My wife and I work in different cities and live in between them. My commute is 15-20 minutes and hers is about 45.
She's starting to get understandably tired of the commute, whereas I've actually been able to occasionally bike to work because it's just close enough.
Easy problem to solve, right? She should just quit her job and find employment close to home! Well.... she's at her dream job, they pay her very well, and she can't imagine switching to anywhere else now or in the near future. I'm basically in the same boat - not interested in leaving my job.
So far, here's what she's done to lessen the suckiness of this situation:
1. Switched to a cheap, used hybrid to minimize fuel costs. This was a no-brainer. She wouldn't even own a car if she didn't have to do this commute.
2. Negotiated one day a week of WFH, to avoid the commute altogether. No chance of any more days per week for the foreseeable future.
3. Adjusted working hours to avoid rush hour in mornings and evenings.
Public transportation would lengthen her commuting time to 90 minutes each way and cost $4.50 a day. Operating cost of car is about $7/day (using my own numbers, because this car costs nothing near the 56c/mile that is frequently used for reimbursement). So.... maybe I'm being a complainypants but I don't think saving $2.50/day is worth the extra 1.5 hours a day of time spent commuting and having to walk to the bus stop in all weather conditions.
Any thoughts on the situation? I'm really just looking to see if I'm missing some magical mustachian solution to this classicly stupid American problem.