Curosity: How much time do you spend in traffic a week.

[turboswimbz]

So I realized the other day, I spend roughly 4 to 5 hours a week in traffic.  Roughly over 30 minutes a day. 5 times a week, and another 30 minutes to an hour on the weekend.  But when traffic is worse or I travel in one of the cities, It could be as much as 6 + hours.  So out of curosity how this compares to other people arcoss the US (and world) I ask: How much time does everyone spend in traffic each week?


Also to keep this in the ballpark so to speak: Which Video Game Char. do you think has the worst commute into work?

[Arkhan Asylum]

6ish hours a week (35 mins to work).

On weekend, I don't go outside.

Outside is itchy.

[NecroPhile]

I don't spend any time stuck in a stop and go crawl (corn field gridlock!), but I'd estimate I spend about four to five hours per week in my car for commuting, errand running, etc.

[CrackTiger]

10 -  12 hours.

[Sparky]

i am 80km to & from work which is about an hour each way... wow 10 hours a week!!! no wonder i like to drink

[esadajr]

when I lived in Valparaiso, IN it was about an hour back and an hour forth to Lowell. Country roads, the town of Hebron, farmlands. Great experience.

When I moved to Lowell, it was only a mile from my place to work. So, sometimes I just walked. I rarely had the need to use the AC in the Midwest.

Now I'm back home, I live about 10 mi from my workplace and it takes about an hour to get in either direction (sometimes more). Tons of traffic, reckeless drivers, speed bumps, pot holes. It's not even July and it's super hot. Crank up that AC.

[turboswimbz]

If you go off time just spent in my car driving I spend a remarkable 12 hours a week.

[RoyVegas]

I only live a tad bit more than 5 miles from work.  It takes me roughly 15 minutes if I hit every traffic signal possible on the way.  The question seemed more like you wanted to know about being stuck in traffic than travel times so I voted: None: there just simply isn't any traffic where I drive.

[Arkhan Asylum]

Wait do you mean like, sitting in traffic touching myself because the cars are stopped?

I'm never actually stuck in traffic.  I don't work downtown so I just cruise along no problem.  It just takes 35 minutes.

[turboswimbz]

i am 80km to & from work which is about an hour each way... wow 10 hours a week!!! no wonder i like to drink

If I remember my rough math correctly 80 KM is about 50 miles.  (The online calc. tells me I am about right in comfirmation) Right now my commute is 44 miles to work. (and 83 if I need to go to school.)   It takes me an hour and 20 minutes in the morning and an hour home as well so I feel your pain.  Drinking is nice after a long ride home.

[BigusSchmuck]

I live in a little village, the most traffic we ever see during a day is lots and lots of wheat trucks during harvest. Even then its more of a rush minute....

[jeffhlewis]

There are only two seasons in Wisconsin - Winter and Construction.

Hour to work from downtown to Racine each way. Good thing I like my job.

[esteban]

I put under 30 minutes because I'm only in my car for a short trip to-and-from train station 10 minutes away. I only hit a few minutes of traffic on the way home, sometimes.

I take the train into Manhattan.

In the past, though, I have been crazy car commuter.

[bartre]

depends on what you call traffic - stop and go stuff? none, that shit isn't here in nebraska, unless you're an idiot and are trying to go downtown this time of the year.
driving period? 3~4 a week for work, maybe another 1 if i decide to be sociable.

[chany60126]

I live 10-15 minutes away from my job. So I spend about two hours per week commuting to work and another two hours driving around in the weekends with friends.

[NecroPhile]

Drinking is nice after a long ride home.

After?  Sparky ain't got no time to wait.

[geise]

I voted 2-4 cause I forgot and was thinking daily.  I spend 2 hours a damn day in traffic.  So, 10 a work week.  Fun.

EDIT:  That is commute time.  There isn't much sitting in dead stop traffic, since I leave for work at 4:30 a.m.  Coming home I never hit dead stop traffic unless there's an accident.

[SignOfZeta]

It takes me 15 minutes to get to work. On the way home there is no traffic so it takes me 10. Weekends are a wild card since I might go nowhere, I might drive to the racetrack 70 miles away.

So, just going to work and back, about 2 hours a week but only 25 min of that can be blamed on congestion. The rest is just driving.

If I had to drive 60-90 minutes each way like some people I...I just wouldn't do that. I'd either get another job or another house. That's just bullshit. I have a life to live here.

[JoshTurboTrollX]

There are only two seasons in Wisconsin - Winter and Construction.

Hour to work from downtown to Racine each way. Good thing I like my job.

I'm about 17 miles from work and I live on a side road that quickly connects to a hwy which pretty much takes me to work.  About 20 mins twice a day, but I've rarely had to sit in traffic.  I'm Piffed if I hit 2 red lights during my drives to or from work. 

About three and a half hours a week on the road depending if I go for drives to other places.

[roflmao]

Also to keep this in the ballpark so to speak: Which Video Game Char. do you think has the worst commute into work?

Not Keith Courage.  That lucky bastard gets to ride a freaking RAINBOW to work every day.

[turboswimbz]

Also to keep this in the ballpark so to speak: Which Video Game Char. do you think has the worst commute into work?

Not Keith Courage.  That lucky bastard gets to ride a freaking RAINBOW to work every day.

STATUS: This made me happy

[jeffhlewis]

If I had to drive 60-90 minutes each way like some people I...I just wouldn't do that. I'd either get another job or another house. That's just bullshit. I have a life to live here.

I work for a big company that decided 120 years ago to set up shop in a craphole; it's worth the drive to not live in said craphole

[esteban]

QUESTION: Does anyone here take mass transit to work? The train from NJ to NYC is far from perfect, but I can do whatever I want during my commute (typical day: drink coffee whilst reading/listening to music/podcasts/writing/napping/eating flan).

If I had to drive 60-90 minutes each way like some people I...I just wouldn't do that. I'd either get another job or another house. That's just bullshit. I have a life to live here.

I work for a big company that decided 120 years ago to set up shop in a craphole; it's worth the drive to not live in said craphole

Quite true

[munchiaz]

I can get to work in around 5-8 minutes. Currently i am only part time, so only have to drive to work 4 days a week. Not much time at all. I also drive to a friends house every Monday for board game night. Thursdays for KOF 13 session, Saturdays  more fighting games and doing stuff with the g/f. So i would have to say around 1-2 hours.

[Sparky]

If I had to drive 60-90 minutes each way like some people I...I just wouldn't do that. I'd either get another job or another house. That's just bullshit. I have a life to live here.

If your living in a city close to work thats not much of a life for me, My waste of life on driving is made up in full for the house, land and environment my family and I live in .

[Flare65]

I work in field service as a tech so I'm always on the road.  Sometimes it takes me six hours to get to the site I'm working at.  Every day is usually a new customer's site.  I'm in the western burbs of Chicago and I cover all of Northern Illinois down to Champaign, all of Wisconsin, parts of Minnesota and occasionally a drive into Indiana.  I've put over 35K on a brand new company car in over a year.  I have not been with this company three years yet, but I'm already on my second company car.

[SignOfZeta]

If I had to drive 60-90 minutes each way like some people I...I just wouldn't do that. I'd either get another job or another house. That's just bullshit. I have a life to live here.

If your living in a city close to work thats not much of a life for me, My waste of life on driving is made up in full for the house, land and environment my family and I live in .

I just said it takes me 15 minutes to drive to work. I obviously don't live in Chicago or Oakland. There is no such thing as a 15 minute drive in a real city, to matter how short the distance.

I live in Ann Arbor. Its fucking beautiful. I've got raccoons and deer running through my 2 acres of property where I have two dozen century-old trees, yet my entire commute is paved and I don't exceed 45 mph at any point.

If you want to do something good for your family, consider spending more time with them and less in the car. Between work and sleep most people have already lost 2/3 of an average week day not including commutes and lunch hours. And how many hours a week do you have to work to pay for the fuel and maintenance on the car?

Buy this car to drive to work
Drive to work to pay for this car
Buy this car to drive to work
Drive to work to pay for this car
Buy this car to drive to work
Drive to work to pay for this car

There just isn't that much time to spare, not in my life anyway.

I've had job offers far from home, I've looked at living spaces far from work. I live where I do and work where I do, not by accident, but because I made it a priority to not waste 10 hours a week stuck in traffic. A lot of people look for the biggest house for the least money and then need the best paying job they can find to pay it off, which is of course nowhere near the house. They think they're getting ahead, but in the end they pay the hidden cost of being stuck by themselves in a car far too long, adding to their already out of control stress levels and producing assloads of CO2.

[VestCunt]

Traffic in Minneapolis is getting worse as white flight reverses and the city fills up with condos and luxury rentals. I live in the city and driving across town to work consumes maybe one hour of my week. Fortunately, audio-engineer hours rarely put me in rush hour and I only have to physically go to work 2-3 days a week.

Living close to work is like giving yourself a raise.

[turboswimbz]

I can get to work in around 5-8 minutes. Currently i am only part time, so only have to drive to work 4 days a week. Not much time at all. I also drive to a friends house every Monday for board game night. Thursdays for KOF 13 session, Saturdays  more fighting games and doing stuff with the g/f. So i would have to say around 1-2 hours.

Sounds like a good trade off in driving to me
also happy 1000th post status

[Sparky]

If I had to drive 60-90 minutes each way like some people I...I just wouldn't do that. I'd either get another job or another house. That's just bullshit. I have a life to live here.

If your living in a city close to work thats not much of a life for me, My waste of life on driving is made up in full for the house, land and environment my family and I live in .

I just said it takes me 15 minutes to drive to work. I obviously don't live in Chicago or Oakland. There is no such thing as a 15 minute drive in a real city, to matter how short the distance.

I live in Ann Arbor. Its fucking beautiful. I've got raccoons and deer running through my 2 acres of property where I have two dozen century-old trees, yet my entire commute is paved and I don't exceed 45 mph at any point.

If you want to do something good for your family, consider spending more time with them and less in the car. Between work and sleep most people have already lost 2/3 of an average week day not including commutes and lunch hours. And how many hours a week do you have to work to pay for the fuel and maintenance on the car?

Buy this car to drive to work
Drive to work to pay for this car
Buy this car to drive to work
Drive to work to pay for this car
Buy this car to drive to work
Drive to work to pay for this car

There just isn't that much time to spare, not in my life anyway.

I've had job offers far from home, I've looked at living spaces far from work. I live where I do and work where I do, not by accident, but because I made it a priority to not waste 10 hours a week stuck in traffic. A lot of people look for the biggest house for the least money and then need the best paying job they can find to pay it off, which is of course nowhere near the house. They think they're getting ahead, but in the end they pay the hidden cost of being stuck by themselves in a car far too long, adding to their already out of control stress levels and producing assloads of CO2.

Hahaha, you think you got all the answers don't ya?  Must be nice to be 15 mins away from a piece of paradise like that, do you own it, rent or live with your parents? As something like that close to my work would cost $500,000 to a mill.

I love my job but its stuck in the most expensive area around, I make a great salary but its just one income coming in so Instead of living in a crowded subdivision I find a small town outside the city that offers a lot and I have my cottage and house all in one

Ya I could move closer and maybe shave 20mins off my drive but the urban sprawl is even getting close to me.
To each there own zeta but just don't tell what's right for me, everyone situation is different.

[Deletion]

My current commute is awesome as my office is only 1.5 miles from my house. I can leave my front door and be at my desk in 8 minutes. I also work a later shift (1-10pm) so there is even less of a chance of running into traffic.

[esteban]

If I had to drive 60-90 minutes each way like some people I...I just wouldn't do that. I'd either get another job or another house. That's just bullshit. I have a life to live here.

If your living in a city close to work thats not much of a life for me, My waste of life on driving is made up in full for the house, land and environment my family and I live in .

I just said it takes me 15 minutes to drive to work. I obviously don't live in Chicago or Oakland. There is no such thing as a 15 minute drive in a real city, to matter how short the distance.

I live in Ann Arbor. Its fucking beautiful. I've got raccoons and deer running through my 2 acres of property where I have two dozen century-old trees, yet my entire commute is paved and I don't exceed 45 mph at any point.

If you want to do something good for your family, consider spending more time with them and less in the car. Between work and sleep most people have already lost 2/3 of an average week day not including commutes and lunch hours. And how many hours a week do you have to work to pay for the fuel and maintenance on the car?

Buy this car to drive to work
Drive to work to pay for this car
Buy this car to drive to work
Drive to work to pay for this car
Buy this car to drive to work
Drive to work to pay for this car

There just isn't that much time to spare, not in my life anyway.

I've had job offers far from home, I've looked at living spaces far from work. I live where I do and work where I do, not by accident, but because I made it a priority to not waste 10 hours a week stuck in traffic. A lot of people look for the biggest house for the least money and then need the best paying job they can find to pay it off, which is of course nowhere near the house. They think they're getting ahead, but in the end they pay the hidden cost of being stuck by themselves in a car far too long, adding to their already out of control stress levels and producing assloads of CO2.

Hahaha, you think you got all the answers don't ya?  Must be nice to be 15 mins away from a piece of paradise like that, do you own it, rent or live with your parents? As something like that close to my work would cost $500,000 to a mill.

I love my job but its stuck in the most expensive area around, I make a great salary but its just one income coming in so Instead of living in a crowded subdivision I find a small town outside the city that offers a lot and I have my cottage and house all in one

Ya I could move closer and maybe shave 20mins off my drive but the urban sprawl is even getting close to me.
To each there own zeta but just don't tell what's right for me, everyone situation is different.

Yeah, Zeta fails to appreciate that life is far more complex than the simple formulas he posts. He should be grateful for what he has, instead of being judgmental of those who deviate from his fiats.

STATUS: I was afraid this topic would spread over three pages without any conflict and self-righteous grandstanding. Whew! Zeta saved us from having a completely civil discussion just in time. 

[tggodfrey]

I have a 35 minute ride to work but I am lucky I leave for work at 4am/pm and head home at 5pm/am (swing shift).  I manage to miss traffic every day.

[SignOfZeta]

I find it kind of amazing that anyone could be offended by my saying people should make a conscious effort to spend less time stuck in their car and more time living life.

Well, I'm not surprised Sparky is offended, that happens all the fucking time, but esteban?

I'm sure you guys think I don't understand your situation, that you've semi-willingly relocated or you are forced to live far from work, but I do. I've been in that situation and I changed it to my current situation. My opinion: I was an idiot to drive 50 minutes to and from work each way. The money you save in a cheaper house will be made up for in other ways. That's why your house was so cheap.

And no, I don't live with my parents. I own a home and, very uncommon in 2013, its worth more than I owe. That's probably another sore spot for some people. BE OFFENDED NOW! ENGAGE "WELL, I NEVER!" MODE!

[geise]

I hear ya esteban.  I get enough road rage on the way home from work during my commute.  I don't need the forum rage.  Haha.  I feel for ya esteban.  I'm in the same boat.  If it was only that simple right?

[NecroPhile]

I don't know what Sparky's and esteban's problem is.  To escape wasting a few precious hours in your car, it makes perfect sense to trade a job/home you love (and where you spend far more time) for something less palatable.  It's even better if it means your wife will end up with the commute or have to find another job, or if you have to send your kids to a shittier school.  Fuck 'em - it's all about ME!

Anyway, what makes zippy think they're offended?  I take offense at disagreement!

[geise]

I take offense to your offense. 

Regardless, my commute is worth allowing my wife to have a better job and better place to live.  It's a thing called sacrifice.  My job field isn't in every town or city.  It's very limited to specific locations.  At this point it's easy to say I'm lucky to have a job.

[SignOfZeta]

I don't know what Sparky's and esteban's problem is.  To escape wasting a few precious hours in your car, it makes perfect sense to trade a job/home you love (and where you spend far more time) for something less palatable.  It's even better if it means your wife will end up with the commute or have to find another job, or if you have to send your kids to a shittier school.  Fuck 'em - it's all about ME!

Anyway, what makes zippy think they're offended?  I take offense at disagreement!

It's not about "me" it's about everyone in the family. Even a situation like mine I'm only really able to be home and awake for three or four hours a day. I have to fit all the house work, yard work, automobile maintence, cat shit scooping, etc into the time period. I don't have kids, but if I did seeing them more than an hour a day would be a miracle. If I spent another hour driving that hour with the kids wouldn't exist.

Too many people are worried about "providing" for the family as defined by worldly means. More people should focus on shit that matters. Fuck "quality time", its more about "quantity time". Am I being selfish by saying you should spend more time with the people you care about instead of running the wheels off your car? Why is that? Am I failing to consider all the bankers and tires salesman that will be out out of work? The negative hit to the GDP by not getting a job that incurs so many costs that the increased pay is cancelled out?

People are way too obsessed with that materialistic bullshit. When you are dead and gone your kid isn't going to care if you had a second bathroom or not, he's going to remember all the things you taught him. I didn't have a dad around when I was little, but my grandpa taught me more than any school, shitty or otherwise, ever could.

Here's where you tell me that since I don't have kids I know nothing about family. Come on. Lets hear it.

Don't post while driving though. That shits dangerous.

[roflmao]

It's not about "me" it's about everyone in the family. Even a situation like mine I'm only really able to be home and awake for three or four hours a day. I have to fit all the house work, yard work, automobile maintence, cat shit scooping, etc into the time period. I don't have kids, but if I did seeing them more than an hour a day would be a miracle. If I spent another hour driving that hour with the kids wouldn't exist.

Too many people are worried about "providing" for the family as defined by worldly means. More people should focus on shit that matters. Fuck "quality time", its more about "quantity time". Am I being selfish by saying you should spend more time with the people you care about instead of running the wheels off your car? Why is that? Am I failing to consider all the bankers and tires salesman that will be out out of work? The negative hit to the GDP by not getting a job that incurs so many costs that the increased pay is cancelled out?

People are way too obsessed with that materialistic bullshit. When you are dead and gone your kid isn't going to care if you had a second bathroom or not, he's going to remember all the things you taught him. I didn't have a dad around when I was little, but my grandpa taught me more than any school, shitty or otherwise, ever could.

Here's where you tell me that since I don't have kids I know nothing about family. Come on. Lets hear it.

Don't post while driving though. That shits dangerous.

I've got a kid and agree 100%.  I dropped a good paying job as an Art Director for a multi-media company that deals with large clients internationally because I was never around my wife and kid.  I've been freelancing from home ever since and love being able to arrange my work schedule around family time.

[esteban]

Hahahaha! Clearly, I am not opposed to "less commuting for all"...it's just silly to think that everyone is fortunate enough to work locally.

I didn't think I'd have to spell it out, but I see that I do:

I correctly identified Zeta's post as "overly-simplistic" because it is based, naively, on one factor (cost-benefit analysis of commute time for local vs. distant job).

Just for starters, here are the things that Zeta is conveniently ignoring:
(1) geographical location of family/friends (I live close to my family and friends)
(2) quality of school system (the better schools are in the more affluent towns)
(3) public parks and facilities
(4) cultural wasteland? Or easy, convenient access to arts & entertainment & universities & museums & etc.
(5) COMPROMISE: Spouse has local job (Zeta approves!) so only one poor bastard (Esteban) commutes  

I could go on and on (as already pointed out, local job market is an important issue, depending on your career ), but the key point is that Zeta is overly simplistic in his analysis and ignoring MAJOR factors that many (most) families deal with.

Plus, I called Zeta out for being self-righteous. He is.

I love Zeta, but that doesn't mean I can't disagree with him.  

[turboswimbz]

These were exactly the two views I was hoping to get from you guys.

I'm 26, I have no "family" per say.  But I take care of my parents house since my mom is disabled and my dad doesn't really have the energy anymore and things are starting to become old and fall apart.  Plus unfourtanly I cannot afford to live in this state with out multiple roommates.   

I don't mind driving right now, as it is a full time job for a relatively new college grad., Masters student.  But honestly I leave at 7 and get home at 7:30.  I don't have much time to do other things without become exhuasted.  So as much as I love living on the beach well away from the hustle and bustle of Philly and New York, and it was great growing up, It really stinks to drive so much.  I'm kinda cuaght in the middle ATM, and I'm not sure which is better.  But it's good to see it works out either way.

[Sparky]

Zeta if you understand my situation then why did reply the way ya did? as it sure felt you were grouping me in with your views? maybe you did not mean it but its the way you word shit man.
Your a bit of alright in my books so whatever i don't care and will sleep good tonight.... aaand maybe you speak some truth to me about missing out on family time <<blush>> truth can hurt.

[syphic]

I drive about 40 miles each way to and from work in brutal Los Angeles traffic. Sucks but love my job!

[roflmao]

I drive about 40 miles each way to and from work in brutal Los Angeles traffic. Sucks but love my job!

I used to commute from San Diego up to LA every day and THAT was brutal.  That job didn't last very long...

[syphic]

Yeah I live out in Riverside and drive all the way out to Pasadena. I hit about 4 freeways just to get here.

[esteban]

Yeah I live out in Riverside and drive all the way out to Pasadena. I hit about 4 freeways just to get here.

Ha! I lived in Riverside (near UC). Small world 

[VestCunt]

Most of the population could benefit from Zeta's message of "spend less, do more", but I'm reluctant to judge too harshly for a number of reasons:
1) everything Esteban listed
2) some people don't have a choice. If a girl gets knocked up when she's 19 or if a breadwinner suddenly gets laid off, there's no time to be choosey about job locations.
3) there's nothing inherently wrong with commuting in an developed country - Esteban's daily train ride sounds flipping sweet. The problem is our transportation system in the U.S. is totally fucked. Yeah, we can choose where to live, but that fact that almost all city planning and development is built around cars and sprawl means that someone's going to get fucked. We subsidize the auto industry with free roads while they brainwash us into "needing" cars and finance politicians to fight mass transit. Streetcars in Minneapolis were bankrupted by outside investors in the '40s for GM payola. We could spend commutes socializing, thinking, and working, instead we sit in boxes shouting at each other.

[syphic]

Esteban no way dude! Im actually in Corona but UCR isn't too far away.

[TheClash603]

Let's just make Buffalo, NY the TG16 mecca.  Traffic isn't bad, because the city's population has declined and the roadways were made for a higher populace.  You guys know you wanna come.

[jeffhlewis]

Most of the population could benefit from Zeta's message of "spend less, do more", but I'm reluctant to judge too harshly for a number of reasons:
1) everything Esteban listed
2) some people don't have a choice. If a girl gets knocked up when she's 19 or if a breadwinner suddenly gets laid off, there's no time to be choosey about job locations.
3) there's nothing inherently wrong with commuting in an developed country - Esteban's daily train ride sounds flipping sweet. The problem is our transportation system in the U.S. is totally fucked. Yeah, we can choose where to live, but that fact that almost all city planning and development is built around cars and sprawl means that someone's going to get fucked. We subsidize the auto industry with free roads while they brainwash us into "needing" cars and finance politicians to fight mass transit. Streetcars in Minneapolis were bankrupted by outside investors in the '40s for GM payola. We could spend commutes socializing, thinking, and working, instead we sit in boxes shouting at each other.

To your point - payola back in the day to screw mass transit definitely was real (thank you "history of the automobile 101" in college!). Though I think the bigger problem is simply the fact that the US is too damn big to have a concise and sustainable mass transit system, outside of the biggest metropolitan areas.

Trust me - if there was a way for me to get from Milwaukee to Racine for work by train (and affordably - there is Amtrak stop down there but at $30 per day, plus the fact that the stop is 10 miles from my office, that ain't happening), I would jump on it right away. Quiet time to nap, get work done, read a book - hell yeah!

When I have meetings in downtown Chicago though, this totally works (plus the company pays for it) - I can walk to the Amtrak station from my apartment in Milwaukee and be at union station in Chicago in 1.5 hours. Can't beat it.