Commuting between DC and Philly?

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure if this is the right forum for this question, but do people in DC commute to Philly to work? I know there are trains, but it's pretty far away. The job I would be considering would require me to travel to Philly 3 days a week. I would go and come back the same day (not stay over night in Philly) because I need to be in DC the days in between the travel days. Is this an insane lifestyle? Does anyone commute regularly to Philly?
Thanks for any help or insight.

[Anonymous]

I have never heard of anyone doing this. (I have lived in both DC and Philly). I have done this as a daytrip but it's a freaking long day. I do not think this is sustainable.

[Anonymous]

That sounds terrible. Is there a way to consolidate your Philly days so you could stay overnight?

[Anonymous]

You could totally do this but you’d have to live near Union station and work near 30th street station to have quality of life. 2 hours each way, many, many trains a day including acela.

[Anonymous]

I worked with someone who lived near Philly and commuted to DC. DC job was near union station so it didn't require a change to metro. It was long and they knew they were only interested in the job for a year or two and then planned to retire. I don't think a commute like that is sustainable long term. Think realistically about what time you will leave your house and return to your house and how that will impact your life.

[Anonymous]

I think it was NPR where I read a story about this, they refer to people who do this as super commuters.

[Anonymous]

You need to sleep in Philly for two nights.

Personally, I would ask work if you can do 2 days in Philly after 6 months (so sleep only 1 night/week in Philly) and ensure you pull a long day at the office for the day when you are sleeping in Philly.

But back & forth 3 days per week? No friggin' way. I-95 will destroy your sanity.

[Anonymous]

It's 140+ miles one-way.

You're going to put nearly 1000 miles per week on your car if you do the RT drive 3 days per week.

I have no idea how this could realistically work.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't do it if I had kids, because the only way I would do it is to stay in Philly for the three days, and spend the two nights: go up one morning, work three days, head back the last evening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure if this is the right forum for this question, but do people in DC commute to Philly to work? I know there are trains, but it's pretty far away. The job I would be considering would require me to travel to Philly 3 days a week. I would go and come back the same day (not stay over night in Philly) because I need to be in DC the days in between the travel days. Is this an insane lifestyle? Does anyone commute regularly to Philly?
Thanks for any help or insight.

It sounds insane. Just move to Philly.

[Anonymous]

Amtrak. Joe Biden did the commute for years.
DC to Wilmington. Philly is just a tiny bit further on Amtrak.
Take the express train.

[Anonymous]

I'm 14?57 poster. I believe Joe Biden commuted by the day, i.e. daily via Amtrak.

[Anonymous]

I had a colleague who did this for a few years the opposite way (Philly to DC). The way we made it work was essentially allow her to count her travel time as part of her workday. We had her onsite for a few hours around the middle of the day and that was all we expected. In that case it worked because her job involved a lot or writing/editing which she could do on the train during the travel time while being otherwise offline. But I can't imagine anyone doing it if they were expected to be onsite regularly for a full workday, that sounds like a nightmare. I guess if you didn't have other standing personal obligations to attend to and really liked being on the train, maybe?

[Anonymous]

I worked at Penn 2 days a week for a while. I live near union Station and 30th St Station is close to the campus. Total commute time was right around 2 hours with well over an hour of quality work time both ways. If you live and work close to the stations and get paid to work on the train, it is not too bad. If you have to drive, it would be pretty hard.

[Anonymous]

I did this as well for an 8 month consulting gig a couple of years ago. Agree with the pp’s, Amtrak is the way to go and the key is being close to both Union Station and 30th street. You can sleep, read, watch shows or catch up on work on the train.

I don’t think I would have lasted 2 weeks if I had to drive. The portion between DC and Baltimore is the worst part of the trip.