OT: So... How long is your daily commute???

Old No7 · Post by **Old No7** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 9:00 pm

Sorry, have not posted much lately, as we spent the end of December and most of January packing, PACKing and PACKING some more getting ready for a move closer to work. And nowadays, I'm spending my time unpacking, UNpacking and unPACKing some more -- and we're not done yet... Sigh...

Anyway, I just reduced my commute to/from work by 80 miles & 1.5 hours combined per day. Wow! This is like getting a full day of free time back each week!

Over the last 7.5 years, I figure that I drove over 230,000 miles to/from work -- I think that's enough. (Not as much as our trucker friends, I admit, but all the time on the road didn't count the 10 to 12+ hour days in the office either...)

Yes, I should have made this change years ago! (We tried... But the economy and real estate market was against us...

)

We feel very Blessed to have finally made the move, and the difference in lower stress level, higher quality of life and having dinner together with my bride more than 2 or 3 times a week is tremendous! And to be honest, I also plan to spend more time with my dog and my reloading equipment.

So... I was wondering...

How long is your commute?

And if it is too long... Should you consider a change as well?!?!

Tight groups,

Old -- and not getting any younger -- No7

olyinaz · Post by **olyinaz** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 9:06 pm

I commute Tucson to L.A. every time I go to work. 35 minutes to the airport, about 45 minutes there, and a one hour flight to LAX.

Oly

mklwhite · Post by **mklwhite** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 9:06 pm

Old No7 wrote:How long is your commute?

Hard for me to complain I guess. Mine is 20 minutes (each way) and that includes dropping off the wife at her work. It can be as bad as 30 minutes though if we have bad traffic (or on Fridays)!

Post by **Old Savage** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 9:07 pm

3.4 Miles

Post by **Ysabel Kid** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 9:15 pm

When I'm in the office, my commute is about 40 feet. It's nice to work out of a home office!

toby · Post by **toby** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 9:16 pm

25 feet, I'm retired and that's the distance from my bed to my recliner.

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 9:19 pm

About 4 feet.

And sometimes.... 0!

TedH · Post by **TedH** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 9:23 pm

6 miles. Usually takes about 11 minutes.

Post by **Hobie** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 9:28 pm

Which job? 6 miles to one, .75 mile to the other, a matter of feet most of the time.

SJPrice · Post by **SJPrice** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 9:31 pm

About 15 feet to my office / study, but I do have to walk about 80 feet to the kitchen for the coffee pot.

2X22 · Post by **2X22** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 9:39 pm

About 30' from my bed to the coffee pot......

I'm retired!

The wife, who is a grade School teacher has to drive 9.2 miles to work. The biggest problem is avoiding the deer and elk crossing the road

She durn near was 'bout taken out by a herd of elk right below the house here that almost ran over HER!

2x22

kimwcook · Post by **kimwcook** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 9:47 pm

10 miles, takes about 15 minutes (one way). If there's heavy traffic, 15 minutes 30 seconds.

.45colt · Post by **.45colt** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 9:48 pm

It's an Easy 22 Mi.

. unemployment is over 11% here so if One is working He better Laugh at the commute.

rjohns94 · Post by **rjohns94** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 9:52 pm

I just went from 104 miles round trip and up to three hours a day to 3 miles round trip. I have a few minutes on bicycle to work and back each day. i'm happy camper!!

Bogie35 · Post by **Bogie35** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 10:00 pm

Griff wrote:About 4 feet.

And sometimes.... 0!

Now THAT is what I call "multi-tasking"!

bogie

AJMD429 · Post by **AJMD429** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 10:21 pm

First off, I have hired employees who were commuting 35 miles each way and making $12/hr at a job they hated, but left that job and came to work for me, despite the fact that I started them out at only $10/hr. Partly, because as a small business owner, I can allow them more flexibility (...try telling your large-corporation-with-great-benefits boss you need to bring your sick ferret to the office so you can check on it every hour or so, feed it a couple times, and give it insulin shots...

), and partly because perhaps they only drive 10 miles a day instead of 70, and save lots of money on gas, as well as TIME they weren't getting paid for.

Secondly, I have two jobs:

One costs me 5 gallons of gas and 1 hour 20 minutes of time per day to commute to, has ZERO "benefits" because I'm self-employed, and NO "base pay" guarantee. I've occasionally gone 8 or 9 months without a paycheck at that job, although I average about $20-25/hour as long as I am willing to work 65 hours per week, but I'm my own boss, and don't have to ever do stuff I think is crooked or unethical just to make whoever signs my paycheck happy.

The other costs me maybe a half gallon of gas and ten minutes of time per day to commute to, has a guaranteed 'base' pay of $100/hr (four or five times what I've EVER made at the other job), but requires me to do things the way the insurance companies and Medicaid want things done, even if not in the best interest of the patient, and I'm not my own boss.

Guess which job I recently quit...? Happiness and "doing the right thing" is far more rewarding in the long run than just the dollars. When your job requires such intense training that you don't start earning money until age 32, at which point you're $250,000 in debt from student loans, it's easy to forget that, but watching some of the missionaries here on this forum, and some of the people in my community who have "followed their Calling" has convinced me that no matter what the commute or pay scale, you just have to figure out what is "right" to do.

If you can do the "right" thing, and manage to avoid a long commute, so you have more time with your family - that is pretty close to perfection...!

damienph · Post by **damienph** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 10:27 pm

I only thought that I had a long commute; I am right at 20 miles each way. My house is four miles from a paved road. It can be a challenge this time of year. The worst part is my vehicles are NEVER clean.

jdad · Post by **jdad** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 10:48 pm

I average about 100 miles per day.....outside sales, with my own vehicle. '99 Pathfinder, with 256,000 miles. It's been completely trouble free until about 240,000. Between then and now the rear lateral bars finally wore out their bushings, drivers side exhaust manifold cracked, steering bushings finally wore out, plastic radiator finally started to crack, and one of the belt tensioners started to wobble. It's time for a new vehicle. This one is worn out and I need better gas mileage. I'm averaging about $500 per month, to feed it.

RIHMFIRE · Post by **RIHMFIRE** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 10:55 pm

tuesday to today...575 mile round trip....
tommorow.......0

jnyork · Post by **jnyork** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 11:08 pm

25 minutes from my house to the range.

piller · Post by **piller** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 11:23 pm

60 miles each way and about 1.5 hours in traffic. I requested a closer store when it was only 45 miles and my District Manager responded with a smile. I hate corporations, and minority women bosses who think they have the position just so that they can retaliate for what they think your ancestors might have done to their ancestors are the worst.

COSteve · Post by **COSteve** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 11:35 pm

About 19 feet.

I fire up the computer every morning just to see what's up but being retired I don't even have to do that if I don't want to.

Old Time Hunter · Post by **Old Time Hunter** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 11:38 pm

Ysabel Kid wrote:When I'm in the office, my commute is about 40 feet. It's nice to work out of a home office!

Yep, 'bout the same, but seem to spend more time traveling to clients than I get to stay in the office. Heck just got back from Key West, next week in Minneapolis, and then in a couple of more weeks I'll be in Germany.

Post by **Chuck 100 yd** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 11:44 pm

3 miles to work. I come home for lunch and to feed my dogs.

Rusty · Post by **Rusty** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 12:22 am

For the last 12 years mine has been 20 minutes.

jengel · Post by **jengel** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 6:39 pm

9 miles.

2ndovc · Post by **2ndovc** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 7:02 pm

It's about 40 miles to my office one way. Add in all the territory that I cover totals up to anywhere from 500 miles to
800 in any given week.

Don't mind so much. I like to drive and have a company truck and fuel card.
Can't complain.
However I'd LOVE to work out of my house!!

jb

20cows · Post by **20cows** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 7:54 pm

I used to commute 50 miles round trip, but I've got that down to 2 blocks round trip now.

Still have to go the three miles to the ranch every day, but that's more like a mini vacation. Every day.

JerryB · Post by **JerryB** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 7:57 pm

I drove 5 miles to work until I retired in 2001. Now we look forward to the 40 mile drive to church twice on Sunday and on Wednesday nite, 240 miles a week for church is a Blessing for what we get from it.

Lawyer Daggit · Post by **Lawyer Daggit** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 8:50 pm

I work from home- so about 40 feet.

When I am in Court though this increases to, subject to the Court and where it is in the state, anything between 15 mins and 11 hours.

BC in TN · Post by **BC in TN** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 9:05 pm

About an hour each way - been thinking about getting closer

Huntermb · Post by **Huntermb** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 9:26 pm

100 miles round trip so about two hours, longer if there is a blizzard or ice storm. Been doing it ten years and it's getting really old. I would seriously take a job for less money to be closer to home and not have to travel as much.

horsesoldier03 · Post by **horsesoldier03** » Sat Feb 12, 2011 12:08 am

About 30 miles one way, but its almost all highway. Being from a county with only 8500 people, we dont have to many traffic jams to worry about!

Molasses · Post by **Molasses** » Sat Feb 12, 2011 8:35 am

About 35 minutes from my front door to the part of the plant I work in, if I walk. Haven't walked to/from work much since they switched us to 12-hour shifts; the time at home is too short and my feet hurt too much nowadays as it is. About 10 minutes when I drive, half of that being getting a parking spot and getting from the lot to my work area.
It's about a mile and a half and we bought this place with that in mind.

Cimarron · Post by **Cimarron** » Sat Feb 12, 2011 11:01 am

14 miles, it takes about 15 minutes to get to work. Except this winter when it takes a little less because I'm sliding down hill

SFRanger7GP · Post by **SFRanger7GP** » Sat Feb 12, 2011 11:12 am

40 minutes to the Miami airport and then 2-12 hour flight, depending on what country I am going to. I flew over 200,000 miles last year.

txpete · Post by **txpete** » Sat Feb 12, 2011 3:37 pm

I sat down and thought about it.12 miles to the lake,8 miles to the range and 12 ft to the coffee pot.....by noon I am beat

it tough being a full time bum.
pete

AkRay · Post by **AkRay** » Sat Feb 12, 2011 4:11 pm

My teaching job takes 12-15 minutes to get there and back from, so that's not bad at all. My summer job is about 45 minutes each way, so that's an hour and a half times 6 days per week. I usually drive about 20 minutes and park and get a ride with my boss, but I still don't like that commute very much.

stretch · Post by **stretch** » Sat Feb 12, 2011 4:21 pm

Mine's been 12 - 15 miles - depending on which route I take - since
1997 or so. I keep considering applying to a firm in Brunswick, but
that's at least an hour away. Might be a fun job, might not............
I once had a job where I could go home for lunch everyday. The job
was the pits - but I sure liked the commute!

-Stretch

Lastmohecken · Post by **Lastmohecken** » Sat Feb 12, 2011 4:25 pm

I live on the farm where I grew up. Been back here 21 years. It's about a 30 minute drive, mostly open highway, except for 2 miles of dirt road, and about 5 stop lights when I get to town. It used to be only one stop light, dammed city keeps adding them.

I live in the country, where the next closest house is almost half a mile, for that privilage I am willing to drive a long ways, but I am lucky that it's only 22 miles or so, and I am also lucky that I have a company truck, and fuel card. But even if I didn't have one, and I used to not, I would still not be willing to pick up and move closer in. Of course where I live, my roots run deep, maybe the land owns me as much as I own it.

Derailed · Post by **Derailed** » Sat Feb 12, 2011 4:54 pm

I run a backyard machine shop. I bought a new truck 3 1/2 years ago and it just rolled over 26K. The shop is about 150 ft from the back door. One of the pros of self employment.

wolfdog · Post by **wolfdog** » Sat Feb 12, 2011 5:07 pm

One mile each way, thats a good part of the reason I took this one.

El Chivo · Post by **El Chivo** » Sat Feb 12, 2011 8:49 pm

about 2 miles each way, a big reason I stay where I am. A short commute is a priority for me and I usually have to move to achieve it, then I end up working somewhere else, and move again. Luckily this gig has stayed the same for almost 9 years now.

It's ironic that the only place I've managed to find this is Los Angeles, where everybody drives 60 miles to work. Most other situations have required 10-15 mile commutes. But here there are plenty of apartments mixed in with the industrial and retail areas.

Cottonwood Mike · Post by **Cottonwood Mike** » Sat Feb 12, 2011 10:43 pm

My commute is a mile and a half and about 4 minutes to the school I teach at. Add to that that daughter is in the adjoining 4th grade classroom, and I get to have her for social studies each day, and I have both my son and daughter(8 & 10) with me after school each day, it's a great commute and job. How many dads get to have their kids with them at work each day?

Mike

M. M. Wright · Post by **M. M. Wright** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 7:40 am

I live on part of the family "home place". We've been here since 1882 and my sister lives in the house my grandfather built in the teens. I commuted 62 miles one way for close to 30 years, last 18 to the same job. Tried buying a house there, then an apartment (twice) and it just seemed that the time and money spent were worth waking up to no traffic sounds or close neighbors. No dogs barking, only coyotes to bother me. Plus, I have my own shooting ranges. One set up for CAS and one for long range, out to 350 yards. Have been retired since 99 so seldom go anywhere but to gun shows or shoots.

M. M.

Buffboy · Post by **Buffboy** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 9:32 am

When I worked for myself(family business) the commute was 18 miles round trip after buying my house. Working for the buffalo rancher was 8 miles.

Since I started with the county, it's less than a block. I walk, though lately I have had to walk on the road because of the snow and then it's about a block and a half. When I work for the sheriff office it's the same building, just a different office. I have a county take home vehicle that may have me driving across the county for "work" or beyond, but that's not really a commute.

Sixgun · Post by **Sixgun** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 11:05 am

1.8 miles for the last 36 years. I come home for lunch to eat, check on the dogs, my guns, and my wife............in that order

After reading all of these posts, I must say that you boys who are retired are making me mighty jealous. Imagine, all of that talk "from the bed-to the computer" or Griff's "4 feet away"

Seems like most guys have a 20-30 minute commute.

Bottom line is that YOU ALL HAVE TO KEEP WORKING BECAUSE MILLIONS OF ILLEGALS ARE DEPENDING ON YOUR HARD EARNED TAX MONEY!

--------------Sixgun

rodeo kid · Post by **rodeo kid** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 2:50 pm

In order to commute one would have to work, and I don't really believe in that any more. I breed min. schnauzers as a hobby, so I do have to walk down to the kennel to feed and water them, and let them out to play. Except for gardening and mowing that's the extent of my work. Sure is nice. God Bless.

SJPrice · Post by **SJPrice** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 4:06 pm

The last couple of posts here are hitting home pretty hard. I am about halfway through reading a book I had heard about for years, and never read called "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand. So far it is about the very idea of good people "having" to work to support the slackers who do not. Sorry for bringing it up here as I do not want to hi-jack the OP, but it hit my thoughts pretty hard. I think I will start a separate thread.......

rimrock · Post by **rimrock** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 6:24 pm

110 miles round trip each day M-F about 1 hr. 10 min each way. My consolation prize is that I can walk out my back door and shoot when I want.

rimrock