Extreme Commuting

How much time do you spend traveling to your work place every day?

I personally drive 35 minutes – one way – to my office. My MBA course mate, upon hearing my commuting time, exclaimed, “That’s far!” Her office was just 10-minute drive from her house.

But a 35-minute drive, or 70-minute round trip, was nothing compared to my experience in California a few years ago. There, I lived in Garden Grove, Orange County. My office was also in Orange Country, but most of I time I went to client’s place. The nearest site, at Anaheim, was just a few blocks away. (Anaheim was famous for Disneyland.) City of Commerce, my favorite place, was about 45 minutes away, depending on traffic. I always worked nights in Commerce. If I had to travel during the day, it would have taken more than an hour.

Once there was a project in San Diego. The round trip from Garden Grove to San Diego and back took about 4 hours! (For some reasons, return trip from Sand Diego to Garden Grove in the afternoon was longer.) Fortunately, the project lasted just a few weeks. In another occasion, I was sent to Santa Barbara, which was 3 hours away, or 6 hours round trip! I traveled with my co-worker, and we took turn to drive. The project was completed in one week.

Americans spend too much time on the road. There are a few reasons for this. Firstly, this is a vast country. Secondly, gridlock is unbelievable. Thirdly, properties are cheaper the further away they are from cities, and Americans want big houses.

They may have bigger houses and bigger cars, but have they sacrificed too much???

Gridlock is unbelievable in some parts of America, despite the abundance of freeways...