Do you commute?

[lovesmurfs]

Hi! I've been job hunting since early July (my salary was half of our household income). I have a 2nd interview scheduled for an awesome position in downtown Chicago. I'm in the process of weighing my options -- it's a wonderful job that would stretch me, and that would allow me to help grow the organization as well. Pay is where I was when I left my last position, possibly a little more based on the salary range they provided (up to $7,000 more than I was making before).

However, in order to physically get to the organization, I'd need to either drive and pay for monthly parking (1 1/2 hours each way, not including stress!) or take the train and a bus from Union Station (paying for monthly train and bus passes). My concern with public transportation is the schedules - If I miss a train, it could increase my commute by an hour or more.

I've got two kids with active schedules (DD9 and DS14). If I'm offered the position, my husband is pushing me to take it and says we'll work out the transportation issues (both mine and the kids'). He teaches at the university level and can generally come and go as long as he doesn't have a class.

It's a great and exciting opportunity, but the commute will probably get pretty old, pretty quick. In today's age of electronic communications, I may be able to work out a more flexible working environment, but I wouldn't propose it for quite a while, I'd think, once I'm trained and have demonstrated my value to the company.

How do those of you who commute long distances handle it -- is it something worth dealing with in order to get a job?

 

[mjkacmom]

My gf drove 1 1/2 hours to her job in NYC. She then got another job in the city, close to the train, so she now takes the train. She loves it - it's the highlight of her day! She also has 2 boys, and feels like the train makes a great transition between work and home - it's her happy hour.

 

[barkley]

i did it for for 14 years mostly because that was the nature of working in the area i lived in (housing and living expenses were insane in the s.f. bay area so there are loads of people who commute-they also prefer living and having their kids raised in the smaller, safer communities).

the downsides i saw were the cost of commuting vs. the better pay i received. between gas, toll, the mileage it added to my car...it was'nt as much as one would imagine. there was also the cost of when i had to take time off for a short appointment. while my co-workers who lived nearby could easily schedual a 30 minute doctors visit and maybe only have to take and hour or so off work-for me it entailed 3-4 hours minimum for just the traveling, so unless i could schedual one at the begining or end of the work day i had to question weather it was worth it to drive into work only to work a few hours, leave and then turn around come back and then again just leave in another hour again.

having kids i think one thing you need to consider beyond their regular schedual and weather your dh can cover for you is how you can handle those times when you get called from school. i have to say that i felt terrible when i knew one of my kids were throwing up at school and they were going to have sit there for another 2 hours minimum for me to be able to retrieve them (dh covered for me allot too since he worked closer-but he could'nt always get away from work and i also did'nt think he should always be the one who had to miss work).

another thing to consider is how you already structure getting things done. when i worked closer to home i tended to run errands on the way home or when i was picking up the kids, and i was able to get dinner going so by the time everyone was settled in for the evening it was ready. commuting did'nt afford me this-i got home just at the time we normaly had dinner so i ended up doing allot more cooking late at nite that i could quickly heat or using a crockpot. errands, hair appointments and that kind of stuff ate up allot of our weekends.

 

[Cindy's Mom]

About 30 seconds ago, I submitted my letter of resignation. I am leaving 20 years of downtown employment (same employer) for working close to home and a 20k salary cut.

I may not be the person you want to talk to now, because the commute was a HUGE reason why I am leaving.

BUT, if you want to PM me, feel free.

Good luck in whatever you decide.

 

[jimmiej]

I commute 50 miles each way (one hour) by car. My last job was very stressful! My blood pressure has gone way down since I took this new job in July. I pass the time by listening to podcasts on my Ipod and books on CD. With the price of gas going down, I've come out about even financially from my last job. However, the benefits to my health are immeasurable.

You must do what is best for your family. I wish you good luck on your decision.

 

[Todd&Copper]

I commute. I use a commuter bus (the nice charter ones with comfy seats, individual reading lights and fan and a reclining seatback) and get a federal subsidy of $115 per month, so my OOP expense is about $30. The bus takes about 40 minutes in the morning and about 50 minutes in the evening. The park & ride lot is about 7 or so miles from my house.

I could not have the non-stress lawyer position I do have closer to home. I'd either get much lower pay or work much, much longer hours for higher pay.

I also work a compressed schedule so I have every other Friday off.

 

[Praying Colonel]

My drive is 103 miles round trip daily. Takes about 55 minutes 1 way if I catch all of the traffic lights just right.

We had our house before I started working this job, and for a variety of reasons we've not moved. We'll probably stay where we are. I wish I lived closer to where I work, but I'm used to the drive and I like my current job about 3.2 gazillion times more than my last one, so the commute doesn't bother me that much.

Cost is the biggest pain. I use 45 gallons of gas every 2 weeks, almost to the drop. When I started working this job in 2000, gas was $1.27/gallon. In the summer of 2001, I remember it being 98 cents/gallon at the local station. Hard to believe it was that low that recently. When gas was $4.30/gallon earlier this year, it really hurt. Now that it's $2.70, not so much, but it's still not as good as $1.27.

I vanpooled for a while. With the federal subsidy as mentioned above, it greatly reduced my commute cost. But I had to get up about 45 minutes earlier and got home about 30 minutes later, so it was a pain. It was like working a minimum-wage job. I saved 15 gallons of gas/week, so if I were doing it now the cost/hour of time lost would be $6.48/hour (3 gallons/day X 2.70/gallon X 1.25 hours/day). That's less than minimum wage.

 

[lovesmurfs]

Thanks so much to everyone for your input. It's going to be a tough decision if I am offered the position. If it was near the train station, it would be much easier.

My 2nd interview's (with HR and a manager from the department I'd be overseeing) Wednesday morning, and it seems as though I'll hear back quickly. In talking with the HR director today (when she reconfirmed my salary expectations), I did mention the additional cost of transportation, so she is aware of some of my concerns.

Thanks again.

 

[stacyp9]

Hi! I've been job hunting since early July (my salary was half of our household income). I have a 2nd interview scheduled for an awesome position in downtown Chicago. I'm in the process of weighing my options -- it's a wonderful job that would stretch me, and that would allow me to help grow the organization as well. Pay is where I was when I left my last position, possibly a little more based on the salary range they provided (up to $7,000 more than I was making before).

However, in order to physically get to the organization, I'd need to either drive and pay for monthly parking (1 1/2 hours each way, not including stress!) or take the train and a bus from Union Station (paying for monthly train and bus passes). My concern with public transportation is the schedules - If I miss a train, it could increase my commute by an hour or more.

I've got two kids with active schedules (DD9 and DS14). If I'm offered the position, my husband is pushing me to take it and says we'll work out the transportation issues (both mine and the kids'). He teaches at the university level and can generally come and go as long as he doesn't have a class.

It's a great and exciting opportunity, but the commute will probably get pretty old, pretty quick. In today's age of electronic communications, I may be able to work out a more flexible working environment, but I wouldn't propose it for quite a while, I'd think, once I'm trained and have demonstrated my value to the company.

How do those of you who commute long distances handle it -- is it something worth dealing with in order to get a job?

I just recently quit my job in downtown Chicago for one that is ten minutes from home. I'm only 25 miles outside of the city, but the commute was typically 1.25-1.5 hours each way. I did it for years. It just eventually got old. There were too many times I needed to get home for the kids and I was late. The crazy gas prices didn't help but it was more so the total amount of hours wasted in the car each week crawling along. On top of that everytime it rained, commutes were 2 hours and if it snowed more than 6" times went to 3 hours and above. One trip last year took me 5.5 hours- for 25 miles. Talk about misery.

Good luck whatever you decide. If you decide to commute, know that you'll have lots of company.

 

[amyhughes]

I commute about 80 miles each way every day. But, that is the nature of my job. I go where the job site is.

 

[lovesmurfs]

I just recently quit my job in downtown Chicago for one that is ten minutes from home. I'm only 25 miles outside of the city, but the commute was typically 1.25-1.5 hours each way. I did it for years. It just eventually got old. There were too many times I needed to get home for the kids and I was late. The crazy gas prices didn't help but it was more so the total amount of hours wasted in the car each week crawling along. On top of that everytime it rained, commutes were 2 hours and if it snowed more than 6" times went to 3 hours and above. One trip last year took me 5.5 hours- for 25 miles. Talk about misery.

Good luck whatever you decide. If you decide to commute, know that you'll have lots of company.

Uggh. And I'm in Elgin (40 miles). Sigh.