Commuting

[HopeydaFish]

Without traffic jams, I can get into work in about 30 minutes. However, as soon as winter rolls around, I'll be looking at a 1 hour commute most days. This is by far the worst part of my day. I really hate driving. I've called in sick a few times when the weather was bad just to avoid sitting in traffic.

That being said, every time I mention how much I hate my commute, someone will always pipe in with "Your commute is nothing, most people who live in big American cities have much longer commutes than that".

So I'm curious...how long is the average OOTiot's commute?

Im in sales, so my day is one long commute. I dont mind driving though. I was talking about this a couple days ago with one of the other salesmen, and he lived on both coasts for awhile. He said that it wasnt uncommon to have a 2-3.5 hour commute in LA, when he was there, if you used the freeway.

[HopeydaFish]

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Im in sales, so my day is one long commute. I dont mind driving though. I was talking about this a couple days ago with one of the other salesmen, and he lived on both coasts for awhile. He said that it wasnt uncommon to have a 2-3.5 hour commute in LA, when he was there, if you used the freeway.

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I couldn't imagine spending 4+ hours a day commuting. I wouldn't be able to handle it...I'd feel like I was wasting a huge part of my life sitting in my car.

[SossMan]

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[ QUOTE ]
Im in sales, so my day is one long commute. I dont mind driving though. I was talking about this a couple days ago with one of the other salesmen, and he lived on both coasts for awhile. He said that it wasnt uncommon to have a 2-3.5 hour commute in LA, when he was there, if you used the freeway.

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I couldn't imagine spending 4+ hours a day commuting. I wouldn't be able to handle it...I'd feel like I was wasting a huge part of my life sitting in my car.

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vs a huge part of your life sitting in a cubicle?

[wayabvpar]

I get paid to sit in a cubicle. The commuting is on my own time.

[Amid Cent]

I live in Los Angeles, so my 15 mile commute each way generally takes me 45 min to an hour.

[spamuell]

How far is your drive?

[HopeydaFish]

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How far is your drive?

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It's about 35kms each way. The big problem is that there's no direct route to get there. I can't get on the highway and then exit at my office. I drive on the highway for about 15kms, exit and have to drive down congested streets with lots of lights (this sometimes the longest part of my commute), get on a parkway for another 15km or so, cross a bridge and then drive through more stop and go traffic for the last 5kms or so.

[offTopic]

I'm in the 30m - 1h camp. 34 miles door-to-door in the Silicon Valley. I'll occasionally tip over an hour based on what time I leave and traffic.

We moved offices about a year ago to bring work closer to where I live. Prior to that, it was 47 miles each way, which was pretty bad.

I've heard a myriad of stories of people driving over from the Central Valley to the SF Bay Area, and don't know how they do it and keep their sanity.

[HopeydaFish]

When I lived in Montreal, one of my neighbours would commute from Montreal to Ottawa every day. That's about a 220 km commute.