The Extreme Commute Is Not for Me

While flipping through this week’s Newsweek, this article, chock-full of fascinating statistics about how we commute to work, caught my eye. Not only did it reveal an increase in the number of extreme commuters -- those who travel 90 minutes or more each way -- but I discovered that the average commute is now 25 minutes, up 18 percent from 20 years ago. Especially in pricey real estate markets like the Boston area and California, more and more workers are moving to once-remote outposts so they can afford the mortgage, the tradeoff being the long commute to a job where they’ll make decent money.

I see this phenomenon a lot in my adopted home. I grew up seven miles north of Boston but moved 40 miles west in 2000, to a place I used to think was the end of the known universe. My city is the second-to-last commuter rail stop on the line that feeds into North Station in downtown Boston -- a trip that takes more than an hour each way. As evidenced by my town’s crazy pace of home building as well as the lines at the commuter rail stop, lots of local workers are among the ranks of extreme commuters.

Here’s what I think: While there are ways to embrace your commute, for the most part I want to make it as short as possible. When I was offered my job at Monster a year and a half ago, a major perk was that my commute would be cut in half. I had been driving to neighboring New Hampshire for three and a half years, 35 miles and 45 minutes each way, and I was tired of it. I often spent weekends catching up on sleep and recharging enough to do it all again the next week.

The Newsweek article quotes Robert Putnam, author of Bowling Alone, who found that every 10 minutes added to your work travel time translates into a 10 percent reduction in the time you give to your family and community. I truly enjoy my job, but my family, friends, volunteer work and other outside interests shouldn’t have to compete with my commute.

Exciting news: Monster Career Advice has been nominated for a Webby Award! Don't forget to vote for Monster Career Advice in the Employment category before May 5.

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