pearspears Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 Two hours one way, three days a week? This would save you thousands of dollars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereissoup Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 For me, it would depend. If it's on the bus or public transit where I could read or otherwise make semi-productive use of my time, then I wouldn't mind it. If it was a drive, I would definitely reconsider my options. Are the thousands of dollars of savings worth all the unproductive and generally wasted (at least to me; I don't enjoy driving) time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
123hardasABC Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 Ugh, I'm from LA so I do this every day for work... ...but if it's for school, I wouldn't do this. I commuted for a year during my undergrad, and I can't recommend it. I felt like I was wasting time traveling back and forth. Even when I took public transit, I found myself too distracted to really study on my commute. I don't think saving a few grand a year is not worth sacrificing your academics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TakeruK Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 For me, if it was a bus or public transit, I probably would not do the 4 hour commute, because it would mean that in addition to having to spend 4 hours on the road, I would also not have control over my own schedule. I would greatly prefer to not be productive in those 4 hours but get to choose exactly when I left home/campus. I actually had a really long commute in undergrad, 1.0-1.5 hours each way, 5 days a week. It also required a bus change so there was a lot of waiting for bus schedules to line up. These buses are specifically meant for university commuters so they were packed (everyone on campus has a free bus pass as part of student fees) which means it would be impossible to do any work! Although I was glad to save money (especially during undergrad!) and do my part for the environment during those 5 years, I am very happy that I now live in a place that is close enough and warm enough to walk or bike to school every day (and it is only a 5-10 minute commute!) But thousands of dollars is a large amount. I would make the 2 hour one-way commute if most of the following are true, in addition to saving a significant amount of money: 1. I get to live in the same city as my family/partner/friends/etc. (e.g. if my spouse has a job in a city 2 hours away) 2. I are not paid a stipend by my grad program 3. I am not expected to/planning to be on campus for anything more than classes and regularly scheduled meetings/seminars 4. I would be in full control of my travel arrangements (i.e no carpools, buses or other schedules to line up) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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