Travel times may fluctuate with career choices.

Chicago traffic in 1909, photo by Frank M. Hallenbeck

I've had all kinds of commutes throughout my life. Everything from working somewhere that was a 15-minute walk away to a job that had me in the car 3+ hours a day in bumper-to-bumper traffic. These all have their pluses and minuses. For instance, that long drive is the thing that got me into podcasts in the early aughts (though I can't imagine how I didn't go insane not being able to listen to them at 2X speed!). And the 15-minute walk meant I was almost always late because I'd misjudge when I had to leave. Luckily it was a recording studio and punctuality wasn't all that important since there was someone there pretty much 24 hours a day in one of the music rooms. When I got my first job in the loop five years ago I was stoked because I could finally just take a train to work, allowing me to sell my car and go fully urban. Plus I love being able to read or zone put on the train. And with my current commute I get to choose between taking two train or a bus and a train and the time between my front door and my chair at my desk is even shorter now!

The only way I could beat this is if I worked at home and my commute was between my bed and my office desk 30 feet away. But that would suck because who wants to work from home?!