Do you like your long commute?

Nurses Rock Toon

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How long is your commute to your workplace? Do you think the long commute is worth it? Do you even consider the time you spend sitting in a car, bus, or train when computing your salary?

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Specializes in Adult/Ped Emergency and Trauma.

I suggest some good tunes on an iPod, a FM transmitter, then you can play songs, podcasts, and...

You can even use iPod/iPhone to look up Allnurses.com to see what your buddies are up to(that is a total joke, as much of an AN fan as I am, don't post and drive!!!):)Lol!!!!...

But, this is the truth, once I checked up on a hot topic while the State Trooper finished my Speeding Warning:(

Specializes in geriatrics.
I really dislike commuting anywhere that takes more than 20 minutes to get there.My school was 20 minute drive, clinical sites were 15 minute drive. My first nursing job was 15 minute commute.My current job is a 15 minute commute without traffic and maybe 20 min with traffic. And now that the new light rail transit it open I can walk 4 blocks then jump on the train that goes within 2 blocks of my workplace.....a 15 minute nap :sarcastic:And the next place I'm considering applying to is on the train line, so no driving at all.
I completely agree! My quality of life and personal time is most important. Anything longer than a 45 minute commute, and I would move to be closer. Currently, I walk to work. Back home, my school was across the street and the hospital was a 7 minute walk. You cannot beat finishing a 13 hour shift and walking home 10 minutes. This scenario is ideal for me.

I am currently about 30 minutes from where I work. I don't mind the time, especially coming home. It gives me time to chill out, decompress, listen to the morning radio shows, but I DO think about the cost of gas. I would LOVE to move closer to the mountains, but the gas and the snow during the winter, I don't think it would be worth it, gas-wise.

Specializes in hospice.

I am working as an On call hospice nurse, live an hour away from the office and have approx. 50mile radius. On the average day I will drive 100-200+ miles. I dont mind, I love my job and I listen to books on tape. you can check them out free at the library 5 at a time so my time passes very quickly. sometimes the worse part is getting to the house just when the book is getting good, I have been known to sit in my driveway longer than I should because I don't want to miss anything. My kids have to come drag me out of my car!!!

My commute is usually an hour, but sometimes 1 hr and a half or more on busy days. Somedays, my commute is only 40 minutes! Depends on traffic conditions. :-) An hour commute each way is okay. I wish it were shorter, though. I too, like to listen to the radio on my way. A job in my home town seems so dreamy. I can't even imagine. I am used to being on the road for hours every day.

Specializes in Peds/Neo CCT,Flight, ER, Hem/Onc.

I commuted an hour and 45 minutes one way for a flight job (12 hours night shift). It very negatively impacted my quality of life and my physical/mental health. I lasted 18 months before I gave up. Now I commute 20 minutes but where I live that's pretty standard whether you're going 2 miles or 20 so it just feels like a trip to the mall.

Specializes in Pediatrics.

This thread comes at a perfect time for me. I am considering a new position, where the commute is 40 minutes (with no traffic, which will never be the case) to 1.5 hours. It is about 17 miles away!! Yes, I live in a "big city". I am trying to make sense of all of this, by telling myself that MANY people commute longer and further away than I do. I know many people who do it and have done it, and they claim that they don't mind (until some actually leave the position, citing the commute as one of the factors, lol). The thing is, there are plenty of other places I could work at, that I will drive past to get there. For the last 10 years or so, my commute has been so minimal; the longest being about 20 minutes (driving).

I'm trying to keep a positive attitude, and thinking about how I can best utilize that "me" time in the car, without losing my patience, and getting over the fact that there will be traffic every day, that I will have no control over. I recently started listening to various podcasts, and have a lot to catch up on.

Specializes in Peds/Neo CCT,Flight, ER, Hem/Onc.

When I was exhausted after a long shift I found it extremely difficult to be "productive" on the drive home short of trying to stay awake and not get myself or someone else killed. Your mileage may vary.

Specializes in Public Health, Women's Health.
When I was exhausted after a long shift I found it extremely difficult to be "productive" on the drive home short of trying to stay awake and not get myself or someone else killed. Your mileage may vary.

My work is 8-5 so I leave at 7 and get home at 6. It's a good deal to me but I can't imagine doing say 7am to 7pm... Leaving at 6am and getting home at 8pm? No thanks! I have a truck so that's fun but it holds a lot which saves me the multiple drives to the gas station. It's about $75 a week in gas which is okay with my budget.

Specializes in Peds/Neo CCT,Flight, ER, Hem/Onc.

Try 7pm to 7am which meant leaving at 5pm and getting home at 9am. Totally sucked! I stayed with my parents some days but my schedule was often work one off one work one. If I stayed over at my folks there were times that I didn't sleep in my own bed for 14 days straight. Totally not worth it.

I drive 55 mile one way. I work 6a-6p. Getting up at 4a really sucks but u have time to wake up. I do private duty w/ a quad in her home. I love her to death and wouldn't give up the case for anything!

Specializes in LTC.

I used to drive 30 min and would put gas in my car every week. I also made $6 more per hour than I was making closer to home. THEN I was offered a job 5 min from my house with a matching wage so I took it. I still work on call at the place that is a 30 min drive (don't wanna close that door). Now I put gas in my car every 2 weeks. Plus at the job I work at now, OT is readily available. At the job that's 30 min away I never got OT once. It just wasn't worth the drive every day. I was missing my family and would struggle to stay awake on the commute home. Plus the roads can get very icy and I didn't want to have to deal with that.

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