Longest commute?

[Superk88]

More of a life question. Righ now DW stays home with the kids 6 month old and a 3 year old. We don't really have and misc debt besides Her car and my car and a small Mortgage payment. 

I was already driving 1 hour a way for work but I just took a new roll 87 miles a way and the drive is around 1hr 20 minutes give or take due to traffic. All Interstate I go through 3 total redlights so not a bad drive. I leave around 515am and get home close to 630...but that will change. As soon as I get more affiliated with what I'm doing a Normal day end will be around 4pm not 5pm and somedays 3. 

We have thought about moving but really don't wanna give up where we are at. 5 acre yard 27 acres in total. Quite out of the way and peacefull. Plenty of space. 

If we sold what we have we could be debt free besides a mortgage and have a little extra, but just really really like where we are. 

There is a chance I could move back close to home 45 minutes with this company in the future, but that could be years. Which when the kids get older that may make sence. 

How long of commute have you guys had?

And before anyone suggest working closer to home. I can't replace my Income and Benefits. If I worked in our town..I would have to take a 40k per year paycutt minimum.

[sccredit]

I commuted from the Inland Empire into Orange County and LA for over a decade. That meant some days could be 90-120 minutes in or back. Some days I'd spend 3-4 hours in the car. As the years went on it became more and more tiring but it was necessary atthe time.

[JoeRockhead]

I once had a job where I commuted 1hr and15 min one way. I really didn't mind it other than the wear and tear on my vehicle and the added fuel costs but that's when gas was under $1 per gallon and I was making good money... I liked where we lived so moving closer to work was never a serious consideration for me. 

[Superk88]

I really don't mind the drive and I'm making around 100k right now plus benefits. May not seem worth the drive, but we live a pretty Frugal lifestyle. 

The mileage on the vehicles suck. I have a 18 camry and already have 172k miles. Thinking of getting one with aroudn 60k miles and paying it off in 4 years. It would have 150kish when it pays off.

[Rogue46]

My commute is 7 minutes but wife is 1 hour 20 minutes. She used to work 30 minutes away but was offered a $60k pay raise to work in another facility which was hard to say no to. Right now its working out but the vehicles are taking a beaten with the high price of gas and all the miles.

[CreditCuriosity]

telework walk from the bed to the office.  sometimes i don't have to leave the bed though until meetings ..  With that said i have had jobs in the past durig bad traffic would take 1.5 hour drive each way so 3 hours commute.  That is no way to really live as that adds 15 hours to a work week taking it say from a 40 hour to a 55 hour work week or realistically depending on role in company a 50 to 65 hour week

[markbeiser]

I get annoyed when my first or last service call of the day is 30 minutes from my house, and I drive a company vehicle doing HVAC/R work, so zero out of pocket vehicle expenses.🤣

[LakeLife]

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@Superk88 wrote:

How long of commute have you guys had?

I have an hour and a half commute each way, but it's on a train, and I get to read most of the time.  I couldn't do it in a car personally, but if I did, something like my Fiat 500 would be how I'd roll.  It was cheap, maintenance is easy, tires are cheap, and the MPGs are great.

[ptatohed]

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@Superk88 wrote:

More of a life question. Righ now DW stays home with the kids 6 month old and a 3 year old. We don't really have and misc debt besides Her car and my car and a small Mortgage payment. 

I was already driving 1 hour a way for work but I just took a new roll 87 miles a way and the drive is around 1hr 20 minutes give or take due to traffic. All Interstate I go through 3 total redlights so not a bad drive. I leave around 515am and get home close to 630...but that will change. As soon as I get more affiliated with what I'm doing a Normal day end will be around 4pm not 5pm and somedays 3. 

We have thought about moving but really don't wanna give up where we are at. 5 acre yard 27 acres in total. Quite out of the way and peacefull. Plenty of space. 

If we sold what we have we could be debt free besides a mortgage and have a little extra, but just really really like where we are. 

There is a chance I could move back close to home 45 minutes with this company in the future, but that could be years. Which when the kids get older that may make sence. 

How long of commute have you guys had?

And before anyone suggest working closer to home. I can't replace my Income and Benefits. If I worked in our town..I would have to take a 40k per year paycutt minimum.

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Congrats on the new baby!  I'm sure your wife appreciates all you do for the family.  My wife is a stay at home mom too (7, 10, and 13).  My commute is about 28 miles and 45 minutes.  Not bad but I do wish it were shorter.  You have to do what you have to do.  A longer commute means more time away from the family, more vehicle expenses, etc.  But a great irreplaceable job has immense value, obviously.  A 1hr 20min drive may take it's toll on you but only you can decide what's best.  Like you, I like my house (low crime rate/safe City with great school districts but my job pays way more than the going rate elsewhere and the school districts are not as good the closer you get to my work City.  So, we stay were we are and I suck up the commute).

Good luck!      

[Thomas_Thumb]

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@Superk88 wrote:

More of a life question. Righ now DW stays home with the kids 6 month old and a 3 year old. We don't really have and misc debt besides Her car and my car and a small Mortgage payment. 

I was already driving 1 hour a way for work but I just took a new roll 87 miles a way and the drive is around 1hr 20 minutes give or take due to traffic. All Interstate I go through 3 total redlights so not a bad drive. I leave around 515am and get home close to 630...but that will change. As soon as I get more affiliated with what I'm doing a Normal day end will be around 4pm not 5pm and somedays 3. 

We have thought about moving but really don't wanna give up where we are at. 5 acre yard 27 acres in total. Quite out of the way and peacefull. Plenty of space. 

If we sold what we have we could be debt free besides a mortgage and have a little extra, but just really really like where we are. 

There is a chance I could move back close to home 45 minutes with this company in the future, but that could be years. Which when the kids get older that may make sence. 

How long of commute have you guys had?

And before anyone suggest working closer to home. I can't replace my Income and Benefits. If I worked in our town..I would have to take a 40k per year paycutt minimum.

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Don't sell at this time.

In the past, I had jobs with 40-45 mile commutes.

One job went thru a large metro area. That commute would vary from 60 minutes to 150 minutes one way depending on weather/accidents. Did it for 2.5 years. It was horrible.

Two other jobs took me away from the metro area. Commute was 45 to 55 minutes. The drives were peaceful - unless there was a rare whiteout blizzard. Did each job for about 2.5 years as well.

My wife and I enjoy our house/yard and neighborhood. It backs up to a natural preserve area. Very happy we stayed put. House is now paid off and we are retired.

As a minimum, check out a new job before relocating. Many companies have relo packages that are good for 12 months. Unfortunately a relo, if the job is eligible, usually requires a new residence to be atleast 50 and sometimes 75 miles closer to work vs the old residence. If you qualify for relo and you like the job, consider taking relo after 6 months of work.

If you don't qualify or don't love the job, stay put and hope you can get the closer to home option. In the meantime network and look into other possibilities. I would suggest staying with the new company atleast 2 years - better for the resume.

Good luck!