# How far is your daily commute to work? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 2, 2009, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-is-your-daily-commute-to-work/516020 "2009-11-02T04:16:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-is-your-daily-commute-to-work/516020/81 "2009-11-03T23:26:00Z")
About 50 miles, round trip. I actually commute _into_ the suburbs, from out in the sticks. Luckily, I work nights, so the traffic’s usually not bad at all. And it’s some really pretty scenery on the ride back, especially if it’s a full moon. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-is-your-daily-commute-to-work/516020/82 "2009-11-04T03:09:22Z")
> [@villa](#): > > Where are you coming from **CookingWithGas**? Alexandria in via Route 1 took me 50 minutes this morning (8.10 am leaving home). Tysons to 1 block from Union Station. I usually can’t take 66 and go 123 through McLean to the GW Pkwy, either across Constitution or on down to 395. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-is-your-daily-commute-to-work/516020/83 "2009-11-04T03:22:59Z")
> [@The\_Real\_Regency\_Elf](#): > > I live in south Durham NC, work in RTP. My commute usually takes 11-15 minutes by car; thankfully only three minutes of that is on I-40, aka Asphalt Hell. I could work from home one day a week but I don’t have a good office setup there, so I just drive in every day. Go home for lunch about twice a week. Slight soapbox digression ahead: Our neighborhood is about 25 years old and was planned with RTP workers in mind. It kills me to hear _certain_ Cary and Wake Forest residents snottily declaring that they wouldn’t dream of living either in Durham or in a “old” house like mine that - gasp! - doesn’t even have granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. Yeah, so how’s that 1-hour commute each way on 54 or up Crapital Boulevard working out for ya? Heh - be grateful for I-40. I used to live in Chapel Hill, and commuted to RTP along highway 54 (the other direction from the Cary-ites) , and it was miserable. 2-lanes, heavily travelled, at certain times of the year I’d have to stop at traffic lights, and have the sun DIRECTLY in my eyes, and honestly have to guess whether it’d turned green or not. I practically danced when I-40 opened up. Enjoy your affordable, “old” house! ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-is-your-daily-commute-to-work/516020/84 "2009-11-04T03:26:23Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > My 17-mile commute into D.C. takes 35 minutes if I leave late, like 10:00. But if I need to be in the office by 8:30 I need to plan on double that. Ahhhh, lovely DC traffic. The thing I always hated about that commute (commuting from near Springfield into various places in the District) was that the traffic conditions were so wildly variable. A “normal” commute might be 40 minutes but you never knew if it would be 40, 50, or 1:20. I’m commuting suburb to suburb now and when we moved out to our Fairfax office, my average commute _decreased_ from when I was working less than 10 miles away, up I-395. Because that commute wavered from 25 minutes to 50 minutes, usually without any obvious reason… and my 22 mile drive to Fairfax was a pretty consistent 35-40 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![ctywkr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecb155/32.png) [@ctywkr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ctywkr)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-is-your-daily-commute-to-work/516020/85 "2009-11-04T03:36:25Z")
4.2 miles by google maps, but I get a company truck to drive. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-is-your-daily-commute-to-work/516020/86 "2009-11-04T06:22:46Z")
It recently jumped from .7 to 2.5ish , a major blerg. I can’t walk anymore, now I’ll bus it. Working close to home has HUGE perks. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-is-your-daily-commute-to-work/516020/87 "2009-11-04T15:20:26Z")
Since I telecommute from home my commute is about 15 feet, from my bedroom to my office. My last real commute was about a mile (5 minutes by bike), and the one before that was 35 miles (45 minutes by car). At one point I took the train to work and the entire trip took me about an hour each way. I hate sitting in traffic so I would always find someplace to live that was counter to normal traffic patterns, at least to some degree. Another strategy I employed was to come in early and leave early to avoid the worst of it. When I decided to telecommute I was concerned about the myriad of distractions working from home, but when I close my office door and put on my headphones I can concentrate on whatever I need to. However, to be honest, I miss the office banter with my co-workers… IM just isn’t the same. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-is-your-daily-commute-to-work/516020/88 "2009-11-04T15:28:39Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > It’s so interesting to me that almost 70% of the responding Dopers live 10 miles or less from their daily destinations. I know that if I were to sample 200+ people here in downtown LA asking that same question, the numbers would be very, very skewed towards living farther away. Before I moved, I was 35 miles from downtown. Probably, but when I lived in LA, I didn’t live too far from where I worked. I lived in K-Town and worked in whatever that neighborhood is called around Third and La Brea, and then I worked in Hollywood. I took the subway to Hollywood and Highland, and walked maybe three blocks to the office after that. I purposely live places where work and social activities are nearby. I could not live in the 'burbs. ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-is-your-daily-commute-to-work/516020/89 "2009-11-04T16:19:50Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Tysons to 1 block from Union Station. I usually can’t take 66 and go 123 through McLean to the GW Pkwy, either across Constitution or on down to 395. Oh ok. That’s all the HOV stuff, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Shadowfyre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfyre/32/9972_2.png) [@Shadowfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shadowfyre)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-is-your-daily-commute-to-work/516020/90 "2009-11-04T16:22:06Z")
Let’s see, about 3 miles from my house to the train station (5-8 mins in the morning, 10-15 mins in the afternoon). Then there is the hour long - assuming no freight train interference, signal problems, or speed restrictions - train ride into Chicago (about 35 miles). Then walk a couple blocks to my building. So, maybe an hour and a half each way. It’s not that bad, though. I read in the morning and have a fun group to hang with in the evening. We’ve turned our train car into a party car and we drink and listen to music and joke all the way home. 95% of the train is filled with regulars that know where to sit depending on if they want to have a drink and a laugh or to sit and relax. It is not a “bar car” per se, but we make it into one. It’s our own little happy hour. People - like me - who drive home from the train station know to limit ourselves. But we sometimes arrange alternate transportation so we can drink more. There is no way I would drive into Chicago on a daily basis. And we all get really happy when the weather turns and we see all the cars sitting still on the expressway in a snow storm as we glide on by. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-is-your-daily-commute-to-work/516020/91 "2009-11-04T17:38:10Z")
I live above a block of shops and work at several businesses on the street. My ‘commute’ is about 30 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Daylate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9dc877/32.png) [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-is-your-daily-commute-to-work/516020/92 "2009-11-04T17:41:32Z")
I have a 35 mile commute, but it’s nowhere as bad as it sounds. 1. Do it only two days a week. 2. It’s a reverse commute; Doing against the bulk of the traffic morning and evening. The regular commute is horrible - stop and go all the way, but the reverse just flies along. And 95% is freeway. This 35 miles usually takes me about 38 minutes, door to door. And luckily the Washington State Patrol has a tolerant attitude towards minor speeding - say 5 or 6 miles in excess of posted. More often than not it won’t be necessary to use the brakes after hitting the freeway. Just minor adjustments to the cruise control. So some commutes in major population centers (Seattle area) can be very pleasant. ---
**Author:** ![Daylate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9dc877/32.png) [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-is-your-daily-commute-to-work/516020/93 "2009-11-04T17:45:08Z")
Forgot to mention - this has a definite effect on car maintenance. My car just turned 130,000 miles yesterday. And it’s still on the original brakes and clutch. In fact, the last time (several weeks ago) that the brakes were checked they still had 30% left. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Real\_Regency\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@The\_Real\_Regency\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Real_Regency_Elf)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-is-your-daily-commute-to-work/516020/94 "2009-11-04T21:02:42Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Heh - be grateful for I-40. I used to live in Chapel Hill, and commuted to RTP along highway 54 (the other direction from the Cary-ites) , and it was miserable. 2-lanes, heavily travelled, at certain times of the year I’d have to stop at traffic lights, and have the sun DIRECTLY in my eyes, and honestly have to guess whether it’d turned green or not. I practically danced when I-40 opened up. Enjoy your affordable, “old” house! When I was a teenager and visiting the area I vaguely remember seeing bumper stickers that said something like “I drive 54 - pray for me” or something along those lines. It’s hard to envision no I-40 in the Raleigh/Durham area. How did people get to Greensboro and the mountains? And to keep more on topic, I did an internship over summer 2007 in Arlington, VA while living in Manassas. My commute was via car to Manassas Park, then the VRE train to Alexandria, then Metro to Rosslyn. It was 90 minutes each way minimum, **if** everything was on schedule, and it rarely was. Oh my hell! How do people do that every workday, year in and year out? Even DC natives would grimace a bit when they heard how long it took me to commute. Never, never again. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-is-your-daily-commute-to-work/516020/95 "2009-11-04T21:04:20Z")
I go about 8 blocks. I bought my car 2.5 years ago and it has 6.5k miles on it. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-is-your-daily-commute-to-work/516020/96 "2009-11-04T21:11:15Z")
> [@The\_Real\_Regency\_Elf](#): > > When I was a teenager and visiting the area I vaguely remember seeing bumper stickers that said something like “I drive 54 - pray for me” or something along those lines. It’s hard to envision no I-40 in the Raleigh/Durham area. How did people get to Greensboro and the mountains? We drove 54 west to Burlington, then caught I-85 to Greensboro, then it was an easy drive to the mountains. Getting to the beach was fun too - 2-lane state roads most of the way. 40 stopped in Greensboro, then picked up for literally about 10 miles from RTP into Raleigh, then dumped you onto a hilly surface road in downtown Raleigh. They opened I-40 from Hillsboro all the way to Raleigh in the late 80s and then east of Raleigh some time after that. The night before the Chapel Hill-to-RTP section of 40 opened, we took our bikes out to a parking lot near one of the ramps, and rode the entire distance. (we weren’t the only ones doing that). So I have in fact biked on an interstate highway 😃 > [@](#): > > And to keep more on topic, I did an internship over summer 2007 in Arlington, VA while living in Manassas. My commute was via car to Manassas Park, then the VRE train to Alexandria, then Metro to Rosslyn. It was 90 minutes each way minimum, **if** everything was on schedule, and it rarely was. Oh my hell! How do people do that every workday, year in and year out? Even DC natives would grimace a bit when they heard how long it took me to commute. Never, never again. :::cringe::: We hear of mega-commuters who do something like that routinely, but they’re either driving the whole way (without all those transfers), or taking a commuter bus or vanpool. I’m sure a lot of folks in the New York area do similar commutes. SOOOOO not worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ed655f/32.png) [@Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crown_Prince_of_Irony)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-is-your-daily-commute-to-work/516020/97 "2009-11-04T22:12:13Z")
I work about 22 miles away from my home (live in Forest Grove, OR, work in Beaverton) - it takes about 25 minutes in the way in, about 30 minutes on the way home. Very rarely do I hit significant traffic - my exit to get to work is about .5 miles from where the real congestion starts on Sunset eastbound. I quite like the commute - it’s about the only time I ever get to listen to the kind of music I really like, since the kids don’t like jazz and the wife isn’t a fan of garage rock. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-is-your-daily-commute-to-work/516020/98 "2009-11-04T23:03:49Z")
Mine’s about 4km. Door to door it takes between 20-25 minutes, depending on whether I catch a train or a bus. If I walk, it’s about 45 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-is-your-daily-commute-to-work/516020/99 "2009-11-04T23:13:51Z")
0.8 miles, a lot of it on outdoor staircases. Not bad on the way down in the morning, but climbing 388 steps in the afternoon can be a little tiring. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-is-your-daily-commute-to-work/516020/100 "2009-11-04T23:20:07Z")
> [@villa](#): > > Oh ok. That’s all the HOV stuff, isn’t it? I have to avoid the HOV. HOV inside the Beltway lifts on 66 at 9:00 but that’s when everybody jumps on so it’s packed until at least 9:30. So I take 123 east to GW Pkwy. Exit at Roosevelt Bridge and then to Constitution, or continue across the Humpback Bridge and get on 395 to the C Street Tunnel. None of my commute is HOV. Drop me a PM or email if you want to compare notes, I think this is boring everyone else to death 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-is-your-daily-commute-to-work/516020.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-is-your-daily-commute-to-work/516020.md?page=6)