Mz. Pixie Posted August 18, 2005 Share Posted August 18, 2005 Now that I'm married and I've moved in with my husband I'm having a longer commute on the weeks I have my kids. I'm trying to keep them in their same school until my daughter gets ready for kindergarten next year. Then hopefully my ex will compromise on sending them to a school in the middle, between his house and mine. The commute during these weeks is hard by my standards. I have to get up at 4:45 am to make sure we all get out of the house by six. Then I'm in the car for a hour and 15 minutes. In the afternoon it's at least a hour and a half. It's every other week that I will be doing this. My commute before was 30 minutes to work and back. So, I add two hours a day during these weeks. I was kinda whiny last night and I got to wondering what everyone's daily commute is to work?? I know people who live in places like NYC and LA have a longer commute but am I really getting off easy?? How long does it take you to get back and forth to work everyday??? Link to post Share on other sites
Lil Honey Posted August 18, 2005 Share Posted August 18, 2005 Mz. Pixie: Married? ? ? ? Seems that I've been away from the site just long enough to have lost touch with what's going on . . . or I was "asleep at the wheel" again . . . Your commute will depend a great deal on where you live. I live in a rural area. Going to a large city approximately 50 miles away would take me roughly an hour by car. A friend of mine lives near D.C. When he drives, it takes him 1 1/2 to drive 50 miles, because of the traffic. When he takes the bus/train, it takes him two hours or more to get to work (depending on traffic, mechanical problems, and people wandering aimlessly down the train tracks . . . ) He gets up at 4:45, leaves by 6:00 and gets into the office anywhere between 8:00 and 9:00. He leaves work at 5:00 and gets home between 7:30 and 8:30. I think that this is a new routine for you and it will take some getting used to. Each evening, try to prepare for the next morning so that the morning runs smoothly. Get as much done as possible the night before. Have the kids clothes all planned out (and set out). Have the kids' school items and your work items ready and waiting by the door (there is less chance of someone forgetting something this way, too). Be sure that everyone has their lunch money (or that lunches are made and in the fridge) the night before. I am one of the lucky ones. It only takes me about 25 minutes to get to work and I see (maybe) 10 cars on my way. Link to post Share on other sites
shamen Posted August 18, 2005 Share Posted August 18, 2005 I do the reverse commute, meaning I go out of the city to go to work while everyone else is coming in... and I get to work really early, so my morning commute is 20 minutes. Coming home in the evening it's 30-45 minutes when everyone and their brother is on the friggin' road. But it's been close to an hour once in a blue moon. Link to post Share on other sites
Jayhawks Posted August 18, 2005 Share Posted August 18, 2005 About 30 min each way. Anything over a hour each way would make me analyze if I need to move closer to my employment. Link to post Share on other sites
NTB Posted August 18, 2005 Share Posted August 18, 2005 my commute is about 30 minutes each way also....... but before i had this job i commuted about an hour each way heading into the city. Link to post Share on other sites
april Posted August 18, 2005 Share Posted August 18, 2005 A pleasant 25 minute walk from my apartment. Link to post Share on other sites
Art_Critic Posted August 18, 2005 Share Posted August 18, 2005 Originally posted by april A pleasant 25 minute walk from my apartment. Killer.. The best start to a day ... I have to drive anywhere from 25-40 mins to work.. Only about 16 miles But in the Atlanta traffic its a nightmare.. I have a rule that I have to be Aprox 30 mins from work in order to decompress or I take it home with me.. and if you live too close I spend 18hrs a day at work. Link to post Share on other sites
MWC_LifeBeginsAt40 Posted August 18, 2005 Share Posted August 18, 2005 I used to commute...1/2 hr on highway and about 20 min thru the city to get to downtown...but that's a city of roughly just over half million people. It took longer in winter if the roads were bad, but traffic was rarely a problem. Actually summer is just as bad with road construction. Now I work in the next town to mine and it's only ten minutes (10 km). I have it pretty easy. Link to post Share on other sites
Merin Posted August 18, 2005 Share Posted August 18, 2005 I get up at 0'dark thirty to get me and 2 Little Peeps good to go for the day... I drive to my Dad's to drop my Peeps off in the morning this is about a 25 minute drive... Then another 35 minutes to get to work... ONLY to do it all again when I get done with work... This year both of my Kiddo's will be in school, (My baby starts Kindergarten this year) so the commute may be a little better BUT it will also depend on what time she (the lil one) gets out of school... may be doing more driving and moving things around in the schedule to get her, then to my Dads and back to work BEFORE going back for my Oldest... Link to post Share on other sites
Author Mz. Pixie Posted August 18, 2005 Author Share Posted August 18, 2005 Yes, Lil Honey- I got remarried That's like another thread on it's own but I'm sure you've seen me posting gushing about my wonderful guy. We decided to run off and get married! I am getting everything ready the night before. I think it's just this is the first week I've had to do it this much. Normally it would be four mornings and afternoons a week when I have them but this week it's been six days because I picked them up Sunday. We have glorious football going on so we're still trying to adjust to that as well. Last night was particularly bad because I didn't get home until 6:45 having left work at 4:30. There must have been a accident on the freeway- it was so backed up I had to get off and go the back way. Moving closer to my work is not the problem, I'm a cool 25 minutes away and I'm okay with that. It's when I drive down to take my peeps to school that puts the wrench in the drive. I was whining last night telling hubby I cannot do it! He said, "Yes you can". If he didn't work a second job he would pick them up in the afternoons for me but that's not a option right now. We're trying to get debt free to build a new house. I have also spent $60.00 on gas this week already and will need to fill up again! Link to post Share on other sites
MWC_LifeBeginsAt40 Posted August 18, 2005 Share Posted August 18, 2005 Not to mention getting your kids up so early! How do they do it? I feel bad getting my kids outta bed at 7am and rush them through breakfast and getting dressed and out the door by 7:30. Link to post Share on other sites
april Posted August 19, 2005 Share Posted August 19, 2005 Originally posted by Art_Critic Killer.. The best start to a day .... not according to AM's thread Link to post Share on other sites
Author Mz. Pixie Posted August 19, 2005 Author Share Posted August 19, 2005 Well, they have to get up early even when they are at their dads to get to school on time. It's a little bit earlier for them but I don't get them up as far in advance as I used to. I used to get them up at six and they would dawdle. Now they get up at 5:30 and we get out the door by six. My kids have always been on a schedule though. They go to bed at a decent hour so they are pretty well rested. Trust me, if there was a way around it, besides giving them to my ex full time, I would do it. That was his option- let them stay with him during the school week and with me every weekend. I'm sure he would love that- that way he can run the roads on the weekends just like he did when we were married. However, I'm not going to do that. I believe the kids need to be with me during the school week. It's going to be a struggle and we might end up going back to court to get him to agree. I gave him joint custody without him even asking for it, but if he can't put his personal feelings aside and do what's best for the kids that will have to change. He can still have joint visitation but I will be the decision maker if we cannot agree. Everything is always all about him and he doesn't want to sacrifice a bit in having to get up a little earlier to get them somewhere in the middle. But, that's another thread- Link to post Share on other sites
guest Posted August 19, 2005 Share Posted August 19, 2005 I travel on average 125 miles a day back and forth to work and it takes 1.5 to 2 hours each way. I'm spending $100 - $150 on gas each week (including weekend travel to run errends like grocery shopping) I've looked for work close to home, but my work takes me to client offices so I must go where I'm assigned and that could mean even longer commutes in the future. Seldom will a client be any closer than what I'm driving to now. I begin to put the farm and family to bed at 8:00 and I generally have everyone settled in by 10:00 then I go to bed at about 11:00 and am up at 4:00 every morning to get everyone going again and get to the client office by 7:00 or 7:30 at the latest. I have to fight to stay awake at the wheel driving in some mornings (well, most mornings!) and I'm ready to fall asleep myself at night by 8:00. Saturday and Sunday I don't get up until 8:30! Yay for the weekend! Link to post Share on other sites
Lil Honey Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 Mz. Pixie: I knew you had a B/F, but Wowzers! I didn't know that you were such a daring girl to run off and get married! LOL Congratulations. Onto the topic . . . Do you have another parent (of one of your kid's friend's) that you trust? Would it be possible to split the drive to school with this other parent? You could get the kids one week and the other parent could get them the other week. Or split weeks? This would spread out the money for gas over two families and it would spread out the time. Link to post Share on other sites
Author Mz. Pixie Posted August 25, 2005 Author Share Posted August 25, 2005 Yeah, I'm crazy I figured that I knew the other one five years before I married him and alot of good that did me so............ It's wonderful. I never knew marriage could be like this! No, unfortunately no one that lives out by my new home is nuts enough to send their kids to school in the other state! Yeah, I have to cross the state line so that's a killer on the car pool idea right now. My new mother in law is threatening to go down and pick them up for me some because she feels so bad that I'm having to do it every other week. She said the other night "Well, Pixie, we'll make it- one way or the other, even if I have to pitch in and help you". Link to post Share on other sites
Lil Honey Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 I don't know how old your kids are, but it doesn't sound like them riding on a city bus to a closer pickup place would be an option. I probably wouldn't want my kids on a city bus now that I think of it. Hopefully, once the school year gets into a routine, things won't take so long in the mornings. My only other solution would be to find an alternative route, one that might be a bit longer, but takes less time due to less traffic. Or you could rent the kids out to childless couples for a week at a time. It would serve a dual purpose, you would have less stress and they would re-consider having kids. Link to post Share on other sites
Author Mz. Pixie Posted August 25, 2005 Author Share Posted August 25, 2005 Yeah, I could do that! Link to post Share on other sites
bab Posted August 29, 2005 Share Posted August 29, 2005 20 minutes. It would be alot longer if my fiance didn't pay the $560 a semester to park on campus. I'm not eligible for parking so would have to drive to a park and ride and then wait on the bus. As it is, I've got a pretty good deal. Link to post Share on other sites
NewLee40 Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 I have just changed job and traded a 15 minute commute for an hour commute. It has definitely made a big difference in my lifestyle and I've had to adjust. I'm enjoying listening to books on tape which has been a nice change, but its hard being an hour away from home. It certainly makes me think harder about staying late at work. I'd like to move, but that's three years away at best. Glad to know I'm not the only one who drives that far... Link to post Share on other sites
fairy_dust Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 Well I used to travel about 25 - 30 mins to and from does depend on traffic. But you are married and have children and all the responsibilites, things are always unpredictable on your end. To make it easier on you and for time saving you shoule have employment closer. Link to post Share on other sites
Gold Pile Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 Let see, my shortest commute was 6 minutes. Another was 19 miles, don't recall the time. Currently 10-12 miles, maybe 20 minutes or less. My longest (miles) ever was 29 minutes at non peak travel hours. Another was peak rush hour...that could sometimes be 45 minutes to an hour. Maybe 15 miles. Link to post Share on other sites
lynnered Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 1 hour each way 40 miles not fun at all:mad: company transferred to differnt location money is too good to look for something closer. Link to post Share on other sites
Craig Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 1.5 minutes, 2 minutes with traffic. My longest commute was an hour. Link to post Share on other sites
GuySimple Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 I use to have a 1 ¾ hour commute one way! It was crazy. After my kids came along I got down to about a ¾ hour each way which was still way too much on most days. Now, I am about one song away from the office parking garage. It’s great. I even sometimes find myself taking the very long (20 min) way home because I need to relax a bit before getting home. There’s a price to pay, smaller city, bit lower pay, few opportunities, but the lifestyle is far better. Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts