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Work commutes?

Kat

Kat

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How many of you commute to go to work and how long does it take? Do you deal with a lot of traffic?

My husband looked at three houses in McKinney, TX today and the furthest one out is the one I just LOVE. The furniture is all brand new and comes with. Check it out...

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/6716-Mission-Rdg-Mc-Kinney-TX-75071/83764521_zpid/

It's stunning. :flirty But we need to be reasonable about how far we'd like to drive. Also my hubby loves the other house he saw which had a huge backyard and a pool... but I still love this one best... and to not have to buy any furniture is a huge bonus.

BUT, it would be a 30 minute drive (and that may be without traffic) and also a toll road on the drive.
 
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Think of traffic flow, do most people go one way or the other to get to work? Would you be going with all the masses or going the opposite direction? It sure is nice to NOT be going the same way as most people. I don't mind driving 30 minutes as long as it's not stop and go traffic the whole way.

Sometimes toll roads MAKE it less traveled, so an easier drive.
 
Um...I'd commute to live there! For us, we just picked a town we liked and we'll probably stay here unless the commute were more than 60minutes. I don't think a half hour is too bad. That's about spot on for what my husband's is. :)

That house is GORGEOUS!
 
30 min. isn't that bad! Is the house worth it to you? (that's what I would be asking myself ;) ) It's beautiful by the way! I think my favorite room is the one with the floors and the stone fireplace! STUNNING! :beat
 
I commute 30-40 minutes each way, depending on traffic. It was hard to get used to at first, but now I don't mind it. We are also going to start a pilot program in our directorate where I will get to work from home 1 day a week (assuming the schedule for that week allows it), and I'm really excited to get to try that!
 
I don't think 30 minutes is bad. DH has abt a 30 minute drive to school and to work, and while he'd like to live closer, the neighborhoods/schools leave something to be desired any closer than we are now.

I would take into consideration how much the toll is per day (and how much it will cost to buy one of those speed passes + toll) and how much gas it will take to get to work. If you really like and are going to use all the furniture in the house, it might even out the 30 minute commute.
 
My commute is only about 10 minutes and that's the most I'd ever want to do after driving 40+ minutes for years and that doesn't include the daycare stop. The extra time each day, plus the savings in gas is wonderful. My husband's commute is about 15 minutes only because he starts at 5:30 . . . if it were during rush hour it would be 30+ because of the darn start/stop heavy traffic.

As gas prices are rising, factor the gas/toll/vehicle expense into your budget for sure!
 
I have to drive 30 minutes, each way, I don't live in the U.S. But for a house like that, I would not mind travelling upto an hour each way:)
 
I used to travel around 30mins for my work and I found it quite good from the point of view that by the time I got home I was completely switched off from work mentally.
 
I wish I had a 30 minute commute! I drive about an hour - sometimes more - to my job. My former job was an hour in the opposite direction. I will probably move closer as soon as I can save some money because the tolls are about $9 a day and it adds up. Traffic hasn't been bad since I started in November, but expect that to change in the summer as lots of people join me driving to the Jersey Shore everyday!

That house is beautiful, too!
 
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I don't think 30 minutes is bad at all! I did a 20-25 minute commute when we lived in San Diego. Now my total commute time, including 2 daycare stops (uh yea, we're still waiting on my oldest to get into the daycare that my youngest is in) is 45 minutes. That'll be cut to about 30-35 minutes once my oldest gets into the other daycare.
 
Hey, we'd be almost neighbors! That's about 25 minutes from me. :) I don't get up to McKinney often, so I'm not sure on specific patterns up there, but if it's a 30 minute drive without traffic, then you'd probably be looking at 40-45 on a typical day. Dh drove that for years, and it wasn't his favorite thing, but it wasn't awful. Not sure if it makes a difference between your two choices, but another factor can be the sun. I used to travel for my work, and the areas where we'd end up having to drive while looking directly into the sun, sometimes so blinding that you couldn't even see the traffic signals, I found to be particularly brutal.
 
i dont technically :p but i drive my bf to work a few times a week.. through boston rush hour traffic. it's pleasant. haha. it takes about 1hr - 1.5 hrs during the commute hours..(heck who am i kidding, one time a couple years ago i got stuck in traffic for 2 hrs)... and then i turn around and drive right back home :p I'm kinda the worlds greatest gf. :p
 
LeeAndra said:
I don't think 30 minutes is bad. DH has abt a 30 minute drive to school and to work, and while he'd like to live closer, the neighborhoods/schools leave something to be desired any closer than we are now.

I would take into consideration how much the toll is per day (and how much it will cost to buy one of those speed passes + toll) and how much gas it will take to get to work. If you really like and are going to use all the furniture in the house, it might even out the 30 minute commute.
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Scott is checking the toll fees... That's a concern and gas prices are a huge concern. I just spent 60.00 to fill up our tank. We'll be investing in more efficient cars in the next year.

We would use all of the furniture. I am basing that on the photos but it all looks like it fits my style. The only thing I am not sure about is white couches... we'd probably slip cover them to keep them safe from our dogs and cats. We'd really like leather furniture eventually but we could use the couches in the other rooms (like the study) where the dogs won't go.
 
KimJ said:
Hey, we'd be almost neighbors! That's about 25 minutes from me. :) I don't get up to McKinney often, so I'm not sure on specific patterns up there, but if it's a 30 minute drive without traffic, then you'd probably be looking at 40-45 on a typical day. Dh drove that for years, and it wasn't his favorite thing, but it wasn't awful. Not sure if it makes a difference between your two choices, but another factor can be the sun. I used to travel for my work, and the areas where we'd end up having to drive while looking directly into the sun, sometimes so blinding that you couldn't even see the traffic signals, I found to be particularly brutal.
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Yeay! Neighbors!! You make a great point about the sun, I hate driving into the sun, it's dangerous if you ask me... That's my fear though, is that the drive will be 45 minutes. My parents live about 50 minutes from me right now and the drive is exhausting really... it's just interstate but making it twice in one day wears you out.

The other thing I think about is how I don't want to spend too much time wasted on the road driving. In the hopefully near future, we'll either be adopting kids or having our own (hopefully) so I don't want driving to take away from time with our family or doing things we enjoy.
 
pagefrocks said:
My commute is only about 10 minutes and that's the most I'd ever want to do after driving 40+ minutes for years and that doesn't include the daycare stop. The extra time each day, plus the savings in gas is wonderful. My husband's commute is about 15 minutes only because he starts at 5:30 . . . if it were during rush hour it would be 30+ because of the darn start/stop heavy traffic.

As gas prices are rising, factor the gas/toll/vehicle expense into your budget for sure!
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I currently drive about 12 minutes to work (sometimes less) and I can get anywhere I want to go that fast. I prefer that and when we considered our place here, it had to be close to campus b/c Scott was going to school and eventually we both started working there. For about 5 years, I was less than 5 minutes from work. It sure helps out when you run late, which is frequently a problem.
 
Wowza! That house is ginormous and gorgeous in every single room!

I'm no help on the commute. I literally live .3 miles from my work. I walk in the summer.
 
For the DFW area, a 45-60 minute commute isn't that bad. My stepdaughter lives in Ft. Worth and she works there as well as she is a total city girl but when we go to visit, frequently, I just want to pull my hair out from the traffic. LOL I used to drive 40 minutes when I worked in downtown Little Rock but 12 years ago got this awesome job in the same town so I have like a 6 minute commute. I Love it!
 
My drive without traffic is 15 minutes or so. I go to work early and leave early to avoid traffic that could add another 20 minutes or so to my commute. So maybe staggering your time could help.

It is a really nice house. Those couches already look slipcovered to me so those might be removeable for washing already.
Do you guys want a pool with the dogs? If you can do the maintenance and want one then maybe you should consider Scott's option. Texas Summers are hot!
 
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