How bad/unhealthy is your commute?
 

A Forbes poll named Riverside/San Bernadino CA (pop only about 4 million) as the area with the worst/most unhealthy commute in the country.

Surprisingly the NYC metro area ranked only # 19 - even thought with almost 20 million people it has many times the population. The reason - so many public transit options. The areas that ranked worst force almost all commuters into cars due to limited public transit.

Others high on the list: #2 Atlanta, #3 LA, #4 Houston.

So - how bad is your commute?

(I'm consulting primarily from home now - so I can say from the bedroom to my office - previously third bedroom used by step-daugther #2).

In my area, many people move out of what they perceive as the "dangerous" city to far flung suburbs, not realizing that their commute is in fact more dangerous.

I wonder if any of those who have died in accidents in other places participated in that "poll?"

Haha Dukey good one. That is not based on a poll though, it is simple transportation/crime statisitcs.

My commute's a snap. 5 miles round-trip on surface streets in Seattle.

My commute is easy too - I live about 2.5 miles from my house. When the weather is nice, I ride my bike.

My husband's commute is about 15 miles, and if he drove, it would really suck. But he takes public transportation, so it is pretty easy.

I have a commute of 1 hour 20 minutes and I despise it. Very unhealthy, especially mentally.

San Francisco here.

Going to work: 1.5 blocks to the bus stop, 3 blocks from the bus to work.

Going home, a different bus right at the door. From bus to home 4.5 blocks. Usually more as I get off at different stops for different reasons: pharmacy, groceries, wine shop, health foods, banking.

Waiting for a bus is usually from zero to 15 minutes. If I'm at work early, more Internet time, woo-hoo :)

I have a 35 minute commute, half of which is on the interstate usually just after rush hour although the only time traffic is bad is Friday evenings when weekenders and vacationers are also heading north. That's what I get for living in a popular vacation area. After I leave the interstate, I can stop at a local farmer's to buy fresh corn or, a bit further down the road stop for apples or across the street choose some bedding plants. I'll pass by a farm where the afternoon light always makes the grass look a gorgeous shade of emerald. And then in a little bit I can see the mountain in the next town.

My commute is terrible . . . I have to walk to work . . . all the way from the bedroom to the office.

Poor me!!!

Mine is easy too. Hoboken to NYC:

10-15 min walk to the PATH train

15 min on the PATH

5 min walk to work

What does unnerve me, is when the PATH steps up their security.

I know the people in uniform carrying huge machine looking like guns are there to protect if something happens (and I'm glad they are) but their presence always makes me more nervous on my way to work.

My commute is 40 minutes and is very unhealthy for me! Especially since by the time I get home in the evenings, I am starving and willing to eat any not good for me morsel I can find! LOL!

Mine is 23 miles, and varies from 30 to 40 minutes, except now in snow and horrendous ice weather as we have had for 5 or 6 weeks already. Last week one night it was 1 hour and 35 minutes.

It's in open countryside for at least 1/2. And honestly sometimes it is just so beautiful that I want to take pictures, but it is not a bad communte compared to lots of other people in my area.

There are no commuter trains that go where I go, not even in that direction.

It is unhealthy in that my entire workday is too long- more than 11 hours. I had a longer commute, more dangerous for traffic conditions absolutely, but a much shorter day and had time for a health club. I miss it tremendously- that aspect.

You could never do anything I do from home.

Listening to the radio can make any commute either more or less conducive to good health.

Both the programming as well as the commercials on radio can disgust, anger, agitate or calm, sooth, inspire, etc.

Neglected to greatest potential hazard listening to _anything_ while driving has: distracting one from the road

30mi-1wy. not so much bad or unhealthy unless you account for onlookers and map readers in front of you. mostly hazardous.

other than that, its super boring. beach on my left going to work and then on my right coming home. sigh. such is life. :D

Step out of door, go through parking lot, enter work.

That's a long enough commute for me!

I commute 26 miles each way in Maryland, about 15 of which are on back roads. Those are usually relaxing and pleasant, the only stress is watching out for deer. The 50 minutes or so it takes is my time to listen to CDs, catch up on news and occasionaly listen to a book. Before a trip I play language CDs. Not bad at all.

Audiobooks are the only thing that keep me sane with regards to severe commuting.

Mine is 30 minutes, and involves a 3/4 mile walk to the subway, and then a 3/4 mile walk from the subway to my office. I have to use my shoulder to shove myself onto the subway, at which point I'm usually wedged into someone's armpit. The subway car is invariably 90 degrees, but it's like I can move my arms in order to take off my jacket. It's even more fun when it rains and the subway reeks of a wet dog and there are people umbrellas staining your jacket. I'm also probably gripping a bacteria infested subway pole in order to maintain my balance when the conductor slams on the brakes at 40 miles an hour. And don't even get me started on the people...

When I lived in New Orleans, my commute was wonderful. I lived in the city & worked in the suburbs so my drive was against traffic and consisted of St. Charles Ave. with the streetcars, oak trees, beautiful mansions and pretty joggers. 20 minutes door-to-door.

My current commute however, is hell. I live in NJ now. 45 minutes on a good day on the Garden State Parkway. No scenery to speak of. Plus the rude driver percentage around here is considerably higher than in other parts of the country.

The New Yorker magazine had a good article on commuting


http://tinyurl.com/2g8zfp

12 miles and about 20 minutes by car. No commuter train here as an option. Not a bad commute, and I just try not to think about the price of gas.

kauai_aka-

I was on Kauai for business a few months back, the first time I'd been to Kauai in years. The drive from Lihue to Hanalei was . . . interesting. Map readers, ocean gazers, chicken watchers and then the locals pulling out right in front of you (probably in a desperate move to get in front of the 30 mph caravan). :)

My daily commute is about 12 miles each way. I'm at work around 6 am so I can avoid sitting in traffic for an hour. I park my car a 10 minute walk from work because downtown parking is so expensive. Going home average drive time is about 45 minutes.

23 miles, 1 hour 15 minutes - 20 of which is just getting into the city and to my parking garage which costs $120 a month. Took 3 hours last winter when it snowed - Harrisburg cant' handle it when it snows and it takes 2 hours just to get out of city. Am trying for a job that would only be 8 miles... when I lived in Sarasota it was 1.5 from house to city Hall - those were the days! My quality of life totally sucks here. Can't wait to leave.

I find this survey very dubious, as they did not rate the D.C. metro area as #1. I live in suburban Maryland, and it takes me at minimum an hour and 20 mins. using Metro buses to Metro rail. Due to the (still) high cost of housing, many people have no choice but to live way out of the area and commute in.

Ten years ago, while living in the Chicago suburbs, I had a very unhealthy commute: 5 min drive to METRA station, 10 min to park & wait for train, 45 min express METRA train ride, 15 min walk to office. In winter I had to cross over the Chicago river to get to the Loop, this is why they call it the WINDY city. We moved to Columbus, OH and now I live 4 miles from work, an easy 10-15 min commute on surface streets, no huge monthly public transportation ticket or parking fees. Feels like I got back 2 hours a day!

lizzie...the nyc subway?

my commute is nearly an hour.
a few minutes walk or quick lift to the train station. 40 minute train ride. 7-8 minutes walk to work. i don't mind because i'd rather live where i live, with the rest of civilization. and not in the city, "close to work". i used to commute 2 hours and 10 minutes each way. for the most part i didn't mind it, i liked the job. and the worst 6 minutes of that commute was once i got to the subway.

LT makes a greeat point about Washington, DC. My house on the Eastern Shore goes for about $ 400,000. To get one at a similar cost closer to DC I would have to buy a house in a place like Lanham-Seabrook or New Carrollton. I grew up in PG county and don't want to go back.

Liz- back in the dark ages when I was a HS student I commuted on the subway from the near end of the line in Brooklyn to my school on 135th street in Manhattan - in the rush hour - carrying a french horn -with my friend who carried a cello. Now THAT was a commute.

I guess you could say I have an unhealthy commute: 1/2 hour drive to 6:22am train, 1 hour on the train, 30-45 minutes from South Station to my office in Cambridge. I wouldn't do it without the train since I am suseptible to road rage and the Southeast Expressway (8 minutes 35 minutes in rush hour) is the worst!!! The office is moving to Back Bay so that takes 1/2 hour off the commute. I do work at home one day a week.

From PG/Montgomery Cty to Annapolis...35-75 minutes each way, depending upon traffic and accident(s) on the Beltway.

I hate it. I wish my job would move into DC so I could take metro. I'd rather have a 40 minute commute on the train; I find driving very stressful.

Monmouth County New Jersey to Teaneck New Jersey- 68 miles each way, one traffic light....1 hour to 3 hours EACH way, Average is 4 hours a day...

Good news- I do work from home 2 days a week...but the commute almost kills me....

15 more years !

I do not envy any of you with those horrible commutes. I always knew I was fortunate, the commute from our house to our business in the next city was about 15 minutes max whether it was via freeways or the back road.

So many people around here have a good 90 minutes or more each way daily during the week. Very tiresome and stressful. And there was an article in the SF Chronicle on Sunday regarding employees in SF that work in Sacramento. They spend over 3 hours each way to commute back and forth to work. I cannot even imagine.

Mine is 20 miles and takes about an hour, taking a bus to our light rail. I don't drive, so I'm used to public transit.

I live in the western suburbs of Chicago. My home is 25 miles from my work location. If I worked days it would take me 2 hours to get home at night.

This is why I have worked midnights for the past 5 years (which is another type of stress). I can get to work in <30 minutes and home in <60 minutes.

Less than 10 steps.

My commute is the distance to my laptop. That varies, but is rarely more than 10 steps :-)

chepar, as much as i love oahu, you can keep H1 and all it's crossroads down to nanakuli.

so i cut off the creeping crawlers, it's usually another local anyway. but i know you know what it means when you can spot a rental a mile away ;) .

and then those rare moments i'd rather drive behind a tourist because they drive as if they're still in the mainland (or honolulu) - aggressive. and if they don't (first visit maybe) at least they give the courtesy to let others go around. tata otoh rarely let you pass.

AND what's up with the map? there's only one road. kinda hard to get lost here isn’t it? i always give my niece a hard time for giving those silly maps away on the plane.

starrs, i hate you. who said you can post? just playing girl :D

I don't know if it's physically unhealthy, but it's a BAD commute. We live in a suburb of Manhattan and my husband drives to the train station, takes the train to Grand Central, walks to the subway then takes the subway a few blocks from his office and walks to the office.

The total travel time is 2 hours and 10 minutes ONE WAY. So he's got a 4 hour and 20 minute daily commute, and he's got a lot of company. 58% of the working population in our town commutes to Manhattan.

I live in the NW Surbrbs of Chicago. About 53 miles from downtown where I work. Drive to station 10 mins. Metra train ride into downtown 1hr. 10 mins (semi-Express. Express is 1 hr.)

I have a 5-minute walk to work! Can I complain that part of it is up a slight hill?