Did ditching your commute improve your life overall?

[Anonymous]

Absolutely- 100%
Working from home allowed us to only pay for after school care instead of before and aftercare. We save on gas and parking, but also on food because we eat dinner leftovers instead of restaurant food or convenience items like pre-made salads. We need babysitters less often on weeknights because one of can get the kids while the other has an event. When my spouse had a commute like yours he was never home before 7pm and the kids need to be picked up by 6pm.

It’s so much easier to deal with home maintenance and Dr appointments when you can do it over lunch instead of taking a half-day of PTO.

[Anonymous]

100% I would do it. In a heartbeat.

My family moved during the pandemic to get out of two really awful commutes. We now have one bike commute and one remote job. It’s a dream. So much more time together as a family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely- 100%
Working from home allowed us to only pay for after school care instead of before and aftercare. We save on gas and parking, but also on food because we eat dinner leftovers instead of restaurant food or convenience items like pre-made salads. We need babysitters less often on weeknights because one of can get the kids while the other has an event. When my spouse had a commute like yours he was never home before 7pm and the kids need to be picked up by 6pm.

It’s so much easier to deal with home maintenance and Dr appointments when you can do it over lunch instead of taking a half-day of PTO.

I’ll add that while it’s not an immediate cash flow benefit, there are little things that have value. We have more time to exercise which presumably makes us better engaged mentally during the day and lowers future medical bills. We eat more homemade meals and less takeout which is healthier. We walk our kids to school instead of driving them. We’re able to be more engaged in our kids’ school and activities, which strengthens our community ties. My husband planted an herb garden that he weeds at lunch time now that he works from home 3 days a week. We don’t look at our bank account and think “wow! What a difference” but the things we have gained by working from home or having a short commute (my office when I do go in is a 7 min drive) are things we can’t buy with money.

[Anonymous]

Considering a long commute actually kills you, yes, getting rid of the commute improves your life.

[Anonymous]

Which has more growth/salary increase potential?

[Anonymous]

Yes. Time-savings aside, I'm a nicer person if I haven't dealt with traffic for 2 hours/day.

[Anonymous]

Yes, my life is so much better not having to commute and fight traffic. My commute was complete stop and go traffic on the freeway (Bay Area) and now I work from home. I get fewer tension headaches. Plus less wear and tear on my car.

[Anonymous]

Yes, immeasurably. Less stress, more time with DH and the kids, less wear and tear on my car... I can't think of any downsides.

[Anonymous]

Yes definitely. I don't want to ever go back to wasting two hours each day sitting in my car. I used the time to listen to audiobooks or news of the day, but it wasn't good for decompressing from the workday because of the stress of being in traffic.

[Anonymous]

Oh yes, so much is better. I used to have 45min - 1hr+ each way depending on traffic. Now I have 15 min. It’s a lot less stress. I would take the pay cut.

The healthiest I felt was the 9 months I was allowed to work from home. I slept more, walked at lunch every day, ate better and had so much for time my kids have family. I’ve been looking for a WFH job since but the only ones I’ve found would be at least a 1/3 salary cut.

[Anonymous]

I want other way. After three years and two months fully remote I am back at in person work with a commute and love it!!!

[Anonymous]

My daily 2 hr commute early in my career was awful and such a drain on me. I left for a commute that was 20 minutes each way. Huge, huge improvement and I knew immediately I could never go back. Since then I’ve had other jobs. I now work from home. But I will never go back to a long daily commute.

I had back pain and sciatica by the age of 29 which I think is a testament to the toll of this lifestyle. I am now 40 and never have back pain - or even in my two pregnancies! There is something particularly bad about sitting in traffic and being so immobilized - worse than a desk in my opinion.

[Anonymous]

I would at 2x that pay cut. Hands down. I have a 50 mins commute each way - it’s not the time that’s the pits (although it sucks) - it’s the WORST hours of the day to miss w/ kids, family, after school stuff, dinner, etc. I ended up negotiating a 2nd WFH day so that helps.

[Anonymous]

I would totally do it. My commute is a minimum 2 hours a day & I hate it. COVID was the best thing because it forced management to allow WFH. Full time only in the very beginning, then 2 days a week since. Not perfect but 100% life enhancing, especially if you have or are contemplating having kids. Less stress, more personal time, able to schedule home maintenance or local appointments without losing 1/2 or 3/4 days of vacation leave. Would love to have no commute but I'm in a niche field & have to do it. Go for it!

[Anonymous]

100%

I use that time to run errands or exercise and it has totally been worth it.