I used to have a 22 mile drive to work, but when I moved to Eagle Lake, it jumped to 40 miles. I only did that for a few months. Since I only go to school now, its about 12 miles, perfect amount of time to have some breakfast on the run.

It takes me 40-45 minutes. I live 10 minutes from the e-way and my job is right off the e-way.

I cruise 82 MPH in the Honda on I-75. Not a bad drive. Can be a nightmare in the winter, though.

82mph? What kind of RPM'* do you see... I'd be doing about 3600

Was doing 25-30 each way in the summer, but when I moved in december It'* cut down to about 4 now.

I don't see why some ppl live 40+ miles from their jobs however, juust seems a big waste of time, money, extra miles on the car..

Here in San Diego, some people went 120+ miles outside town (sometimes into Riverside county) to find affordable housing during the crazy housing build-up / run-up in the late 90'* to early 2000'*.

Now that those same remote "bedroom communities" are falling fastest, those schmucks are now stuck with 3+ hour commutes, $4/gallon gas for their SUV'*, and inverted housing values with balloon mortgages coming due.

Suckahs! Their pain could become my ticket to realizing my dream of retiring early and becoming a slumlord :P ...er, ah, I meant landlord.
(Gonna be alot of good values in real estate around here in a few years )

Lucky I bought in '97, so I could "afford" a <15 minute commute (as long as I leave by 6:30am)...not to mention a good fixed mortgage rate.

No, not that bad - 3100. I still get 37 MPG out of her even with the mileage creeping up on it (now at 86,000 miles). I've done NOTHING to the car except oil changes and a set of tires. Kinda nice, actually.

Well, you have to consider that some people work in volitle job markets. For example, I worked in the automotive industry for a long time. That industry defines volitle. It'* simply not practical for people to move every 9-15 months to a new plant everytime something gets consolidated or restructured. Not only would relocating with those swings be taxing on a family and kids, but have you seen what the average real estate sale commission is? It'* 7% around here. On 200K, 14K is a lot to give up. So, you do what you gotta do. Without relocation plans, people are forced to pick up that slack in other areas. Namely, longer commutes.

Definitely a great way to get ahead, but it'* not all roses. Remember, as the housing market starts to dwindle, rents commensurate.

Thank you for giving our economy hope

That hasn't happened here...yet. Rents are skyrocketing even as people are walking away (or being forced out of) their homes. I attribute this to:

So many people have walked away from their mortgages (and can't afford rent) that there are literally armies of people who have banded together, bought dilapidated RV'*, and roam around in their mobile encampments, looking for places to park. They've even started to infiltrate the suburban neighborhoods because the police have driven them away from the beaches and industrial parks.

Heck, up in LA and Orange counties, these people en masse have driven the illegal immigrants out of their shantytowns and moved in.

It'* crazy here, I tell ya. It'* like a Hippie / Mad Max / Armageddon thing going on. Crime is on the bigtime upswing, unfortunately

In a few years, the oversupply of people will have moved away, and real estate will become somewhat reasonable again (especially after the bank bailout spigot runs dry). Then rents will fall again, enticing people to come back. Crime will be low, and local gov'ts will be offering incentives to business.

Looking back, that was exactly the post-bubble situation I encountered when i moved here in '93.

All this will be just in time for the next bubble...which I fully intend to get in on :P

I hope you get paid well. My longest distance job was about 40 miles each way and my shortest job was about a mile away. All while driving V8 cars but then again gas was much much cheaper.

Alright I am home now... 60 mile trip (one way) turned into a 90 mile trip (one way) because the map google gave me would have landed me in a cornfield.... drove around for a little while, then got some directions... google was only 15 miles off

anyway, yeah I do get paid okay, 9.00 an hour, plus .32c a mile and i get paid for time in the car on top of mileage. So today i made somewhere near 140 bucks ( I got more in mileage than hours...)

P.*. and now I need new rotors and pads....