Sad, new driving trend: Are you a "super commuter"?

[DSG-TDI]

I'm close ... I drive 80 miles roundtrip per day for work. It sucks, but it's a really good job.

Every day, Rodney Beseda travels about 95 miles each way from Fayetteville, Texas, to his job as a facilities manager at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. If he leaves home at 4:15 a.m., he’ll arrive at 6:00 a.m., right on time. And then when the day ends he’ll make the nearly 2 hour drive once more.

“With the job market now, if you are in a stable job, I definitely wouldn’t want to try and change jobs right now," he said.

Beseda, 37, who has managed to keep this schedule for 10 years, is one of a growing number of “super commuters”-- people who travel about 100 miles each way to work.

He grew up in Fayetteville, Texas, halfway between Austin and Houston, then moved to Houston to be closer to his job. But after just a year and a half in the big city, he moved back to the much smaller Fayetteville community (population: 258) to start and raise a family. On the weekends, Beseda, his wife, and their four kids go fishing in a pond near their home and on Sundays, the whole family –- cousins, aunts and uncles who also live in town -- have a big dinner together. It’s a family tradition, Beseda said, and that means more to him than living closer to his place of employment.

“For me, being out there in the country, what I know and what I love, that is where I want to be,” he said.

It’s easy to see why he and millions of others live in smaller, less-expensive, close-knit communities with family close by rather than moving closer to their jobs in big cities. And according to a recent analysis by Mitchell Moss, a professor at New York University’s Rudin Center for Transportation, the number of super commuters is growing. In some cities, like Houston and Dallas, the number of super commuters has tripled since 2002.

The eight fastest-growing metropolitan areas for super commuters are: New York City, Philadelphia, Dallas, Houston, Seattle, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Chicago.

“Today, Americans are so concerned about the fact that jobs are uncertain, you don’t have a lifetime employment, you’re putting your family first and therefore they’re going to commute much greater distances to work to keep their families in one place,” Moss told NBC News. “No one wants to uproot their family. And with so many households, more than half of the households in America having two earners, it’s very hard for both people to get a job in the same city. As a result we are finding out that people are traveling great distances.”

Southwest Airlines hosts two dozen daily commuter flights between Houston and Dallas -- two of the fastest-growing super commuter hotspots. And it isn’t unusual for passengers to take a plane to and from work five days a week. Technology, too, has enabled many long-distance workers to telecommute several days a week, making the really big commutes once or twice a week much more bearable.

Many companies are now also providing free shuttle buses to help attract and keep qualified workers who live far away from the workplace. Rackspace Hosting, an Internet business solutions company, drives many of its employees from Austin to San Antonio every day on a bus equipped with WiFi access, helping make the morning commute a lot more productive (and fun) for its workers.

http://dailynightly.msnbc.msn.com/_n...-the-rise?lite

[Iroczgirl]

I used to commute 60 miles one way.

Heck, at one point my commute was 358 miles round trip daily!!

But now...I live 15 minutes from work and that's just nice.

[Chmeeee]

I've had 110 mile and 120 mile round trip commute, both for no more than six months though. I would never put up with it longer than that, the cost both in money and time just isn't worth it. Either move or find a closer job.

[Bias_Ply]

some parts make sense, I mean you wouldn't want to uproot for a job that might not be there in a year, but this guy has been doing that for 10 years.

The family angle is what gets me, you do this for your family? but don't they miss having a dad for those 4 hours a day?

The part that does make sense is that if you're unable to sell your home, moving closer may not be an option anyway.

5 min. commute btw.

[epbrown]

I'm close ... I drive 80 miles roundtrip per day for work. It sucks, but it's a really good job.

I'm not, but we've got a few. I work in Chicago's Loop but I'm less than 5 miles away, here in the city - 15 minutes on a good day. We've got a couple of people that live in Milwaukee and several in Indiana and drive it every day. They're having a bit of a laugh right now, as we're moving to a new location in the suburbs next month so we city dwellers will be driving 30 miles to work. We've got several people saying they will quit because that's too long a drive. My only problem with it is the uncovered parking, meaning winters will mean breaking out the ice scraper.

Oh, and my brother used to commute from Lexington to Lousiville for a few years - about 80 miles each way. He hated the drive but the cost of living difference made it worth it to him.

[curvedinfinity]

I'm a pico commuter. I walk 0.001 miles to work every day.

[adrew]

Nope, I specifically bought my house because it was cheap and 6 miles from my job. If we don't go out of town on the weekend, a 10-gallon tank will last me over a month.

100 miles each way is ridiculous. At five days per week and 50 weeks per year, that is 50k a year. At 60 MPH that works out to 833 hours, or thirty-four 24-hour days in the car. Your car would have 150k miles after just three years!

No thanks. You would basically get up a 5 a.m., drive two hours to work, work 'til 5, drive two hours home, get home around 7, eat, visit with people for 30 minutes, then crash immediately and repeat the next day.

[bmann]

The article basically says the guy moved AWAY from his job deliberately, in order to enjoy the country life.

He grew up in Fayetteville, Texas, halfway between Austin and Houston, then moved to Houston to be closer to his job. But after just a year and a half in the big city, he moved back to the much smaller Fayetteville community (population: 258) to start and raise a family. On the weekends, Beseda, his wife, and their four kids go fishing in a pond near their home and on Sundays, the whole family –- cousins, aunts and uncles who also live in town -- have a big dinner together. It’s a family tradition, Beseda said, and that means more to him than living closer to his place of employment.

“For me, being out there in the country, what I know and what I love, that is where I want to be,” he said.

I know a lot of people do the same. You get a larger and newer home, a 2-car garage and a yard for your kids to play in, as long as you are willing to suffer through a long commute.

At the moment it's not for me. My commute, 6-7 mins each way.

[Robstr]

I've got ~1mile of bicycling.
I would NEVER commute that far on a daily basis. Damn near 4 hours a way simply wasted.
I especially don't get why people would think that was a better situation for raising a family. Get home later than 7, have to go to bed early to get up at the ass-crack of dawn. 3-4 hours for family, chores and me time. Hell no.

I think I could deal with a total of 30min, one way, before I hated my life...now if it was Public transit, that might be different, I could make use of that time to some extent.

[TetsuoShima]

I used to commute 70km each way to and from school in toronto traffic...absolutely terrible. 1h45 to 2h's of mostly bumper to bumper traffic. May not have been as much distance as some of you but i'd take twice that distance for normal highway cruising speeds.

I remember many times where i'd just scream at the top of my lungs for as long as I could and man oh man did it feel great...good thing I had tinted windows

[GolfVIDriver]

I commute from western Elgin/Pingree Grove IL to the city every day. Its about 1.5 -2 hours, but I use public transportation, so its just a time expense to me.

[MightyDSM]

30 miles to work, 5 days a week
54 miles to school, 3 days a week

...so 3 days a week I drive 84 miles a day

[200HP4dr]

My wife used to drive to Cleveland every day. We did it because it was the only thing that was available to us, and she drove it in a Volvo S80. She recently got a closer job, and it was a total Godsend. Having those 2.5 hours back a day makes all the difference in the world.

Chris

[In 4 Bagels, Left Hungry]

I used to live in chicago, worked in mt. prospect (northwest suburbs) and lived in lincoln park (north city basically). Commute was about 1 hour to work and 1.5 hours coming home at night.

(BTW, metra wasn't an option for me, our office wasn't close to the mt. p stop)

[Bias_Ply]

I used to live in chicago, worked in mt. prospect (northwest suburbs) and lived in lincoln park (north city basically). Commute was about 1 hour to work and 1.5 hours coming home at night.

(BTW, metra wasn't an option for me, our office wasn't close to the mt. p stop)

but didn't getting to tell people you live in lincoln park make it all worth it?

[compy222]

52.7 miles each way.

[warren_s]

After a career change last year, I now drive 30 miles each way, two days a week -- and work from home the rest of the time. No more trains, buses, planes, subways or bicycles for me. Phew.....


I honestly believe some of these people who willingly carry on with such drastic commutes are actually doing it because they don't WANT to be near their family all that much. They'll put on a brave face about it, or worse, they'll make you think they're f-ing HEROES for their sacrifice. But deep down, if they really wanted a family life that revolved around actually being "there" with them (not just physically, but mentally too)....... then they would relocate.

Families can handle relocation just fine, it's happened for hundreds of years in America. It's really not a big deal.

[VwG60Kid]

I do 120 miles a day round trip... and 1000 miles every other weekend to see my kids (divorced)

[Tucci]

When I first moved to GA I was 63 miles one way from work... But straight highway in an ALH Tdi with very little traffic and it was not too bad

[l88m22vette]

F that, I hate my commute and its 27mi/45mins each way, and that's cake compared to what's being mentioned

[nm+]

Used to. I now have a 15mi commute.

My last job I originally worked about 45 mi away, but I could take the train. But then I got moved to our other office 60mi away, no train.
That sucked.

The economy is too bad to quit jobs, and I wasn't going to move.

[proximal]

65 miles each way but I do about 40 of those by train.

[devianb]

My longest commute ever was 12 miles round trip. Would have to be a hell of a job to spend that much time and money commuting 190 miles each. I would have to visit the gas station every day. As much as I like driving that is too much.

[Nourdmrolnmt]

My wife used to drive to Cleveland every day. We did it because it was the only thing that was available to us, and she drove it in a Volvo S80. She recently got a closer job, and it was a total Godsend. Having those 2.5 hours back a day makes all the difference in the world.

Chris

Where the hell in NE Ohio did you live that a drive to Cleveland (unless west side) was 1.25 hours each way?

I can make it from Solon to Cleveland in 20 minutes.
Auburn to Cleveland in 45 w/ traffic.

Not to mention the numerous back roads that if traffic is bad can be taken...

[PrimaVW]

I live 2 miles from work. With all greens I can be there in 5 mins

I do feel for those who have ridiculous commutes. So much of your time/life is eaten up by a commute.

[1.8Tquattro]

I've been doing 50 miles a day for 5 years.
Most of it is twisty wooded back roads in PA . I could move closer and into PA from DE but my property taxes would double or triple.

[epbrown]

I honestly believe some of these people who willingly carry on with such drastic commutes are actually doing it because they don't WANT to be near their family all that much. They'll put on a brave face about it, or worse, they'll make you think they're f-ing HEROES for their sacrifice. But deep down, if they really wanted a family life that revolved around actually being "there" with them (not just physically, but mentally too)....... then they would relocate.

To many it's a quality of life issue, not for them, but their family. I'm single, so I can get away with living smack-dab in the middle of Chicago. If I had a wife and kids to worry about, yeah, I might buy a house in small town Indiana where we could get something nice and roomy for less than a 1-bedroom condo in the city, where there's less risk of them getting shivved in school without me paying $10k/year/kid for the privilige, where maybe my salary means the mrs could stay at home with them full-time, and so on - that would be worth it to me. The aggravation of the drive, and the lost hours.

And if you want to go all old-timey - being all up in your kids' business 24/7 is a recent convention, when farmers and tradesmen worked 10 hours a day and 7 days a week. Until recently in human history, you saw your parents regularly when you were old enough to start working for them, for free.

[rlydntgvasht]

his commute would not be bad at all.. if it were not for the stupid part about it.. the roads are full of cops trying to get you for speeding over the limit, especially on that stretch of I-10 past Katy going into Houston city limit. that section is aggravating, 60 mph limit on an huge wide empty highway in Texas

[romanl]

i got 30 miles each way, typically takes 45min-1hr
60 rt daily
300 / week in LA traffic, thats 15.6 K / year, but im doing about 24-25K year, so seems like all the snowboarding / camping trips add up to another 9K /year

[BattleRabbit]

During the school year my commute is 20~ miles each way, and I drive. During holidays/the summer I usually ride the 5-6 miles to work on my bike. Driving takes half an hour, riding takes less than 15 minutes(it's pretty level, and if I'm feeling spry I can average about 23 MPH according to my cycling computer).

I can't imagine commuting more than an hour each way. It's madness!

[VertigoGTI]

[turbo_nine]

20 minute commute, with options:

Carve the mountain highway on a motorcycle
Do the same in an old BMW
or ride a free bus to snooze an extra 20 minutes that morning.

Life sucks, eh?

[DedRok]

Across the city... 14.6KM (9 miles) which takes 18 minutes according to google maps.

I've been averaging 12,000KM (7500 miles) a year with my car.

One of the positives of living in a city with a population of 200,000 with bridgeless, straight roads.

[mn_audi]

I'm a pico commuter. I walk 0.001 miles to work every day.

Same here. Have a home office which means my biggest challenge is keeping my commuting buddy from eating my cereal on our way to work. I feel for colleagues and friends with long commutes, especially on snow days.

[200HP4dr]

Where the hell in NE Ohio did you live that a drive to Cleveland (unless west side) was 1.25 hours each way?

I can make it from Solon to Cleveland in 20 minutes.
Auburn to Cleveland in 45 w/ traffic.

Not to mention the numerous back roads that if traffic is bad can be taken...

Canton to Fairview Hospital. Straight up 77. At 5:30. Traffic is solid pretty much all the way up there.

Chris