should I take on a long commute?

Ask your wife if she would not mind having her boy friend sleep on the couch a couple of nights per week...

My average commute was easily 90 minutes each way, and I survived it for thirty years... Gas was cheaper, but it was wonderful to wake up with my wife...It was a dangerous job, but her kiss good bye was worth braving death and injury for... Such sweet lips to kiss..

If it were me, these are the questions I'd want to answer before making such a major decision:


1. How secure is my job?

2. How would 90 minutes of unpredictable weather, traffic and vehicle issues affect my job security?

3. Can I cope with losing a minimum of 3 hours from my day?

4. Can I cope with the added stress a long commute will create?

5. Can I afford the additional costs for fuel, insurance and vehicle maintenance? Exactly how much more will that be?

6. Would it be worth investing those daily 3 hours of commute time into being more comfortable in my current community by taking some classes, volunteering at neighborhood organizations, taking a dog to the local dog park to meet other people there, etc?

7. Can my family fill my needs during the work week, or would it be wiser to visit family on overnight weekends two or three times a month when they are more available so I can keep my commute expenses and weekday life more sane?

And since anything made by man is subject to malfunction, a spare car is also in order.

I too hwd more than a 90 min commute whenever I trveled from home to my office. I went from Lancaster P to Philly. It was something that , to have a family life afforded you, makes the trip all worthwhile. I would use the time to listen to language and "books on tape" (Now audio books or download audio books). The only problem is that sometime, really deep concentration on the book was as bad as talking or texting.

Another question to contemplate:

Can I routinely get to sleep early enough after week-day family activities to be able to get up that extra two and a half hours to get ready and drive to work?

Where I live, 90 minutes is an average commute. It's not one that I've enjoyed, so I made the decision to switch to a job with a shorter commute (still close to an hour going home).

Lots of factors to evaluate and one big reality to consider - you may not be happier living closer to home after being independent for 18 months.

Depending on the location, the commuting might not be done by car (which has another set of pros and cons - I definitely prefer commuting by public transit).

Of course

I had a boss that traveled an hour plus to work, and the same or more going back home. He insisted he liked it, as it was personal quiet time where he could think, talk with himself.

For me, on the other hand, no question - my work has almost always been close by, as I prefer it.

Have you considered living half way between the two?