I'm thinking of putting my resume in for a job in Baytown and I live in The Woodlands. I was playing around with google maps looking at travel times and it doesn't seem too bad. Its saying around an hr in the mornings and an hr to an hr and half in the afternoons. Obviously this can all change if there is an accident of some sort but I'm just trying to see if the travel times are accurate. I've never had to commute more than 25mins to work so its all new to me. Would you do that commute for job that offers about $10k more a yr + company truck?

I wouldn't think $10k would be enough for that type of commute. What % increase would that be for you?

Definitely didn't mean that icon!

agdaddy04 said:

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I wouldn't think $10k would be enough for that type of commute. What % increase would that be for you?

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It would be about a 23% increase. Like I said too, I would get a company truck as well.

Google travel times usually have a wide variable in either direction. If you can, just make the drive during a regular commute time and see if you think you can do it every day.

So real-time Google travel times are accurate unless an accident. I would assume their estimates for future dates would be fairly close.

I wouldn't drive that far unless you are getting like 25% salary increase plus other better benefits.

Edit:

Also at a previous job our office moved. My 15 mile 25 minute commute morphed into a 30 mile 1 hour commute with tolls. After 3 months I decided I had to move or get a new job. I moved as I liked the job. You really don't want to commute more than a half hour because it sucks. That's hours you loose every day in your car.

I've done an hour commute. I'd be looking at houses in crosby or deer park.

Can you go in by 7 and leave by 4? That's make it better. And in 3 years when the toll road is finished you're set and will be able to fly down there.

Althernatively, move to deer park and rent out your house in the woodlands until the GP is finished then move back?

Waze

After you get to the beltway you are going against the flow of traffic. An hour to work isn't that bad, and it's usually 10 minutes less on the drive home. It's Houston, an hour is nothing.

Being issued a company vehicle is like winning the lottery. Do what you have to do

My dad commutes to the Exxon campus in Spring from Baytown and that sounds about right on travel times.

I live in Spring and travel to Baytown at least once a week. It's a solid hour even in the best traffic conditions. The Hardy down to 610 is pretty reliable or you can jump on the Beltway and go around to I-10. Road construction and accidents will obviously set you back and you can probably count on a few of those each week.

If I had to commute it everyday then I'd be looking to move to the area. Mont Belvieu, League City, or the Summerwood area would be my picks if you don't want to live in Baytown proper.

What is your current commute. It certainly isn't zero

Current commute is back to 20-25mins. Was 7mins which was really nice, but we just moved offices so back to a longer one.

That would only be worth doing if you had high confidence it would soon (within 24 months) lead to a promotion or give you experience to find a better job. If it is a lateral move with little chance of promotion, no way that commute would be worth that increase unless you are in debt and strongly need the money.

That drive will suck until they finish 99, whenever that will be. I currently drive about 45 minutes into Mont Belvieu from Clear Lake. It isn't a terrible drive early in the morning, but it is about an hour and a half (round trip) of my day that I can't get back.

rilloaggie said:

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$10k / 250 working days X 2.5 hours a day = $16 an hour. Seems like a crappy idea to me.

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2.5hrs/day to commute x 250 working days/year = 625 hours/year = 78 full 8-hour days or almost an entire 2 weeks' vacation spent driving in your truck.
So if you're happy spending the equivalent of 78 working days/year driving around the city then go for it. I'd never do a commute like that however. Life is too short.

You make $43k per year?

commute time is dependent on the time of day you will be traveling.

You need to Google traffic map your drive in the direction you'll be going at the times you'll be doing it. Google adjusts for real-time conditions, so you can't just check it one-and-done.

I was in almost your exact same position two years ago. Was at a 5 min commute, then married and moved out to a 25 minute commute, then took a new job with an hour there and 1.5 hours back.

The driving sucks, gets old and leaves you wishing you had that time back to do other things.

However I took it because it was a $35k pay increase plus tolls paid for...and even then I'm still wishing I had that time back

johnrth said:

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agdaddy04 said:

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I wouldn't think $10k would be enough for that type of commute. What % increase would that be for you?

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It would be about a 23% increase. Like I said too, I would get a company truck as well.

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lolpoor

I live in Summerwood and worked in Baytown for about 9.5 years. It's lying.

It would take me 30-45 minutes to get to work in the morning, and about 45 min to an hour to get home in the evenings. If traffic is bad, it could add an extra 15-20 minutes.

I know it takes about 45 minutes to get from Summerwood to the Woodlands - when traffic isn't heavy.
You're going to get really tied up on I-10 in Baytown, around Wallisville Rd, and over near IAH (IAH being much worse). The traffic getting out of Baytown is also crazy at Spur 3300 and I-10.

I work over near West U now, and some days it's faster to get home than Baytown was.

Umm. Aren't they about to dig up most of downtown and create a many year long traffic jam?

Is $10k + company truck worth the extra time + extra gas + tolls? Will they be paying gas and tolls? How much will you profit after everything is taken out of your check?

Also, do you have kids/family that is important for you to see?