Which DUer has the longest commute?

[soleft]

Do you train, bus or drive?

I'm thinking of moving to a place where I'll be commuting round trip 120 miles a day.

I'm not saying I'm going to drive, but if I did, and the car gets a combined 33 miles per gallon, is that 12 dollars a day in gas costs?

[Midlodemocrat]

1. I have one of the shortest. Up a flight of stairs

or two if I go down to get coffee first.

[soleft]

16. you live in a bi-level?

[Midlodemocrat]

82. We have three floors. We converted the attic into my office and a bedroom.

[Pacifist Patriot]

88. I keep my laptop by my bed and don't have stairs...

do I win anything?

Okay, I do have to "commute" when I preach or officiate a wedding. But my office and the majority of work are done within twenty feet of my bed. Love it!

[flvegan]

2. 50 ft.

I telecommute.

When I do have to go in, it's 30 miles each way by car. I avoid rush hours, but I have a heavy foot.

Last I checked, I got 26 mpg on avg. Premium is $3.50/gal, so it's $7 a day, roughly.

[underpants]

5. Yeah but the trip DOWN the stairs is no problemo late in the afternoon huh?

[soleft]

17. So speeding isn't something I want to do if I want to save $?

[DarkTirade]

29. Accellerating burns gas.

Best to find the spot where you can go the fastest while using the engine the least. In my last car that was between 45-50 MPH. I haven't figured out what it is yet for the car I'm currently driving.

[bertha katzenengel]

3. Mine is horrible.

About ten steps to the bathroom, enduring the tooth-brushing traffic at the sink. Then twenty or so steps to the coffee maker, and another twenty to my chair. The hardest part is lifting the laptop to my lap. And a Code Red traffic day is when the wifi network is down. AAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Signed,

Smart Ass

;)

Edit: This is because I was laid off last week, and my current job is job-hunting.

[soleft]

9. Good luck!

:thumbsup:

[bertha katzenengel]

10. Thanks. Sorry I couldn't be serious.

Especially for you, Soleft. :hug: Good luck in your decision.

[soleft]

13. We can't afford to live in NY anymore

Unless we want to live in a closet. If we move down to the shore we can get a really nice place for less than half the price we're paying in rent now. I'm just worried commuting will eat up the difference.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

31. Yes, do the math carefully

At $12 per day in gas, that's $240 a month MINIMUM, plus the wear and tear on your car, necessitating more repair and maintenance costs, plus the wear and tear on YOU.

Do you REALLY want to spend a minimum of 2 extra hours per day, probably more, in the car?

Will you be too tired to enjoy your shore home?

Conventional wisdom says "Go for it. Owning a house is worth any sacrifice. Not owning a house means that you barely qualify as an American human being." However, I'm not so sure.

[TZ]

4. Of the people that don't telecommute or work at home

I may have the shortest: 4 MILES!!:woohoo:

[taterguy]

6. 2.6 miles that I usually bike

My spouse whose a member but rarely posts here has a less than one mile commute that she usually walks.

[Midlodemocrat]

8. Is that what we're calling slamming the door in someone's face these days?

Biking?

:hide:

[taterguy]

12. What the fuck are you talking about?

Have you been hitting the box wine this early?

[PeaceNikki]

7. I've got you beat - 1.0 mile.

2 stop signs.

[soleft]

15. So I'm thinking gas prices aren't a factor.

Why not bike?

[PeaceNikki]

18. Gas prices are always a factor.

Even if not directly tied to my drive to and from work.

They factor into everything I buy and eat.

[KamaAina]

26. Actually about 4 miles here as well

but it can take 45 minutes or more -- on something that's twice been named "America's Best Transit System"! :eyes: And we wonder why no one who has an alternative takes transportation...

[TZ]

28. I could in theory bike in to work

But, really I value my life...There is one big MF of a scary intersection I have to get through....:scared:

[KG]

32. got y'all beat - i walk about 100 yds to work.

[dropkickpa]

87. Beat ya! 2.46 miles

About 20 minutes on the bus!

[LynzM]

11. Personally, I would not choose to commute that far

I drive about 80 miles/day right now between childcare and my work commute. I loathe it, and cannot wait to live in a place where driving is not required (big city). I would do 80 miles/day if I could do it on trains with much less complaint, though! And yeah, I'm spending almost $15/day to drive. :(

[soleft]

14. No car and taking the train would cut the expenses in half

But then, no car at all. And that would suck!

[av8rdave]

19. Mine is roughly 800 miles each way

[soleft]

20. By plane?

[av8rdave]

21. If I can find one with an open seat, yes.

[Blue-Jay]

22. Biplane

[trof]

33. Got you beat. 1500 miles.

Commuted from Pensacola to New York for 6 years.
Bummer.
Led to my early retirement from aviation.

[av8rdave]

95. Commuting sucks/sucked, doesn't it?

[trof]

97. It's the main reason I quit in '99 at age 57.

It was especially tough for us freight guys.
Most flights left JFK at 1 or 2 a.m.
So...you have a flight on the 17th.
Right.
But you need to BE there on the afternoon/evening of 16th.
Can't tell you how many guys missed/were late for flights.
I kept a calendar at home with the flight date written and IN BIG RED LETTERS the 'commute' date the day before.
I was paranoid about it.
Never missed one.
And it took a year before my very first waking thought was "OK, when do I have to be back in New York? Is this a commute day?"

And then you'd get back in to JFK about the same time.
Try to get a couple of hours of sleep and then get a cab (SO dependable) to LGA for the first flight home?
Or just drink some more coffee, smoke a few more cigs, and stay up?
I don't miss it at all.

[av8rdave]

99. I know what you mean....

the DFW - ATL commute is murder because there are so many people doing it (we closed a base in DFW just a few years ago). I try to find the most inefficient trips possible so I can string them together. I can usually get away with just two commutes a month. Even then it sucks!

[trof]

100. I could usually do one commute a month.

It was really neat flying for a small start up like Nippon Cargo.
4 747s, 12 U.S crews, and one scheduler when we came on in '89.
Japanese crews did everything west of Tokyo.

Most of us were long distance commuters, especially the South Africans and Irish.
Our schedule guy would put together pairings that kept us out for a week to 10 days and that was finis.

Minimum layover was 24 hours and we had some 2 and 3 dayers in Anchorage and Amsterdam.

[av8rdave]

101. Used to spend a lot of time in Anchorage back in the early/mid 90s

Had a lot of fun there.

[trof]

103. F Street Station?

I was there in all of the 90s.
We stayed at the Hilton, next door.
Loved F Street.
Good food and really nice (and cute) waitresses.
Bet we were there at the same time.

[av8rdave]

104. I remember F street....

There was another place on 4th, I think, called Darwin's Theory. They stayed open really late (we never got downtown until around 12:30 am)

[trof]

106. WHEW! Darwin's. What a place.

The Red Hot shooters.
Cinnamon schnapps with a dash of Tabasco.
Went down warm on a cold winter night.

I got thrown out one night.
I just remember questioning the bartender (female) about some guy she had just thrown out.
I thought the guy didn't deserve it.

Darwin was there, and ROLLING!
DON'T EVER QUESTION MY BARTENDERS, MAN YOU'RE OUTA HERE!
And that was that.

I was pissed for a while, but eventually went back.
It was just such a weird interesting place.

[av8rdave]

109. Darwin's was a place!

I can remember more than once leaving when they closed (almost sunup during the summer). Would wind up sleeping until about 1 pm...didn't have to be back at work until midnight. Obviously, I had a lot more energy in those days!

[CreekDog]

23. 14 miles/20-25 minutes each way

drive --no complaints about that from me.

there is transit (BART), but it would be almost an hour each way doing that.

[soleft]

54. San Fran?

[CreekDog]

71. South S.F. to San Fran.

:hi:

[IndianaJones]

24. 100 miles per day round trip...about $10 in gas a day. nt.

[TZ]

35. Hmm

Not a math wizard in school were you....:P

[littlebit]

25. Mine is really short

I go from my bedroom to my office across the hall.

[soleft]

53. Lots of people seem to work at home

I think I'd end up procrastinating on DU even more than I do at the office.

[KamaAina]

27. You're thinking about *driving* in??!!

Oh good heavens! It would be about 4 gallons a day, and if you bought your gas in NJ, that would work out to $12 a day -- for now, at any rate. But then there's tolls (they're not just in Delaware, y'know :-), which I hear are about to go way up, not to mention parking in the city (off the charts).

Then again, we've been through this before, as I recall, and the train is doggone near two hours each way... :scared: On the upside, if you did it, you'd get to chat up Repuke Stepdad (who has a weekend place in Long Branch) about Yankee baseball!

[soleft]

44. I worked one summer at the Haunted Mansion in Long Branch

AND - the best pizza on the planet is in Long Branch.

[KamaAina]

48. There's a haunted mansion there? And pizza?

Mom in particular would enjoy the first. Both Mom and R.S. might like to know where to go for the pizza. The one time I remember them ordering in down there, it wasn't that impressive (then again, I did live in New Haven for a while, thus my standards are quite high!)

[soleft]

61. Well, unfortunately the Haunted Mansion burned down

The entire Long Branch Pier went up in flames - I think in the late 80's. They've finally built the area back up and there are quite a few good restaurants in an area called Pier Village.

As for pizza, all my entire life every Saturday night we ordered pizza from Freddie's on Broadway. It has a thin crust, and my favorite the the special, green peppers and sausage.

My parents still live nearby, and Saturday night my sister came from Pennsylvania and we got Freddie's pizza for dinner.

[huskerlaw]

30. 15 miles

but it takes 45 minutes to an hour. Sometimes more if the traffic is really bad.

I drive once or twice a week. The rest of the time, I drive a couple miles to the subway station and take the train downtown, then a shuttle to my actual place of employment. If all the connections are perfect, it would take about 30 minutes (alas, that almost never happens).

[soleft]

55. How's the parking near your office

It would be hard to mix driving and taking the train, because I'd have to get a monthly parking place.

[huskerlaw]

68. We have a parking garage

that's something like $600/year (for staff) or $6/day. There is some free on-street parking, but I have a new car and downtown LA can be a bit sketchy.

Meanwhile, my employer pays for public transit, so that's completely free. :thumbsup:

[JTG of the PRB]

34. Mine is about 16 1/2 miles each way.

Usually doesn't take more 20-25 minutes to do my commute in the morning.

When I move back to Boulder at the end of April, my commute will drop to about 3 miles each way, and 10 minutes at the very most. Huzzah for the end of April!

[soleft]

50. Huzzah?

[SarahB]

36. 10 miles to work

I'll take it. :D

[soleft]

49. So I guess you don't have to get up too early

I'll have to leave the house at 7 to get to work by 9.

[TexasBushwhacker]

37. I drive 7 miles each way

I work at a distribution center in an industrial area (kind of isolated), and I live in the apartment complex that's the closest to work that's also quiet and safe. I go against traffic, and 6 miles of it is freeway, so it usually takes me 15 minutes.

[soleft]

47. What do you do for lunch?

Is there a cafeteria or something onsite?

[TexasBushwhacker]

58. I'm a good girl. I bring my lunch

We actually have a nice kitchen, complete with 2 microwaves, stove, and oven, as well as 2 large refrigerators. I'm watching my cholesterol though, so more days than not, I have a big bowl of oatmeal. The facility has about 200 employees and there is an early shift and late shift that take their meal breaks at times other than the noonish norm, so there's generally not a crowd in the kitchen. But if I'm just dying for a burger or something, there are fast food places within a couple of miles, and we have Chinese food delivered every payday :9

JMHO, you have to consider your time as well as the cost of gas and wear and tear on your car. That much driving, every day, can get really old, really fast. You would work 8 or 9 hours a day, plus another 2 or 3 driving. Before you know it, you have time to sleep, sh!t and shower and then you do it all again. I had an uncle that had a long commute because he and his family wanted to live in the "country". He eventually got a cheap apartment near work that he shared with a co-worker during the week. He pretty much paid for the apartment with what he saved in gas, and that was back when gas was a lot less than it is now.

[soleft]

62. My girlfriend is eating leftover Chinese food right now!

:9

[TexasBushwhacker]

65. It's best that way

I usually order the dinner size meal and eat half for lunch and put the rest in the fridge. I like it cold!

[DarkTirade]

38. Well, if I'd kept my job when I moved it would be something like 1200 miles or so...

but I decided it wasn't worth a two day commute for 4-5 hours of work a night... :P

[soleft]

46. But sometimes it's hard to find work in your field!

[DarkTirade]

66. No, I worked in a building, not a field.

An open-air building, but a building nonetheless. :P

[ThomCat]

39. 2 hours.

From Staten Island to Midtown Manhattan.

[soleft]

41. I didn't know you lived on Staten Island

What's your mode of transport?

[ThomCat]

43. I drive my wheelchair to the ferry

take the ferry to manhattan and then take the 4/5 and then the 6 train to midtown.

Are you from Staten Island? :)

[soleft]

45. No, but I just drove thru it Sat night.

Amazingly there wasn't much traffic. Took the Outerbridge Crossing and 287 to Verrazanno Bridge.

Also, my softball league uses several ball fields on Staten Island, and this summer we'll be using a field near the beach. So I'll be on Staten Island quite a bit in the coming months.

[ThomCat]

52. I thought, for some reason,

that I remember you being in Brooklyn.

It really sucks that you haven't been able to make it to a meetup. :(

[soleft]

56. I know. I was going to go the one in Williamsburg

I think that night I was actually in Prospect Park and was going to figure out how to get to Williamsburg on my way home, but something went awry. Right now I'm on the upper east side, and we just can't afford it anymore. We thought about moving to Kensington or Ditmas Park, but we went out there last weekend and my girlfriend found the area too depressing. She could deal with Park Slope, but that's gotten off the charts too.

[ThomCat]

57. There seems to be a concentration of DUers

out in and near Jamaica. I'm moving out to Briarwood/Jamaica this summer to share a place with another DUer. :)

[soleft]

60. Cool!

Queens is a happening place. I hear Astoria is the new Chelsea.

[ThomCat]

63. Starbucks Anarchist lives in Astoria.

I hope you end up someplace nice in queens were we can have regular social stuff happening.

InfoManiac and I have been talking about inviting everyone over for a regular once a month dinner once I'm living out there. :)

[bullwinkle428]

40. 52 miles each way - my car gets around 33 mpg right now

as well (closer to 38 in mid-summer), so my gas costs are right around $10 per day. I have a ton of miles on the car (around 157K), but am holding out for a Generation III Prius with plug-in capability. Supposedly capable of close to 100 mpg!

[soleft]

42. What time do you have to get up in am? How's the traffic?

[ScreamingMeemie]

51. It is not so much a commute but, as a real estate appraiser, I have

driven some hefty amounts of miles in a day. The most I ever drove in one day was 435 miles. I'll never do that again.

[soleft]

59. Yikes! I'm exhausted just reading that.

I once drove in one day from Los Angeles to Monterey. I was going to a retreat and by the time I got there I was so tired and drained, when they told me I couldn't stay in the dorm because I had written on the application I was a light snorer, and they'd put me in a cabin in the woods with the other snorers, with no bathroom, just an outhouse, I just burst into tears.

Plus I had driven a convertible wearing a ball cap backwards, and ended up with a red half moon on my forhead.

I did get to see Big Sur, tho, that was neat.

[Fox Mulder]

64. At my old job, I had to commute about six blocks.

If that.

[soleft]

73. I'm picturing the establishing shot of the FBI Building in DC

[ordinaryaveragegirl]

67. Moving in a week...

I'll go from a 5-minute commute to 2 minutes. And no more traffic lights!

[soleft]

77. Good luck with your move

I don't know anything about them, but I want to use a moving company called Schleppers because I love the name.

[ordinaryaveragegirl]

93. Thanks!

We're using a Pod, on the recommendation of several people. So far, so good. The customer service has been good, even when we had to shift our dates a bit. The price is good too, at only about $300 total to move everything, and we can pack the container on our own time. Much cheaper and easier than using a moving service. I'm really happy with my experience with them.

[tammywammy]

69. 15 miles, about 20 minutes

:)

[soleft]

78. Sounds like you never get a speeding ticket

[auntAgonist]

70. 43 miles one way. Car gets 29 miles per Gallon. It's getting costly. n/t

[soleft]

75. I picked a really bad time to go ungreen

[Godhumor]

72. Last year, my commute was 99 miles each way

I filled up with gass every two days, drove 1000 miles a week, and stretched oil changes to once every 6 weeks.

I still can't believe I put up with that for a year.

[soleft]

74. I hope it's not longer than a year of this for us

If the proverbial ship comes in we might be able to get a studio in the city and just commute on weekends.

[MissMillie]

76. I drive 90 miles a day

to get to work and back. I used to do 120 a day.

My car gets between 30 and 35 mpg, as long as I behave myself.

[soleft]

79. And still find time to work out!

Impressive!

[MissMillie]

80. out of bed at 4:45, in the car by 5:15

at the gym (which is here at work) at 6:00.

At my desk by 8:00.

[soleft]

83. I may have to start going at lunch time

There's a NY Sports Club across the street and a Golds Gym around the corner. Will never beat my NY Recreation Ctr. $75 annual membership tho.

[DS1]

81. 2 miles

I will be riding my bike or walking when it's warmer in the morning. 21 degrees is still a bit chilly.

[soleft]

84. It was 31 in NY this am - I want Spring!

I'll take even going straight to summer.

[last_texas_dem]

85. 1 mile round trip

I'm a graduate assistant and live in an apartment near the campus. However, I commute to two classes a week that are at an off-campus "university center" (central location where several colleges in the region hold classes) that I have to commute to, 70 miles round trip. So that is where my gas money ends up going!

[soleft]

89. As an NYU alumni, when I lived near NYU I could take their trolley

For free. Sadly, it's been the best return on my degree investment.

[crispini]

86. Holy carp!

I think I have the shortest:

From bed

To couch

5 seconds.

LOVE IT.

[soleft]

90. Couch? Not even a desk?

Are you like a professional Nielson family?

[crispini]

91. The desk, it wearies me.

I have a desk, but I'd rather lounge on the couch. I am a baaaaaaad telecommuter. I break all the rules. But I like it like that. ;D

[Throd]

92. Walk downstairs, grab coffee in kitchen, walk another 25 feet to office.

[soleft]

94. This thread has made me very envious

So if I'm not green by way of short commute, I'm green with envy over those who do.

[blockhead]

96. about three months.

He was a kind judge.:)

[Broken_Hero]

98. my wife's commute

is 74 miles a day....

[Burma Jones]

102. Once or Twice a week I go 65 miles each way

but usually, I work from home. Last February 13, it took me 5 1/2 hours to get home (we had an ice storm that apparently took The Virginia DOT by surprise)

[pengillian101]

105. Commuting round trip 120 miles a day.

That just sounds familiar, lol. For 14 years I drove 120 miles round trip each day. It really wore me out. It was from the northern suburbs of Minneapolis/St. Paul to the southern suburbs. Winter driving made the one-way drive 3 hours sometimes. Summer driving with folks going 'up north' with their fishing boats, trailers, etc. on Friday nights at least 3-4 hours.

Light rails are apparently going in. That should help. I used to have a few co-workers that lived nearby. We shared rides for quite awhile and that was nice to have some conversation on the way. Minneapolis/St. Paul has a ride-share program where you can park in the park-and-ride
bus lots.

Now, I just go down the hall a few steps to the office.

:hi:

[RazzleCat]

107. Trick Answer

56 miles round trip. Gave it up when gas went up, (yes own the big 4x4 suv gas hog, and loved it) received a free transit pass, so now it's 8 miles round trip to the light rail station, then on to the bus. Funny thing, mass transit only takes about 10 minutes longer just under an hour vs 40 odd minutes. Traded in the gas hog for a VW Bug (manual), now I get great gas mileage, but am so used to the public transportation (plus that free transit pass, $60.00 value) that I still take the public transport to work. Since I stopped driving to and from work I average less than 100 miles per week or one 10 gallon fill up per month. And yes I giggle at the people I see making those funny faces while filling up their big old trucks / SUV's. One last note, I was lucky that I owed less on the hog than it's current blue book value, so I was able to trade it in on the bug and walk away clean from the payments, pretty much have the same time and monthly payments on the bug that I had left on the truck, as a real bonus, less miles and years on the bug.

[NewJeffCT]

108. My wife used to drive 65 miles each way - when she was pregnant

and, she did it 5 days a week most of the time.