Career change need advice.

A 45 mile commute each way to my last job was what finally made me pack it in.
It was a great job but after 13 years of almost 100 miles daily I figured enough was enough.

Things fell into place and I am lucky to have the job I do now with a whopping 7 miles door to door.

60 miles would make me think twice. You have to sit down and really do the math. Fuel cost , wear and tear on vehicle and don't forget time.

Hopefully no matter what you decide that it works out for you.

 

I've never driven pver 30 miles 1 way for work. Where I work now, there are several guys the drive long distance to get there. I know a couple that drive 60+ 1 way. They don't seem to mind it.
As Sirchopsalot says, PRAY about it, talk it over with your family. Try to work the 4 - 10's if you can. What are you driving?
Several of our area plants are under MSHA...

 

Sounding the the benefits are outweighing negatives. The pay increase and the retirement would significantly help you and your family no doubt. How will the hour drive affect you? I always like driving so it wouldn’t bother me much given the perks. Maybe make the drive a couple times as a test run and see how it is.

 

Perry long jr This is great advice. Do the drive at night when you are tired and see what it is like.

 

I use to drive 50+ miles one way. Mostly interstate and part of my commute was on the beltway (695) around Baltimore, aka "suicide circle". Traffic sucked in the morning, traffic sucked in the afternoon. Accidents, rubberneckers, speed traps, traffic jams, it just sucked. If I was going to leave 10 minutes late, I stayed an hour longer, because I would get home same amount of time. Once in the snow, it took me 5.5 hours to get home. Now it wasn't always like that. Average time in the morning was an hour. Coming home was always a guessing game. I did that for 8.5 years. I had young kids at home. I also worked every other weekend, so I missed a bunch of time with my boys. I really liked my boss, he is a fair man and I really liked most of my coworkers. Benefits were good. My retirement and profit sharing were top notch. But I just got burned out from the drive.

I found a job much closer, less than 15 minutes. Downside is my retirement and benefits totally suck. My boss is the biggest pig and chuckwagon one would ever have the misfortune of working for. I make a little better coin and basically run the show and since I have let him know how I feel, he basically leaves me alone. But the best is, I have been able to see and attend my 2 sons functions for the last 10 years.

Weigh out all aspectd of the pros and cons. And as been said pray on it.
If you do have a longer commute, use the time wisely. I often wonder how many languages I could of learned in those 8.5 years.

 

*Priceless*

 

I was going to type a very similar sentiment. People underestimate fuel, vehicle repairs and maintenance with long commutes.

I took a job that is 43 miles each way a little over three years ago. I negotiated a $7,500/year vehicle reimbursement into my deal (gas, tires, oil, brakes, etc) on top of the 15k pay increase. I also have to use my vehicle for work purposes though. Thankfully its only 4 days a week, (longer days). Over all, I'd say I'd rather make slightly less and be local to my house. I for one definitely am sick of the commute. As noted it adds up to hours of time at the end of the week. Days that the MA pike is diverted really can put a damper on my commute. Everyone uses Waze or Google maps or other devices. So on heavy traffic days, the "secret" back roads aren't so secret. I personally prefer local jobs, but many areas don't pay nearly as much as driving an hour into another direction. I'm jealous of the work from home crowd. Zero commute, zero gas, and no co workers.

 

6 months in, if the job looks like a keeper , I'd move. No way I'd spend two hours of my day driving amongst morons and druggies that are out there these days.
I did 35 minutes when I was younger and didn't mind the challenge of commuter traffic, but I was also single.

 

Often the areas that pay more, also cost a lot more to live in.

 

What are two or more of your hours worth, per day ? Not just $$$$, but quality of life.

 

I agree with the sentiment...

However, moving to an area that's more expensive to live to make more money there would negate many of the higher pay benefits. I could see doing this for better schools, better retirement, or nicer area to live in.

Personally, I have 21 acres and it took a looooong time to get the property to the point I'm currently at. I'd really hate to have to move all my stuff (sawmill, tractors, trailers, tools, etc) and start all over.

This is also very state dependent. Especially coastal states.

You know how expensive East Coast Mass is. I talk to people all the time who grew up there and had to move out because they couldn't afford the 20k a year in property taxes. I pay about 5k a year in taxes and am locked into a 1.75% 15 year fixed mortgage for 21 acres and a Cape. 15k a year would just cover the tax differential. I'd still have to come up with the extra million dollars to buy a property like mine.

Quality of life aside, still have to be able to afford the move.

 

Perry long jr Yes Fed retirement and benefits are a big plus.. some here obviously do not like to commute. But if you have a family, you have to make sacrifices to achieve what you need to. You can get used to an hour drive. Look into audiobooks or something like that so you can actually do something useful during the drive.

I see one of your biggest challenges is being resistant to change. I think that’s what you mentioned, I find that once you’re in the government, you have more opportunities to move around something closer to home or better shows up. Good luck with your choice

 

Thanks for the encouragement, I believe it’s a better move in a lot of ways. In four years I could really make better money and like you said the benefits.

 

I'd be moving before I would drive that much.

 

I am bit amazed that several people have said move. We live in the country, lots of people have to drive 30-60 miles for a decent job, some more than that. And like someone said, then you're moving into the higher cost of living area, and where there are more people (in some cases). Some people are more tied, and have more invested, in their home/properties/lifestyle etc than others....

 

Exactly, my home is paid for and moving isn’t something I’m ready for. The road I will be traveling is good road with minimal traffic.

 

Me too. It never entered my mind to move for the 60 miles away job for years.

 

Although I can understand why they say to move, I also can't understand it at the same time. I am 30 miles away from any decent sized city, which also means 30 miles away from any good paycheck. Until the last couple of years, I have always driven at least 30 miles (one way) and up to 55 miles (when I worked in Devens, MA) to get to my place of employment. Even in the worst snow storms.

I don't want to live in the city (did that when I was young, hated it then and I'm not a people person so very stressful), cities are way more expensive for housing costs, and suburbs to those cities are even more expensive. I live "in town" but it is a small town with larger than a postage stamp-sized yard, while not being way too big for me to maintain by myself (or need more expensive equipment).

 

Eckie I understand both sides. You can always make $$ you can’t make more time! And no amount of time is promised on this earth. Also kids are kids for short time and grow so fast.

In the East an hour drive is long; West it’s to 90 minutes to grocery store.