How long is your commute?

Nurses General Nursing

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Hello all! I am just curious as to how far you guys commute to your jobs. I am a new grad and I am trying to determine how far is "too far" as I continue my job search.

Sidenote IF for any reason you need to receive unemployment ... They will not require you to accept work over one hour away (in ny and nj anyway....I'd check your states policy)

Specializes in Behavioral Health.

Since I don't own a house I've always considered commutes to be a temporary problem (until my lease is up and I decide if I want to move closer to work). Currently I'm 11 minutes from my hosptial, 25 minutes from one clinic, and 30 minutes from the other. My longest commute was about an hour, but it was on one train and one bus, so I had a lot of time to listen to Audible books and read and what not.

Specializes in NICU, Trauma, Oncology.

"Too far" is relative. Where do you live? What do you drive? Where are your priorities? Plenty of people commute an hour or more each way for "dream" jobs and others won't for a variety of reasons. Really only you can determine what is "too far" for you

Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

My commute is around 45 minutes. I would hesitate to live any closer to my work because I use my commute time to leave work at work and home at home - KWIM?

Specializes in Hospice.
My current workplace is 15 miles from my house. When taking Interstate 35, the commute is only 20 minutes during non-peak times.

However, my user name is 'TheCommuter.' I've had a handful of crazy commutes in the past few years. In 2003, when I was a 22-year-old factory worker in expensive coastal southern CA, I bought a house in an affordable city in central CA. I commuted 120 miles each way for one year before quitting the job to attend an LVN program full-time.

From September '04 to October '05, I commuted 95 miles each way on Interstate 5 to attend an LVN program five days per week.

From January '09 to March '10, I commuted 225 miles across state lines to attend an LPN-to-ASN bridge program three days per week.

You win. 😱

Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
Oh wow!! You must really enjoy driving to commute that far!
Nope, not anymore. Commuting was another means to an end to facilitate my career goals, but I am sick of driving and haven't had a long commute in years.

However, I do not regret my past commuting adventures because they helped get me to a comfortable point in my life career-wise. It was short-term pain for long-term benefits I can now reap.

Specializes in critical care, ER,ICU, CVSURG, CCU.

When I lived in Downtown Houston, 1.5 blocks......

i have driven one hour one way, but not tolerant of that long......for some jobs in past,

now just 7miles to town, where the clinic I work is located

My commute is 15 feet, from the bed to the computer, I work from home. Until that becomes an option for you, only YOU know what kind of commute you can tolerate.

Is this a 12 hour shift? You will be adding the one hour commute each way, plus any additional time in inclement weather. That can make for an VERY long day.

Best of luck with your decision, let us know how it's going.

The actual drive is about 40 minutes or so without traffic. There is no close parking on a large university campus, so time is set aside for the walk to the building, and walking to the unit. I give myself extra time, so I leave home at 0600 for an 0700 shift. Working night shifts means an earlier start since there is evening traffic. Worst is football or basketball traffic, but that is part of working on campus.

Specializes in ER, progressive care.

1st hospital: 7 minutes

2nd hospital: about 15 minutes

3rd hospital: about 40-45 minutes. It's really not that bad of a drive, though.

Specializes in med-surg, IMC, school nursing, NICU.

My first hospital job was about 25 minutes in the winter, up to 45-60 in the summer. I lived and worked near the beach and got a lot of shore traffic. The drive was beautiful, though. Driving home in the morning was always faster and you couldn't beat the views :sarcastic:

My second hospital job was about 40 minutes but between parking and walking/being shuttled from the parking garage it was close to an hour before I actually got inside the building. I also paid a very expensive toll both ways. This drive was miserable and one of the reasons I left this job. Getting there for shifts didn't bother me so much but it was the 1 hour meetings, 2 hour classes and mandated "education" that annoyed me. Driving all the way there for a 1 hour meeting wasn't worth the hassle. I was in the car longer than I was actually at the hospital. That's something you will need to think about when accepting a job.

Now I work at a school that is 17 minutes from my house. It's magical.

Right now about 10 minutes. Living in a large metroplex, this is highly unusual!

My prior commutes have been 30 min- 1+ hours depending on traffic.

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