My Commute is Killing Me

Why Look for a New Job

The second most common reason I hear for looking for a new job, right after “my boss is a jerk,”  is “my commute is killing me.”

Up before the sun, trundling the kids off to day care when they’re not even awake yet, driving for an hour and sometimes even longer just to get to the work site.  Returning home in the dark, supper is over and the kids are asleep and you can’t even remember what your spouse looks like.  This is how many people spend their days.

The Cost of a Commute

But what is it worth to find a closer job?  There are a couple of different approaches to this.

Purely Numbers

Mileage driven to and from the job times federal mileage rate for the year times number of days per year you commute.  Plus tolls.

Your hourly rate times the number of hours you spend in the car going to/from work.

Purely Emotional

Getting to see your family, friends (e.g., playing with your children (or pets) while the sun is still up in the middle of the week, not just on the weekends; going to school plays, on a date with your significant other.  Spending time anyone who means anything to you.  Remember those people?

Dating (period).  I know people who work and commute so much they can’t find time to date or go out with friends at all.

Sleeping more than four to six hours a night.

Go to the gym, hike in the woods, ski, skate, or participate any number of hobbies that you don’t have time for now because you are either at work or in the car going to or coming from work.

Happy Blend

The best way to calculate what a shorter commute means to you is a combination of the financial and the emotional.  This still requires you to do some serious soul searching to determine what is important to you, but it’s well worth the effort.

Examples of Happiness at a Price

I know someone who took a job that paid $30,000 less per year for a new job just because it was in the same town as their parents and they wanted their children to grow up knowing their grandparents.

Another person took a pay cut for a commute that allowed him to bike to work versus a three-hour round trip commute every day.

Another person accepted a lesser salary because the company allowed him to bring his dog to work.

Know what makes you happen and what you are willing to give up to get it and follow your heart.