Member-only story
Bracing For Commuting Three Hours a Day
Many of my colleagues chose their jobs because “it’s really close to my house.”
In the past six years, I have talked to a lot of teachers about the reasons they like their current schools and why they stay. Some cite that they like the students at the school, the administration, and their experience at the school (having been there a really long time and feeling loyal to it). But I have heard one logistical rationale more than any other for why a particular teacher prefers their current worksite:
“It’s really close to my house.”
It’s the two or three-minute commute to their job that I have found to be the most surprising response that is more practical than idealistic or noble. A lot of people love not having to commute, particularly people who have kids and need to drive the kids to daycare, school, or pick up their kids in some capacity. They also tend to just not to enjoy sitting through a ton of traffic or having to take multiple buses or trains to get to work.
It is no secret that having a short commute leads to a better quality of life. Seth Goldman, one of the co-founders of Honest Tea, says living close to his job is the best thing he did for his family and his quality of life. He recounted having a 90-minute commute to work from Arlington…
