Oh shit... I need a new job, don't I? UPDATED

[Zora]

Just found out that my office is "very likely" going to be moving.  Currently it's downtown which is ~6 miles from my house and easily bike-able / express bus-able.  Moving to a suburb ~13 miles from me by car plus it's on the crappiest most congested highway in the area, basically not feasible to bike (there's a big airport in the way and Google Maps won't even suggest a bike route for me, and you can call me a complainypants but I wouldn't do it in our shitty long winters anyway), definitely not feasible for public transit (Google says 1.5 hours with at least one and more likely two transfers).  I've run the numbers and estimated a cost over $10k annually if I price my own time at $25/hour.

I have always been just so-so on this job.  It has its ups and downsides and I had basically resigned myself to not trying to find something new because I am so generally burned out that I don't think getting a different job in and of itself would improve my attitude that much.  (I work in the legal field which has a high asshole quotient so the risk of taking a job somewhere new is extra-risky in that regard.)  I have really been enjoying my commute lately which I almost always do on the bus with my paid-for bus pass.

I've got to look for something in a better location, right? 

[Alex in Virginia]

Zora,

That's a rhetorical question, right?

If you can find a replacement job still within bike/bus commuting distance, even at a salary somewhat lower than your present one (how much lower, you need to decide), then you should go for it.  Since you've gotten this advance notice about the move, you'd be smart (IMHO) to act on it now.

Good luck,

Alex in Virginia

[Zora]

... don't cry at work ... don't cry at work ....

What sucks is that currently I'm making a well-below-market salary because I took that end of a trade-off between stress/hours/atmosphere and money.  I know I could get a job making more money but I don't want to have to!

[Villanelle]

Any chance you could convince them to let you work from home a couple days a week?  Time saved with zero commute those days might make up for time and money lost driving on the other days. 

If you love the job (or not the job but the situation, which is what is sounds like), it might be worth it to ask. 

[GreenGuava]

How valuable are you to your employer?  Can you ask for a work from home arrangement for several days?  Alternately, ask them for a combination raise (to cover the increased cost of working there) and one-time bonus (if you don't have a car, this will cover the cost of getting one).

[Zora]

Yeah, WFH is not really an option for me.  It's just not something lawyers are used to.  And perhaps more importantly, I have not been awesome at this job (due to the aforementioned burnout) and haven't had the job all that long, so not in a great position to be requesting perks.  I will probably keep my eye out for only really awesome opportunities for now and await a final decision on the move before fully engaging in a job search. 

[Christiana]

If you have some flexibility in your housing situation, one alternative is to move closer to the new work location.  We did that for a rather stressful and draining job, and for several years enjoyed the short commute and lower housing costs (while working hard on the side toward a long-term goal of full self-employment).

[Arbor33]

I've run the numbers and estimated a cost over $10k annually if I price my own time at $25/hour.

I don't understand why some people look at things from this perspective. Isn't it only applicable if you can actually substitute linear income during said time frame? Do you price the fun things you do too? I'm sure my questions sound sarcastic but I'm legitimately curious.

I've got to look for something in a better location, right?

If location is your problem, then location is what needs to change on at least one end of the spectrum. As others have said, you could always move closer depending on how mobile you are. Alternatively, you could try to find a locale with a relatively lower asshole quotient despite the burn out (my philosophy is: If you're unhappy, change something). You've definitely got some options to explore.

[arebelspy]

I've run the numbers and estimated a cost over $10k annually if I price my own time at $25/hour.

I don't understand why some people look at things from this perspective. Isn't it only applicable if you can actually substitute linear income during said time frame? Do you price the fun things you do too? I'm sure my questions sound sarcastic but I'm legitimately curious.

Have you read YMOYL?

[herisff]

in addition to what others have said, why would you have to commute alone? Surely you are not alone in needing to change how you would get to work if the office does move - talk to your coworkers and see who might want to carpool with you. Then once you've found another job or another place to live that's closer to work, make changes.

[Zora]

Yeah, so all signs are pointing to job-hunting time.  I would never ever ever ever move to the wastebin of despair that is this suburb (sorry I can't stand em in general), just as importantly neither would my husband, and our lives are set up very awesomely right now so long as I am working downtown (he works in our current 'hood).  A car-pool would be possible, not with co-workers but maybe if I find someone at our new building... but that also sounds terrible.  After hearing everyone's ideas, I'm coming down on the side of, this job is just not worth it.  What's funny is it is extending one person's commute to like 40+ miles... but obviously she had already made the long-haul lifestyle choice to get to our current location.

Re pricing your own time... I put my economics degree to use by occasionally picturing issues like this using the following tools:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labour_economics

I just happen to be a lady with a solid appreciation for leisure.  You gotta make decisions based on something, right?

[Arbor33]

Have you read YMOYL?

I have not.

[arebelspy]

Have you read YMOYL?

I have not.

If you do, it will help solve your confusion; it will help you understand why people look pricing their time.

[Sunflower]

Yeah, so all signs are pointing to job-hunting time.  I would never ever ever ever move to the wastebin of despair that is this suburb (sorry I can't stand em in general), just as importantly neither would my husband, and our lives are set up very awesomely right now so long as I am working downtown (he works in our current 'hood).

It sounds like you're making the best decision for yourself and your priorities. If you are going to be job searching again soon, I highly recommend checking out the tips from askamanager.org. It's my second favorite blog after MMM and she has really great advice about how to make your cover letter/resume outstanding along with all sorts of interesting workplace advice. Good luck with the job hunt!

[Zora]

Well, I've got a little update to this dilemma I posted back in April.

My job did indeed end up moving to the terrible suburb back in May.  I bought a used road bike and ended up doing the bike commute a whopping total of 5 times during the summer, though I like to tell myself that I would have done it more frequently if I hadn't been devoting all my free time to a DIY kitchen remodel (which is now completed).  I hadn't really started looking for a new job at first, for the reasons expressed in my previous post, and I made a couple of attempts at carpooling with mixed results.  Just recently with the winter weather I had thrown myself into job-hunting, though I'm not expecting quick results based on a variety of factors.

So here's the news.... today some issues at work came to a head and I ended up having a conversation with my boss that resulted in an agreement that I will be allowed to work from home ALL THE TIME and will be paid hourly instead of salary.  The hourly rate is not yet set but the discussion is that it should approximate my salary if I work all the required hours.  The reason for the change is that I was not billing enough, due to a combination of my own lack of motivation and a general lack of the type of work that I specialize in.  The idea is that now I will be paid based on how much I actually work and won't be expected to do the work that is outside of my specialty and that I kind of suck at anyway.

I'm kind of blown away by this turn of events and I'm having trouble wrapping my mind around it.  I am SO HAPPY to not be car commuting, I could break out into song.  I am likely to end up with less total pay, but I am having a hard time caring about that under the circumstances - it's hard to complain about getting paid for exactly the number of hours that you work, after all.  I am SO HAPPY about the vision of leaving the cars in the garage (and selling a car!  woohoo!  neither of us will be using a car on a daily basis!), and being able to use my non-working time in the way I see fit instead of hanging around the office.  My husband accurately concluded that I'm kind of being laid off but I DON'T CARE.

After a two-hour commute last night and one hour this morning, this has maybe made my YEAR.

Interested to hear what others think.  Am I wrong to be excited about a likely, unknown reduction in pay?

[chasesfish]

Congratulations, this is awesome.  Hopefully you can do some business development to increase the inflow of your type of work

[Zora]

Congratulations, this is awesome.  Hopefully you can do some business development to increase the inflow of your type of work

You're right.  It's something I had been lazy about lately and I am going to recommit myself to it.

[ender]

I would only consider that a problem if you were living paycheck to paycheck and losing some salary is a problem.

I would LOVE a position similar to yours, where I was only getting paid by hour and able to work from home. Then I'd feel less bad about getting my work done more efficiently and consequentially being able to work less hours :)

[Mega]

Time to start freelancing!

[fallstoclimb]

Oh wow how did you swing that?  That is basically my dream situation (assuming you can swing it financially).  The WORST is when you have to be at work but there's nothing really to do.  Congratulations!