Check this story out. I saw it on the news last night. There is no way I could do this.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/05/20/eveningnews/main696990.shtml

Well truck drivers do it for a living and driving much further distances.

But then driving trucks is not commuting, unusual, but a way of making a living. :)

The subject here is commuting in order to make a living.


And workers' commutes, in spite of additional or widened freeways and improved public transit, appear to get longer. :(

pwright brings up a very important point here. The average working person spends 8 hours on the job. Adding the commute at each end (1, 2, 3 hours per trip?) makes the time away from home, family and friends into an awfully large segment of the day. :(

My longest commute was 1 to 1 1/2 hours going to San Francisco & back. That amounts to a work day of about 10 - 11 hours. I consider that within the realm of the acceptable.

Trips to & from work well beyond that period of time seriously affect a person's general well-being and outlook on life, I should think, especially if they are solo drivers. I know people who drive from here to Sacramento or from here to San Jose every day. Too long on the road with too many frustrations, say I. The environmental and psycholocal impact, of course, are further factors not even considered here..

There's a whole lot to be done in this country, I feel, to cut down on commute times.

My dad drive from Chicago to Joliet 5 days a week to Work.
Thats like 1 hour.

I know some people that lived near Michigan City(on the other side of Lake Michigan) and work in Chicago, driving is about 1hour- 2 hours(traffic time). Maybe the trains take 2 hours.

I know someone who drives from Topeka to work in downtown KCMO 5 days a week. That is an hour drive. Too much for me.

Sadly, a 45-60 min commute isnt abnormal in Baltimore-Washington at all.

Here in Tampa, it has become common for lower middle class people to drive 90 minutes to work from the "cheaper" suburbs north of town where new, inexpensive housing can be had. Theres still PLENTY of land closer in to Tampa that could be developed, but there is no regional planning board or anything of the kind to dictate how land should be used. What can one expect in this country, though, when it comes to planning? This national crisis is made even worse in Florida by the local dumbass pro-development lawmakers promoting sprawl and highway expansion all in the name of a fast buck with no regard to what kind of urban fabric will be left for future generations. Or rather, no regard to anyone living in these developments five years after they're built.

It takes me about 40 minutes in the morning to get from SW Louisville to The Jeffersontown business district in the morning and over 1 hour in the afternoon because of the congested traffic on Louisville Expressways(escpecially I-265: the southern Beltway b/c its only 4 lanes wide while the I-264: northern beltway is 12 lanes in some cases its still heavy in most spots).

According to the 2000 Census, about 200 people commute from Huntsville to Nashville on weekdays, which is a good 2 hour drive.

I live about 9 miles from downtown Minneapolis and it takes me about 15 minutes to get to work during rush hour....because I car pool and I can use the car pool/toll lanes.

Interesting article. I guess people are willing to put up a long commute to find affordable housing, although they are making up for it, in less time with family, stress, transportation cost, etc.

The New York area isn't alone either, DC and LA seem to have the same problem as well. The DC suburbs not only consist of MD and VA anymore, but now WV and PA. The Washington Post ran an article about extreme commuting in the DC Metro area.

Washington Post Article (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50565-2004Aug8.html)

Check this story out. I saw it on the news last night. There is no way I could do this.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/05/20/eveningnews/main696990.shtml
What I find interesting about the article is that she's riding a bus to the city. Most Americans wouldn't take the bus if their life depended on it, yet exurbanites living 100 miles from Manhattan are willing to ride a bus for 2 hours to get to work in the city.
Not that I can understand why anyone would want to commute 4 hours everyday just to have a big house with a large yard, isn't it more important that they spend time with their kids than having a large backyard?

What I find interesting about the article is that she's riding a bus to the city. Most Americans wouldn't take the bus if their life depended on it, yet exurbanites living 100 miles from Manhattan are willing to ride a bus for 2 hours to get to work in the city.
Not that I can understand why anyone would want to commute 4 hours everyday just to have a big house with a large yard, isn't it more important that they spend time with their kids than having a large backyard?

its crazy, I know alot of people like this...

I used to work in upper westchester and sometimes rockland county it was really surprising to see how many people commuted in rockland by bus. Then again I would like to know the income's of some of these people, because I've met some people who live all the way at the top of the harlem line (metro north blue line) and they make a 2+ hour commute to manhattan everday...but the metro north is incredibly expensive. Do they're employers get tax benefits??? I wonder because I know there are certain employers who do this and the employees get money to commute.

I used to know this woman from pougkeepsie who would commute to her office in downtown brooklyn everday, that's a ridiculous commute!!!

It's absolutely insane to think that a larger house with a yard makes up for the serious health consequences that result from getting a child up at 4am every day. Studies have very consistently shown that sleep is among the most important things (along with diet and exercise) that factor into a child's mental and physical development.

Someday these kids are going to move into a center-city apartment because they're going to value every minute of sleep they can get. An acre of backyard is going to mean shit to them.

it takes me an hour each away to get to work everyday. i hate it, i hate the job and i hate the overdependence on the car in this city. it's no way to live.

my dad almost went through with a commute like this. he worked at dupont in the pharmaceutical division for 20 years, until dupont sold of the pharmaceutical section to bristol mayers squibb. bms wasn't going to operate in delaware, so my dad had the choice of joining bristol myers quibb in northern new jersey, or retiring. one of the options he looked at was commuting from our place in delaware to new brunswick, new jersey. this would mean a 30 minute drive to the train station in wilmington, then a 2 hour train ride to new brunswick. in the end, he decided to "retire", then find a new job in the wilmington area. as the father of 6 kids (me being the oldest, and i was still in college while this went on 2 years ago), he would lose too much time on trains and in his car. that time was too valuable, and would be better suited for being with the family, whether it be picking up the littler ones from swimming, or just plain old family time; or equally important, for sleeping. while working for a big company would benefit him and the family more, the lifestyle would just be too much on him, and he would most likely lose productivity.

I saw the story on CBS News that is the subject of this post. I had read a similarly-themed article in the New York Times about a year ago on the same subject. The tenor of the Times article was much more negative. The focus was on families being lured 100 miles away with promises of commuter rail extensions that never happened, thus necessitating driving commutes for most of them, and stunted/dropping property values. Greedy developers were also often approving a lot of these people for mortgages they were barely qualified for based on the usual income/mortgage ratios, just for the sake of moving the properties as quickly as possible.

Due to the falling property values, most of these people were forced to stick with their white elephant homes, even if they wanted to escape the monster commute, or sell at a loss, if they could sell at all. In addition, many of these lifelong city dwellers were feeling the negative effects of uprooting themselves from family and neighborhood support systems that they had come to rely on for child care, companionship, etc. Very sad stories all around.

But back to the CBS story. After watching it, I got my atlas out to get a better sense of the area they were talking about. The obvious advantage of the town they were talking about is that it was right on Interstate 80--hence the bus commute. But other than that, I wondered why the houses luring these people weren't being built in/near any of the many small towns also along I-80 in western New Jersey. Anyone familiar with the area have some insight?

About ten years ago, I met a man who commuted five days a week from Grand Rapids to the North side of Chicago. It was a two and half hour drive, but with the time change, he lost an hour on the morning commute and gained an hour in the evening.

Either way, that is insanity.

it takes me an hour each away to get to work everyday. i hate it, i hate the job and i hate the overdependence on the car in this city. it's no way to live.

With so much hate, the answer seems so obvious jmancuso.

For me, I work 35 miles from my home and it takes 40 minutes in the morning and 1 hour on the way home. Would I like for my commute to be shorter, of course, but if commuting bothered me THAT much, I would simply move. My co-worker lives only 10 minutes away and that is because she chose to do so. I like my side of town and plan on staying there, so I will continue commuting everyday. I could use the bus but it would take much longer than driving in rush hour traffic.

I keep a lot of my favorite music in the car, and make sure my air conditioner is always in good shape. I try to make myself as comfortable as possible.

I drive from Columbia, MD to downtown DC everyday on the commuter bus. That is about a 45 minute commute if there were no cars on the road. In reality, it takes much longer. DC traffic is so horrible that you wouldn't even believe it. Today, my commute took 2 hours to get home. Imagine sitting in a bus from downtown DC to Columbia going 20 mph the whole way. The whole way I was doing a timeline in my head as to when I can quite my job in DC and get a job in Baltimore or central MD to save my sanity. I would seriously take a pay cut just to not be stuck in traffic anymore.

i agree with Velvetj mancuso. try living in a more urban environment and living close to work. uptown will do that too you. ;)

I drive from Columbia, MD to downtown DC everyday on the commuter bus. That is about a 45 minute commute if there were no cars on the road. In reality, it takes much longer. DC traffic is so horrible that you wouldn't even believe it. Today, my commute took 2 hours to get home. Imagine sitting in a bus from downtown DC to Columbia going 20 mph the whole way. The whole way I was doing a timeline in my head as to when I can quite my job in DC and get a job in Baltimore or central MD to save my sanity. I would seriously take a pay cut just to not be stuck in traffic anymore.

Chris25 I know exactly what you're going through. Does your bus take the BW Parkway or 95? That is quite a commute. I don't know how you do it.

Lived in Jersey and moved to Philly. Not perfect traffic in CC...

HOWEVER I moved to Baltimore a little while ago. You've got to be kidding me with the BaltWash commute. 30 miles from the 2 cities and it take hours. Many trains, shuttles, and cities between the 2. Get the Maglev now in this area.

People from these two are back and forth so much, it's unbeeeleeva-bull. Cities this close, this big, need to come up with a solution.

I used to live 65 miles west of Charlotte and commute in to the central city. Took an hour but I would have spent the same time on the city streets and freeway and the cost of living was cheaper in the foothills. So I drove 65 miles there 65 miles back. Now I walk three blocks to work ;) in ft lauderdale

With so much hate, the answer seems so obvious jmancuso.

For me, I work 35 miles from my home and it takes 40 minutes in the morning and 1 hour on the way home. Would I like for my commute to be shorter, of course, but if commuting bothered me THAT much, I would simply move. My co-worker lives only 10 minutes away and that is because she chose to do so. I like my side of town and plan on staying there, so I will continue commuting everyday. I could use the bus but it would take much longer than driving in rush hour traffic.

I keep a lot of my favorite music in the car, and make sure my air conditioner is always in good shape. I try to make myself as comfortable as possible.


i live in the galleria and work in pasadena. getting in and out of the galleria area alone takes up at half of my commute time. however, i work in pasadena and there's no chance in hell i would ever move out that way...even if i did like the job. it's the perpetual road construction and the piss poor planning by TXDOT in decideing to rip up most routes at the same time.

just on my commue:

610 is u/c by 225 and then on 59 near midtown/ greenway area and finally the west loop between 59 and I-10.


@ texasboy, i live right in the heart of uptown. love the area and have been here for a few years. the congestion is pretty bad here though..has much to do with 610 being u/c

i catch six buses a day, three to get to school and three to get back home. thats about an hour and a half each trip.

I can't really call my commute a "commute"--it takes either 30 minute on foot through a picturesque town center and university campus; a 10-minute bicycle ride through the same, or an eight-minute car ride. I usually bike three days/week, and drive or walk the other two, depending on the weather. Small cities RULE.

From Bloomington, Ind.

I have to say that taking a coach bus sounds a lot better than driving for two hours. For three years my father drove from northern Baltimore county to Herndon, VA which is a hell of a long way even without traffic. Add in Baltimore and DC rush hour and you have yourself a nightmare commute. His solution was to get up at 4:30 am and beat the rush (at least to the Washington beltway) and then leave work later. It still took between 1.5-2 hours each way. It's hard to imagine the traffic in this area getting any worse, but until that Maglev is built, there will be nothing to relieve the congestion. Metro and light rail also need to expand to solve this problem. Otherwise, we'll need double-decker highways!

^ I think if they went ahead and constructed the Silver line, it would take a lot of traffic off the roads around Tysons Corner. Plus it makes sense, since its one of the area's largest job centers.

Traffic overall in DC is killer. It can take up to 2 hrs or more to get to downtown DC from Stafford on I-95, although the HOV and slugging helps out a lot, but now that's over capacity.

I feel even more pain for people, who are practically forced to move out into the booneys like Winchester or Caroline County to find an affordable home then having to commute into town. Hopefully they will extend the HOVs and commuter rail lines, and maybe create more Metro lines and a Maglev to Baltimore.

here's a commuter story that tops them all:

i have an old friend whose dad got transferred to california (bay area i think). they planned on moving out there, but when they went looking for houses, they were astonished to see houses that would sell for around $200,000 in delaware going for $750,000 out there. the only thing they could afford, after moving and whatnot, would be a small, low class apartment. since they still had some kids living at home, going to grade school, etc, an apartment would not be good enough. the dad considered commuting by plane every week to california, renting an extremely small apartment for as little as possible, and then flying back for the weekends. in the end, he quit the job, because commuting also would kill their wallet and bank account.

I can't imagine such a commute, the longest I've ever had was a 45 minute train ride (now my commute is between 20 and 35 minutes depending whether I walk or ride my bicycle to the subway). I know of some people though who commute to chicago from as far away as Rockford, I can't imagine.

I would never do that... We ( My family and I) live about 10 miles from downtown Louisville and I can get anywhere in the city within 30 minutes.. sometimes even during rush hour... My dad works downtown and he leaves 20 minutes before work and gets there in time.... It's funny too.. the expressways further away from dt Louisville are busier than those closer to downtown.. is this true in any other city?

30 minutes in the afternoon, usually, sometimes a bit less. The longest part is always the surface streets/stoplights between my interstate exit and home.

In the morning, when theres no traffice its about 20 minutes.

I know someone who lives in San Diego and works in Downtown Los Angeles. She catches a train there and back every day!

Are people that unwilling to live in apartments?

Are lawns and dens so compelling that they'll give up most of their family time?

I don't get it.

The commute times for me is about an hour (from my apartments, to Downtown Houston), but I do take the Metro Bus at least once a weakn into Downtown. It is my fault for living way out here in Cinco Ranch. My wife and I are considering moving in closer to town, before the baby comes in September.

^^ I think what it is, is the fact that people want to own something rather than rent. Housing is expensive in and right outside of the city. Most people can't get a condo even if they wanted too, b/c they don't make enough. In DC, I couldn't get a loan for a condo, which could run me $300-500k, however, I could get a townhome in a place like Charles town for $100-200, although I would probably make up for it in gas and wear and tear on my car.

I would never do that... We ( My family and I) live about 10 miles from downtown Louisville and I can get anywhere in the city within 30 minutes.. sometimes even during rush hour... My dad works downtown and he leaves 20 minutes before work and gets there in time.... It's funny too.. the expressways further away from dt Louisville are busier than those closer to downtown.. is this true in any other city?

Louisville used to have atrocious expressway traffic until they rebuilt the system in the 1980s, and now the expressway traffic is fairly smooth. Louisville also has a very good sychronized street light system which empties downtown and nearby areas pretty quick during rush hour...that was a point of pride for one of the local heads of traffic engineering back in the '70s...

My experience in Dayton is that the expressway through downtown in bad but mainly due to bad engineering as it has a bad weave pattern and necks down to four from six lanes in one part....its more a problem when through-traffic is heavy, not on-off traffic. There are some bad suburban on-off ramp traffic jams in the Dayton area during the rush hour, and in certain suburban areas the surface street congestion is always far, far worse during rush hour than it is downtown.

For Dayton i would guess that if you lived and worked in a congested suburban area you are more likely to encounter serious traffic delays during rush hour than if you worked in downtown Dayton and lived in a closer-in suburban area or a historic district close to downtown.