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Thinking of a different commute.

G

goodness-707

Active member
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Location
Dublin
Moto(s)
not nearly enough
Name
Richard
Hey BARFers,

Current gig: (3 days a week in the office, 2 from home). Dublin BART to Powell St. BART with a little walking on both ends. Avg commute time door to door is about 1:15 to 1:25 each way, but I usually get a seat, so I can read, watch movies, doze, etc.

Possible new gig: (4 days a week in office, 1 from home). Dublin to Los Gatos, avg commute time seems to be about 45 minutes each way. (38 miles).

Gig 2 is a better gig, no question. My current one is pretty good, but the new one is better and would come with about a 6-10% pay increase. Is this decision a no-brainer? Would that Dublin<-->LG commute freak you out more than a long BART ride?
 
BART > Sitting in traffic all the way to LG.
 
mikev said:
BART > Sitting in traffic all the way to LG.
Click to expand...
+1
However, given the pay increase, as long as it doesn't bump you into another tax bracket, I'd probably take the second job if it's interesting. The Commute is going to suck though.

Steve
 
Well I would say take the Second Gig, if its going to open up more doors of oppurtunity. I my opinion a commute is nothing compared to the experience you are going to get.
 
bart got me to start commuting by motorcycle.
would you be commuting to the cats by cage or bike?
 
radvas said:
Hey BARFers,

Current gig: (3 days a week in the office, 2 from home). Dublin BART to Powell St. BART with a little walking on both ends. Avg commute time door to door is about 1:15 to 1:25 each way, but I usually get a seat, so I can read, watch movies, doze, etc.

Possible new gig: (4 days a week in office, 1 from home). Dublin to Los Gatos, avg commute time seems to be about 45 minutes each way. (38 miles).

Gig 2 is a better gig, no question. My current one is pretty good, but the new one is better and would come with about a 6-10% pay increase. Is this decision a no-brainer? Would that Dublin<-->LG commute freak you out more than a long BART ride?
Click to expand...

You are living in la-la land. If you were gonna take 580 - 680, or 580-880 there is no way you make 38 miles ini 45. It takes me 50+mins for 28 miles, 580-238-880. Even if I take 84 - mission, it's 26 miles, same time tho.

Bike is nice on 580, but once you get to 238 you are still splitting lanes at < 20mph which is dog ass slow.

+1 for moving closer to work
 
+1.2c "move closer to work". Oh wait that means abandon the big house 20 car garage and the 30 bikes. :) Then packing everything and moving the whole family and buying a house 50% more expensive? Of course you are not going to do it.

It probably takes longer than 45 min to reach Lost Gatsos
 
why don't you try to negotiate more days a week at home at the new gig? Maybe you could offer to work 4 days in-office a week for the first few months so they can become aquainted with your level of expertise/productivity. Then, once they are confident in you, give you a longer leash.

Just about any commute is tolerable if you only have to do it 2 days a week.
 
tuxumino said:
bart got me to start commuting by motorcycle.
would you be commuting to the cats by cage or bike?
Click to expand...


Probably 80% by bike, 20% by cage. I have these days where I feel that riding everyday is stacking up the odds that I'll eat it on the morning commute, so I drive those days. Then I sit in traffic for a while and think "F this, I'm riding tomorrow." :laughing


Move closer to work.
Click to expand...

As appealing as that sounds, there's no way I could move to accommodate jobs. In 1994 I started a job in Livermore, so I moved from the east bay to Dublin. In 2000, I took a job in Alameda, In 2007 I took a job in San Mateo, and in mid/late 2008, our SM office moved to downtown SF.

Even if I had the desire to move around that much, I couldn't afford it. And there are other considerations. I like the warm summers in the tri-valley. I have two kids that are well settled in schools that we like, and we have great neighbors.

Then, even if all those issues didn't matter, there's the money issue. That part of the bay is muy expensive. I don't think I could afford a house that is all that close to Los Gatos anyhow.
 
The commute you have right now , using BART, is pretty much the ideal metropolitan suburb to downtown commute. Just noting that.
 
SteelerFanatic said:
You are living in la-la land. If you were gonna take 580 - 680, or 580-880 there is no way you make 38 miles ini 45. It takes me 50+mins for 28 miles, 580-238-880. Even if I take 84 - mission, it's 26 miles, same time tho.
Click to expand...

I'm right near a freeway entrance at both ends. I made it in 55 minutes door to door the other day in rain and semi-crappy traffic... in my car . I timed it. San Mateo averaged 45 minutes on the bike, it was 34 miles. This is 5 miles more.

Maybe I'm in la-la land though, I dunno. That's why I'm asking. I just based the guess it on what I experienced actually doing it, and from my occasional "work in the Santa Clara office" days. The drive is 680, then cut over to 880 somewhere Fremont-ish and take 880/17 all the way there. I wouldn't be on 580 or 238 at all.

Anybody do that commute 680->880 (17)

why don't you try to negotiate more days a week at home at the new gig?
Click to expand...

I've talked with them about that, and it is a possibity, but they were clear about saying that they are a small localized group. They are not really a virtualized workplace, and I'd need to be there for some meetings and collaboration. In other words, they don't care how many days a week I work at home if the work is getting done well. They just have some concerns that the organization isn't set up to work well in a virtualized way, and don't want to mislead me about the practicality of working at home.

On the plus side, they have an amazing vacation/time off policy. You set your own vacation and holiday schedule with your boss. No standard holidays (you choose the ones you want) and no pre-set vacation limit. :)
 
AbsolutEnduser said:
The commute you have right now , using BART, is pretty much the ideal metropolitan suburb to downtown commute. Just noting that.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I thought that too, but 2.5+ hours it's a loooong time to get to and fro everyday. There are days I like it, and days I could do without it. But that's been true of any commute I've ever had. Overall, I think I was happier with the Dublin<-->San Mateo commute than the BART commute. Both were/are 3 days a week though. Having done the LG drive twice now, it doesn't seem any worse than SM was.

The quasi-enviro-hippie in me likes the *idea* of using public transit, but there's no denying the fact that public transit is far slower to get from A to B.
 
I've wondered about the commute to the valley from where I am in Hayward. I guess it wouldn't be too horrible. My neighbor drives to SJ everyday and my wife works in Menlo Park. As far as I can tell, I'm the only one on my street going into SF everyday.
 
wazzuFreddo said:
I've wondered about the commute to the valley from where I am in Hayward. I guess it wouldn't be too horrible. My neighbor drives to SJ everyday and my wife works in Menlo Park. As far as I can tell, I'm the only one on my street going into SF everyday.
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I'm not sure. Hayward is fairly spread out and doesn't have a lot of good ways of getting across town. If, for example you are talking about Kelly Hill or Fairview or 5 canyons, that probably adds 25 minutes to a south bay commute compared to say, Treeview or Tennyson. From where I live, getting to anywhere in Hayward takes about twice as long as getting most places in Fremont. Hayward just isn't an easy place to get to from the tri-valley.
 
radvas said:
I'm not sure. Hayward is fairly spread out and doesn't have a lot of good ways of getting across town. If, for example you are talking about Kelly Hill or Fairview or 5 canyons, that probably adds 25 minutes to a south bay commute compared to say, Treeview or Tennyson. From where I live, getting to anywhere in Hayward takes about twice as long as getting most places in Fremont. Hayward just isn't an easy place to get to from the tri-valley.
Click to expand...

I live right by 880 and 92. Most anywhere on the interior bay is not that bad to get to. There are ways to sneek out to 580 quicker than others.
 
why cut over to 880 from 680 instead of staying on 680 to 280 to 17?
 
So lets say you get 5k more on top (after taxes), in exchange for an extra 125 hours (50 weeks x 2.5 hrs (for the extra day's commute). that means you are getting paid $40 /hr for your time sitting in traffic.

Would you be willing to take a side job for 3 hours a week at $40 an hour?
 
tuxumino said:
why cut over to 880 from 680 instead of staying on 680 to 280 to 17?
Click to expand...

Cuz I'm not a south bay expert and that's what Ms. Fancy Toyota nav system told me to do. It's kinda a one way relationship. She tells me "Turn Left." I say "Are you sure?", and she ignores me. It's like a surrogate wife for when my wife isn't there to ignore me. :laughing

Srsly though, is that a faster way to go? The office is right near at Lark and Windchester, exit 17 right after 85. I'm open to suggestion.


Would you be willing to take a side job for 3 hours a week at $40 an hour?
Click to expand...
Probably.
 
Sounds like the proposed commute doesn't appear to be bothering you that much, and sounds like the job is pretty cool, what with the vacation stuff and all :)

I say take the job :thumbup

BTW, I can haz ur old job pretty please :rofl (no, I am not being serious :))
 
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