A commute of over two hours each way? Super

I hate the term "super-commuter" - I did 2 3/4 hours each way for nearly 3 years and it downright ruined me. When you frame it as losing a day a week of your life it highlights the sheer disgusting nature of it.

The author says that reading was his solace, great for him, but if you combine a job where you have to stare at a screen all day, artificial train air conditioning and hobbies that even remotely involve a computer, your eyes will be all but fked. I lost myself in hours of music and window staring, whilst enjoyable sometimes, is a mental prison during peak times that I wouldn't wish on anyone.

There's nothing noble in commuting - if enforced time in a "third space" is required, then build it into a routine yourself, don't relish an enforced hell.

This just seems pretty grotesque to me.

My first job out of university I had a two hour commute each way. I read tons of books, and listened to a lot of podcasts (on my Orange SPV C500, no less). I suppose there were times I enjoyed the space, but overall I think you just grow addicted to the sacrifice and hard work and heroism of it all. Addicted to the stress because it lets you prove what a hard worker you are, and brush aside other people's worries about work.

The only journey to work I've ever really enjoyed was a 45 minute walk each way to a co-working space in Sheffield, through parks and beside rivers, listening to audiobooks.

And now I work at home and see my wife and two kids loads, and no amount of money will ever change that.

Each time I see a mention of commuting, I'm reminded of a possible (perhaps likely or inevitable) interaction between commute tolerance and self driving cars. Self driving cars may increase commute tolerance substantially, by 50% or 100%; And make ultra-long commutes more feasible for those who don't live a long narrow train court orders.

A couple of decades from now, it's quite possible that a 2+ hour commute will be routine and normal, rather than worth of a special word "super-commuter", for people working in the largest employment centers. (Which sounds extremely unpleasant to me, by the way.)