liveable commute
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Anonymous
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I would so sacrifice square footage for a short commute, but even that isn't an option. For me, the sacrifice comes down to do you want two teenagers in a two bedroom condo in a safe area (not even a great school distruct) with a short commute or do you want some kind of house or townhouse (any kind, including small) in a safe area with a one hour commute.
That is the choice. |
Anonymous
dear god this sounds like torture. Let me guess, you don't work or ever have to commute? i can see possibly doing this long commute if one spouse is home all the time, thus the commuting spouse dosnt't have to deal with any house stuff, getting kids ready or making dinenr but to have 2 working parents commuting would be ridiculous. I would never comute more than 30-40 min each way. Even that wares on me and leaves me wishing for more time to do things like workout, make dinner at night and see my kids. |
Anonymous
| I'm not PP, but my husband CHOSE to move to a job where he knew his commute by car would be long (an hour, sometimes more). We had only bought a house a year before, so selling right now is NOT an option. Hindsight 20/20, we should not have bought our house and could have been closer to his job. But, sometimes you just have to work within your circumstances and means to make the best of a situation. To be happier at work, he chose a longer commute - mine is 35-45 minutes, and I only do it a couple days a week (work from home most of the time). |
Anonymous
This is absolutely true. And it's the problem with people saying "well, move closer in." Because if you ever change your job to just a slightly different location in the city, your commute can be just as bad. I commute in from northern PG county. The shortest leg of my commute is from my house to the DC/MD border. That's easy peesy. It's driving within DC that takes FOREVER, and that is also highly variable (subject to road closures, accidents, rain, et cetera). Frankly, even if I could afford to move closer in, like say Silver Spring, my commute would likely be the same. Not to mention, my weekend errands would take forever as well. My friend who lives in SS likes her house and neighborhood, but a quick run to Home Depot or the grocery store takes her an hour *just to get there and park.* At least where I live, all of my weekend chores/errands can be done relatively quickly and easily. And I don't say this as someone who doesn't appreciate that city living has it's bonuses. But when I factored in my budget (what I could afford), my actual commute (i.e. where I need to get to within the city for work), my lifestyle (how I spend my time outside of work), the space needs of my family (my big dogs need a yard), I made the decision that best suits me. And I can live with my 45 minute commute. The problem with asking about a "liveable commute," is that commute is *one* aspect of quality of life. What might give one person his/her ideal commute might not give them other things that they value. So most people try to strike a balance. |
Anonymous
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My commute is about 1:15. Yes, it sucks and I hope to change jobs eventually. I work in DC, and my husband works about 25 miles away, so there was no perfect solution to the commuting problem. I do work from home once per week, which helps immensely.
My ideal would be 30 minutes or less. |
Anonymous
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When we looked for a house, our budget restrictions originally guided me to Vienna metro area. But my husband, bless his heart, refused to go any further out than West Falls Church, even if that meant an older, smaller house. That's where we ended up and I thank him daily. My commute is 45 mins in the morning (including drop-off at daycare) and 30 mins after work if we use Rt 66 (45 mins if I cannot).
I also agree that sadly, living in DC does not always solve the commute dilemma. I used to live in Trinidad and commuting to my job near Van Ness took me longer than getting to Van Ness from WFC. Now I work in Foggy Bottom and it's awesome. |
Anonymous
| This also depends on if you are sitting in traffic or if you are at least continuously moving at a normal speed. It is much worse to slowly move along for an hour than it is to drive a normal speed for an hour. |
Anonymous
+1 I would happily drive 60 miles in one hour, but driving 10 miles in 1 hour would make me completely lose my mind. |
Anonymous
yes |
Anonymous
Interesting. Hadn't thought of that. |
Anonymous
Ditto. Currently at 25 minutes door-to-door, so pretty happy. |
Anonymous
this is why I didn't mind an hour commute by (a couple different modes of) public transportation. I wasn't driving and I could sit and read my paper while someone else felt the frustration. |
Anonymous
| Yep, even with all of Metro's problems, it's still SO much better than driving. I have an hour and 15 min commute in the morning and an hour in the evening and it's not easy but it's bearable. If I had to drive every day I would lose my mind. |
Anonymous
Me too. I have a 35-40 minute commute, 15 of it walking and the rest on metro, and that is really the max. On the other hand, when I lived in Philadelphia I had a 45-50 minute commute, all walking, and I loved it (except in the summer when I cut it to 30 by taking the bus for part of it). I would prefer walking but we don't live anywhere near close enough. |
Anonymous
| 45 minute bike ride is the best! You never have to go to the gym, and it is often just as fast as metro or just a little longer. Win win win. |