<p>Fendrock, you live in suburban Boston, right? I’m sure a lot of people in the greater Boston area commute an hour to work. I bet the commute from where our daughters go to school to downtown is an hour, no? I thought that was just life in any big city.</p>
<p>fendrock, I spent the first 3 years out of college commuting an hour each way, and I swore I’d never do it again. From that experience came on of my life-rules: “Life is too short to spend it behind the wheel of a car.” To me, commute time is just lost time, not fun, not productive, and I’ll never get it back. Since then, I’ve never even considered a job that was more than 20 minutes away. When I was job-hunting 5 years ago, I was offered an interview at a very attractive place, but it was an hour away. When you’re job-hunting, that seems like a relatively small thing. But I knew that reality would quickly set in, and then I’d be hating that fact of losing 2 hours a day, day after day after month after year … From the replies here, it sounds like most people can handle that, but I can’t.</p>
<p>If you really really like this job, though, is moving a possibility?</p>
<p>LasMa, if I would only consider jobs within a 20 minute commute, I would have to work retail.</p>
<p>I am of course getting way ahead of myself here. I haven’t even had the chance to interview yet! (although I have spoken extensively with the recruiter and provided two work samples specific to the position).</p>
<p>If the choice were between this position and no position at all, I feel it would be foolish not to take it. </p>
<p>My biggest concern would be driving in snow, which I hate doing.</p>
<p>Coming back to your original question, fendrock, my S#1 lives now about an hour from his job. He and his gf each commute in different directions so this was their compromise. His previous commutes in his last 2 jobs (and at the outset of this job before they moved ) was about 90 min each way. He was able to coordinate a carpool for the last 2 jobs (though last job they only carpooled 2 days/week), so it was easier and the relationship with officemates was generally fine. In his current job, most of the employees live closer to the office. They have very long work hours and many stay past dinner (which is often served at work). He can arrive a little later in the morning, but it still makes for a very long day. Of course he would prefer a shorter commute, especially given the extremely long work hours, but he loves his job and it is what it is. Good news is he won’t be dealing with ice and snow, as you will.</p>
<p>DH has had work colleagues who live further out with a long commute, and would work 6am-3 pm or so. It worked. My DH tends to go in ridiculously early too, to either meet friends for a run or have early morning teleconferences and avoid the morning rush. Its doable. Good luck!</p>
<p>** LOL we just cross-posted. Any chance you can find someone to carpool with?</p>
<p>My commute is 65 miles, and most of it through some TERRIBLE traffic. So it take me anywhere from 1-2 hours one way depending on traffic and time of day. 15 minutes difference in departure time can mean an extra 30 in driving time. I have been commuting like this for 18 years. I have never had a job less than 30 minutes away.</p>
<p>I have a great commute now - 20 city blocks. Once I move, my commute will be down to 10 blocks.</p>
<p>I have some employees live outside of the city. Whenever there is bad weather, I let them work home. Maybe your new employer would let you do that too. My live-in-the city employees complain that they didn’t have option of working from home. After Hurricane Sandy when the subway wasn’t up and running yet, I did make a young employee walk 30+ blocks to work.</p>
<p>Your concern about driving in snow is a valid one, I think.</p>
<p>If you get to the point where you have an offer from the company, perhaps this is something you could discuss with them. Would they allow you to work from home when the roads are still slick during your morning commute time or when the forecast says that it’s supposed to snow during the day? </p>
<p>Where I live (in the Washington, DC metro area), this sort of flexibility is routine. If there’s a single flake in the forecast, masses of people work from home. But this is DC. We’re terrified of snow. Boston is a different sort of place.</p>
<p>If they won’t give you this kind of flexibility, does the job pay well enough to allow you to stay in a hotel near the office when snow is a problem?</p>
<p>Marian, you are definitely thinking the way I’m thinking. :)</p>
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<p>In the northern NE context this is a ridiculous request. Work would come to a complete halt for a goodly part of the winter.</p>
<p>Really, the highways up here are generally fine, unless there is an actual blizzard going on.</p>
<p>If you want to get the job, don’t ask. If you do get the job, perhaps you need to revisit your choice of car and tires.</p>
<p>Here in TN if there is snow in the forecast everything closes 2 days in advance!</p>
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<p>I understand. But let’s say you get this job and you like it as much as you think you might. Let’s also say you hate the commute. Would moving closer to the office be an option?</p>
<p>MOWC - maybe I need to move to your neighborhood!</p>
<p>LasMa - It probably wouldn’t be an option, but things are in flux with my husband’s job situation as well, so who knows… I’ve already looked to see what the housing is like within a reasonable commute, as we are all free to dream!</p>
<p>Time to look into books on tape?</p>
<p>Absolutely, I was wondering if The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich was available.</p>
<p>Or War and Peace.
Or all the harry Potter books</p>
<p>I see, fendrock. Well yes, we are free to dream. 
And I seem to be in a distinct minority as far as my commute limits, so you probably shouldn’t go by me. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Fendrock: </p>
<p>Are you a parent or a child? If a parent, how old are your children? Are they finished with high school? College? The reason I ask is because that may play into your decision to take the job and commute the hour each way, and then perhaps when the kids are out of the house, move closer, if the job turns out to be really great? Maybe into New Hampshire where the taxes are considerably lower?</p>
<p>My H & I both commuted at least an hour each way for years & years. Then he found something only 4 miles away and did that job for almost 11 years. Now we work at home and take a few steps instead of driving! Thank goodness, what a change! We love it, but realize it’s not possible for everyone.</p>
<p>The bottom line is…take the job and if you love it, make arrangements to move closer, if possible, at some point.</p>
<p>We made decisions early in our marriage about traveling and commuting. Now I own a company I won’t hire someone who lives further than 30 miles from whatever office they report to. Everyone has good intentions at first, but they’re the first complaining about weather, how far the office is from home and are usually the least reliable we hire. I actually had a woman complain IN THE INTERVIEW about how far away it was - lol. You’d have thought she could have glanced at google before even applying if she really didn’t know where we were located.</p>
<p>My opinion is commuting is tough on the worker, the family and the company. Unless it was the job of my dreams with a substantial increase in compensation, I wouldn’t do it.</p>
<p>eyemamom, your attitude is just the attitude I fear – unwilling to look beyond the home address of an applicant to see if they are the best qualified applicant for the position. :(</p>
<p>I commuted for an hour on public transportation and loved it. Got lots of reading done. Thankfully I’ve never had to do the driving myself. My brother does though - he’s learned/refreshed a couple of languages via Pimsleur and listens to lots of books on tape.</p>