Extreme Commuting

[travelawyer]

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/21/realestate/extreme-commuting.html

"These commuters are heeding the old real estate adage: 'Drive until you qualify.' This suggests that you explore farther and farther out until reaching the off ramp where houses meet your style and budget."

What happened to "Location Location Location"?

[retireatbirth]

Well, this article is obviously about New York. People take trains and public transportation there so a long commute isn't that bad as long as you have wifi. You'd probably be just on the internet at home anyways. There's something romantic about getting up at the crack of dawn when it's quiet out, as well. Also, as the article mentions, some of these people work from home part of the time so it's really not that bad.

[Cowardly Toaster]

Well, this article is obviously about New York. People take trains and public transportation there so a long commute isn't that bad as long as you have wifi. You'd probably be just on the internet at home anyways. There's something romantic about getting up at the crack of dawn when it's quiet out, as well. Also, as the article mentions, some of these people work from home part of the time so it's really not that bad.

Uh no. I'd never commute more than 15 minutes to work if I had a choice. Even that seems like too much. I think my current commute is about 7.5 minutes by car.

And ya getting up early can be nice. But 6 hours a day commuting? Just get 2 jobs near where you live and make the same money.

[Zikoris]

I saw the title and thought it would be about people kayaking or skiing to work. Boo.

[inline five]

I commute by airplane

[EarthSurfer]

Oh Hell No!!

I am just wondering what the true numbers look like for these ultra commuters. Is the NYC pay premium worth the commute time? I would place a high premium on the loss of the intangible invaluables of having dinner with my spouse and the little ones, or at least being able to put them to bed.

I know many working families have to make this trade off and have one partner commute, but my heart breaks when the choice is to value a larger home over the time with loved ones.

[dreams_and_discoveries]

3 hours seems extreme, but if you can work during it or use the time productively by reading/studying etc, I can see why some people choose to do it rather than relocate or take a pay cut.

[Fomerly known as something]

When I worked in NYC I had co-workers who had extreme commutes.  I thought they were nuts.  They thought I was nuts for living in such a small place.  It was easier to justify though because even though I was only 16 miles from the office it still could take me upward of 90 minutes in pure rush hour traffic in a car and over an hour via mass transit because of needing to take a bus to the subway into Manhattan and transfer to another subway line to get to work.  It did take me less than 20 minutes when I was driving in during not rush hour though. 

[rothwem]

Oof.  That totally blows.  With that said, NYC is an exception, commuting is not nearly as bad there as in other places. I had an internship with the Port Authority of NY/NJ when I was in college, and I had a free place to stay in the Hudson Valley.  I was able to bike to the train station and take a train to the city (Jersey City, that is :D) most days of the week, except for when I had to be there way early.  The first train got there around 7, there were some days I had to be there around 6am.  Commuting at 6am was not really that bad though.  On the way back, I would drive over Bear Mountain, which is a gorgeous piece of land. 

Also, this is going to sound stupid, but one of the best things about the train was drinking a 40 of High Life on Friday afternoons while I zoomed home.  You can't really do that in a car.