Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Arizona > Phoenix area
 [Register]
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.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 06-02-2013, 03:41 AM
 
68 posts, read 195,876 times
Reputation: 38

Advertisements

What do you consider, in minutes, to be a long commute during rush hour traffic? I'm from the Northeast, and many commute 30-45 minutes. Some commute even further than that. Here we think in terms of how many miles and also the time it takes to get where you are going based on the best route. I'm just curious what is considered a long commute in the Phoenix area. Thanks very much.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 06-02-2013, 06:10 AM
 
Location: Sonoran Desert
39,073 posts, read 51,199,205 times
Reputation: 28313
I found that over 45 minutes was where I began to beat the steering wheel and vow I would move. I think most people in this area who commute are between 30 and 45 minutes. Big as it is, you can get just about anywhere in an hour even during rush hour. On long crosstown commutes you generally only have bad traffic for about 1/2 of the trip as you go from an inbound to outbound condition.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-02-2013, 06:12 AM
 
Location: Metro Phoenix, AZ USA
17,914 posts, read 43,394,564 times
Reputation: 10726
A long commute is in the eye of the beholder, so you are going to get different answers from different people. Here, it's not just miles, but traffic. I know there are long commutes in the Northeast, but I don't know if those are due to miles or due to traffic, or both. Your tolerance for creeping along on a freeway in solid traffic (which happens here a lot) may be limited. My commute never varies by miles, but can vary a LOT by time if an accident on one of the freeways slows it down or closes it. That's just one of the reasons why I take an express bus most of the time now.

Despite what one might be "used to" or have learned to tolerate elsewhere, if in moving to a new place it can be avoided, why not?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-02-2013, 09:13 AM
 
Location: Arizona
6,131 posts, read 7,982,569 times
Reputation: 8272
When I lived back east I had commutes that most would consider nightmarish, both in terms of miles and traffic. Traffic jams frustrate me far more than distance does, especially when they are caused by the stupidity of other drivers (ie: rubbernecking, not wearing sunglasses when driving into the sun, which was a big one when I lived in PA and had to drive east in the morning and west in the evening, and people who don't understand the concept of the alternate merge). Generally I'm OK with anything up to an hour if its not a solid jam for the hour. Although my tolerance may be lowering since I haven't had anything worse than a 30 minute drive with minimal traffic for over a year now, and currently I'm driving less than 20 minutes!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-02-2013, 10:14 AM
 
Location: Scottsdale, AZ
890 posts, read 2,278,599 times
Reputation: 1305
I can't handle anything over 15 minutes! I can get to my current job in 5. I wouldn't even consider anything over 30 minutes away.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-02-2013, 10:54 AM
 
Location: Hard aground in the Sonoran Desert
4,866 posts, read 11,217,036 times
Reputation: 7128
I've never had a commute until moving to the Phoenix area. 30 years in the workforce and I've always lived within 10 minutes of work. When I got to Phoenix I had to drive from Goodyear to downtown Phoenix and it took me 45 minutes to an hour depending on the day. I did that for four years and hope I don't ever have to do that again.

I'd prefer to stay around 15-20 minutes but that may not be realistic where I live.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-02-2013, 11:05 AM
 
1,484 posts, read 2,258,134 times
Reputation: 2553
30 minutes is my max. I recently applied for a couple jobs that are 5 minutes, but I consider that a luxury. My current job (it's just a temp job, but long-term. Still, won't be forever) is about 15, I feel spoiled. I feel like 30 is to be expected and I can handle that. Once it gets over 30, I don't like it. However, it depends on the job. If it's better pay and I love the people and it's more of my dream job, I'm more likely to tolerate 45 minutes. If it's like my current, really don't care for it and they pay I feel is low, then I at least want a bearable commute.

I recently applied for a job with a 45 minute commute, only because it would be a dream to work there. It's really out of my league though. For that place I would. My current job? I would never drive 45 min for that craphole.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-02-2013, 12:35 PM
 
5 posts, read 10,002 times
Reputation: 11
I am one of the few who enjoys my drive to and from work as I listen to clips off YouTube

I would say 45+ minutes is long
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-02-2013, 03:56 PM
 
1,016 posts, read 2,977,501 times
Reputation: 1668
Quote:
Originally Posted by fennec2009 View Post
I can't handle anything over 15 minutes! I can get to my current job in 5. I wouldn't even consider anything over 30 minutes away.
I agree I hate driving! Anything over 20 min is too long for me to be in the car.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-02-2013, 04:43 PM
 
214 posts, read 401,372 times
Reputation: 271
I am originally from the Northeast as well. I consider 45 minutes to be too long with stop and go traffic. I can do an hour one way if the traffic is usually always moving. Where I live now I do about 45 minutes with moving traffic.

DH did one hour and 10 minutes from Sun City into Tempe in weekday rush hour and said it wasn't too bad because traffic moved. It was much less on the way back. That was his take on the traffic. I think he took Grand to Route 10, which was a wrong move.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
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.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Arizona > Phoenix area
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top