Work for me is a 45+ minute drive and for Chris is 15+ minutes (not so bad) and to Beaver Dam - which we are there almost every weekend to see family and Sydnee is a little over an hour. And while we have a couple of friends that live close by - the majority of our friends are closer to Milwaukee - a 20+ minute drive depending upon which friend. And we aren't really "going out" people so we see our friends occasionally.
While it's not the worst thing in the world, and I know a lot of people travel further, I have to say the drive is the worst part of my job. It makes me stressed out, tired, and honestly makes me not want to go to work some mornings just the thought of someone cutting me off or traffic or anything like that. I've tried several different things - leaving earlier, leaving later, taking different routes, and it still hasn't helped much because no matter what time I go or what route I take the drive is still long. And it hasn't even started to snow yet....
So it got me thinking a lot - what are doing living in Cedarburg so far away from everything? Now thinking back before we renewed our lease I was just starting my new job so we knew only one of us had to drive a long distance. And it was nice when we both worked at Apple and it was a 15-20 minute drive everyday guaranteed. But Chris got his new job after the fact and while his commute time hasn't changed we are both heading in the complete opposite direction we were before.
Ultimately we want to live in Sun Prarie or Madison area because we love it there, and it's so much closer to our family - and we are an extremely family oriented couple. But for now we both have jobs that we like a lot and like having the big city close by.
When I first started getting frustrated with my commute we contemplated moving someplace closer like Germantown or Menomonee Falls but the thought of paying a lot more for rent scared us a bit so we backed off from that idea. But now I'm starting to think that it's the right choice for where we are at in our lives now.
So what do we do?
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| Sydnee's toys illustrate how I feel some mornings! :P |
we would hate to see you guys go, but it sounds like you know what is right for you. You'll still see your friends as often as you'd like to.
ReplyDeleteI know how much commuting can suck. It's awful.
You move.
ReplyDeleteOur family moved six times in 2 1/2 years because it was the best thing for us to do at the time. It sucked, but it is what had to be done. This situation isn't similar, but while the idea of moving (and paying more) can be daunting, there is always a decision that needs to be made and tradeoffs that need to be considered.
Also, figure in the time savings of having a shorter commute not just in money saved on gas, but also in time saved. The time you commute is time you are not getting paid for, and by the sounds of it, you are talking at least an hour extra a day you are currently commuting that would be saved. That's five hours a week, or 20+ hours in a month. What could you do with 20 extra hours? That's ultimately what made my decision to move back to New Ulm that much easier. Cutting my commute from 40+ minutes to 2 minutes (plus not being forced to take a lunch) ultimately gave me back almost 15 hours a week to spend time with my family that I did not get working with Apple.
Good luck.