Commuting to work

[Ensign]

I have a 4-4.5 hour daily commute ahead of me. I will be driving. Any advice? Also, what is the longest commute that you have experienced before, on a consistent basis? How long did you keep it up for? What is enjoyable about your commute? What is bad about it?

Thanks.

 

[Miss Chicken]

Move closer to your job?

I have never taken me more than an hour to get to work and I don't even drive, I have to rely on buses.

 

[Ensign]

Move closer to your job?

I have never taken me more than an hour to get to work and I don't even drive, I have to rely on buses.

I'm not moving as I live in a lovely house and in a lovely place for very little money and I plan to stay here for the rest of my life.

I'm just looking for advice on making the commute easier/more enjoyable.

Thanks

 

[Miss Chicken]

Listen to audiobooks? If I had a long commute that is what I would do. Or listen to podcasts.

The enjoyable thing about my commutes is the people from my neighbourhood I have befriended at the bus-stop. I think that that is one advantage of using public transport.

 

[Starkers]

Is that 4/4.5 hours in total per day, or is it that long each way? I'm hoping the former.

For the last time years I've been commuting between Nottingham and Leicester. It takes me about 90 minutes each way (used to be 75 till my work place moved up the road). That's bus/walking/train/walking which helps as it splits it up. I do drive on occasion, it takes roughly the same amount of time but obviously on the train I can watch things on my tablet, read or play games and the traffic can be a pain.

Good things, it can be quite relaxing on the train, and there's a nice decompression between work and home. Downside is that if there's a problem with trains it can become quite horrible and at times it's taken me 3 hours to get home. Thankfully that doesn't happen too often.

 

[MacLeod]

Listen to audiobooks? If I had a long commute that is what I would do. Or listen to podcasts.

The enjoyable thing about my commutes is the people from my neighbourhood I have befriended at the bus-stop. I think that that is one advantage of using public transport.

That would be my idea as well, though the longest commute I have had to work is roughly an hour each way.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

The typical length of my commute is 25 minutes each way, which is the longest I've had. Sometimes it takes up to 90 minutes. Those are bad days.

I listen to the radio to pass the time.

Some of my coworkers commute 2 hours or more each way. I don't think I could manage that.

 

[SPCTRE]

podcasts

this.

 

[Ensign]

I dont really know what podcasts are... how are they different from the radio?

 

[Sophie74656]

The longest I've had was an hour and a half one way.

You could try audio books to help pass the time

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I dont really know what podcasts are... how are they different from the radio?

They don't travel over airwaves, for one thing, unless you want to be pedantic and say wireless mobile data is the same as FM/AM radio.

You either download them to a portable audio device or thumb drive or stream them through your smartphone/tablet.

 

[Stephen!]

Also, what is the longest commute that you have experienced before, on a consistent basis?

Around two hours. Technically, it shouldn't have taken that long to get from home to work. But the only available bus (or mini bus) took a rather indirect route, since it needed to go around the various villages picking up people.

My current job is within walking distance from home, so I don't need to deal with that anymore.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I live just a few blocks from my store. It takes about 2 minutes for me to drive to work. (If the weather is bad, such that I'm afraid my car might get stuck in the snow or something, I'll walk it.)

The longest commute I've ever had was when I still lived in an apartment and I worked in a different store (same chain). It was about 10 minutes back then.

 

[thestrangequark]

My current commute is 40 minutes to work and an hour and a half home -- I take the train on the way in and usually walk home after. I'm very lucky to live in a city with decent public transport. I can read, listen to music, zone out, or sleep if I'm tired. However, they are closing the L line next year which is going to wreak havoc on millions of commutes, including mine. I'll have to start taking the J or M to the 6, or N/Q/R, which is going to add at least a half hour and a transfer onto my commute. Not looking forward to it.

 

[Velocity]

I have never lived more than a mile or so from work, so not a commute. I think listening to audiobooks as mentioned is a good choice. Some are even designed to teach you a foreign language or other skill during your drive.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

The kind of day I have at work, dictates what kind of music I listen to (in my car) when I leave.

For instance, today was most definitely a Rammstein day.

However, they are closing the L line next year which is going to wreak havoc on millions of commutes, including mine.

That's for Hurricane Sandy repairs, isn't it? How long is that going to last?

 

[thestrangequark]

18 months. Though googling that revealed that now the closure is apparently scheduled for 2019 -- initial reports said '17.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

I do 45 minutes inbound and 1 hour home to and from Chicago. The trip home would be a lot worse if I worked later.

I'm still planning to move to the city to avoid the 49+ mile (each way) trip. The wear and tear on the vehicle and my mental state warrant being closer to work.

In the Jeep I have Sirius and SD & USB ports, so I can listen to pretty much any kind of music I want.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

My longest commute was from Huntington Beach to Manhattan Beach, CA, which is only about 34 miles, but about 90% of that distance is spent on the 405 (the San Diego Freeway), which is the busiest freeway in the country. So it would take me roughly an hour and ten minutes to get to work in the morning and two to get home, barring any accidents, which could sometimes have you sitting in traffic for over three hours. Fortunately this was just over one Summer and the pay and experience was worth it (plus travel expenses were covered).

 

[Kelthaz]

I have about a 40 minute commute to work and about 50 minutes home. I take both a subway train and a bus, so travel times can vary. I bring a 3DS or a kindle to keep me occupied during the trip so I don't mind the length too much, but I hate transferring from the train to the bus.