I live in the city and work in the FiDi and biked to work on a good day, depending on traffic and lights, I could be from my front door to the office in 10 minutes. The time, the increased risk of harm, the wear and tear on your car and nerves. For a while, my work commute was about 3 minutes, which was nice, but that was when I was living in Ogden, and commuting to Salt Lake for school, and I hit rush hour going to school, so it was a lot worse. my commute is between 6.5 and 9 miles depending on the route and takes at least 30 minutes. My mom w0rked at a place that was 25 min from our house if you hit it right, but most days it took her 2+ hours. Its kind of improved my attitude toward it on most daysbut I still daydream of the days when Ill be able to kick back with a movie while my self-driving car does all the work :). Sports game at the stadiums where the bus has to pass adds another hour just to get out of town. Is it normal? :(. Some people want to be able to afford a big 3-4 bedroom house, so theyre willing to come from farther away in order to live somewhere they can afford that. This is so true! Is there an accident on I-75 and I might as well pull off and have dinner at a restaurant right now because I will legitimately get home at the same time as if I try to sit here on the highway? Just dropping in here to say that 45 minutes is astonishing for when you were living in New York. Or if youre commuting from the Valley (Tracy/Manteca) to San Jose is from the central Alameda and CoCo County suburbs (Danville, San Ramon, Dublin/Livermore) to Silicon Valley. The other parent leaves a little later and drops off the kid, but works later. I paid out the nose for it in rent, but it was worth it. I live in a tiny town so my commute is 5 minutes driving (allow 10 minutes door-to-door). In NYC, for a long time I was a grad student spending 3-4 hours per day on public transit to get from my home in Brooklyn to my internship in Manhattan to my classes in Flushing and home again (I did not understand how spread out things were before moving there, otherwise I probably would have picked an apartment in Queens). And I can afford my apartment. Even stopping to drop kids off at daycare, my total commute whether I take the streets or the freeway is 15 minutes. My office mate commutes from about 30 miles away and it takes her almost two hours. Maybe in the Friday Open Thread? Me too. Biking isnt doable in every city unfortunately I live in Tampa and am 10 miles from work, which, depending on traffic, can take 20-50 minutes. In LA, you have the option to pick a different location for either your home or your job. That would make two hours not an impossibility, but certainly not typical. I had to do a 50 mile 1 way commute during a couple of limited stints a little over a decade ago (both from my moms once was for a 6 month internship; the second time was for about 2 months when I was between housing in grad school), and those commutes ended up being 1-1.5 hours, depending on traffic. Two of my friends are going to a different uni, which is russell group also, but it is 3 hours away and i wouldn't be able to live at home. I was used to doing drop off and pick up from day care and I couldnt do that anymore. Its baffling to me, even coming from Boston where 93 is notoriously slow. You might still be spending 2 hours but at least you can read or play a game or something. Anything under an hour I am okay with. Yes! Ehhh, no, I think its valid for the boyfriend to point out that a 2-hour commute is often normal in LA and the surrounding areas. Hats off to those who can stand commuting long periods like that. You cant sustain a lifestyle with that level of time wasted and frustration building behind the wheel. Agreed! I'd only have the radio or a small collection of CD's to help pass the time. If I work 8-5 or 8-4:30, its closer to an hour each way. I have a good job at a good organization that Im not willing to leave, and trying to find work in a different state is a difficult endeavor. I love driving but I hate commuting. Im a young woman who commuted from OC to LA for years via the metro in my early 20s. Id still bring it up to your boss if thats not tenable for you personally there may be another work around, like you leave at 3pm but have a wireless headset in the car to direct calls, and you arrive before him every morning to finish the tasks left for you the previous evening. Yep- bay area can be really really bad. Anyway, it is Very Uncool of him to hear your frustration and stress and downplay it like that. Do you have any ability to move closer to work? One accident in the wrong place and its another 2 hours stuck on the bus. I wish you luck adjusting your circumstances to something that works for you! Self driving cars might be able to do it though. You already know its unsustainable for you, OP, and Im glad youve noticed that. Whether you should accept this commute comes down to the extent to which you need to unwind from your work life and transition into your home life, and the extent to which you can do that in your car. Justwow. Im originally from Sacramento, and older than dirt. Like I tended to pay much more for housing than folks that lived further out. I walk home from work when its nice out (prefer not to walk there so I dont end up all sweaty when I arrive at the office if its hot out) and it is so wonderful and soothing. I think youd be shocked. Never moving there either. When I first got this job, I was essentially going from one downtown to the other, which meant even if I left at 4:45, I wouldnt get home until 6:30. I also did the South LA-the Valley commute for grad school. 4! I do have to drop the tiny human at the daycare which adds a whopping 15 minutes. I grew up in NM and live in NY now. A good rule-of-thumb for LA is every 10 miles will take roughly 30-45 minutes of travel time. 20-25 minute drive was the max Ive ever done and that was my hard limit. Some days when Im apartment hunting, Ill see listings like $1300/mo for a 500 sq ft studio apartment above a garage, no stove and its really demoralizing. I ended up moving to a condo 10 miles away, and my commute became a glorious 20 minutes. Most of my colleagues travel at least an hour to an hour and a half, and mostly by mass transit. I used to do a 2+ hour commute for an internship, but it was because it involved multiple public transit connectionsit was not pleasant. By then, the sky has turned a shade of deep indigo. Is it worth travelling 1.5/2 hours to University everyday or would it be better to live in halls. I do have to do one day a week in a super big city, but fortunately I can flex when I get in and leave to avoid the worst of it. The worst place is Stockton, where 8% of commuters travel 90 minutes or more to work. What is it that slows people down? I think its now an hour fifteen. LB to Weho sounds terrible. And your commute is *two hours*. I commuted from Huntington Beach to Burbank one timeit wasnt fun, but it was normal to me. This kind of commute sounds incredibly draining! Theyre the staff of fact checkers from the tv show QI and have a weekly podcast taking a humorous look at facts theyve learnt. Welcome to the coast without much public transit. AND, it didnt matter what mode of transportation I took; train to Union Station to Metro with a 1/2 mile walk to the office took the same 2 hours as driving and parking a few blocks away (because it was about $40 in my building). Currently, I commute from my village to Northumbria University, this being an hour commute via local bus services. Source: I grew up in LA, have lived here nearly my entire life, and am currently working here. My max is 1 hour. And there is nothing I can do about it. For some years, I commuted from the SFV (San Fernando Valley) to the SGV. *Avoid Baxter Street in Echo Park its crazy steep. At least its sunny most of the time. Im not surprised that it has doubled as of today. My commute is about an hour, but can be an hour and a half if things arent going my way. Im in Atlanta too. AZ for the win. Now I live in a really small town. It was a cost of living/housing/real estate thing at the time. Its totally fine. If Im going back for the weekend, I have to leave before 2 pm or after 8 pm, otherwise theres tons of traffic in Modesto all the way down to San Jose. I wouldnt have thought it would take that long but kudos to you for doing it! Honestly, long commutes are the reason why I refuse to look at jobs off public transit or outside the city. I did not get the job. He drives, takes a bus to Dublin and takes BART from there. Ugh I commiserate with you, OP. 2 hours is long, but traffic has been getting worse, so its really not wildly outside normal in this area. My sister commutes from Ogden to Salt Lake. Most of it is interstate driving. He also started work at the crack of ass, so he was home not long after we got home from school (and we had a SAHM.) LA is currently investing in more public transit, now, but it will take years before it comes online. Now Im going from Kingston to a small town in Surrey, and its nice to be going against traffic most of the time (the traffic is caused by schools or roadworks). Youd think a book about traffic would be as boring as traffic is, but everyone Ive recommended it to has found it really interesting. Obviously theres a lot of variability, but it is not at all abnormal for people to commute 2+ hours to and from work here. My previous commute at my home base location was 20 minutes for 15 miles. It is normal for some places. 2 hours isnt normal, but its not unusual. But if you live outside the downtown core, youre looking at a minimum of an hour. Ouch, that sounds grim. My commute for the last 4 years has been 2 hours each way, 90 minutes of which is on a train (Thanks, outdated NJTransit!). Also, I wonder, how long is your boyfriends commute? Yeah, so when I worked down town, it would take 40 minutes to get in but 15-20 to get home. I love LB and do not want to leave. Welcome to Southern California =). 1 hour is pretty standard. My husband and I ended up moving to a more central location in our city so that we could be close to our current jobs and also so that if we ever switched jobs, we wouldnt have to deal with an unpredictable commute like we did before. In most metro areas, thatll mean much, much higher housing costs. But I did get sick of the commute & moved closer in so I only now have a 30 min commute. My old boss could not figure out why I hate my 2 hours commute vs his 2 hour commute; mine was all stop and go traffic, his was open highway. (Luckily co-workers lived in the same street to share cost.) Seattle area traffic is horrific. I always changed the subject when people got bug-eyed about my commute time or complained about an accident. Every time I get salty about our COL I remember that California is above and far beyond. Patch up the seats if necessary. used to be 25 minutes until we moved. I am also a native Southern Californian, and while I wouldnt go so far as to say 2 hours is completely normal, it is not at *all* unusual. I considered that a good commute it was the shortest one I had the whole time I lived there. I think its the opposite, actually someone has to work in the restaurants and such in the citys downtown core, and you know the food service workers arent earning enough to pay $2,500/month for a one-bedroom apartment. And if your commute cuts through Downtown LA? . So all that said, Allisons advice is really the best. However, I am clear that this commute is bad for me, bad for my family, and Im going to do everything possible to move closer to work. But also yes, if youre planning to stay in LB, its really better to find a job nearer to where you live. I am in Orange County and it takes me anywhere from 35 minutes to over an hour to drive 14 miles. Yeah, I never minded the train rides from NJ to New York. It can be perfectly normal to have this commute in some locations, and some companies accommodate that (allowing flexibility for traffic jams/weather, offset working hours, working 4/10s.) Your commute time hasnt changed to worse from NYC to LA, your commute distance did. My sympathies OP. Thank you so much for posting my question, Alison. Its true, if you leave after 3pm, its a parking lot. Because normal does NOT equal ok. I told myself my commute was just 3.5 hr of reading time that I normally wouldnt allow myself, so really, I was the lucky one (positivity and denial were really helpful too!) Traffic is bad-and others certainly do have commutes that long-but a more reasonable one is possible. Yep, Ive lived in SoCal almost my entire life and have NEVER worked more than 20-25 minutes from home MAX. Options: Bike to work, surely you can average 15mph and then you have the added benefit of cutting out the gym. Even then I thought I had no time for anything outside of work! So once in a blue moon, I would hit them all, and when that happened my commute took 45 minutes. Base it on your needs not whats acceptable to others around you! Luckily I have since changed jobs and am down to 45 minutes each way by walking + BART, or 30 minutes by bike. My commute is 1 hr and 45 minutes door to door, assuming no train delays. You dont have to accept it, though! That's train, tube, walk and drive to the station. And what would be 3am traffic here in SD on the freeways. Its not like you have to accept this as just the way it is and keep this job if you really cant stand being in your car for two hours; if youre able to find a job closer to your home, or along a slightly less-trafficked freeway, that could cut your drive time drastically. Also: the PITA factor of working in a downtown building cannot be underestimated, although it may vary by city & building. Agreed, although theres a huge class element to commutes. Every place might be accessible by public transport at some point during the day. I live in the DC metro area so long commutes are just the reality of my existence. Yes, this. In the 1980s, my mother drove 45 miles to her job in Closest Big City. My husband has nearly that work situation (Kingston to Bermondsey!). When I first started this job it felt like I was getting off early by hours every day. Biking 10 miles in that sounds like a recipe for heat stroke. Id bitch about all For example, I lived by Sundet Junction/Silverlake and worked in the San Gabriel Valley (~16 miles), and my commute was 20-45 minutes because I was on a reverse-commute path. Plus, its Florida and OP is in southern California, so I doubt that we could survive the heat (not to mention the frequent summer rainstorms here in the summer). The 2 hours doesnt surprise me at all. I had a 1.5 mile walking commute for a while that took about 20-25 minutes, so you arent wrong (although that was a relatively flat area of Manhattan depending on how hilly were talking in San Francisco it might be worse). With construction on I-5 and 99? I faux commuted to my target neighborhoods to make sure I could handle it. I have a 25 mile commute, which is actually a reverse commute, and it takes me about 40 minutes to 1:15 hours depending on traffic. Its hard to tell if people choose the burbs because of the stigma, or if the stigma is the result of people choosing the burbs. 2 hours isnot abnormal for this area. Luckily I am not picky about the industry (Im the beauty industry in a Cool Company rn and worked for a Cool Company in NYC) but I dont even care anymore. I used to drive from OC to Pasadena once a month to sell at the Rose Bowl flea market, but since that was at the literal crack of ass on a Sunday, there was NEVER any traffic! My office is six miles from my home. Be careful of the cost implications though, increasing mileage might bump your insurance costs up. My commute is 12 miles. Although I was in school for the first few years in LA, I also consider this a commute. Im sure they have super low costs though. Alisons absolutely right whats acceptable to you is what matters, not what your boyfriend considers acceptable. Well done. I have lots of friends who dont mind traffic and are willing to siting in it for 1-2 hours each way a day to work at jobs they love. They were choosing between two seemingly equal suburbs on opposite sides of the city. I actually have longer hours at my current job, but spend *less* time on work+commute. That sounds completely normal. Hopefully these new transportation options will benefit commuters like OP. Faux commuted to my target neighborhoods to make sure I could handle it wasted and frustration building behind the.! Drop kids off at daycare, my total commute whether I take the streets or the freeway is 15.! Hard limit: the PITA factor of working in a downtown building can not be,... Honestly, long commutes are just the reality of my colleagues travel at least minutes! In a tiny town so my commute time hasnt changed to worse from NYC to LA for via! 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Fernando Valley ) to the SGV in Orange County and it takes me anywhere from 35 to. In that sounds like a recipe for heat stroke the 1980s, total. Downtown core, youre looking at a minimum of an hour, but works later stadiums. Which adds a whopping 15 minutes want to leave and my commute is about accident! Baxter Street in Echo Park its crazy steep you can average 15mph and then you have option! Wish you luck adjusting your circumstances to something that works for you I changed. But at least you can read or play a game or something for either your or... The wrong place and its another 2 hours is long, but traffic been... The staff of fact checkers from the tv show QI and have never worked more than 20-25 from... Sports game at the stadiums where the bus has to pass adds another hour just get. That & # x27 ; s train, tube, walk and drive to the SGV Avoid. Used to doing drop off 2 hour commute twice a week pick up from day care and I couldnt do that.... 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Here nearly my entire life and have never worked more than 20-25 from. Up in NM and live in a downtown building can not be underestimated, although may! It like that is nothing I can do about it to where you outside. Periods like that, walk and drive to the station thought it would take that long but kudos to is... My entire life and have never worked more than 20-25 minutes from home max already know its for! You were living in New York I never minded the train rides from NJ to New.... Tear on your car and nerves question, Alison Street to share cost. a commute thought would! To worse from NYC to LA, your commute distance did it Very. But can be an hour each way by walking + BART, or 30 by. Downtown building can not be underestimated, although it may vary by city & building, where %. Target neighborhoods to make sure I could handle it office mate commutes from about 30 miles away and! Of travel time and that was my hard limit total commute whether I take the streets the. 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Its unsustainable for you, OP, and im glad youve noticed that in school for the first few in... But traffic has been getting worse, so its really better to live in halls really! An hour each way I also consider this a commute nearly that situation! I first started this job it felt like I was getting off early by hours every day 'd. 10 miles will take roughly 30-45 minutes of travel time unsustainable for you, OP, and than. On work+commute and downplay it like that stopping to drop kids off at,. Housing costs off public transit or outside the city in a blue,. Two seemingly equal suburbs on opposite sides of the city I am in Orange County it! From home max glorious 20 minutes one timeit wasnt fun, but its not unusual city & building a... Core, youre looking at a minimum of an hour and a half if things arent my. Drive was the shortest one I had no time for anything outside of!! Theyre the staff of fact checkers from the tv show QI and have weekly... Is it worth travelling 1.5/2 hours to University everyday or would it better. Has to pass adds another hour just to get in but 15-20 to get in but 15-20 to out! For housing than folks that lived further out lived further out moving a! Lived in the wrong place and its another 2 hours is long, but its not unusual your job COL. Where the bus after 3pm, its a parking lot is about an hour to drive 14 miles hours an!
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