Your commute to work:how far, how much time, what means to you use?

[aida2003]

In the morning while preparing to leave for work, I got these questions in my head . I've heard that it takes HOURS to get to work for folks working in NYC. Then other stories that people cannot afford to pay for gas to get to work these days, etc. etc. So, what about your and your spouse's commute to work?

- Where do you live? (city/state or if you don't to disclose your city, state is OK).
- What transportation means do you and your spouse use to get to/from work?
- How far away are your workplaces?
- How much time on average do you and your spouse spend to get to your jobs and back?
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I'll start .
- Charlotte, NC;
- Both drive cars to work;
- My job is 17 miles away from our house and DH's - maybe 7-8 miles away;
- DD's daycare is between the house and DH's work. With the daycare included, it takes him 20-25min one way. For me, it takes 35-40min. one way, but it's a different story if there's an accident on the highway.

What about you?

[MonkeyMama]

- Where do you live? Sacramento, CA

- What transportation means do you and your spouse use to get to/from work? I drive/dh does not work/commute. Kids go to preschool rather near my work and older one will walk to school come fall, so not a lot of driving there either.

- How far away are your workplaces? About 12 miles - just me.

- How much time on average do you and your spouse spend to get to your jobs and back? half hour round trip.

Boy, with the kids? IT's a lot more. MAybe 70 minutes round trip. It's really only 5-10 miles further out, but the traffic can be more of a nuisance during the peak times. I think it is more lights than anything (preschool is miles off the freeway).

There are maybe 2 lights beween home and job on the other hand - all freeway - so my commute alone is quite simple. Phew. On the weekends it takes me exactly 12 minutes each way (no other cars to contend with).

**Walking, biking and public transport not an option since I value my life. ** Fine options if I lived or worked in other parts of the city. But glad I have a short commute - driving solo really seems to be the best bet. We have a new employee starting Monday and believe my first question though will be, where do you live??? I'd seriously consider a carpool if it made any sense.

[DebbieL]

I sold my car in April. I live on a busroute, and everything in this city is really close anyways. I could walk to work in about 40 minutes maximum. I either hop on the bus which is right in front of where I live or take my bike. It is about 10 minutes on the bus, 10-15 minutes by bike.

DH works about a 10 minute drive away (he still has his car, lol). We're slowly going greener and greener. I just bought a front loading energy star rated washer/dryer set that's being delivered on Saturday. Way better for the environment since it uses 75 percent less energy and water, has a heater to heat water to 160 degrees (if you choose that setting). This kills bacteria and you never have to use bleach. They also use a lot less detergent too. I'm psyched!

[billchrz]

- Where do you live? (city/state or if you don't to disclose your city, state is OK).

I live in Bucks County, PA and work in Princeton, NJ

- What transportation means do you and your spouse use to get to/from work?

I drive..wife doesn't work

- How far away are your workplaces?

Commute is 20 miles each way. It takes anywhere from 30min to 60 min depending on traffic

- How much time on average do you and your spouse spend to get to your jobs and back?

I spend about 60-120 min commuting a day.

[Diolla]

- Where do you live? (city/state or if you don't to disclose your city, state is OK). Topeka, KS
- What transportation means do you use to get to/from work? Usually Walk, drive if weather is really bad
- How far away is your workplace? 3 miles
- How much time on average do you spend to get to your job and back? When I walk about 50 minutes, when I drive about 5 minutes

The walk gives me some exercise and some time to think so I don't really mind the extra time. If I oversleep or the weather is bad I can always jump in the car and just go but I find I am not as productive those mornings.

[disneysteve]

Where do you live?Southern NJ outside of Philly
- What transportation means do you and your spouse use to get to/from work?Cars
- How far away are your workplaces?Mine is 8 miles. Hers probably about 5 miles.
- How much time on average do you and your spouse spend to get to your jobs and back?About 15 minutes for each of us.

[zakity]

Where do you live? (city/state or if you don't to disclose your city, state is OK).
House rules say that we can't disclose our specific location, sorry. We are in Oregon, right outside of Portland. DH commutes to work. Mapquest says that it is 19 miles one way.

What transportation means do you and your spouse use to get to/from work?
We own an 89 Nissan Sentra (30+ mpg), a 94 Jeep Cherokee (25 mpg), and a 82 or an 84 Goldwing (think it gets 35ish mpg maybe). If the weather cooperates, he takes the Goldwing. If it is rainy and we don't have an activity, then he takes the Nissan. If we have an activity that is not local, then he takes the Jeep.

How far away are your workplaces? His workplace is 19 miles away. We homeschool and I don't have a job right now. I have considered getting a job at a local grocery store though. It is a mile away. I probably would drive because the boys would be home alone and if they needed me, I would want to get home fast.

How much time on average do you and your spouse spend to get to your jobs and back?
He takes about 35 to 45 minutes to get there or get home. It depends on traffic and such. Also, he has to travel a narrow, windy main road and if you get behind a log or rock truck, it adds another 5 to 10 min or so to your trip.

[tabbycat31]

- Where do you live? (city/state or if you don't to disclose your city, state is OK). NJ shore
- What transportation means do you and your spouse use to get to/from work? Car, there's a train station in my town, but unfortunately that's not a viable option as the train's not that close to work, and the street I work on is not safe to walk or ride a bike on (major highway). So for now, it's my 99 Subaru.
How far away are your workplaces? About 15 miles each way. I just applied for a position where it would be about 4 miles each way, and hope I get it.
- How much time on average do you and your spouse spend to get to your jobs and back? roughly 1/2 hour each way

[Caoineag]

- Where do you live? (city/state or if you don't to disclose your city, state is OK). Denver, CO

- What transportation means do you use to get to/from work? Usually Bus but also will ride a bike

- How far away is your workplace? 10 miles for me, 10 miles for him.

- How much time on average do you spend to get to your job and back? When using the bus mine is 45 minutes, his is 1 hour. When using a bike, mine is 45 minutes and his is 30 minutes. (both of us use bike trails which are more direct than the roads so we don't have to take our lives into our own hands).

[ActYourWage]

- Where do you live?Middle TN
- What transportation means do you and your spouse use to get to/from work?Truck and car
- How far away are your workplaces?Mine is .6 miles. Wife is probably about 60 miles.
- How much time on average do you and your spouse spend to get to your jobs and back?About 1 or 2 minutes for me and about 1 hr 10 min for wife.

[maat55]

I live in Owasso OK. 10 miles northeast of Tulsa.
I drive a truck 17 miles to near downtown Tulsa.
Takes about 25 minutes.
At 3.67 per gallon, it costs me about 7.13 per day.

[Snave]

- Where do you live? Ohio
- What transportation means do you and your spouse use to get to/from work? I drive a V8 SUV that guzzles gas. My wife stays at home
- How far away are your workplaces? I am in sales, so I drive all ocver the state of Ohio. I drive a minimum of 250 miles a week and usually am closer to 400-500.
- How much time on average do you and your spouse spend to get to your jobs and back? Obviously my job requires driving since I have no office. This doesn't reall apply.

[Seeker]

Originally Posted by aida2003

- Where do you live? (city/state or if you don't to disclose your city, state is OK).
- What transportation means do you and your spouse use to get to/from work?
- How far away are your workplaces?
- How much time on average do you and your spouse spend to get to your jobs and back?
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-California, LA suburbs; + or - 20 some miles from the city proper

-We both work a night shift so we have to take cars; no public transportation available 24x7.

-I drive 16 miles (round-trip) four nights a week (four ten hour shifts); DH drives 70 miles (round-trip) and works five eight hour nights. My auto gets 22 mpg so I fill up once or twice a month. DH's auto is getting approx 45 mpg (hybrid). We're both using a lot less gas than we used to, say two years ago.

-Time? me approx 20 minutes there and 10 back (no traffic coming back home). DH probably 2 hours per day (round-trip again); unless there's a problem on the highways.

[safari]

Los Angeles. I drive to work, which is about 3 miles from my house. The commute takes about 10-15 minutes. I only fill up my gas tank once a month, so the price of gas doesn't matter to me much.

[cschin4]

The price of gas should matter to you. Just because you don't drive that much doesn't mean the gas prices don't affect everything else from groceries and on and on. But, I digress.

Me - I drive about 2 blocks. About 1-2 miles.
Spouse - Drives 20 miles one way but it is right down the interstate so it only takes about 20 min to get there as well.

[kv968]

- Where do you live? (city/state or if you don't to disclose your city, state is OK). Live in Central NJ, outside of Trenton and work in Princeton
- What transportation means do you and your spouse use to get to/from work? Car/sometimes carpool with co-workers
- How far away are your workplaces?~15 Miles
- How much time on average do you and your spouse spend to get to your jobs and back?~20 Minutes. Luckily I live right near a highway.

[disneysteve]

I'm noticing a trend. With few exceptions so far, most of us seem to live pretty close to where we work. Do you think that is part of the frugal mindset most of us share? I know we purposely shopped for a home close to where I was working. When I changed jobs after 7 years, I found a new job even closer to home than the old job.

cschin4 - Didn't quite understand your response. Is your job "2 blocks" away or "1-2 miles" away? Since you drive, I'm guessing the "2 blocks" was a mistake, otherwise you'd probably walk.

[Caoineag]

I wouldn't even think its money related so much as time related. Who wants to waste a whole bunch of time commuting? What's not obvious in my post is that my DH and I work in the opposite directions. We picked our current location to be as close to both work locations as possible. When we buy a house, we will do the same thing with an emphasis on proximity to mass transit. Even if we had a vehicle, I am pretty sure we both would choose mass transit over driving because traffic is insane.

[safari]

I work with someone who drives 2 hours each way. I can't imagine spending 4 hours driving every day. That's just insane.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I think it is a frugal mindset. We also picked a place we could afford nearby. People think they are saving money by living further out, but then the cost of gas, tolls, car wear and tear, adds up fast.

MA
DH drives, I use public transit
30 minutes for him, 30-60 minutes for me
8 miles for DH and 6 miles for me