When I clicked on yahoo’s “Most Stressful Cities” article yesterday, I expected Chicago to be on the list, but I didn’t expect it to be #1! (Duh, it was last year too. I am just a bit slow. A bit.)
I think this list is kind of bullshit, but it did get me thinking about what stresses me out about living here*, and that is the COMMUTE. 50 miles and an hour and twenty minute train ride both ways to the office.
Yes, it is my choice to live far away from my office. Yes, I could move. Yes, I could (try to) get a new job. But I don’t want to. I really like the area we live in. I really like my job. If we move, it won’t be closer to Chicago. It will be to a different state.
So, I don’t really have any room to bitch. It’s my choice. I understand that. And I don’t want to move.
But jeez… am I ever worn out! How do people do this their entire life? I don’t view this as a permanent situation for me. I can’t continue to waste three hours every day in transit, and try to get by on less than six hours a night of sleep. That is TRULY bullshit.
Do you find the area you live in stressful?
I DO NOT live in Chicago. So I am aware that I cannot truly understand the stress of living in Chicago.
Kim,
I feel your pain. I understand the commute sucks but trust me it will get easier. I have met a great group of friends on the train and the time goes by very quickly. We even get together on weekends and such. I am going on 10 years of commuting a similar distance to Chicago and I just try and use the time for me. I read the paper or listen to music or talk. It could be much worse if you had to drive in traffic, talk about stress.
Hang in there!
.-= Author’s last blog post… Friday Night PR =-.
I used to commute an hour each way to work in traffic. I hated it so much. I asked to work from home (lots of people at that company did) but they said no. I felt like I had no life, so when I found a job closer to home less than a year later, I quit. Still, the year I spent there was valuable for me and I have no regrets.
Good luck to you! I hope you can enjoy your time in this situation and still keep an eye on the next step.
.-= Author’s last blog post… Week 1 loss: Down 3.2 =-.
You are fotunate that you get to use public transporation. I live in Chicago and have to do the reverse commute. It can wear you down with all the constuction work in chicago and the burbs. not to mention the traffic jams beccuas ethe traffic lights do not sync or weather.
I could go on and on and on about how much more stressful I think it is to live here than it is to live where I grew up. And I only commute a total of 1.5 hours each day! I’m trying to adjust my expectations and learn better time management, but there’s only so much you can do.
.-= Author’s last blog post… Yikes! =-.
This is exactly why I am glad beyond belief that I walk. Yeah, it’s 45 minutes each way. But it’s ALWAYS EXACTLY 45 MINUTES.
And that, to me, is priceless.
.-= Author’s last blog post… 09.09.09 =-.
oh my gosh…I am stressed for you just READING this!!
My commute (don’t hate) is 18 miles, and takes about 25 minutes in the a.m. and 20-40 minutes after work. And THAT drives me crazy….I can’t imagine spending any more time than that.
At least you know it’s not permanent. But I feel like more and more, people are willing to commute longer and farther nowadays if it means a good, decent job.
Do you at least get some good reading done or can you do some work while on the train? I drive, so I just zone out and relax (all while watching out for those crazy drivers who’ll cut you off….need to work on the road rage).
.-= Author’s last blog post… Me Gusta Cilantro Y Couscous =-.
You know me. You know where I live. And you know about my commute. However, I don’t complain (unless you’re ignorant and tell me I’m lucky because I have a reverse commute … because then I’ll be sure to school you on Chicago traffic patterns!).
And here’s why. If EVERYONE (not just you) would live near their work, there would be no such thing as a bad commute. We’d live close, so distance would not be a factor. And because we work close to where we live, the roads/highways would not be jammed with people driving long distances to get to work. But, the fact of the matter is LOTS of people don’t live close to work. And for many of those people, it’s by choice.
And you know what, I kind of have a short tolerance for people who complain about their commutes. Maybe it’s because I grew up with a father who was constantly trying to figure out how to shorten his commute (and considered it a victory when he chopped a minute off his previous best time). And maybe it’s due to the choices you mentioned in your post about how far we live from where we work. Or maybe it’s because I feel like there are so many outlets where we can direct our attention during our commutes (laptops and newspapers and magazines while using public transit … talk radio and books on tape and phone conversations while in the car). Whatever the case, I just feel like we’re not justified to complain about our commutes if we can do something to fix it.
Now, that’s not to say I have a short tolerance for you. Because I adore you. And I know you’re just speaking aloud about something we all ponder from time to time. =)
.-= Author’s last blog post… Sleep =-.
I DESPISE beyond all words ‘commuting’. I find it to be an incredible waste of my time that I could be 1. watching tv or 2. laying on my couch or 3. drinking a beer with friends or 4. being ANYWHERE but in a car.
Now, I don’t mind my public transportation experiment because the transit ride is 10 minutes, and the walk to the transit is 30 minutes and that counts as exercise.
That, however, is why I live in a podunk town where I live 3.5 miles from my office and I never have exciting fun things to do like all you city folk.
.-= Author’s last blog post… losing my shiznit =-.
Life is too short to spend so much time on the freeway (or train). I worked at an office that was 10 miles away. When things changed and the office closed, they sent us to another office, about an 80 minute commute (each direction). I quit. Life is good.
Oh wow, that’s crazy! My new co-teacher and I were discussing this a little bit today. We both travel about 10 minutes, which isn’t bad at all. While I enjoy time in the car, I’m not sure I’d like adding an hour + onto my commute!!!
.-= Author’s last blog post… Welcome to Washington! =-.
I get stressed just thinking about driving through Chicago. Last time we drove through, we took the Lincoln Highway because of my fear of 100 lanes of traffic. lol
I get very stressed due to where I live. I grew up in Denver, I have big-city blood in me. I live in a town with a population of 10,000. I live in a town where most people share my religion but they are extreme…and I’m not. (I’m not a fundamentalist, and it’s very common here.) I live in a town which has more republicans than you can count. Our newspaper is touted as the most conservative paper in Minnesota according to Rolling Stone Magazine. I’m not a conservative. So live in general here stresses me. Plus, it’s damned cold in the winter. I hate the friggin’ -30 to -40 windchills.
I’d rather have an hour and a half commute and a city where there are things to do. The grass is always greener. lol
.-= Author’s last blog post… Blog or Sleep? Blog Wins =-.
Girl, everywhere you go, commuting is a huge problem. Damn traffic. If you ever move, don’t come to DC or LA either.
I would go to NYC, though. It is a cool city with great public transportation.
p.s. Ever thought of just moving someplace walkable to your workplace?
.-= Author’s last blog post… Deflated but Comforted =-.
Ugh, that sounds awful. I totally sympathize. Every time we go visit my friends up in Chicago, we come back to crappy Champaign and say, “That’s why I’m glad we don’t love in a city.” I’m not good with crowds and waiting.
You can always move down here…it’s so…charming..?
.-= Author’s last blog post… Fanny packs on my fanny! =-.
Usually (note: USUALLY) I don’t mind my commute b/c it’s on public transit. Though, as I type this, the guy sitting next to me is jabbing his elbow into my side while reading the paper. :p
When I still lived in Ohio, I drove about 10 mins back and forth to work and that was nice but something about spending so much of my life in a little tin can (b/c I couldn’t walk to lunch, or to the store, or whatever) was depressing.
I can’t imagine commuting here in a car. I’d last *maybe* a week.
I LOVE your new picture of Data at the top!!! He looks so peaceful!!! (and happy!!!)
=^..^=
.-= Author’s last blog post… Dreams =-.
That is a rough commute for sure, mine is 50 minutes each way and I thought that was bad. It just eats up so much of your time 🙁
.-= Author’s last blog post… Some doggie love =-.
Ugh, I had to drive though (really around) Chicago twice in one road trip (luckily I was not behind the wheel) but gawd it took forever! Bumper to bumper traffic both times, even in the middle of the day, it was so boring, I hated it. I can’t imagine having to go through that every day! I would jab my eyes out.
.-= Author’s last blog post… Updates! =-.
I’m not going to lie…having a 10-15 minute commute to work is AMAZING. But I hate the small town that I live in. I commuted to nursing school in Chicago from the NW suburbs, and my commute was about 1.5 hours each way…door to door. The only nice part about it was that I could usually study as long as the train was quiet. (I HATE public noise!) I once asked my dad how he did it for so long (he commuted downtown by train for about ten years), and he said it’s different when you have kids. It was his time to unwind before coming home and being with us as little kids. He could read or get some more work done or something. Which makes sense to me, but as a twenty-five year old single girl, I could totally come up with better things to do!
But I definitely feel you on Chicago traffic. GAH. Like none other.
.-= Author’s last blog post… Work Mumbo Jumbo…and Cashew Chicken! =-.