I see the jobs posted online and the ones I've interviewed for have been nearby, i.e., less than 30 miles away. Now, the ones listed are over 50 miles away and some near 75-85 one-way! There comes a point when the commute just doesn't seem worthwhile and would put a huge strain on marriage and parenting....... Just being curious, what is your cutoff for travelling time, both distance and time-wise?
My first job was 1 hour...not sure the exact mileage. I lived at home (first year out of college). It was a great experience. My current job was 45 mins from my parents' house when I first got hired...now it's about 35 mins (31.2 mi when I don't have to take my son to the sitter first...40 mi when I do). It works for us, although the gas prices were a lot more likable when I started teaching 11 years ago! Also, for me, it's more important to live close to family. My parents are 10 minutes away and now that I have a 2 year old, I realize how valuable it is. For example, I was really sick this weekend and they took my son overnight so dh could take me to the ER.
Not married, but I would prefer under 15 minutes. I commuted 25 miles/30 minutes from 16-22. 22-24 I commuted 10 minutes. 25-26 I commuted 50 minutes. 26-30(now), I have been commuting 35-40 minutes. I'm over it. However, since I am looking at relocating back home, I'm willing to commute an hour from my parents' house until my house sells. Then I will move so I am under 30 minutes- with 10-15 being preferable.
I turned down a job offer for a job that had an hour commute. Mostly interstate. I think 45 minutes would be my max. My commute now is 20 minutes and no interstate or cross-city travel.
While in college I worked fulltime 50 min away. When student teaching came around my commute got extented to 1 hour and 15 min each way. Luckily for me, I found a teaching position 25 min from my house for the upcoming school year but I was applying anywhere within an hour and a half.
I am single. The longest commute will be the position I took for the new school year------30 minutes The least amount of travel was when I taught PreK and lived at home with my parents back then, it was under 10 minutes at a Private Day School.
My cut off has always been up to an hour. An hour commute isn't ideal, but my feelings are that the job market is so tough that I'd rather be commuting far than not having a job. This past year I took a part time teaching position that was a 50 minute commute each way, and I only was there 3 hours a day. But for me, it was a good resume builder and good experience. After having this job on my resume, I had WAY more calls for interviews this past year than I did last year and I felt like I was able to answer interview questions much better. I think it paid off in the long run because I recently accepted a position at a school 25 minutes away for this upcoming year and it's full time.
When gas was cheap in the 90s, I had a commute of 90 minutes at one point. It was the weariness of it that made me move closer. However, at the time, I was single and renting. Now I'm married, 15 years older, and own my own home. That being said, my "commute" of one room over is fine with me.
The temp position I had last year tended to be about a 20-30 minute drive in the morning and a 45 minute-1.5 hour trip (depending on amount of traffic/construction) in the afternoon. The relationship between time of commute and distance isn't necessarily proportional around here; personally, I'd prefer a longer commute (even at the expense of gas - if I accept a job with a longer distance commute, I'm definitely buying a hybrid car to mitigate the cost) to a job where I'm sitting in endless traffic jams, personally, so I'm willing to go farther out if traffic flow works in my favor. I just interviewed at a school that's about a 55 mile commute, which is right about at the edge of my cutoff; afterward, the P asked me how long it took to get there (55 minutes, which is 10-15 minutes less than the estimate google maps gave me), and commented that that was definitely "doable" and that her own commute was about 40 minutes. I think it also depends a bit on whether or not you can take public transportation. My boyfriend (not a teacher) doesn't drive, so he uses public transit (two train lines and a bus), and his commute is about 75 minutes to an hour-and-a-half (sometimes a little more, even, in the evening). But if you can get work done or take a (very light) nap on the way to/from work, that makes your commute more usable rather than wasted time; I'd be willing to accept a bit upwards of a 90 minute commute, in that case.
I'm moving 200 miles away for my first teaching job. I was worried I wouldn't find an apartment anywhere near my school but I found some nice town homes for cheap($600 per month for 2br) about a mile and a half from my school. I'm moving to the country but surprisingly will have the shortest commute of my life with 0 traffic.(not kidding when I said rural) I'm looking forward to waking up like 30 minutes before I want to get to school. I could have gotten an apartment for cheaper (400ish) but my commute would have been about an hour and the apartment wasn't nearly as nice. So I guess it will be worth it.
I took a job a few years ago with an 65 mile commute (about an hour all highway) one way. I did this for two years. I just took a job that's 40 miles away, about 30 minute drive and consider myself fortunate. I live 3 blocks from the first school I taught at (lived farther away when I worked there), but I probably wouldn't go back if I had the chance. If this is your first job, maybe do it for a year or two just to get experience and then try for the jobs closer to home again. Audio books are great.
I haven't posted my news today yet. . .Three years ago I accepted a position that was 75 miles away one way yep 150 miles commute. I needed the experience and I love the school. It was what I needed to get experience under my belt. . .I just got offered a job 12 miles one way from my house about 4 hours ago and I am still in disbelief and beyond excited. My job I am resigning from gave me so much wonderful experience that is probably the reason I got this closer job. I never imagined I would commute 90,000 miles in three years it was a learning experience and I am extremely grateful for the experience I had. . . Stephanie
My first job was an hour each way, all highway driving. That got very tedious. My current job is 30 minutes, mostly highway driving. I don't mind the drive, but sometimes I dream about being able to walk to work.
My student teaching gig was in the next county over, a drive of around 35-45 minutes. It was a pretty easy drive and very pretty, so I didn't mind it. My current district is very large, encompassing the entire county. I would prefer to teach within a 45-minute drive at the most. Even better would be something in the 15- to 20-minute range. As it is, my school is about 5 minutes away from my house. The commute is amazing. I can get up about 40 minutes before I have to be at school and not feel rushed at all.
I have had 2 jobs with a 20 minute commute. That was too long for me. I have worked at several schools that l could walk to. That is just fine with me. When my children were young, I did not want to be too far away from them. Now my youngest is grown but has autism and is non verbal, so, again, I don't want to be too far away from him. Fortunately, my neighbor is a retired policeman who is aware of my son's disabilities and will help out if an emergency occurs while I am a school.
I am amazed at those who say 15-20 minutes is their max! I did an hour commute this past year (33 miles one way, but always had traffic). Before that, I had a 30 minute commute (16 miles one way) for two years. My new job will be a 30 minute commute (17 miles one way). I guess closer is always nicer, but 30 minutes is definitely doable. I'm looking forward to cutting my commute in half I did apply to a few schools that were in the next town above/below me, but truthfully I think there are some negatives as teachers to working TOO close to home. I'd hate to have to worry about going out to dinner/getting drinks/going for a run and running into students.
Yup, same thing here. Now that I have children of my own, I won't commute more than 30-40 min. I prefer 30 or less. It just takes too much time out of an already very busy day, and I like to be close to my children in case they get sick, etc. This has severely limited my job search, but oh, well. It's a choice I live with because I know I would be miserable commuting. If my salary were desperately needed I know that I would do it, but I don't have to work...I want to (and it will make saving for college etc. easier)
My commute is 26 miles one way and can take anywhere from ~37 minutes to just over an hour, depending on traffic. My average day, that usually involves rush hour, ranges from 45-55 minutes. I didn't mind at first, but I am now at the point of frustration. I don't have kids, but I do value my personal time. I don't want to spend close to two hours per day in my car. I'm not looking to switch jobs though. Rather, I'm planning to move closer to the highway, so that I can still live in the same city but cut out 1/3 of the commute.
