Commute longer than 1 hour

[Anonymous]

We are considering moving to Poolesville, Md. I work on Capital Hill.
Via car and MARC train my commute would be 90 minutes each way. I think this is no problem, but my wife thinks it will be tiring over time.
If you commute is 90 minutes or longer, what are your thoughts?

[Anonymous]

Depends on your personality. My husband would be miserable. You will have no time for yourself. What are your hrs at work?

[Anonymous]

It really depends what your hours are to begin with. If you always work exactly 9-5 so you can leave at 7:30 and get home at 6:30 with a 90 minute commute, it might be fine. But, if you already work long hours or your hours are unpredictable with some late nights, I think you will come to hate this. My DH used to have a little more than an hour commute from PG county to Capitol Hill, including car and Metro. It was fine in the morning, but he often worked late and he hated that when he had worked all day and just wanted to be home he still had to get through that long commute. We loved our community, but a long commute is a hard thing to do for a long period of time. We ended up moving into the city where he has a fifteen minute commute and it is much less wearing on him.

[Anonymous]

I had an hour commute each way for about a year and seriously underestimated how it would impact the quality of my life. It wasn't the time per say bc I don't mind getting up early or eating dinner on the late side, it was adding 2 hours a day of additional sedentary time. My back hurt from sitting in the car that long, my mind got frustrated in traffic and it drained me. I would come home exhausted. Now I leave the house and come home at the same time ( work longer shifts) but have infinite amounts of more energy. I am working out daily again and very rarely feel frusterated while driving. Think long and hard about it. I am not one to mind driving either, or so I thought.

[Anonymous]

It's completely soul sucking. I wouldn't even consider it if you have to go into work 5 days a week. For 2-3 days, maybe.

[Anonymous]

My spouse and I did the 90 minute commute together for 3 years. It was good for us as we got to spend time together. Then I got a new job and he did the 90 minute commute solo and I did the 30 minute commute solo. It was horrible for him and pretty awful for our marriage.

We moved closer in and he commutes to Capitol Hill solo (35 minutes) and my commute is a little shorter (20 minutes). This works well, especially now that we have kids. It's possible for each of us to make it to sports practice,

[Anonymous]

Do you have kids? It seems like it would be hard to spend any time with them if you are commuting 90 minutes each way.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like hell. How many hours in addition to commute would you be working?

[Anonymous]

Check out olney or brookeville instead...your commute will be one hour (or slightly less if you beat rush hour...and traffic is always lighter in the summer). Plus, you won't be out in the boonies.

[Anonymous]

A coworker did this, it almost cost her her marriage. They finally sold their house (at a loss) and moved.

She is now excited about her 45 minute commute. Insane.

[Anonymous]

Your commute will be 90 minutes on a good day if there are no problems. It could stretch to close to 3 hours each way. If you can afford to not live up there, then dont'.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Depends on your personality. My husband would be miserable. You will have no time for yourself. What are your hrs at work?

I disagree. I work at a location between Washington and Baltimore and like in Rockville. Commuting there pre-ICC was a nightmare, taking 60-90 minutes, or more, each direction every day. I've been on a Downtown tour for the past two years and am taking Metro, which is about 15-minute drive from my house. I relish those 60 minutes of solitude on the train (have to change trains, but it's not too bad), as they allow me the opportunity to read, which I just don't have time for at home and can't do while begind the wheel of a car. So that IS my time to myself!

[Anonymous]

Personally, I couldn't do more than an hour each way. My husband got cranky last year when we bought a house and his commute was more than 20 minutes. As you can see from the responses, this is a VERY personal decision - Only you know your tolerance level. On the VA side, I know people who moved to Warrenton and Front Royal commuting to Arlington and loved their homes so much, the commute didn't matter.

[Anonymous]

OP here - thanks for the comments. More info, the car part should be traffic free. It is one hour on the Marc train.
My hours are flexible and I generally don't have to work more than 8-9 hours a day. I could telecommute 1 day definitely and possibly two days. I would not even consider this if it meant driving in traffic. My current commute, car and Marc train is about 30 minutes.

To the person who suggested Brookeville, my boss does that but comes in late and stays late to avoid the traffic.

[Anonymous]

My BIL did a 2.5+ hour commute each day from WV to DC for 3 years. He carpooled and how early morning hours and left early afternoon. After 3 years, he had gained a 100 lbs due to the very sedentary nature of his job and commute, being too tired when getting home to do anything else, and lastly from fast food dinners and breakfasts. Even when leaving early, they would encounter traffice so after 2 hours on the road, they would stop for dinner and of course it was fast food.