How long of a commute is too much?

[kozlodoev]

I'm in a similar situation

my current commute is a little over an hour each way working in Boston.  --> driving to the closest commuter rail and taking that in to work.  fortunately, my company is right across from the commuter rail station.  Unfortunately, my company is moving before the end of the year to Charlestown which will add 25 minutes each way to my commute with 2 more connections -- subway and shuttle bus to the subway station -- which adds 2 more opportunities to miss my train back home. 

I get the dilemna.  is the new job stable enough to justify moving closer to Devens and are you in a position to be able to move?

It would be stable enough but I just signed an 18 month last January. Moving out could be an option down the road.

Take the job. Figure out the housing situation later. Especially if you're single and young.

i agree with koz. you said your lease was signed last january? you mean january 2015 or 2016? but in either case, just do the commute and keep in mind it is only temporary.

another option is to break the lease, negotiate with the landlord, and worst case is to lose the deposit. just a thought.

I personally have managed to step out of two leases without having to pay anything. I am pretty sure MA has a standard rental agreement and there is a 2-month notice in the in fine print. Even without that, though, with a sufficient advance notice it shouldn't be a problem.

I'd be sweating a lot more over this if I were married, with kids, and owning my place of residence (incidentally, I am all three).

[Eja117]

45 minutes is my general limit, but for an extra $8 yeah I'd do that. At one point I had a commute of maybe an hour 15 and it was decent, but some of it was public transit so I got to relax a lot.

A long time is a crisitunity. Look at it this way. No people around. Just you and the radio or CD or what have you. Do some drive through.

That's an extra ...what $64 a day. So after Uncle Sam steals her cut you get like $50 per day? So that's $250 a week. A thousand a month. 12G a year. Pad the 401K. Retire a year earlier.

It all works out.

[TA9]

I've found anything over 45 minutes is brutal for me, personally.  But, I've got kids and am getting older. 

Funny enough, I've got a similar dilemma:  do I take a really great job, but with a 2 hour commute several times per week?  I'd be able to stay local about 2 days, but would have that brutal 2 hour commute 2 - 3 times per week.  The anticipation would be that I'd be doing that for about a year, and then would be able to transfer into a lateral position where I'd be local full time.

So, do I kill myself for a year?  Drive a dangerous road in the winter?  (I live in Maine).  The payoff would be worthwhile, but do I give up seeing my children except for maybe 20 minutes per day those 3 days?

My decision is, it's not worth it.  Family comes first, even when weighing fairly short-term sacrifices.

Your decision?  If it's your dream job, it's worth at least giving it a shot.  The shift change alone will help make up for the commute, in terms of impact on your body.

Agreed thanks Roy, I've been paying my dues with overtime, nights, weekends and holidays for as long as i can remember, definitely think the upgrade in schedule alone could be enough to put the whole situation over the top.

Ive done an hour drive. That's probably my limit. I found it relaxing and a bit of a winding down before I got home to more stress. Also the drive in was ok. I'm not a morning person so it forced me to wake up by time I got in to work. You have a full hour to relax, listen to sports radio and wake up before work.

Thankfully I can work from home now.

TP
Personally, this has been a huge key for me. I have nothing against commuting (45 min - 1 hr depending on the traffic) as it enables me to get up and relax before checking in at work.

[PhoSita]

One thing to keep in mind that you may not be able to invest as much of yourself in that job an hour away as might be able to invest in a job that's fifteen or twenty minutes away.

How much you can put yourself into your job while still having some work life balance and feeling happy with your life in general could be major factors in how "successful" you are in the job you choose, even if the job isn't your "dream job" at first blush.