My commute is generally over an hour and if there is an accident or bad weather, it can take much longer. Having a long commute really takes up a lot of valuable time. I sometimes try to be productive during my commute by listening to podcasts to learn new things. I generally listen to podcasts about personal finance (surprise surprise!) and also about real estate investing. However, must of the time I just listen to music or sports talk radio. Many people in NYC have long commutes but they generally use public transportation whereas I drive. There are pros and cons to each one though. With public transportation, it’s possible to read and to nap, which is something you can’t do if you’re driving. Though NYC trains and buses are so packed and busy that commuting using public transportation is no walk in the park either. At least when I’m driving, I have my own personal space. Although, there are some crazy drivers out there too so that can be give you some road rage. Some other downsides of driving is the financial costs involved and it can have negative affects on your health as well. Check out the following infographic for some tips to improve your commute and for some interesting facts about commuting.
From Visually.
How long is your commute and what do you do to pass the time?
I only had one nightmare commute in my life and that was for about 2.5 years living in seattle and working at a video game company. It was only about a 45 minute drive, but I used to have to pass Safeco field where the Mariners played in the summer, and OMG my commute would turn into nearly two hours. Oddly enough, living in LA, I’ve had the shortest commute times. I live 3.5 miles from my current job and wouldn’t have it any other way. LA is a traffic nightmare!
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I was in Seattle visiting family back in September and some people wanted to have dinner in the area near Safeco but when they realized that there was a Mariners game, they changed it to a different location to avoid the traffic. I’ve heard traffic is bad in LA so I’m glad yours isn’t too bad.
I always hate going up to Seattle. The traffic on I5 is always bad even on the weekend. LA area is tough too. It just take so long to go anywhere. I have the perfect commute right now. It’s just a few steps to the 2nd bedroom/office. 🙂
That is the perfect commute! How about your wife’s commute?
Thanks for sharing your tips Andrew. Now that I quit my day job, I definately don’t miss the commute. When we start the new business in June, I will be driving a lot however…..digging up clients mostly. Also, our “home office” is about 30 miles from my house. I generally use the drive time on my way to the office, to make phone calls. On my drive home, I usually preferred silence….to let me mentally process the day and de-stress. That way I brought home less stress to my family.
I have known people that lived around DC and LA, who commuted 2 hours each way per day. That is a huge time sink. I honestly don’t think I could do that. I hope you have a great week
-Bryan
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Haha, funny that your “home office” will be 30 miles away. Commuting 2 hours each way would really be horrible. What a waste of time!
I used to commute a lot before I quit my job to live off my passive income.
As a former resident of the Boston area and a current resident of the Dallas area, I can say the map is completely accurate about them being two terrible areas. Boston is FAR worse though.
At the ripe old age of 30, I can say I have done enough commuting for one lifetime. Everything now is dedicate to earning passive income so I don’t have to drive during rush hour if I don’t want to.
What? Quit your job and living off passive income at age 30!? I’m checking out your blog. My commute is one of things I definitely wouldn’t miss.
I hack my commute by living withing walking distance to work. Depending on how fast I walk it’s about a 12 minute walk each way. I spend this time listening to podcasts (mostly of the personal finance) variety. I like walking. It’s free. It gets the blood flowing. And is a nice cool down after a long day in the office.
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That’s awesome to be able to walk to work! It’s great exercise as well.
I am so grateful that I work from home. Although on some days that wander downstairs to the office is terribly difficult due to an increased lack of motivation. I suppose I could listen to a podcast on the way. 🙂
Haha, now that’s a commute that I would love.
My commute isn’t great but I don’t foresee us moving or me moving to another company anytime soon. I have found that when I listen to podcasts I’m calmer on the commute and the commute goes by quicker. I don’t always listen to podcasts but I would love to get in the habit of almost always turning one on when I get in the car.
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Yea, I need to download some more podcasts. I definitely like to learn something new. Listening to the news is sometimes depressing and sports talk can be mundane since I’m not that interested in some of the topics.
My commute used to be 50 miles round trip its now 10. I do like to listen to music or podcasts and use the time to unwind. It’s a good way to buffer the work – home environments.
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Great that you were able to cut down on your commute. I feel the same way about having that buffer…it gives you sometime to unwind even though driving in traffic can still be pretty stressful at times.
I’m so grateful that I’m telecommuter so that I don’t have to drive into work everyday. When I was driving into work, the commute wasn’t that bad – about 20 minutes or so. However, the downside is that southerners don’t seem to know how to drive in the rain and any time it rains, there is always a back-up on major intersections. Other than that, it’s pretty easy to get around to work if you’re not traveling during rush hour traffic.
Haha, I’ve heard that southerners don’t know how to drive when it snows but I didn’t know that applied to rain as well!
I had an one-hour plus commute for many years. I listened to music and podcasts to make the time more productive but no matter how you spin it, a long commute is just draining. We moved 3 years ago so I was able to cut my commute in half. I have more energy, more time with kids, and am less stressed. We pay higher rent but it’s so worth it!
Yes, that long commute really is draining, glad you were able to cut it in half, especially you have kids to take care of.
Love, love living in a small city. My commute is four lights and 15 minutes. Easy, breezy, lemon squeezy. The ease of local driving and a short commute to work was a significant factor in deciding to stay when I retired from the Army.
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Wow, that’s a great commute. Traffic is definitely one of the downsides of living in a big city.
I do live outside of a bigger city in the ‘burbs and have a 30-45 minute commute, but I like to make it as stress free as possible. Instead of waiting until the last possible minute to leave for work I leave an hour earlier than my normal time. This way my drive is less stressful and I have plenty of time to sit before work, enjoy some coffee, and catch up on my reading and writing.
Yea, that’s a great idea. I used to do that as much as possible as well. It’s a lot tougher now with a little one since I sometimes have to drop him off. Not always easy to get him up and out the door early!
I work from home now and definitely don’t miss my driving commute. Still, it’s a unique time in that listening to podcasts or books on tape seems much more appealing, and I learned a lot more in my car than I do in the 20 feet between my bedroom and my office. 🙂
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I think working from home is great in terms of the commute! Plus you save a lot on gas and car maintenance. Part of me wonders if I’d be less productive or bored not having more social interaction with co-workers though.
Podcasts and reading are my go-to things to do during my commute since I’m just sitting or standing on the subway. I’ve recently started pondering if I should begin writing during commutes since I could easily do that on my phone or go so far as to pull out my laptop! Maximize that time!
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Since I drive I definitely can’t do writing but I have brainstormed ideas for writing on my blog. I think writing or brainstorming ideas for your writing is a good idea to do during your commute. I feel like I think better when I’m by myself. Well on the subway, you’re definitely not by yourself but everybody is doing their own thing usually and you can focus on your own thing as well.
I am glad that my work is just walking distance. Less stressful in my part.
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After a work change, my commute is now by car. When it was by bike and train, I was more relaxed. What I try to do
1- avoid the major traffic jams by starting really early or late
2- podcasts
3- use a good app-waze- to avoid accidents etc
Biking would be great since it would be great exercise…something I really need to do more. Avoiding traffic by going early or leaving late is also a good tip. It was much easier when I didn’t really have to drop-off/pick-up my kid. Oh and yes, it’s great that there are apps and navigation with traffic nowadays so you can avoid certain routes.
Andrew why don’t you try biking? How far is it from work to home? I see you have to drop off the kid so does that mean you used to bike and now do not?
I have a long commute into London but the only feasible way is by train so I get to read, go on my laptop, or snooze, so it’s not too bad. If I lived within 5 or maybe even 10 miles of work I would bike as much as possible.
Cheers!
Unfortunately, I do have a long commute to work. It is about 40 miles each way! No plans on moving closer to my work since that would make my wife’s commute much longer and more expensive. My wife works takes the subway which is very cost effective and quick. Also, being that she is pregnant, I will not suggest that she bike to work. =)
Blimey guv!
That’s a doozy of a commute. Doing that in an hour is pretty good going in rush hour traffic. Kudos to your driving skillz 😉
Oh yea it depends on the day! But I’m going against traffic…most drivers are going the opposite direction. Still a lot of traffic going my way though!
I have always made sure to live as close to work as possible, simply because of the time factor, but podcasts are greats when I have to drive and wholeheartedly agree that being able to walk is great and will make your day more productive.
Yes, living close to work if possible is the best. Unfortunately for many living in the NYC area…it’s just very hard to do because of the costs.
So I just left my job on Friday and have had my first commute-free week in awhile!! I also had over an hour each way. One day during a snowstorm my one hour turned to nine hours as I was stuck on a highway that shut down. It was miserable.
I actually periscoped the situation and had tons of viewers.
In terms of commuting life savers – the Waze app has been awesome as well as google maps with traffic enabled.
I also found a really good half talk-radio half country station (Bobby Bones Show) that I love and gets me through my mornings. Hoping I can get as close as possible to my next job so I don’t ever have to commute again! (Also just sold my car and it feels great!)
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Glad you no longer have that long commute. Long commutes suck! I cannot believe your commute turned into 9 hours, my worst commute was rain and flooding which closed a highway turning the commute to over 3 hours. I’m glad there are apps/sites/GPS that have traffic enabled because they can be pretty useful (most of the time).
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