Need opinion on a long commute
06-27-2003, 06:58 AM
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Need opinion on a long commute
A bit OT, but it does involve commuting in the Z, so anyhow...
Do any of you have an especially long commute? The wife and I are looking at a beautiful place (240 acres, private lake) but it would take me 1.5 hrs each way to get to work and back.
Currently, my commute is only half and hour so its a bit scary for us. Just wondering if its something you get used to, or if it just wears on you day in and day out.
Do any of you have an especially long commute? The wife and I are looking at a beautiful place (240 acres, private lake) but it would take me 1.5 hrs each way to get to work and back.
Currently, my commute is only half and hour so its a bit scary for us. Just wondering if its something you get used to, or if it just wears on you day in and day out.
Last edited by eric_c; 06-27-2003 at 07:00 AM.
06-27-2003, 07:24 AM
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I have an uncle who does this- lives in NJ and works in NYC. Yes, you get used to it, and yes, it does wear on you. Sure, the house might be beautiful, but if you are driving to/from work for 1/8 of the day, at work for 1/3, asleep for another 1/3, that only gives you (math time) 5 hours a day to be home awake. If thats what you want, go for it. 5 hours seems like a lot, but after breakfast, dinner, cleaning up, getting ready for bed etc it dwindles fast. The most generic response to this type of question is; "is it worth it to YOU?" thats basically what you gotta figure out. I hope I helped.
06-27-2003, 08:23 AM
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I live in PA and work in Northern, NJ. My commute is 85miles each direction. The GOOD thing about my job is that I work 12 hour shifts, 4 one week and 3 the next, so I have a lot of days off.
The days that I do work make for LONG days. 12 hrs at work and 3 hrs of commute = 9hrs to eat, sleep, shave, etc...
I LOVE the drive in the Z though. If you're worried about the actual drive and the Z, not worry about it it's GREAT. I'd be concerned about the TIME factor though as it does get rough in winter and during traffic congestion caused by accidents and / or road construction.
The days that I do work make for LONG days. 12 hrs at work and 3 hrs of commute = 9hrs to eat, sleep, shave, etc...
I LOVE the drive in the Z though. If you're worried about the actual drive and the Z, not worry about it it's GREAT. I'd be concerned about the TIME factor though as it does get rough in winter and during traffic congestion caused by accidents and / or road construction.
06-27-2003, 08:26 AM
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for everyday long commutes, i wouldnot recommend it in the Z...it is fine for the once ina while long trip..the Z will get to you after a while doing long trips to work every day..Just my 3 cents
06-27-2003, 08:32 AM
#6
I live in jersey, and commute to pa. Everyday for work. Takes me an average of 1.20 mins. 100 miles round trio. But on friday's on the way home, it takes me 2hrs 1/2 because everyone going to the shore.
After a while you get use to, the drive. But don't be fooled, it will take a wear on your body.
After a while you get use to, the drive. But don't be fooled, it will take a wear on your body.
06-27-2003, 08:37 AM
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Commute
I drive 110 miles both ways each day in my 350Z, yes that puts on miles but that way I bought. It's a pleasure to drive, great gas mileage. It's nice to get to work in a great mood. Have a 1985 300Zx Turbo, 287,000 miles, original engine and Turbo had to finally park it due to body rust at prime suspension mounting points. Got my money out of that car, all it ever needed was tuneups and oil changes. Expect the same from the 350Z..
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06-27-2003, 08:37 AM
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I live in jersey, and commute to pa. Everyday for work.
Megatron, why don't we just trade houses... I do the Opposite. It would so much closer for BOTH of us...
Why might I ask to you live in JERSEY and Commute to PA? Jersey Taxes and Insurance are MUCH higher than PA's. (Of course there are a lot of PA people that don't like that 1/2 the neighborhood just moved in from Jersey...)
06-27-2003, 08:55 AM
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I live in downtown Atlanta and drive about 1 hour to and from work average it is about 5 miles in very heavy traffic. I drive my Z to work most days but when traffic is really bad stick shifts suckand I gotta take the SUV. Basically I'd give the Z about a 2 out of 10 score for grid lock rush hour comfort.
06-27-2003, 09:05 AM
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Thanks for the input. I guess I just want to know that there are people out there who commute this far and are not completely miserable because of it.
The neighbour situation where I am has gotten to be a real hassle. I live on 6 acres in a rural setting, so my neighbors are only 600 ft away. It sounds like alot when you figure that most city lots are only 100 ft wide, but when its 11:30 pm and their teenage kids are in the pool screaming bloody murder, despite the fact that I've already called by-law (as was the case last night), its really not that far.
The other house is on 240 acres, and the driveway is 3/4 of a mile long, fully wooded, with a 15 acre private lake. You don't see anybody, you don't hear anybody. I could really see myself being completely at peace once I got there. Its just the"getting there" part that makes me pause.
The neighbour situation where I am has gotten to be a real hassle. I live on 6 acres in a rural setting, so my neighbors are only 600 ft away. It sounds like alot when you figure that most city lots are only 100 ft wide, but when its 11:30 pm and their teenage kids are in the pool screaming bloody murder, despite the fact that I've already called by-law (as was the case last night), its really not that far.
The other house is on 240 acres, and the driveway is 3/4 of a mile long, fully wooded, with a 15 acre private lake. You don't see anybody, you don't hear anybody. I could really see myself being completely at peace once I got there. Its just the"getting there" part that makes me pause.
Originally posted by wren57
I have an uncle who does this- lives in NJ and works in NYC. Yes, you get used to it, and yes, it does wear on you. Sure, the house might be beautiful, but if you are driving to/from work for 1/8 of the day, at work for 1/3, asleep for another 1/3, that only gives you (math time) 5 hours a day to be home awake. If thats what you want, go for it. 5 hours seems like a lot, but after breakfast, dinner, cleaning up, getting ready for bed etc it dwindles fast. The most generic response to this type of question is; "is it worth it to YOU?" thats basically what you gotta figure out. I hope I helped.
I have an uncle who does this- lives in NJ and works in NYC. Yes, you get used to it, and yes, it does wear on you. Sure, the house might be beautiful, but if you are driving to/from work for 1/8 of the day, at work for 1/3, asleep for another 1/3, that only gives you (math time) 5 hours a day to be home awake. If thats what you want, go for it. 5 hours seems like a lot, but after breakfast, dinner, cleaning up, getting ready for bed etc it dwindles fast. The most generic response to this type of question is; "is it worth it to YOU?" thats basically what you gotta figure out. I hope I helped.
06-27-2003, 09:23 AM
#11
03 Z for ME,
I thought about moving to philly or pa, but my car insurance would go about 1000 higher to cover both of my cars. Can't afford that.
I like jersey, because its quite, don't have to worry about my car being broken into or vand. And i know a couple of cops in my area, so they cut me some slack, when i am speeding.
I thought about moving to philly or pa, but my car insurance would go about 1000 higher to cover both of my cars. Can't afford that.
I like jersey, because its quite, don't have to worry about my car being broken into or vand. And i know a couple of cops in my area, so they cut me some slack, when i am speeding.
06-27-2003, 05:19 PM
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That's something the wife and I have been trying to come to grips with, but the counter-argument is that driving a 1/2 hour each way only to spend the rest of the night stressed out, pissed off, and miserable because of the neighbors isn't any better.
I guess I should of prefaced this thread with the fact that my wife and I, above all, deeply want peace and quiet and privacy. My ideal house is one where I don't hear cars, music, people talking, etc. Never been much of a "city guy", and being 10 minutes away from bars/clubs is of no interest to me.
Sounds weird coming for a 30 yrs old guy, but I swear to God that most of my stress comes from my neighbors. As someone once said, "The more people I meet, the more I like my dogs".
I'm convinced that the idiots next door think that John Deere put headlights on their lawn tractor for a reason. Last Friday night, 8:30 pm, the neighbor next door decides that this is a good time to start cutting the grass.
Do you know how long it takes to cut 3 acres of grass with a 38" wide cutting deck lawn tractor?!? We're talking hours here, like 3 to 4.
To boot, the kids have been especially fond this summer of going into the pool after 11:00 pm or so and screaming their freaking heads off, as if they are individually getting sodomized by a very wide spade shovel.
You know what, I need to get this off my chest, so hear goes. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE! Why is it that people seem to have absolutely no respect for anybody else. When the hell did I suddenly waive my rights to enjoy my home without having to listen to music, dogs barking, and kids screaming into the wee hours of the night.
I moved from my last house for this exact reason. My last neighbor had a miniature collie that barked at EVERYTHING! "****, that looks like a cloud up there. Better bark my freaking head off. Oh crap, the leaves on that tree are moving, better bark". Of course, my previous neighbor did everything to enhance the experience by leaving the dog outside for an hour at a time. And when your houses are 10 feet apart, an hour is a long time to listen to a dog bark. And its not like I don't like dogs, I have THREE of them. A German Shepherd, a Lab Sheperd and a Rottweiler-collie mix. I love dogs to death. But for some strange magical reason, my dogs get brought in right away when they bark.
To boot, her very white, suburban, teenage son suddenly discovered the joys of Gangsta Rap which, in his enthusiasm, he decided to share with us at 9:30 at night, despite our windows being closed. Of course, his bedroom was directly across from our master bedroom, so my wife and I were seranaded by lyrics like "****ed that ***** up" and "Mind on my money and my money on my mind". He'd probably do a major #2 in his pants, with some #1 to flush it out the inseam, if he ever ran into one of these Gangsta guys in the "white stuggle" he calls life, spent at the mall.
And the clincher was that, when we called over, she was home and "didn't see a problem with it". This, from a 40-something mom whose day job was being a councillor to children who got in trouble with the police. It didn't seem to be quite as "ok" when I dragged up my closed-loop 250W Paradigm sub-woofer and rattled her plates for half an hour. Apparently we weren't very "adult" for resorting to such tactics.
So we moved out into the country. 6 acres, our own pond with an island, beautiful. Then last summer our neighbor's barn burns down. Boo-hoo. It burnt down because the kids had a party and over-taxed the electrical wiring. Anyhooo, the barn's all burnt down and needs to be cleaned up. You would think my neighbor keeps the bulldozer that came to clean her barn up on her property. Of course not. Why screw up her nice lawn? No, my neighbor, while I'm at work, decided to partially disassemble the fence and bring the bulldozer across my property and screw up my property. Urge to kill rising, rising...
Now her kids, 14 and 16, have taken on a very serious and urgent mission to keep me from sleeping at night, best achieved by screaming like maniacs in the pool. BTW, I think the boy has got serious wood for his sister, but that's neither here nor there. Oh, and the girl likes to climb up the antenna structure with her friends onto the roof (because they're obviously too poor to afford satellite) and scream.
Meanwhile, I spend an extra $4k getting my media room sound proofed so as to not disturb the neighbors. I am obviously a shmuck, becauce nobody else seems to give a ****.
Sorry for the rant, but **** the neighbors, **** the guy who goes down the road with his woofer blasting at 2 am, **** the dog who barks next door, **** the guy who guts his grass at 10 pm, and **** anybody who thinks that they have more rights than me.
Beer, now, relax.
I guess I should of prefaced this thread with the fact that my wife and I, above all, deeply want peace and quiet and privacy. My ideal house is one where I don't hear cars, music, people talking, etc. Never been much of a "city guy", and being 10 minutes away from bars/clubs is of no interest to me.
Sounds weird coming for a 30 yrs old guy, but I swear to God that most of my stress comes from my neighbors. As someone once said, "The more people I meet, the more I like my dogs".
I'm convinced that the idiots next door think that John Deere put headlights on their lawn tractor for a reason. Last Friday night, 8:30 pm, the neighbor next door decides that this is a good time to start cutting the grass.
Do you know how long it takes to cut 3 acres of grass with a 38" wide cutting deck lawn tractor?!? We're talking hours here, like 3 to 4.
To boot, the kids have been especially fond this summer of going into the pool after 11:00 pm or so and screaming their freaking heads off, as if they are individually getting sodomized by a very wide spade shovel.
You know what, I need to get this off my chest, so hear goes. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE! Why is it that people seem to have absolutely no respect for anybody else. When the hell did I suddenly waive my rights to enjoy my home without having to listen to music, dogs barking, and kids screaming into the wee hours of the night.
I moved from my last house for this exact reason. My last neighbor had a miniature collie that barked at EVERYTHING! "****, that looks like a cloud up there. Better bark my freaking head off. Oh crap, the leaves on that tree are moving, better bark". Of course, my previous neighbor did everything to enhance the experience by leaving the dog outside for an hour at a time. And when your houses are 10 feet apart, an hour is a long time to listen to a dog bark. And its not like I don't like dogs, I have THREE of them. A German Shepherd, a Lab Sheperd and a Rottweiler-collie mix. I love dogs to death. But for some strange magical reason, my dogs get brought in right away when they bark.
To boot, her very white, suburban, teenage son suddenly discovered the joys of Gangsta Rap which, in his enthusiasm, he decided to share with us at 9:30 at night, despite our windows being closed. Of course, his bedroom was directly across from our master bedroom, so my wife and I were seranaded by lyrics like "****ed that ***** up" and "Mind on my money and my money on my mind". He'd probably do a major #2 in his pants, with some #1 to flush it out the inseam, if he ever ran into one of these Gangsta guys in the "white stuggle" he calls life, spent at the mall.
And the clincher was that, when we called over, she was home and "didn't see a problem with it". This, from a 40-something mom whose day job was being a councillor to children who got in trouble with the police. It didn't seem to be quite as "ok" when I dragged up my closed-loop 250W Paradigm sub-woofer and rattled her plates for half an hour. Apparently we weren't very "adult" for resorting to such tactics.
So we moved out into the country. 6 acres, our own pond with an island, beautiful. Then last summer our neighbor's barn burns down. Boo-hoo. It burnt down because the kids had a party and over-taxed the electrical wiring. Anyhooo, the barn's all burnt down and needs to be cleaned up. You would think my neighbor keeps the bulldozer that came to clean her barn up on her property. Of course not. Why screw up her nice lawn? No, my neighbor, while I'm at work, decided to partially disassemble the fence and bring the bulldozer across my property and screw up my property. Urge to kill rising, rising...
Now her kids, 14 and 16, have taken on a very serious and urgent mission to keep me from sleeping at night, best achieved by screaming like maniacs in the pool. BTW, I think the boy has got serious wood for his sister, but that's neither here nor there. Oh, and the girl likes to climb up the antenna structure with her friends onto the roof (because they're obviously too poor to afford satellite) and scream.
Meanwhile, I spend an extra $4k getting my media room sound proofed so as to not disturb the neighbors. I am obviously a shmuck, becauce nobody else seems to give a ****.
Sorry for the rant, but **** the neighbors, **** the guy who goes down the road with his woofer blasting at 2 am, **** the dog who barks next door, **** the guy who guts his grass at 10 pm, and **** anybody who thinks that they have more rights than me.
Beer, now, relax.
Originally posted by 350zroadster
that's 3 hours of your life taken away from you each day.
No way in hell I would do it.
that's 3 hours of your life taken away from you each day.
No way in hell I would do it.
06-28-2003, 06:19 AM
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Long commutes
Just my $0.02 but....
I have lived for years with short commutes and years with long commutes. When I was young and felt that I had all the time in the world (ie, I didn't feel like I had a "million things to do") the long commute was OK. I had a cool car and I like to drive.
Then I moved and suddenly had a short commute. It was even better! I could run home at lunch if necessary, and I had more "down time" to do what I wanted. Going from a 1 hour commute to a 30 minute commute freed up an hour every day!
Now I am back to an hour commute and I am not really liking it. Now that I own a house and have more hobbies I really miss the 2 hours a day that I lose. I have to get up early to get to work on time and I don't get home until after 6 or 6:30.
I am already bored of ALL of my CDs (over 200) I am already house shopping closer to the job now that I have a job I am confident will be a long term gig.
So, I guess what I am saying is it depends on what is important to you. I used to like the drive and had plenty of time. The long commute was cool. Now that I feel like I am short on time, I wish I had a short commute.
It is really a personal preference thing in the end. I know this is not a easy & tidy answer but it is what I think.
AndyB
I have lived for years with short commutes and years with long commutes. When I was young and felt that I had all the time in the world (ie, I didn't feel like I had a "million things to do") the long commute was OK. I had a cool car and I like to drive.
Then I moved and suddenly had a short commute. It was even better! I could run home at lunch if necessary, and I had more "down time" to do what I wanted. Going from a 1 hour commute to a 30 minute commute freed up an hour every day!
Now I am back to an hour commute and I am not really liking it. Now that I own a house and have more hobbies I really miss the 2 hours a day that I lose. I have to get up early to get to work on time and I don't get home until after 6 or 6:30.
I am already bored of ALL of my CDs (over 200) I am already house shopping closer to the job now that I have a job I am confident will be a long term gig. So, I guess what I am saying is it depends on what is important to you. I used to like the drive and had plenty of time. The long commute was cool. Now that I feel like I am short on time, I wish I had a short commute.
It is really a personal preference thing in the end. I know this is not a easy & tidy answer but it is what I think.
AndyB
06-28-2003, 07:04 AM
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Originally posted by eric_c
SNIP
SNIP
I don't have any suggestions, seems like you covered a lot of grounds anyways. My preference fits my life style well, living spartanly and not held down in one place.
06-28-2003, 11:32 AM
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Here is my take on this. If you can save time, do it. If I leave my house around 7:30 am it takes me 35-45 min. to get to work because of the traffic. If I leave at 9:30 takes me 15-20 min. Same for going back during rush hours or 2 hours later. I save just an hour a day but guess what I can do with this hour. Gym, TV, read and etc. I understand that driving da Z is fun, but when it gets to be a routine then ... well you know the drill.
06-28-2003, 04:25 PM
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Originally posted by eric_c
driving a 1/2 hour each way only to spend the rest of the night stressed out, pissed off, and miserable because of the neighbors isn't any better.
driving a 1/2 hour each way only to spend the rest of the night stressed out, pissed off, and miserable because of the neighbors isn't any better.
Peace. J
06-29-2003, 04:27 AM
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Originally posted by eric_c
......Sorry for the rant, but **** the neighbors, **** the guy who goes down the road with his woofer blasting at 2 am, **** the dog who barks next door, **** the guy who guts his grass at 10 pm, and **** anybody who thinks that they have more rights than me.
......Sorry for the rant, but **** the neighbors, **** the guy who goes down the road with his woofer blasting at 2 am, **** the dog who barks next door, **** the guy who guts his grass at 10 pm, and **** anybody who thinks that they have more rights than me.
Dude, you need to buy that property now.
06-29-2003, 07:50 AM
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Thanks for all the advice guys. FYI, The wife and I have decided to make an offer on the place and see if we can get it.
We thought about a lot of things, but it basically came down to this. If we didn't at least try it, we think we would regret for a long time. Everytime there was another annoyance with a neighbor, we'd think to ourselves "Maybe the drive wouldn't of been so bad. We should of at least tried it"
Plus, this isn't a decision we have to live with for the rest of our lives. If, in a year, we decide that the commute is just too much, we'll sell the house and move in closer to town.
I don't think the commute will be that bad, either, since the wife and I are going to car-pool in together. So its not like I'm going to be driving by myself 3 hrs a day in the car. This will also allow either of us to get some work done in the car so its not totally "dead time".
Thanks again for all your input.
We thought about a lot of things, but it basically came down to this. If we didn't at least try it, we think we would regret for a long time. Everytime there was another annoyance with a neighbor, we'd think to ourselves "Maybe the drive wouldn't of been so bad. We should of at least tried it"
Plus, this isn't a decision we have to live with for the rest of our lives. If, in a year, we decide that the commute is just too much, we'll sell the house and move in closer to town.
I don't think the commute will be that bad, either, since the wife and I are going to car-pool in together. So its not like I'm going to be driving by myself 3 hrs a day in the car. This will also allow either of us to get some work done in the car so its not totally "dead time".
Thanks again for all your input.