Published
It depends a lot on your personal situation I think. I am young and don't have kids. For the most part I love my job now, I currently commute half an hour but give myself an hour to get there because occasionally I hit bad traffic. At this point in my life, I feel an hour commute would be worth the job I have now. Personally I feel like my happiness at work outweighs the unhappiness a long commute would cause. I went into nursing because I wanted a job that would be rewarding, I think I would come home very unhappy every day if I was at a job I found unfulfilling. But all this could obviously change if I had kids to come home to or other life circumstances demanding more of my attention.
I love listening to Terri Gross... but not enough to enjoy a long work commute. I live less than 1/2 mile from work. When and if I change employers I would move.
I guess some might have an attachment to living in a particular place, or own a house, etc. that might make moving alot a hassle, but I prefer to be relatively free to move as needed.
So, no, I wouldn't commute for a job I loved. I would move closer =)
I commuted 50 miles through downtown LA traffic for TWO YEARS! My new job is five minutes away! :cheers:
Oh and I HATED that damn job. We lost thirty nurses in those two years and it sure as heck didn't have anything to do with me . Man am I glad to be out of that place.
It was a sacrifice I made as a new grad but it was a stupid decision because I took the first job I was offered and didn't look any farther (or closer?). Lesson learned.
When I was in my early 20s, I lived approximately 120 miles from my workplace. Keep in mind that I was (and still am) single with no children, and I was not a nurse back then. I worked my three 12-hour shifts in a row and always had three days off in a row.
My place of employment was located in a coastal city in southern California with a sky high cost of living and astronomical rents. I ended up buying a house in a cheaper inland city with monthly mortgage payments that were lower than rent payments on a studio apartment in the high-priced coastal city.
When I first started, my commute ws 45 minutes, night shift. Handled it well for the first few years, but starting from my pregnancy, I could barely keep my eyes open on the way home from work, and had to pull over and sleep.
I again work an hour away and I hate it. The traffic is very unpredicatable and I have to get my daughter to and from preschool. I am divorced and her dad only does one weekday. So the pressure and responsibility of the unpredicatble traffic stinks. I needed a paycheck though......
In a nut shell, without the responsibilites I have now, I would do an hour commute for the right job.
Just be careful for nightshift, it really is dangerous to drive too far after being up all night.
loving2
70 Posts
Would you commute to a job that you love even if it was 1 hr away? Or would you work at a job that you don't like even though it is more convenient (i.e. much closer to home, better hours for family)?