For "country dwellers"....how long is your DH's commute to work?

[ChristusG]

I think I may have found my dream home. It's on 2.5 acres, dead end rd, cant see the neighbors, etc. I can have a garden, we can get some goats, we can have room to store our camper!!! But it is further out than what we live now. DH already has to drive 45 minutes to work. This would tack on about 15 additional minutes. Is that crazy? I would REALLY love to live here. Well....at least I think I would. I've seen the images, watched the virtual tour, drove by the house, and viewed the satellite images and everything looks great. Tomorrow we get to go inside! But I'm wondering if DH will veto it due to the driving time? I hope not!

[Carrie12345]

I would do it in a heartbeat! But that could be because dh's commute is longer than that! ;)

 

Depending on whether he's going to the office or a job site, his commute could be 1.5-2hrs. Maybe more if traffic is really bad, but he tries to drive during off-peak hours. I HATE IT. It's taken him a few years to admit he hates it, because he's the one who fell in love with this house in this area.

 

To be fair, he worked more from home when we first moved here.

[JenAL]

My DH's drive is about 40 mins now. We are trying to sell our current home & purchase one a little closer to work. It will still be in the "country" just a little closer.

[Laura Corin]

Husband drives 30 minutes. We are on the edge of a village, with fields all around but only a mile to the village hall. We are equidistant between two small towns, each 15 minutes away.

 

Laura

[SeekingSimplicity]

My dh only drives 20 minutes to work, but he doesn't go all the way into town. If he did, it would be 30-60 miles depending on the town.

[amy g.]

We are an hour from dh's work-an hour and a half if there is traffic. Dh drives 20 minutes to the freeway, then the van takes him to work. He sleeps on the van.

 

None of us mind. Living here more than makes up for the distance.

[Guest CarolineUK]

Different part of the world (UK), but my dh is based at two different sites, one 45 minutes away from home, the other one hour. He's very happy to do the drive as the town we live in is a wonderful place to bring up children and our house is very special (and was his choice more than mine). To be fair the commute is quite straightforward, just a couple of very long roads which are never really too congested.

 

Go for it!

[4kiddies]

I live in the country on 4 acres and have all the ammenities you described. We moved here almost 2 years ago knowing that at best my husband's commute would be 1 hour and could go up to 2-3 hours each way depending on which client he was seeing that day. He does get to work from home on average 2 days a week so that does help.

[RoughCollie]

It takes DH 35 minutes to get to his office from our house. That's why we live here. We found a too-small house and a large enough office in the same area at a price we can afford.

 

We live between two small towns, and DH's office is in one of them. DH is self-employed.

[MomtoCandJ]

About 15 minutes for work, 30 to 45 minutes for school depending on traffic (tractors)

[vettechmomof2]

hubbies is 1 hour one way and mine is 45 minutes one way.

[Melinda in VT]

We wouldn't live here if we didn't both work from home. DH and I both just feel life is too short to spend it commuting. Forty-five minutes is too long as it is, but an hour would drive me crazy.

 

In fact, if I were the sole wage earner and my spouse wanted to increase my commute, I would not be happy. I'd think it was pretty selfish.

 

Just sharing how *I* would feel. Obviously, others feel differently.

 

But if your DH shows any hesitation over the commute, I think you should not do it.

 

eta: I might feel differently if the commute was via public transportation or car pooling. That time is less wasted.

[tricia]

It takes my husband about 35 minutes to get to work. When we lived in CO several years ago he drove 80 miles one way. I had 5 young children at the time and that was tough on us.

[Firefly]

Fortunately DH gets to work from home most days. Work is about 30 mins away on the days he goes into the office. He has done an hour commute for a past job though. It wasn't great, but manageable. The way I feel about it, jobs come and go. DH and I decided long ago we'd pick where we love to live FIRST, then find the jobs. He was offered a really good position a few years back which would have been quite a bit more money, but it would have required a move to Boston and for DH to travel at least once a month. We turned it down. Quality of life is more important to us and we were (are)comfortable where we were. So no, I don't think it's crazy... if it's really your dream property I'd say go for it!

[DJgang]

My husband drives 40 minutes to one of our businesses...and from there another 30 minutes to our other business...

 

Being out in the country and away from people is very worth it!

 

However, we are only 15 minutes from *town* where I grocery shop and we go to church etc.

[Wildiris]

80 acres of unusable land, but beautiful.

1.5 hrs to town, hospital or dentist.

Commute time-2min. he works at home. Before unemployment 1.5-2hr.commute time.

 

Kids love it when little. Teens hate it when older. Too far from town and friends.

[Sunkirst]

Right now my dh is 17 minutes to work, and he bikes all summer (about 40 minutes - but then he doesn't need to go to the gym, so his day is actually the same length).

We are also currently looking at "our dream house," and it's about 30 minutes to his work, but almost all highway driving. We've looked at other houses that were a bit closer, but much of the driving was traffic lights etc, and it felt much longer even though it wasn't. My DH has made the drive to his work as part of our research with every place we have considered, and it is a prime consideration with us (35 minutes is our limit!)

 

That said, I hope your DH goes for the drive - sometimes the dream house is worth it!

[Tree House Academy]

We have 60 acres on the top of a mountain. About 20 acres of that is usable farmland, the rest is forest. My dh does a 2 hour round trip to his job everyday...however, he made sure that when he took the job, the pay was worth the drive. ;)

 

I am 10 minutes from "town" where I can get groceries, clothes, fast food (3 of those), and eat at restaurants (mostly Mexican and mom/pop places as the options are limited here).

 

For a trip to wal-mart, the kids' doctor, orthodontist, dentist, etc. the drive is 45 mins to an hour (one way). To go to our co-op, we drive 45 mins one way.

 

You get used to it. When I lived in Knoxville, it took the same amount of time to get places as it does here...I just sat still in traffic rather than driving that entire time!! LOL I wouldn't trade the creek, the mountains, the farm, or the amazing views (and PRIVACY) for all of the "city life" in the world! I did big city life for about 10 years. The country is my home now.

 

ETA: I want goats!!!! :) We have about 20 chickens running around the yard as I type. I love them. I can't imagine moving somewhere that I couldn't have ducks, chickens, pigs, cows, and goats. :)

Edited April 8, 2010 by Tree House Academy

[TravelingChris]

We;ve done some longer commutes and some shorter ones. We now choose to do half hour max commutes. My dh travels and travels a lot. It isn't fun for him. He traveled this week, will travel next week, and the following week after that. He then works normally 11 hour days at the office. He doesn't want a long commute and we don't either. Oh and we don't live in the country but managed to find a house in the woods with 3/4 acre and a 20-30 minute commute to the Pentagon.

[Rosie_0801]

An hour is a pretty good commute, as far as we're concerned! We commuted longer than that when we lived *in* the city. I think it depends how you travel. My dh doesn't drive, so a commute on the country train is quite nice for him. He pulls out his laptop, studies, reads his FB, makes chainmail and has a nice time in his cave. By the time he gets home, he's completely unwound from his day and is able to actually interact with us. I never minded commuting on the country train either; I'd read or study.

 

My Dad hated the commute. He either drove and was ferocious by the time he got to work, or he caught the suburban train and had his personal space invaded or just nodded off. He didn't read back then. That might have helped. He never wanted to talk to any of us when he got home.

 

Rosie

[JoyfulMama]

I think you have to figure your commute and your time at work together. DH is currently working 12 hrs, adding the commute on top of that. When he started, he was working 10hrs, and we added the 35 minute commute onto that, for 11 hrs total. Now it's 13 hrs total. We are both really glad we chose to stay at ~30 minute commute maximum.

 

And we are on more than 10 acres, 25 minutes minimum to anything other than 3 beer distributors, a couple small pizza places, a couple churches, a donut shop, and OUR LIBRARY. (Who needs anything more?) But our drives to places are BEAUTIFUL , so I don't mind it a bit. It does force me to really evaluate whether a trip is justified, and I love being at this home. Deer can be rather brazen, though. :glare: Oh, and the snakes have now come out of hibernation. :smash:

[Stacy in NJ]

It can be quite stressful.

[SproutMamaK]

How is the drive? Are we talking packed rush-hour traffic on the highway, or out of the way country roads?

[MeanestMomInMidwest]

My husband and I both drive one hour to work (opposite directions, different days/times). We live on 13 acres and consider the longer drive a good trade-off.

[Amber in AUS]

We have lived in several places where the commute was 40 - 50 mins depending on traffic and conditions. 1 hour would be the absolute max commute for us, at 1 hour each way my DH would be loosing 10 hours per week with his family. That time is precious, kids are only little once. Currently he is working 1 3/4 hours from home and he goes to work on a Monday and comes home on a Friday. Next week we move to a new house 50 mins commute so he can he home every night.

 

Before you make any decisions drive out to the house and then drive with your DH the exact route he will need to drive for work and do it during peak time to see how long it really is.