Work Commute

For those that remember, I started a new job over a year and a half ago. Since taking this job, I've driven up there 77 miles one way taking an hour and a half on average four days a week. Depending on the time of day the ride could be longer or shorter.

If I leave the house at 9am, the ride is an hour and fifteen minutes. Conversely the ride home leaving at 6pm is right around the same. The problem with this scenario is that I don't get home until 7:15-8pm. All depending on how much after 6pm I leave.

Leaving early at 6am often results in my arriving at 8am or later. The traffic is just brutal.

This past week, I decided to take the commuter rail for the first time. The times don't work in reality. The train leaves at 7:45, and I don't get into the office until 9:30. The train home leaves at 4:53, and I need to be at the front door of our building for 4:40 to catch the shuttle. 6:09pm is when the train arrives back at the station, and I am at the gym by 6:30pm. To make this work, I connect to work on the train and put in an hour while commuting.

This has worked out great. I travel 20 minutes north to catch the train. Which is the easiest part of the ride. Then the train does the heavy lifting the rest of the way. If the train runs late, well that is just a part of life.

Finally there is the cost to consider. The monthly pass for the train is $173. Currently I am paying $40/week to put diesel in my car. I'll still have to put gas in, but probably every two to three weeks with the cut down in miles. Plus, the money I pay for the commuter rail is pretax. Saving me up to $800 in taxes overall if I put the full $255/month. Which I will not. So my tax savings will be less, but still worth it in my book.


Jason from RI

 

Did I miss something????
You're putting gas and deisel in your car?

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

 

I think that's just a phrase, not what he's really doing.

That said, long commutes can really make any job much worse. If you can make it work, great. Taking a train, and being able to get a jump on emails, any computer work, etc, would really help, especially since you can tune out everything else. Distractions in the am while at your desk, can really make things take a lot longer, and derail your whole morning or day. Whatever it takes to make it work is the main deal.

So, how had the change in work been? I know starting a new job can be a real challenge. After a year+ you should have a good idea about the job, and all it entails. How's the office environment? I know that can be a real issue, as that's something that you really can't determine based on the interview process.

 

I think the best thing about taking the train is that you can do something outside of driving...allows you to read, check in at FHC etc. lot less stress.

 

Yes the gas I use is diesel. 2006 VW Jetta TDI. Sorry I intermixed the details. I get around 45mpg average.

 

Interesting you ask. We've recently reorganized our teams. Now I report to a new manager, and I like him. My old manager is very tech savvy.

Taking the train has extended my stay with this job significantly. With all IT jobs, I look at 3-5 years. The commute had me down to 2 years max. With the commuter rail, I am now back to 3-5 years. The 3-5 does not mean I'll leave the job. It's when I'll sit-down and evaluate where I am, and whether I want to continue with it. Personally I'd love something just down the road from home, but I don't see that happening.


Jason from RI

 

Exactly. Instead of a white knuckle ride, I get to sit and look at the scenery. Both on and off the train. Read a book, listen to Audible.com books, start work, etc....

The major piece is the stress I carried around with me all of the time. I'd be nodding off to sleep in the afternoon due to the stress levels of driving. Now with the train, I am more wide awake and more productive.

 

Yeah, office jobs have their own issues. That's for sure.

 

My roommate in college worked and lived there for over 10 years. He loved it, but he was also single at the time.

 

Right before I made the change to the commuter rail, I started back at a local gym with a trainer. Office jobs are hard on the body unless you are a very disciplined eater and do regular exercise. I've been working on the eating now for two years with various programs. Now I am not on a program, but making sure I eat two fruits a day, consuming less crap, and drinking tons of water.

This trainer has built a great program that matches what I need. Normally when you think trainer at a gym, you think about the guy that works there and nows the machines. This trainer nows the body mechanics, can look at moves and see what is wrong with the body. He's designed a schedule to help in my areas of weakness as well as overall fitness. The schedule is dynamic, and he'll adjust it overtime as my weaknesses go away. Yes it's expensive, but warding of diabetes, heart disease and just getting into much better overall health is worth every penny.

All of this is to help make me mentally stronger along with physically fit. Which should result in nice big stacks of CSS firewood.


Jason from RI.

 

My wifes commute is .9 miles door to office, soon to be .5 if we can make a deal on this other property. I try to keep mine under 10 miles as I buy and sell houses, so I have some control of it.

 

I wish. My wife and I bought my parents house. At the time we did that I was still in the Navy, and didn't give much consideration to where I would be working. My first IT job was 6 years and about a 35 minute ride. Actually a pretty good ride considering what was in store for me in the future. My wife works at the University of Rhode Island and her ride is only 7 miles.

I took a job in 2005 that was a straight on the road non-stop for a two and a half years. That was simply a quick ride to and from the airport 30 minutes. After that I moved within the same company to our corporate offices. Which was an hour and a half ride. Though not so bad as there were several routes I could take. While working up there for three years, we tried to sell our house for 9 months, but had absolutely no one put in an offer. Had we moved then, we would have been in a much better position for my current work. My ride would only be about 45 minutes.

I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. Not only does everything happen for a reason, but you are only given what you can handle in life. Personally I think I've found a middle ground with commute problem.


Jason from RI.