I couldn't agree more with this article. Not to complain too much, as many people would be thrilled to have any decent job these days, but my daily commute is more of a demand on me in some ways than my job.

I work in D.C. but live in Baltimore, and the amount of time needed to get to and from work each day doesn't allow for much time to do anything else that is meaningful. I wanted to move closer to D.C. years ago, but then the housing bubble grew and the prices skyrocketed. It's a constant struggle to find time to get things done on the home front and still be able to get to work on time each morning.

I think telecommuting would be helpful, but my type of work doesn't allow for it.

I have had the extreme 90 minute total commute in one direction on the MARC for almost 11 years now. I am quite confident that it is physically wearing me down, despite my attempts of effective train time management.

The article seems to suggest that the commute is a bargain that commuters make: increased salary in exchange for increased square footage. This could well have been true a few years ago, but increasinly, with the unstable job market, I see imagine many people taking jobs a long distance away from home well after purchasing their homes.

It also ignores the geographic realities of the job market. Washington/Baltimore, New York/outer NJ, Seattle/Olympia... all are examples with people living far from their offices because the housing stock simply doesn't exist for anyone but the wealthy.

Telework and worplace flexibility will really be the only solution. I know that commuters who even get one day a week free of the grind feel much better physically and mentally than thos eof us who have to ride the rails or drive 5 days a week.

I hope this study gets wide exposure among our state and municipal officials. Then maybe they would think a little harder about the costs they impose when they lengthen commutes with badly-coordinated road construction programs, closed streets for dubious economic development projects, underfunded traffic control systems, and the like.

Here's what I find disturbing (more disturbing than confirmation of my expectations in the article, even):

The responses. I'm surprised that I can be surprised by the way people respond to news such as this, but they seem to find odd ways.

The original Slate article is being criticized as one-sided (?), elitist (we can't all live, work and play where we want), false (Slate made up the info?) or simply unhelpful (not providing solutions).

It's pathetic. As Americans, we're jerks. We want to live in the suburbs but we don't want the commute - to work, to play, to eat. We want the suburbs to become the city. I have trouble living, working, playing all in the same area ... but I understand it is my choice and frequently consider moving closer to work (or working closer to home) as a remedy. That's the solution. And it's a solution we all need to look at very seriously - we should be living, working and playing in the same area. It not only would fix multiple physical and psychological health matters (as the article says), it could fix any number of social and political matters for many of us.

Instead, we'd rather all bitch.

Dan,

Easier said than done. Gone are the days when people lived in factory towns and could walk to work.

The job market is extremely volatile and many workplaces are no longer located in urban areas with good mass transit options but in far-flung business parks.

Many households depend on the incomes of two wage-earners, so living close to one workplace may mean living far away from another.

Have you tried selling a house in this real estate market lately? Uprooting isn't as easy as it used to be. Did I mention concerns about school districts for one's children?

Yeah, some people want to have it all, and sprawl is a by-product of this mindset, but this doesn't mean that those of us who express some dismay about our long commutes are bitchy jerks.

Marc Cram,

If you want the 1950's suburban paradise thing, don't move to one of the most-crowded places on earth, then moan about your small-status plight.

Why are you able to even contemplate "selling houses in this real estate market lately"? If you are so concernend about "school districts for one's children," are you uprooting on a regular basis? Or are you projecting?

Message to everyone: The 1950's Glory Days happened a long, long time ago. Think many, many times before you follow the whole blueprint of: marriage, suburban paradise, many kids, multiple cars, etc...

Your commute to work, restaurants, friends, groceries, famliy may end up just a short walk/bike ride/bus ride/subway ride away.

JoJo,

I never once said anything about wanting "the 1950's suburban paradise thing," so spare me your moaning about my so-called moaning. I was responding in affirmation of the article's findings given my experiences as a commuter. What makes you think that your comments are relevant?

In case you missed it the first time through, I said "Gone are the days when people lived in factory towns and could walk to work," which is not unlike your "Message to everyone: The 1950's Glory Days happened a long, long time ago," so your "message" is unneeded.
I'm glad your commuting situation has worked out so well for you, but maybe others aren't as fortunate (MOAN ALERT: having a disability makes some of the options you mention difficult or impossible). If you choose a place to live based on the location of your job, then what do you do if your job disappears? I guess people shouldn't own homes or depend on two incomes or have children lest there be a change in employment status.

As far as "projecting" goes: I was responding to Dan's "As Americans, we're jerks" comments, which are about as generalized as one can get (not to mention judgmental). I think a person can make a broader point without resorting to name-calling.

I guess you didn't think that you were projecting when you said "Think many, many times before you follow the whole blueprint of: marriage, suburban paradise, many kids, multiple cars, etc..."

It's comforting to know that there are so many people willing to voice their sympathy about other's struggles in these uncertain economic times.