What would you consider to be a reasonable commute?

[Anonymous]

I have lived in the DC area my entire life and witnessed my parents have hour-plus commutes. I live in the burbs but commute into the city and it takes about an hour each way - same for DH. I recently posted a thread asking about a specific route and all the responses were that it would be horrible so I'm wondering now what people on here think is bad vs reasonable.

[Anonymous]

It depends on who you ask.

My commute is anywhere from 45 mins (in the summer of if I leave super early or very late) to 90+ minutes. It's fine when it's between 45-hour IMHO, but it's a PITA when it's closer to 90.

Ultimately, it is what it is. We got more bang for our buck by living further out: nicer house, better schools, family-friendly area, etc. The long commute is the trade off. I can tolerate the commute. I could not tolerate spending more for a smaller house in a worse school district...but that's just me. Others surely disagree.

[Anonymous]

It's different for everyone. For me, 30 minutes or less. 45 would be pushing it. I had a 1.5 hr plus commute to D.C. when I was in my late 20s and it was awful. I gained weight, had some health problems and it wore on me. I transferred to an office outside of Baltimore and now have a 20 minute commute. It's awesome, especially now with 2 little kids.

[Anonymous]

It depends on how much they are willing to pay you. My husband does MD to VA and the price was right for the job he wanted. He switches every few years. The commute is sole sucking.

[Anonymous]

1 hr door-to-door. The problem, usually, isn't what time it "usually" takes, it's the days when the commute goes terribly wrong - it can be traumatizing. An added hour+ due to a wreak, a missed meeting, an angry boss. The memory lasts, and causes a lot of stress re: the unknown. If there where no time pressure re: obligations, that would be different. If that were the case 90 min each way for a job I enjoyed, I could manage.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't do anything over 30 minutes unless I was making very serious bank and there was no possible way to live closer.

[Anonymous]

In our family, it works to have one person with a long (60-75 min) commute and one person with a short commute (10 mins plus kid drop off and pick ups). I think we'd go crazy if we both had such long commutes. It's also important that the long commute is entirely on metro (and walking to and from metro), which makes it more relaxing than fighting angry drivers.

[Anonymous]

What time of day are you commuting?

Dh commutes from the VA burbs to Capitol hill, exactly 21 miles door to door. It can 60 to 90 mI'm if he leaves at 750am or after. If he leaves before that it's more reasonable

[Anonymous]

My commute is 45-60 minutes each way, including the preschool drop-off/pick-up. But knowing this, I negotiated a compressed schedule and two telework days when I took the job. That’s as long and as often as I am willing to commute for my current pay.

DH works a standard 9-5, five days a week. The exact same commute, with no drop off or pick up, takes him 90 minutes.

[Anonymous]

I have a predictable commute of 40-60 minutes. A few years ago, I had a commute that would take between 45 - 90 minutes. That was rough.

[Anonymous]

At one point I lived in NY and commuted two hours each way to work. I promised myself never again. I keep it to a half hour max.

[Anonymous]

For me 45 minutes but I didn't like it. I moved to another city where it would be reliably under a half hour no matter where in the city I might get a job.

[Anonymous]

I think this is totally an individual consideration based on what suits your financial needs, your personality, your family life, etc. You have to decide for you. I, personally, could not handle a commute. Originally because it just infuriates me, I don't have the patience for it. But now I have a couple of tweens, every minute not getting to our from work can be used for family, which I prefer. My commute is about 20 minutes.

What works for you OP?

[Anonymous]

<30 minutes or less unless exercise is involved.

[Anonymous]

i think 1 hour is a bad commute. I think a "reasonable" commute is half hour or less, but I know that many must take on an unreasonable commute due to other factors in their life.

My husband is one of those people.. We moved here from across the country many years ago to his job, which was in the FAR, FAR out exurbs. After about 8 years, that job ended and he looked for a new one, and ended up getting hired for a job that is in Arlington. We considered moving closer to there, but we have kids and they are already very settled in to their school, sports, church, activities, etc. So he has an hour + commute.