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Comment by Eric_WVGG | Hacker News Reader

A two hour daily commute is like 12% of your waking hours crumpled and thrown away. That sounds like hell.

Two hours is a long time! Sit around for the two hours doing nothing, you'll see.

A two hour commute (assuming one hour each way) is very very common. I did it for years when I lived in the suburbs and worked downtown. About an hour door-to-door each way, with the train ride being about 45 minutes of that.

Average US commute is 25 minutes (one-way).

http://www.indexmundi.com/facts/united-states/quick-facts/al...

I did that exact commute for 8 years. I've never been so happy as when I was finally able to ditch it. The new commute is 20 minutes (one way), with WFH days and hours flexible enough that I can usually avoid rush hour.

I did it for years too and I would never do it again, no matter what the pay is. I guess it is a matter of options and taste, but I find commute and working in an office every day quite close to living in hell.

2 hours typical for workers in NYC that live outside from neighboring burbs.

Two-hour weekly commute.

I have done hour each way commutes for many years, and while I don't miss it, it's not nearly that much of a waste. It's not "sit around doing nothing" (though, I wish I had two hours a day to sit around doing nothing - it'd be fantastic). It's time people spend listening to music, reading, napping, catching up on e-mail, playing games.

As much as I like currently not having a commute, it was certainly not time that was "crumpled and thrown away".

You obviously didn't drive if you were reading, napping, catching up on email, playing games (at least I certainly hope not). At least within the US, a typical commute (with the exception of very large cities such as NYC, Washington DC, Boston, Chicago, which have large public transportation systems) involves spending time driving their own car, which essentially prohibits any activity other than listening to music, and maybe talking on the phone. So yes, it's wasted time for most of us.

You can also get away with podcasts and audiobooks, which have really prevented me from seeing it as a simple waste of time.

+1 for Podcasts and Audiobooks. I get through ~2 books a month and a host of podcasts. It's not an ideal use of time, but if scheduled correctly it can at least be additive.

I'm not saying its the case in Switzerland, but I get a ton of work done on my occasional three hour train commute. Driving definitely sucks though.

I currently commute 2 hours each way. It's not as bad as it sounds. If you happen to be able to afford to live close to work, consider yourself lucky.

Do you do anything in particular to make use of the time during the commute besides just concentrating on driving, listening to music, or daydreaming? I struggle with long commutes since I inevitably feel like I'm wasting the time.

Music, NPR

As someone who did this for some time. Get out.

I, like you probably, think that it's not "too bad", but once you're away from this practice, you'll realize that you were wasting so much valuable time.

I work remote and my voluntary commute (could work from the house) is 7 minutes to an office in town where I work every day. My colleagues Live around the Bay area and pay exorbitant amounts and/or drive 1.5-2 hours each way into the office. My quality of life is much better on that front.

The opportunity cost of a four hour commute is nuts though. That's half a fulltime work shift!

My commute is a little less than that - but I don't sit around doing nothing! It's time to work without interruptions.

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