MGB: How long is your commute to work?

I'm still looking at homes for my next duty station, which I plan on it being a permanent or last assignment, and I have found some GREAT homes but some are really out there. I look at homes on the internet about as much as I look at cars and I just can't see the reason of owning .13 of an acre for $400,000 when that money 30+ minutes away could buy me a farm. I know the age old saying "location location location" but I never enjoyed living in the city, having no place for projects, nosy neighbors, etc. And after seeing the movie Worlds Fastest Indian I may even want to take a morning wee on my lemon tree with out upsetting the neighbors. Like most of you I have several projects. I also have a big truck, trailer, 3 dogs, and the need for freedom. Since Im still in the Army I will be getting up at 0430-0500 to make it to work on time for PT. My significant other will be doing the same. I talked to my Dad about his commute before he retired and he said that when we first moved to the house (1983) it only took 30 minutes but after all the urban sprawl and townhouse that sprung up over the years it wound up taking an hour +. That commute was stop and go. Mine would be more of go then stop.

Personally I feel a longer commute forces me to be more disciplined. I can't just roll out of bed and jump in the car there for I need to prep for the next day the night before. I will also have friends close by incase I get in a jam.

Since I ask the MGE pretty much all major life decisions I figure why stop at home buying ... =)

Thanks

Ryan

I live 52 miles from work. But it is the San Francisco Bay area and my commute is at least 1.5 hours each way.
It kind of stinks, but it was the closest I could afford when we bought the house 11 years ago

On the bright side, I got a large lot for California and a brand new house for the price. I could have gotten a 50 year old house on a postage stamp sized lot and about 1300 square feet of house for the same price that was about 20 miles closer.

Cris

My current commute is 4 miles, before that it was 25 miles and 40 minutes each way. We will be moving out of the city in a couple of years and my commute will go back to 40 minutes or more.

Our reasoning is the same as yours, we have a lot 115x30 feet, typical St. Louis city lot. The equity in our home will buy us a house, workshop and a few acres if we go out 30 miles or so. I'm willing to have the longer commute for that.

Ryan, my commute is 6 min.

Here are a couple of sites that will help you sift through where you want to be. I'm looking at them constantly because my oldest is also looking for a place to buy.

http://www.nwrealestate.com/nwrpub/

On this site click on Piece County and the rest will self evident

http://www.johnlscott.com

On this site click on the state of Washington and use the map search feature with the specifics on the side

By the way, the MGCCNWC (long name for the local MG club) is having its annual Mulled Wine and Minced Pie drive on Jan1 if you're interested. Check the calendar at www.mgccnwc.com

Mine is 43.75 miles each way and commute times very depending on traffic conditions. The average time seams to be about 50-55 minutes. I too made that decision for more land / bigger house over a short commute. I don't regret it at all.

Lee,

I have been talking with a realtor from John L. Scott. So far he has been more than helpful and almost helped me seal the deal on a house in Spanaway. I sent him a list of home I want to see when I'm in the area later this month.

I might not be able to make the Mulled Wine and Minced Pie drive this year but you can count me in for 2011!!!! Im really looking forward to meeting you all!

15 miles one way. Might take 20 minutes.....might take 30-40....has taken over an hour if the wrecks on I-40 are bad enough :(

...........I take my lunch.........

About 4 miles. Was about 25, but we moved our office closer a few years ago. Had our office been in the present location when I bought the house, I'd have bought farther out. I've got about 3/4 acre, but would prefer 4-5.

My commute is about thirty feet and one flight of stairs. I've been retired for eight years but still do some part time contract work and a bit of consulting related to my old careers. The extra $$$ are nice for the toys a guy really needs and a bit of travel. My office is over the garage. Some days the commute takes longer than others, depending on how many cups of coffee I need to get both eyes open and my mind functioning. :)

My commute is 4 miles. A nice enough drive through town. We live close to everything and enjoy it for us and our boys. I grew up on a farm an hour west of where we currently live. Its a beautiful place but it can make for a life of isolation for the children. I couldnt visit my school friends on the weekend as none want to go west and i couldnt go east as my parents worked.
But one day i would like to move between the two. A small plot 2-3 acres with enough room for a big shed and quiet.

So to answer 4 miles.

Personally, about 20 feet -- I have a home office and work remotely. My husband's commute is about 45 minutes and he actually likes the fact that he can unwind from work on the drive home.
:)

13 miles at 22 to 30 minutes... On the edge of being in the country, in an area where most people have 2 to 10 acres with a few 100+ acre places in-between... Our place backs up to a 4 or 5 thousand acre forest that is not likely to be developed.. we have 4 acres.. it's a good size to keep up with and have enough room... and we are in an unincorporated area which gives you much more freedom to do as you please...

Mines about 20 seconds walking down the stairs to my office but sometimes I hit traffic when the kids are running up the stairs past me.

Before semi-retiring I commuted about 45min to 1 hour each way and I usually enjoyed the ride since I always had fun cars. But there were always those days when the commute was horrible enough to help me make the decision to resign my position and just stay home. But if you can stand the drive, move to the location you'd enjoy the most.

25 miles which takes 30 min on the state highway.

15 miles if I take the ferry across the Ohio river. Thats how I take the B to work.

-David

About .9 miles from our 12 acres of swamp to my office. Car suffers as it barely warms up by the time I get there.

1 and 3/4 mile from my house to City Hall. Along beautiful Pensacola Bay.


Bill

Up until I got laid off last December, it was about 10 miles.

[quote=Yellow68B]
1 and 3/4 mile from my house to City Hall. Along beautiful Pensacola Bay.


Bill[/quote]

Jealous!

We spend most Christmases on Pensacola Beach.

About a mile and a half, but sometimes I work from home.

4 miles/7 min in the MG and 15 on the bike. It's almost too close to cycle to--I'm hardly warmed up by the time I get there. It is nice to be close, though. My previous school was 10 mi/20 min in the car and 30 on the bike. That was perfect for bike commuting. I would love to have a larger lot with a shop--I have a typical CA house: 2000 sq ft on an 8500 sq ft lot. Hopefully, when I retire...

I mapped my commute on Google maps. Not a bad drive really. All 4 klms.

[quote=DavidMGA1600]
I mapped my commute on Google maps. Not a bad drive really. All 4 klms.[/quote]

That's not Surfer's Paradise, is it?

2.5 miles one-way here....

Dang Russ!! you must have one helluva huge house!! LOL!!!!

We commute about 65 Km (40 - 45 Miles) each way and it takes us about 50 minutes to get in and about 65 to get home. We're out in the country with an acre lot in the middle of rolling fields with a bush behind us. Only one neighbour and they are quiet (so are we) as the other fields are not currently allowed to be severed.

The commute is worth it in our case. Your opportunities and requirements may vary. :-)

1.5 miles.

[quote=sunny124ny]
[quote=DavidMGA1600]
I mapped my commute on Google maps. Not a bad drive really. All 4 klms.[/quote]

That's not Surfer's Paradise, is it?[/quote]

The one and only.
I would like to see others map their routes to see the geography.

[quote=DavidMGA1600]

I would like to see others map their routes to see the geography.[/quote]

Mine may not be the most exciting but I bet it's the straightest! :) That's the Mississippi to the right.

Mine is 21 miles - takes about 30 - 45 mins usually (depending on traffic of course). Sometimes the commute really sucks, but it is nice to know that when you are going home, you are leaving work behind. I think when you live close to where you work, there is less separation between the two worlds.

Here's mine, 4.8km or just about 3 miles, about 8 minutes depending on traffic lights.
I used to drive an hour or so each way through city traffic each day I don't know how
I did it as my new mini-commute gets me stressed. :eyepop:
Why does every clown driving a BMW think his name is Schumacher?

Cheers,
Rich

BTW: It's hard to make out but the airport is on an island in the Fraser river. The water must have been silty when the pic was taken (spring runoff?)

The white dot slightly to the right of the upper leg of my commute is the speed skating oval for the 2010 Olympics.
That event should make my commute interesting in February!

Two miles each way now. In Florida there was no commute. I had a home studio. But I drove approximately 150 miles a day calling on clients. Of course in the MG.

Sometimes I think its best to live a little farther away. The every now and then I get a boss who is sympathetic to a long drive home or less likely to call you up on a weekend if the know it takes you 30 minutes to get to work. Also if I'm leaving before or around the time the sun rides chances are there won't be all that much traffic.

Since I install kitchens all over Long Island mine varies with the location of the jobsite. Two weeks ago it was about 10 miles. This week it was 65 miles each way including a 10 minute ferryboat ride to & from Shelter Island which is located between the twin forks at the east end of Long Island. Sometimes it's only a mile or so.

Picture is on the ferry pulling into the slip at Shelter Island.

About 20 paces, but there can be a delay at the fridge most mornngs

About 5 miles. I don't want to move house so when I relocated my works premises I located nearer to home.

My usual commute is down a flight of stairs. Unless I get sent to a customers site and then it is 30 miles to the airport.

My commute is about 2 metres. I reach out to pick up my laptop and tap away in bed :D

My commute is about 70 miles and takes about 90 minutes each way. I hate it! I have about three hours of awake time at home each day, and that includes dinner. Strongly weigh what your home time is worth to you. Long commute = not much time to work on the B.