If it were by bus I might not feel the same way, but Ive never had to deal with that. Having more/less freeway time, more/less surface street time, time of day youre coming and going, whether youre traveling with or against the bulk of traffic in the areas youre in makes a HUGE difference. It was horrible and I wasnt even driving for most of it! It takes longer by bus from Hoboken or Secaucus to my office.). Doing that 2x or more a week was so frustrating. Where in OC? I mean in theory, of course; no idea if you actually *could* or not. My commute is really short because I live in the same town I work in, but were thinking of moving offices and my commute will go from 15 to 35 minutes. When I lived in LA, I made a point of living as close to work as possible, because I knew the commute times were terrible. Its a big place, like any major metropolitan area, where traffic sucks and there are bad drivers and stressful commutes. Most people in LA dont have 2 hour commutes because most people arent driving 30 miles to work. Question for any of the CA commenters who have young children how do you handle daycare with that sort of commute? Ive been clicking through to different infographics for like half an hour now. The idea of driving into the city center or to the other side of the metro area makes me shudder. There are lots of nice areas that arent super expensive, and it would immediately solve both of your commutes. No matter how I adjusted it was still awful. Also, it looks like the Blue Line will be temporarily shut down. Although moving is easier said than done. The trains are fine. (Spoiler, the answer is yesnot that anyone who has driven on congested hwys didnt already know this). Twice a week. Ive had between an hour 1.5 hour commutes for most of my working life, along with nearly everyone Im close to. This was about 10 years ago and I couldnt wrap my mind around their commutes then, I shudder to think what thatd be like today. I dont think Ive ever worked anywhere more than a 20, 25 minute drive away and usually far less than that. (And then for 2 more yrs, it was only an hr each way.) It just doesnt make sense for me to move closer to LA at all. It's been absolutely fine occasionally and I enjoy driving (most of the time!). Ive only ever lived/worked in the Midwest. This does not sound like a sustainable schedule. The work hours and commute hours add up to 60 to 62.5 hours per week. We were in Huntington Beach and decided to go to Hollywood. I am fortunate enough to also work in LB, but I had the soul-sucking 1.5 hour each way commute when I lived in the Chicagoland area so I feel you. That makes it more bearable. Good luck! Its 8 miles away against the flow of traffic. One thing that really helped me (which might not be possible in your situation) was that I was able to work out one work from home day a week. I feel so blessed that they didnt hire me! I did Culver City to Santa Monica for a while (before the expo line opened!) Me too. That said, in OC and some parts of LA county, it is entirely possible to work minutes away from your residence, or find alternate routes, or work non-peak traffic hours. I recently moved to southern California from New York City. I can vouch for there being less traffic at 5 am but Ive driven emptier highways at midday around other cities. By 630AM, the 28-year-old project engineer is out the door of his Bishan flat and in his car, on his way to work. Sure, it was nice to sometimes get home early but being able to reliably plan dinner cooking, meeting up with friends, errands and appointments, etc fits much better into our life. One hour might be okay if it was on the train, and I had a seat both ways, I could get lots of reading done and enjoy some TV shows and movies from Amazon and Netflix. The area I grew up in, for reference, is one of the top five cities in the US for bad traffic. (Think of Clueless, when Chers dad tells her Everywhere in LA takes 20 minutes. That is just for the city center of LA, like Hollywood to the Westside, on a good day. When I had to commute via the subway, it was 20 minutes at most (I also live near three different subway lines). A two-hour commute twice a day five times a week is sacrificing a whopping 20 daylight hours of your week - time you will never be compensated or thanked for, nor can you ever replace it. Its not about what a normal commute is, its about what the OP wants in her life and what shes willing to do in terms of her commute. And it wouldnt be stupid even if you *hadnt* had that experience. I used to commute from Pomona to Pasadena, about 30 miles. It looks to be normal, but awful. So, kind of like Alison suggestedyou have to weigh what makes you happiest and what youre willing to deal with. My commute is 1 hour, but its on the bus so I get to spend the time as I like. Morning commute averages 40 minutes, can be as short as 30 and as long as 75. Good point about the roads! I commute 2 hours door to door in NYC, via LIRR. I would only move back to San Francisco if I could live AND work in the city. It gave pretty good estimates of the average commute times. Moving to a huge metro area later taught me as someone who needs time between leaving and arriving at work, 45 minutes is my absolute max for city commutes and 1.5 for country miles. Good luck! I grew up in Fairfield/Vallejo area, in fact, for that exact reason it was where my parents could afford to live, and my dad commuted from there to Hayward for years. I was like we do not have the same idea of what the word traffic means anymore. Then I would pretty much go to bed and head out about 8:15-8:30 in the morning. heres some free help preparing for job interviews. Walk. My current commute is 14 miles and takes 16 minutes because I work in Sunland, where no one goes ever, so no traffic. Its like pulling teeth. My last commute was 1.5 hours average, 1.25 on a good day, 2.5 on a terrible day and I loved that job. Also, are you able to use surface streets rather than freeways for your commute? The time, the increased risk of harm, the wear and tear on your car and nerves. She will never be able to afford to buy, and it looks as if Im now permanently out of King County. OP, if you cant quit (or even if you can) I strongly advise you take steps to make your commute as nice and relaxing as possible! I live in the SFV, two major freeways are short drives away. You'll be looking at about 90 minutes as has been said, plus changing time. I have a 10-15 min drive to/from work. After that job, I had a commute of 1.5 hours each way and it was the main reason I quit. It means that you basically live to work during the week. Wicked smart, and saved a small fortune on rent! Until the position currently hold, I was lucky to have 20-30 minute commutes. In bed by 9-10PM Im job searching and having a hard time applying for companies that would put me in a car for longer than that or a bus for more than an hour. That said, I do come into work a little earlier when the public transport system is quieter, and I suspect itd be closer to an hour and a half if I left the house at a more normal time. I do change out of pajamas! I did that commute for 5 years from LB to WeHo and back. And I can afford my apartment. Plus, having a long train ride means I can actually relax on the train I get on early enough that I always have a seat. I hear you. After some time living in this city, youll get more familiar with neighborhoods and traffic patterns, and youll be able to strategize how to cut that commute down either moving to a closer area to your work, taking a new job closer to your home, or adjusting your commute times to non-rush hours. Its the east to west part that makes it a shitshow. My dad did this when he and my mother bought their first house. It would be completely intolerable. I am so thankful that I work from home. 55-1 hour 15. stop and go. (3) I have a boss who understand this and is reasonably flexible with me which I was only able to really get to after working for a little while. Splurge on Audible, or ad-free Spotify. 30s, 53, female here. I live on the East Coast and my commute is about 15 miles and takes me 20 minutes. Most people who have those really long commutes are traveling farther than you, or so it seems to me. In the early afternoon, traffic isnt bad and I can make it from Irvine to Pasadena in about an hour. Im in Southern CA but out by Palm Springs. Keeping your car clean will probably also help a lot. Two hours in traffic would be more than I could bear. Pomona to Pasadena is now a lot easier with the Gold Line extension! I loved my one-hour, door-to-door commute when I took Metra (just under 1/2 mile walk from my house to metra and then a little more than 1/2 mile from Ogilvie to my office). Now it take 15-25 minutes depending on how long the lines are at the main gate. Theres been a lot of research showing that travel times tend to go up exponentially with traffic volume, and that human drivers use roads very inefficiently. If you do decide to suck it up and live with your commute, start exploring alternate routes. I used to work 45 minutes away (office moved farther away) and had a 5:30 am 2 pm shift. You will feel like a whole new person when you find a reasonable commute. This is one of those things that depends on you and your situation. Do a cost analysis and see what it would cost you to move. That said, when I relocated to the Northwest, I was adamant that I needed a much shorter commute. My rent is 2x the price now but my quality of life is infinitely better. Thats actually why I stopped taking public transit and started biking in the first place. I would sincerely hate this commute. No kidding! In theory, you can have densely packed cars drive. East Coast here: I drive 24 miles each way in Fairfield Cty, CT during rush hour. No wonder. I left NYC bc I was so sick of the city life struggle and giving 60% of my salary to rent. Youre likely making some unwarranted assumptions on the basis oflets give you and everyone else the benefit of the doubt, and call it a combination of style and socioeconomics. I could leave at a certain time and usually expect that everything would work out, but sometimes the world said Nah, lets make a car careen off the road today.. When the commute impacts your quality of life its definitely time to think of solutions. General comment, not intending to Monday morning quarterback the LW: doing a test run of the commute before accepting a job is really, really helpful if you can manage it. (Luckily co-workers lived in the same street to share cost.) It was so, so good for my physical and mental well being. Luckily, I discovered I liked the SGV after working in the area for awhile. OP, two hours might be fine for some people and might not be unusual in your area, but if you are finding it frustrating then Id say go ahead and either move or look for work closer to home. Ive been fortunate in seeking work close to public transit. A few of my senior bankers have 90-minute one-way commutes, and I just don't understand why people go through that. Even if you ignore that a more or less direct route from (for instance) Huntington Beach to LA (30 miles) would take the OP through some pretty dangerous areas, like Compton, so cal drivers tend to be hostile to bicyclists in general, and the communities do not have well maintained or even designated bike lanes. Im in the Boston area. Thats not being special snowflake, thats being realistic about your limitations. Signed, Itd be unthinkable. A word of warning about looking for jobs within 10 miles of Long Beach. Remote work is the wave of the future, and eliminating 4 hour round-trip commutes are one of the many reasons why. 6.5 miles. im so excited. MUNI takes forever! etc. When my lease ended, I moved to Cathedral Heights, and Ive really loved the neighborhoodI have 25-minute walking commute, and its lovely. I occasionally used to do a 60 mile return commute - that was way too much time out of the house - looking at 13 hours from leaving home to getting back. Even working in Hollywood was about 35-60 minutes depending on how bad the traffic was on any particular day, or if say, a house on a trailer was left on the side of the 101 for three months and the city couldnt figure out what to do with it. I hope to return to say more about LA traffic and choosing your jobs based on commute (which can include commuter buses, light rail, and number of alternate driving routes available), but the short version is: dont let your boyfriends acceptance of a long commute pressure you into accepting something that you find exhausting and/or sou-killing. Now my commute is 10-20 minutes, depending on the day and whether I hit the no traffic pocket or notfor some reason, if I leave at exactly 6:35, theres no traffic, so I just cruise, no traffic frustrations. I need to take a bus (7 miles) to reach either of those. Many people commute 2hrs+ every day. Fun fact, I used to work with that guy at his previous job. And a 12 hour workday leaves just 12 hours for yourself which is basically eat, shower sleep. It would be about 10, but businesses here really discourage employees from driving, so I opted for the free bus pass over $18 a day parking! It is definitely helping me tackle my to-read pile of books! Huh. Its why I came back the one time I moved away. I do not feel safe taking Blue Line and neither does my husband who is a 6 ft big dude. Its notorious for bad traffic and long commutes. I have a 3 mile commute to work and specifically chose to live close. Welcome to horrible LA traffic. My commute is an hour and 10 minutes on average by bus, but I read a lot or nap. I was in a nice suburban low-rise before, and I could park & be at my desk in about 30 seconds. You can absolutely take the M train from Bushwick to Broadway-Lafayette in under 45 minutes. Employer est. an electric bicycle might be faster & more fun? Depending on where LW lives and works, its likely that there arent direct routes AND that even if there were, it could increase commuting time by an hour (easily). If not, I would have a frank and awkward talk with your boss. to my office in Belmont, Mass. 710 is usually fine. My commutes not bad now, but I miss that! * Ive had two jobs where I basically had to all across the street and through a large parking lot to get to them. City driving is easier on the soul in my opinion. I did not get the job. And the smog in LA is disgusting. Thats already happening. Salary. I come home for lunch and do dishes, light household chores. I hated it, was never home, had zero life, and didnt sleep that much, on top of having a highly stressful job that made me physically ill. Those hours add up, and a few extra dollars isnt always worth a longer commute. Doesnt LA have any kind of train/rail system? Some days, I really do miss my 30 minute or less commutes, but Im not too keen on paying DC rents, so I stay where I am and take the option that keeps me off I-95 every day. Folks drive at the limit or (more often) 10-15 miles over limit when theres room to do so. Either way, door to door it was a little over 2 hours each way. But I guess its normal there. Part of the reason for this is that DC obviously has a lot of federal employees, but rent in the district (and even just outside of it!) Its not my favorite thing in the world but Im willing to do it for family reasons, and given how many people I see taking the train with me I know Im not the only one! Maybe Im super paranoid after all the time spent in questionable neighborhoods in my wayward LA youth. During surge pricing and bad traffic Uber/Lyft will be expensive and slow. Long commutes are the price we pay for a job sometimes. Drive to bus station. 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