With the latest news that the recession has caused the average American's commute to get longer and that more and more people are taking public transportation, I thought it was time to share some tips for surviving an epic commute.
You see, I used to have the commute to end all commutes. I traveled from downtown Baltimore to Dupont Circle in Washington DC, entirely via public transportation for a total of three years at my last job. It involved hopping on a bus to the train station, taking the MARC commuter train to DC, then taking the DC Metro five stops to Dupont Circle. Door to door, the journey took about an hour and a half... each way. And that's only if everything was running according to schedule. You can imagine how often a commute like that went like clockwork... not very.
But I survived. Actually, I didn't always mind terribly. It was nice to be able to duck out of a meeting a few minutes early with my "train" excuse (mind you, I worked at a very laid back office with very flexible hours - not everyone has that luxury). And, it was nice to have a little time to myself - to decompress before getting home. Plus, there's something to be said about physically moving so far away from work at the end of the day.. it's easier to let work problems drift away from your head when there's that physical element involved.
That said, there were plenty of times I'd be walking out of the office at 5 and be depressed by the notion that I wouldn't be home until 6:30 at the earliest.
Here are a few tips for surviving an epic commute:
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Continuing my
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