, but very rarely do I need to go more than 5 miles from my house. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones.
Well, it's still far more than the number of people who commute by bike.
I've seen data indicating that in some areas as many as 10-12% work from home.
Yeah, I think there is a combination of reasons for that. As we've discussed, there isn't much bike infrastructure, so people don't feel safe biking - although over time, this is improving at the behest of naysayers. I think as traffic worsens in metro-Atlanta, companies are becoming more open to tele-commuting, which I think is a very good thing in the long haul.
My commute is on average 25 minutes door to door, on Marta. I walk 5 minutes to Midtown station, ride the train for 10 minutes to Buckhead station, then I walk about 8 minutes to my office. Within that time, I get to read, listen to music, and also get exercise. Definitely not making me a monster. I still wouldn't mind working from home a day or two a week, simply because I really enjoy my neighborhood, and I also really like just rolling out of bed and not having to get ready.
I can appreciate ATLTJL's points and I do hope reliable transit can reach nearby where he is some day. Just like him, I have requirements that I will not compromise on while searching for jobs. An easy walk to a Marta rail station is an absolute requirement to moving forward with a job prospect. Fortunately for me, that opens my search to most of the job centers in the metro area (Downtown, Midtown, Buckhead, Perimeter), so it's not a very difficult requirement to fill. I'm in my late 20's and I have a condo in Midtown that is paid off. I'm not moving anywhere else anytime soon.
I am fully with you on this statement. I'm lucky enough to be comfortable in my current job, so when I start job-searching again, I'm not necessarily in a rush to leave. I refuse to accept any job offer that has me going to an area that I need a car to get to. I moved to where I am to be able to bike and/or have MARTA access specifically to avoid having to commute by car, and I will not be giving up that lifestyle. That's my personal choice, and I chose a smaller home in the city with a small yard vs a larger home in the burbs with more yard to be able to have that choice. Like you, I'm lucky enough that the majority of places I would consider working have MARTA access anyway. I think more people in our age group (yes, the Millenials) have similar views, which is why a number of large companies are moving from the suburbs to intown locations with MARTA access. Every friend I have has selected a home or apartment with this criteria in mind as well, and the ones who have a job that forces them to drive in traffic complain about it everyday.
My commute is from Decatur to Alpharetta and it is driving me crazy.
1hr to 1hr 25 mins is typical morning commute and 50 mins to 1 hr 20 mins is evening commute. Plan B was to stay at horrible job in Perimeter Center, so I added 15 miles to my commute for 8hrs of peace each day, but driving 35 miles is draining especially when traffic is bad.
It takes 1 hr 30 mins to usually 1hr 45 mins taking MARTA, including the 10 min drive to the station and if there are any delays, that MARTA ride can become 2-2.5 hrs. Even to Perimeter Center it was an hour.
But like many others in metro Atlanta, you have no choice but to commute to your job, as there are pretty much no jobs on the east side of town, so your heading to the northside or downtown for work. I never recommend moving closer to your job, as companies move, downsize, layoff, or you can just hate a job if you get the right combo of incompetent coworkers or boss and never know where the next place you work will be located.
Last edited by SAAN; 11-11-2015 at 04:28 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
