5-10 minutes by bus, 20 minutes on foot. The walk is relaxing and gets me some exercise. I like it and I like leaving the car at home.

11 minutes. 12 - 13 with traffic. About to become even shorter, because a traffic light is being removed along one of the roads, so I'll be able to sleep 1 minute later...

But seriously, you have consider the quality of life issue, when you are spending hours in a car every day. Some people don't mind, but I like being close to work. I would love to live closer to NYC, but my job is near Trenton, so I live near my job, because I hate getting up early. As it is, I wake up at 6 AM!

About 25 minutes from my house to my desk. I envy people who find the drive relaxing. I don't enjoy driving, and at the end of a tiring day, I hate the thought of having to drive home.

From days of yore when I studied and taught such things, one study after another on this topic revealed that 45 minutes driving, 60 minutes total trip time, door to door, was perceived as acceptable by 80% of those surveyed. Over 45/60 and the number who said it would be okay fell like a brick. Didn't matter what transport mode (car, bus, train, subway) or location (downtown, suburb, etc.) was involved.

Not distance, mind you, but time. Thus in big car-oriented areas like LA, people would always respond to questions regarding geography in units of time, not mileage. I live 30 minutes from Disneyland; I work an hour from home. When asked how far it is in miles from one's home to downtown LA or Hollywood, most people wouldn't have a clue.

Do you have any other options, such as mass transit? A few things I used to do when I had a long commute to work were: 1)Drive to a park/bus site where I could sit on a bus most of the way; 2) Get books on tape, which made the time go faster (they are available at most libraries); 3)Listen to language tapes or listen to classical music; 4)Find someone to share the drive with and alternate driving days.

Now that I live within a 10 minute drive, going the opposite way of traffic both times, I am spoiled for life and hope never to be in that long commute again. You have to weigh the costs of living closer to the city, where the cost of living and housing is higher, against the cost of wear and tear on your car and the high cost of gasoline, not to mention what your time is worth. If you drive an average of 2 hours a day x 5 days a week x 30 years, you are driving away almost 2 years of your life.

My 10 minute bike ride to work really wakes me up!

My 20-year old Chevy only has 39,000 miles on it.

I used to drive 28 miles to get to work in a very busy and stressfull "highway". Took an hour and a half each way. Loved the job but hated the drive.

Changed jobs now I drive 7 miles (through the same street) which takes anything from 15 to 30 minutes. Love the commute, the job is OK. It is barely enogh to decompress after work so sometimes I arrive at home still going through lists and arguments

I must say that the day is much longer now so it was very much worth it!

For years, I commuted into Chicago from the suburbs -- 1:15 door to door, each way. I used to leave the house by 5:30am (or earlier) every day to catch a train downtown. I don't know how I ever did it.

Now I am doing freelance work. While I occasionally have to drive to meetings downtown, my regular "commute" is across my kitchen to the laptop. I love it, and hope I can keep it going for awhile!

5 minutes to work and 10 minutes back (heavier traffic). 1.8 miles!! Live and work in Sarasota, FL, work for the City. But am planning to move to Santa Fe and later Sedona; hopefully won't have much of a commute there either, especially once I have my own counseling practice - hope to live in a zone that allows home offices.

One of the things that probably helped make my commute tolerable is that the company I work for has 35-hour work weeks (and five weeks vacation ). So, during a "normal" week, with a "normal" workload, and "normal" traffic, my combined working/commuting time is 42.5 hours, which is considerable less than it was when I worked closer to home, believe it or not!

It also helps to have a car that gets 50 m.p.g. highway.

Still, I try to park my car on Friday night and not use it again until Monday. I can usually succeed, unless I need something from the garden center. Everything else is within walking distance.

Less than 2/10ths of a mile. I could walk to work in less than a minute but it is too hot.

I did have a commute between 30 minutes and 70 minutes each way depending upon the time of year.

This is much better and my car stopped depreciating at such a rapid pace.

I live on two acres near Queenstown, MD on Maryland's eastern shore. The commute is about 60 miles and takes 1 1/2 hours. I hate it and would love to find an occupation that can support a family and allow me to move further out in the countryside. As I owe only $ 100,000 on a house that would go for about $ 400,000, I would contemplate such a move. Commuting like I do detracts from civilized life and is alienating.

I'm getting very jealous of those with a 10 minute commute! Today wasn't too bad since it's a holiday week. It only took 35 minutes. I hope the drive home is just as easy!

As far as my job is concerned, no it's not an executive type job, but it's with a very large and respected company that has exceptional benefits. I'd be crazy to give it up now.

Public transit is an option, and I have used it in the past, but it's not any faster or cheaper. And with everyone around me on the bus yacking on a cell phone it's often just as stressful.

My lease still has 3 months left, so I have time to ponder the question.

Thanks for everyone's input!

My commute is 45 minutes at best. Worse case scenerio is 1.5 to 2 hrs one way - that's when there is a snow storm. Overall I find it tolerable because 1. I love where I live and don't believe I could find a better situation closer to work and 2. I pretty much like my job and don't believe I could find a better situation closer to home. The drive is mostly highway with a stretch of bumper to bumper.

But we dream of ditching the commutes/jobs and buying an ice cream stand in town.

At least in NY, commuting time depends as much on family status as income level. Single or DINKS can have a reasonably decent commute either by living in the city or one of the many nearby areas like Downtown Brooklyn or Hoboken.

As for my wife and I, and many of our neighbors with pre-school children, we've balanced both by living near NYC in a town that is great with young kids, not so great with school aged kids beyond kindegarten or first grade. The commute from here is about 30 to 35 minutes to either Midtown or Downtown NY which is great for this area of the country.

The real issue becomes what happens once you have children of school age. If you are a NYC professional making a decent living, the really liveable towns all come with commutes of at least an hour, sometimes more. Then the commute time gets balanced between housing price, property taxes, schools, etc.

With us, by the time our son is done with kindegarten, we know we need to double our commute for a more liveable environment.

10-15 minutes. It used to be a great deal longer. Now, I wonder how I ever did it.

Mine is 45 minutes each way, but I suppose because I'm from California that seems reasonable. At least here in Colorado there are no major bridges to cross and the traffic flows, even with T-Rex construction. I don't mind commuting if it allows me to live in the quiet rural neighborhood that I do. It's more than worth it to me.

Happy "Monday"? #39;(

I have a 30' commute.

There are hazards to such short commutes...I had to dodge a laundry pile up when going around the corner of the bed one day.

When Mrs Kal stopped short in the hallway, I nearly rear-ended her.

And when it was "Bike To Work Week" I really banged up my knees on all the door jambs. I should have used my mountian bike in such close quarters.

Seriously, I lived only about 15 miles to my old office but there were about 45 stoplights door to door. VERY aggravating.

We looked into moving to a place about 2 miles away so I'd be closer and Mrs Kal would have a reverse commute but in the days of not trusting Big Corps, we figured as soon as we moved there, they'd close the office and move it to he city we live in now.

Tele-commuting is a very nice way to go if you have the strong work ethic and self-discipline like I do.

My commute time depends on if I commute from the bathroom, kitchen, or bedroom. Usually between two seconds and ten seconds. Traffic conditions are usually favorable and weather conditions are not a problem. The boss has no problem with casual cloths or personal calls. Dogs, Kids, friends, no problem. Lunch breaks and vacations are flexible. The downside is unexpected weekend and holiday work as well as after hours work. Being on call all the time could be a problem for some, but not big deal for me. Life is good.

I will never go back to Corporate America again.

My commute time is less than 5 minutes (less than 2 miles - 1 stoplight). I would walk, but it is not a walker friendly area - no sidewalks and a 5 lane highway to cross.