Change jobs from a short commute to a long one?

I did the One hour, 15 minute commute for nearly 4 years in the summer half of the year. The winters in FL, 25 min commute.

The issue with the long commute is how much time it really sucks up. All of it, really. I was leaving the house in PA at 7AM and not returning until 11PM. Then driving back to FL on a nearly weekly basis. TONS o DRIVING.

The lawn got long, the kitchen needed repairs, as did the bathroom, and nothing much got done.
 
Any chance asking for an additional 2 hrs/day OT at your current job (for 8 hrs/wk)?
Advantages:
- get paid for commute, rather than paying
- can always undo the OT if you get sick of so much work
- can put the income in a retirement account
- no extra wear and tear on the car; less time on road means less opportunity for accident.
 
No one can answer this but you.

My wife HATES her 30 to 40 minute commute. She may quit over it soon. Its not her thing.

Me on the other hand would do a 50 minute commute in a heartbeat to have a 3 day weekend every week. Now if it wasn't that way - if it was still 5 days, I think it would be a different scenario. However I am an odd duck - I travel for work almost weekly, all by car these days, and am away from home often - so to each his own. Audio books are my friend.

I also agree it depends a lot on the commute. 50 miles / 50 minutes sounds like mostly clear roads, which I would be OK with. 50 minutes in bumper to bumper - no thanks.
 
There’s value to being satisfied and feeling more needed and impactful.

Some places have mega commuters (CA metro areas, dc, etc). It isn’t ideal for health, but may be ok if options are open (mass transit, telecommuting, etc). If it’s a few days a pay period, and there are some flexibilities the others, it may be ok.

Hours in the car without much of a return seems like a hard call. And to do it without any real monetary return makes it a harder call to decide upon.
 
Many are trapped by the interest rate differential between the old and new mortgages.
If I read correctly the current job sounds like a dead end but potential room for advancement at the new job isn’t necessarily guaranteed.
My wife had a 100 mile round trip 45 minutes each way mostly interstate commute at her current job until Covid hit and she has worked from home ever since. It is very apparent how much she saves by not commuting and would rather change jobs than driving that far again.
My wifes in the same exact position 😉 She will never go back to the long commute again. She got a substantial pay raise just by the gas saved, not to mention the huge reduction in car maintenance, and the fact that the car will now last her many times longer and retain MUCH better resale value with the lower mileage. Did I also mention she's MUCH happier? And we have more time to do the things we enjoy 😁

Plus you have to keep in mind, the inherent risk's involved in long commutes has jumped up tremendously in the last few years.

I think in these situations quality of life needs to be taken into account just as much as the possibility of more money 😉

It's a balancing act for sure... everyone just needs to make the right decision for themselves. I think whatever makes a person feel the happiest and least stressed is the best decision for them.
 
While not as drastic, I went from a 15 minute or less drive to work to about 32. I’d drive another 15-30 minutes if it meant better job satisfaction/growth opportunity alone.

Don’t know what you do/will be doing, but I’m also on 4 10 hour shifts…. I’ve spent 7 weeks in 9 years actually doing that. Instead it’s been 4 12’s and a 10 pretty much the whole time.
 
I moved 10 years ago to exactly half the distance to my work. 24 miles to 12. The time savings isn’t great but half the mileage is, especially with gas prices. However, job satisfaction is very important for mental health and quality of life. I truly didn’t mind my longer commute as it was all highway it did give me time to mentally decompress or prepare for my day. 3 day weekends are nice as well.
 
When I was a field service engineer, a typical week was 500-600 miles per week. Some weeks were 700-800 miles.
With todays increased traffic I would not want to drive so much for work in my company car.
 
I have done this. TWICE.

Well, what I did was move from where we lived 18 miles from my office to 48 miles away. I was going from driving across the top end of the Atlanta suburbs, most against the flow in the mornings (there is no "flow" after 1:30 pm in Atlanta, it's ALL FLOW), to driving 48 miles one-way straight up through Atlanta and back down again in the afternoon.

Then a year later, we moved another 14 miles farther away. So I was at 62 miles one-way. One hour and fifiteen minutes minimum in the morning, leaving at 5:45 am sharp. No wrecks, no weather, I was there about 6:58. Leaving at 4:00 pm most days, at 3:00 on Fridays, I was looking at 1:45-3:00 hours to get home. Closer to 3:00 on most Thursdays, some Fridays. Wreck? Rain? Forget it.

I took another job, closer to home, no Atlanta traffic. Stayed away for about 27 months. Took another job almost next door to my old office, with some former co-workers, different (new) company. My deal was I came in the office on Mon and Wed, possibly a 3rd day of the week, no Fridays. Ok, this worked for about a year. Then came the offer of a 30% raise, but I was wanted in the office M-Th in a more personnel management role, etc. Ok.

I stuck it out another 2-1/2 years. Now I'm back at the place I left before that, same pay, 20 minutes each way, no Atlanta traffic, no real traffic to speak of.

I say this:

1. Really think about what your health is worth. Your health WILL DEGRADE. Why? Because you're spending 2+ hours per day sitting in a car instead of exercising that you promise to do. Your legs will become weaker, you will lose muscle, agility, strength and even balance.

Your knees, hips, ankles and feet will hurt, ache and just degrade. Your stress will go up. You will be stuck in traffic patterns and you will begin to think about how you could be at another job, closer to home, less time in a car. It will eat you.

2. Traffic, drivers, etc. It's never been a more time than now with danger on the roads. Criminally acting people are flooding the roads, insane people, angry people, driving like animals. They put your life in danger. They are on the roads from 5:00 am until 5:00 am. I didn't mis-type that. They are a bigger threat than a "mass shooter" at a mall to you. They are endangering your household income.

Along with that is crime. Criminals running from the cops. If you're not aware of what goes on today, look on Youtube for police chases (pursuits). It's not big cities. It's not there or there. It's where you live. Where I live, where everyone lives. There's a segment of the population that won't pull over for the cops. They simply run, take their chances. Those pursuits will put your life in danger.

3. You're going to wear a car out. You say the pay is the same. Well do you currently make enough to buy a 2nd (3rd) car that has a lot of life left in it to destroy (i.e.: Toyota Rav-4, Highlander, Lexus RX350)? You will have much more maintenance costs, fuel costs, etc.

4. You're going to get stuck in traffic jams. One might last an hour this week, 4-6 hours next week.



I won't do it again.
 
Look for a comfortable hybrid vehicle. The idea of doing shopping or errands along the way makes your commute more productive.

I would do it for a period of time before making any decision to move. A one hour commute is pretty common these days. During that commute you can unwind from the job before arriving home.


Yeah, right. In a "comfortable, hybrid vehicle". LOL
 
Yeah, right. In a "comfortable, hybrid vehicle". LOL


Everyone has their own tolerance and ways of handling commutes. What’s so funny about my suggestion?

For many years I drove 25 miles each way to work. This was swing shift. I listened to talk radio on the way in and going home at night I listened to Coast to Coast AM with Art Bell. That made the commutes much more enjoyable and I was able to forget about work.
 
I did an hour each way for a year(and sporadically after that) and it was miserable. I also ended up driving the 91 Ranger I had at the time a fair bit because it saved the miles on my much-beloved Lincoln LS I then had and the 4 cylinder even in a boxy body was a little more gas friendly than the V8 in the LS. The Ranger was fine but didn't have much in the way of creature comforts aside from AC(until it went out) and an automatic. I did enjoy the AM radio at the time, especially as the tinting on my LS killed the AM reception-funny enough that was actually a luxury for me because I couldn't get University of Kentucky basketball on any FM stations in the area where I was driving.

That aside, I don't know that I'd do it now. To be perfectly honest, time is one of the most valuable things I have right now, and having a 7 month old has put that more in perspective for me.

Along those same lines, don't forget that depending on your exact situation, traffic or an accident can easily turn 50 minutes into an hour and a half or two hours. It happened to me more than once. It can make a long day a lot longer.

I now have about a 30 minute commute, and to a location where I'm unlikely to run into traffic issues. I've decided that for me, that length commute is just fine-it's a bit of "me time" in the morning before the day starts, and a bit of time to unwind and mentally shift gears before I get home. At the same time, it's not so long that it drags.
 
I drive anywhere from 30-60 mins. I listen to podcasts and find it very relaxing.

Any job change is a risk. Any risk not taken is a potential opportunity lost too.
 
Commuting is easier when you are younger. But if you are married, kids, or just later in your career it is a PITA.
I hate commuting; I went into work earlier and that had zero to do with work ethic.
I worked with an older guy who was quite the character. His commute was 30 minutes if he left his house at 3:30am but stretched to over an hour at 6am. He came into work at 4am, started work at 5am and left at 2pm. The rest of us didn't work those hours. His boss would schedule meetings at 2pm and he'd say, you can have it at 2pm but not if you want me to attend.

My work told us that we don't want you stressed out trying to get to work at a certain arbitrary time. We expect you to manage your time as adults. My wife is still commuting 2 hours RT per day and they track her hours. She's done with it and counting down the months until retirement. She's the hardest worker in the office and she'd stay on if they made things less stressful.
 
I drive anywhere from 30-60 mins. I listen to podcasts and find it very relaxing.

Any job change is a risk. Any risk not taken is a potential opportunity lost too.
I find that 30 to 45 minutes is a sweet spot. Can listen to audiobooks, music, podcasts and get mentally prepared on the drive and unwind on the way home. Over 60 minutes gets tedious to me and if there is inclement weather, things can get crazy.
 
A long commute for only the prospect of advancing in your career doesn't sound very good IMO. Whilst I don't mind a long commute time because I've done it my entire career, I will definitely say that coming home from our second office that is 10 minutes away is much less tiresome than coming home from the main office that is ~45 miles away.

Something to take a note about; an hour commute in normal traffic can easily turn into a 1h30min or 2 hour commute. It took me two hours yesterday to drive home when it would normally take me 1 hour with no traffic or 1.5 hours in normal rush hour traffic.
 
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