Go Back   CityProfile.com Forum - Local City and State Discussion Forums > United States City Forums > Virginia > Northern Virginia
Click Here to Login

Reply
Old 08-20-2011, 05:18 AM  
Junior Member

Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 1 | Kudos: +10
Help! Is the commute worth it?

I live in Gainesville and am considering taking a job in Fairfax. The office is located on Fair Ridge Drive. Can anyone provide insight into this commute? Does anyone do it? How long does it take? Is Lee Highway a better option than 66?

Thanks in advance! This is really the only thing making me mull over this job offer!
__________________

Reply With Quote
Old 08-20-2011, 12:40 PM  
mohel
 
blucher's Avatar

Keizer, OR
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 4,365 | Kudos: +124
Images: 99
Is the commute worth it?

I guessed yours was a common concern these days and Google agreed.

Commuting-When is it worth it? - commute drive car | Ask MetaFilter
Quote:
I think these are some questions to ask yourself:
- Will you really miss that extra hour of sleep in the morning? Not just miss it, but will it really impact your mental abilities for the day? (assuming you will not adjust your sleep to go to bed earlier)
- What is your evening routine like? Do you go to the gym and so will this impact that activity? If not, how do you feel about preparing for dinner an hour later?
- What do you do now after work and before bed? Do you have an hour's worth of activity that will be impacted and missed?
- Particularly with the dog - Will the dog be OK without going outside for even a bathroom break for an extra two hours a day (possibly more depending on possible traffic issues). Do you have someone who can help with the dog in emergencies?
- How much do you plan on hanging out with your co-workers after work? Do you do that now? An hour long commute will probably make you think twice about this.
- Will this job allow telecommuting once in a while for that added flexibility?
- Are you completely set against moving closer to work? If yes, than the questions above are even more important to longterm satisfaction. If no, you can probably "just see" and think about moving if necessary.
posted by like_neon at 8:41 AM on June 21, 2010 [1 favorite]

Have a job offer, but is the commute worth it? - Yahoo! Answers
Quote:
If you don't currently have a job, take it. If you do, keep looking. There's a lot to be said for living close to where you work. Although, I bet you could read quite a few books riding the bus there and back every day.
Is your commute worth it?
Quote:
A Costly Choice

If it was simply a matter of living where the grass is greener, most everyone would leave town for living in the outskirts. Unfortunately, there are several not-so-obvious expenses that can creep up on a commuter, many of which are much more costly than the price of living within city limits.

One clear example is the cost of a vehicle. In addition to the payments, insurance and maintenance, there are licensing fees and the motor vehicle taxes. Edmunds features a True Cost to Own calculator that reveals just how much more you'll be paying for that vehicle, which you can then compare against the price of cab fare, bus passes or walking to work from your in-city locale.

If you believe that "time is money," then the minute or hours you spend each day in your vehicle making the drive to and from work can have a value as well. For the person with few personal commitments, it may be fine to spend 1-2 hours in a car each day, learning a language or enjoying new music. If you are a busy person, perhaps committed to a family, volunteer activities and/or a lively social calendar, however, that ten hours a week may not be something you are willing to give up.

Effects on Your Health

In addition, the chronically tardy employee may find it stressful to get to work each day, even with a 10-minute walk to the office. In the case of a commuter with 30 miles or more between their home and work, however, the anxiety that can come from trying to arrive on time may be detrimental to their health and mental well-being. Even those who have been punctual all their lives can dread the unexpected events that a longer commute may bring.

There is also the issue of a virtual separation between work and personal communities. While some welcome the idea of keeping their "work friends" and their "real friends" in separate geographical segments, others will have a hard time forming real communities with their time divided so harshly. Those that find it hard to make friends or who find it difficult to join social groups can struggle with a commute that pulls them from one world to the other each day.

The Bottom Line

Deciding to commute is an intensely personal matter, one that finance experts can lightly suggest as an option to a strained budget. Putting the costs of housing aside, however, it's not always a dollar vs. dollar verdict. Be sure that your choice primarily represents your priorities, whether they are of economics or some other measure of the quality of life. (Find out what to consider before taking a ride with stocks from this industry.
How much money makes a long commute worth it?
How much money makes a long commute worth it? - Sully Syed
Quote:
A few years ago, the Swiss economists Bruno Frey and Alois Stutzer announced the discovery of a new human foible, which they called ?the commuters paradox?. They found that, when people are choosing where to live, they consistently underestimate the pain of a long commute. This leads people to mistakenly believe that the big house in the exurbs will make them happier, even though it might force them to drive an additional hour to work.

Of course, as Brooks notes, that time in traffic is torture, and the big house isn?t worth it. According to the calculations of Frey and Stutzer, a person with a one-hour commute has to earn 40 percent more money to be as satisfied with life as someone who walks to the office. Another study, led by Daniel Kahneman and the economist Alan Krueger, surveyed nine hundred working women in Texas and found that commuting was, by far, the least pleasurable part of their day.

?

Consider two housing options: a three bedroom apartment that is located in the middle of a city, with a ten minute commute time, or a five bedroom McMansion on the urban outskirts, with a forty-five minute commute. ?People will think about this trade-off for a long time,? Dijksterhuis says. ?And most them will eventually choose the large house. After all, a third bathroom or extra bedroom is very important for when grandma and grandpa come over for Christmas, whereas driving two hours each day is really not that bad.?

What?s interesting, Dijksterhuis says, is that the more time people spend deliberating, the more important that extra space becomes. They?ll imagine all sorts of scenarios (a big birthday party, Thanksgiving dinner, another child) that will turn the suburban house into an absolute necessity. The pain of a lengthy commute, meanwhile, will seem less and less significant, at least when compared to the allure of an extra bathroom.

But, as Dijksterhuis points out, that reasoning process is exactly backwards: ?The additional bathroom is a completely superfluous asset for at least 362 or 363 days each year, whereas a long commute does become a burden after a while.?
San Jose VS Tracy is the commute worth it in the long run? - Trulia Voices
Quote:
I know quite a few people who moved out to the central valley some time ago who hate and regret that decision. You really can get a nicer home there, but if you look at your commute hours, you only get to enjoy it on the weekends. If you add children to the commuter mix, that can complicates matters further. In my opinion, a townhome in San Jose will be a better long term investment and pricing is quite favorable right now.
it could be worse
Indian commuter train
Help!  Is the commute worth it?-indonesia-train-hd.jpg 

__________________

__________________
I'll believe corporations are persons when Texas executes one.: LBJ's Ghost
Reply With Quote
Old 08-20-2011, 10:06 PM  
ɹoʇɐɹǝpoɯ ɯnɹoɟ
 
VaporLung's Avatar

VA
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 728 | Kudos: +47
Images: 2
Quote:
Originally Posted by xleyxashx View Post
I live in Gainesville and am considering taking a job in Fairfax. The office is located on Fair Ridge Drive. Can anyone provide insight into this commute? Does anyone do it? How long does it take? Is Lee Highway a better option than 66?

Thanks in advance! This is really the only thing making me mull over this job offer!
Whats the distance between point A and point B? This is one of the first things I would look at. I wish I was further up north and familiar with that stretch of highway.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Go Back   CityProfile.com Forum - Local City and State Discussion Forums > United States City Forums > Virginia > Northern Virginia
Bookmark this Page!

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes


Suggested Threads

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.