Jumbo Cranium wrote: I was offered a new job this week, more money,Good better benefits, GoodMUCH better job security,Good but it will be a commute of about an hour and fifteen minutes versus the 25 minutes I drive now. 50 minutes more a day, commuting. Is this worth the trade off for you? I hate driving to work, took me about 45 minutes in awful traffic.
I was able to find a way to work that was about 5-10 minutes longer, through deserted residential streets (for the most part). I didn't mind more time, as long as it was less crazy time. I also found most of the radio stations I was listening to, were typical dumb talk show hosts with typical dumb talk, that just served to get me more riled during the work drive. I started listening to my favorite music CDs and I got CD's of my favorite books read by actors, authors, etc. One of the best was the history of the Civil War by Ken Burns, but there are tons out there. Don't buy them, join your library and take them out. With a good book CD, like Burns, I was actually looking forward to listening, to hear the next chapter. Suddenly it wasn't a big issue being stuck in traffic, if I was listening to a Vince Flynn, Tom Clancy or Ken Burns book. Paying for the gas is not a concern I will get a company vehicle and a gas card.Fantastic. Using someone else's car annnnd having them pay for the gas. Hard to beat that.
The only reason I have even been looking for a new job is that my company has been closing down for 3 to 5 weeks every quarter for the past 18 months. I make great money and I love the time off, but with 16 weeks or so on unemplyment a year great money becomes just decent money.Supposedly we're in a recession, jobs are tight, money won't be as good for many of us. I dunno....do you like the new job requirements? If you do, remember not many people really enjoy what they do for 8 + hours per day. If you don't, maybe you need to keep on looking. Just how I would look at it.
What do you guys think is, the commute a deal breaker?
When I lived in CA i drove 6 miles to work. I've never had more than a 10 to 15 miles drive, ever.
Now my commute is down the hall to the bedroom/office and that's not going to change anytime soon. When it does, I'll be fully retired.
On a more serious note, other half drove and hour and a half for about 7 years. Made a lot of money but trust me it was hard. I would get home 2 hours earlier. The only time we had for "fun" was the weekends. Thanks God we both had weekends off and of course vacations taken at the same time.
If you are a youngster I say go for it. If you are ready to slow down a little and spend more time with family, a long drive would be very hard. Traffic is only going to get worse. Originally it was only a 45 minute drive but over the years, the driving time doubled due to traffic increase.
I hesitate to take jobs that require more than 15 minutes of driving.
Had my times with 80+hr work weeks, but am not looking back to them.
Good to be self employed.
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I work 3-on/3-off and 4-on/4-off shifts. I work 7pm to 7am and the lack of traffic is great!
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My commute is 42 miles. If I'm out the door by 4:30am it's a 40min drive. Leaving at 5am makes my commute 1hr; if I leave at the height of the rush it's 1.5hrs. Rain, falling snow (not even sticking), or an accident will dramatically slow my commute if I leave after 4:30am.
For us it's a quality of life thing. I don't get paid enough to afford acreage close to work (Gaithersburg, MD) that would allow livestock (no HOA).
Mark
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Sometimes you've just got to do what you've got to do. Eighteen years ago I went through one of the base closures. Since then I've been commuting 160 miles a day at an hour and a half each way on a good day. Security to me was the important issue I can live with the rest.
Jumbo Cranium wrote: ... it will be a commute of about an hour and fifteen minutes versus the 25 minutes I drive now....
What do you guys think is, the commute a deal breaker?
75 minutes vs 25 is an extra 50 minutes. Is that each way? If so, that's a considerable chunk of your day. I share the commuting allergy mentioned by some of the earlier posters. For me, even 25 minutes each way would be barely tolerable.
So I guess it comes down to your own personal threshold for driving, as well as what you'd be doing during that time otherwise. If you're single and you'd just be watching TV for the evening, then IMHO that's very different than if you have a spouse and especially if you have kids who you'd have a lot less time with.
Jumbo Cranium wrote: It's right through the heart of Dallas from the north on I35, to Loop 12 down close to I30. Yuck.
Yuck is right. Been there, done that... have the torn & tattered t-shirt.
Seriously now, I worked in Dallas for over two decades. I had short commutes and long commutes. The worst was the last eleven years when I had to drive straight through the "heart of Dallas" to my job. But you know, you do what you gotta do and it really didn't seem so bad at the time. In retrospect now that I don't have to work I look back on it and go "Yuck how did I do that for that long?" The good part was I worked part time so I went in just after the rush and left work most of the time before the afternoon crush. The drive time (45 minutes in the morning & about 55 minutes in the evening on a good day) kept me away from home about 8.5 hours for that part time job. If I had worked full time I have no doubt the drive time would have been MUCH longer.
The other posters are right, that is a big chunk out of your day! The time on the road will be what you have to closely consider. To me, job security where we earn our living is great as long as the job doesn't take up too much living time.
Nobody can make the decision but you and I wish you the best of luck with your careful considerations.
Cat
(Jim just reads the forum once in a while)
Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some sort of battle.... Live simply, love wholly, give generously, care deeply, speak kindly.
I know a lot of people who have a much longer commute than that. They seems to have no trouble. On the other hand, my wife used to commute about an hour a day and for her, it was the time after 45 minutes on the road that would get to her in the evenings. Now she commutes with me and our trip is about 30 minutes (but usually no traffic).
We use that time to plan weekends, dinners, and such. If I were driving alone for an hour+, I would use that time to learn a language or get lots of books on tape (that is what my dad did when he had his hour+ commute).
I don't think the commute is that bad, given the extra pay and security. In these times, security in a job is a good thing.
Tough decision. I didn't notice if you had children. My dd works 10 hours, 4 days each week and she is so tired at the end of the day that it takes away from the time with her only child. She tries to make it up on her day off. Boy, times have changed. Good luck!
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