Ground commute
 

Hey all, I'm looking for some input as to whether or not I'll hate myself for trying to make a 2.5 hour drive work for my commute. I'm located 2.5 hrs from both IND and ORD and 3 hours from DTW. I'm likely looking at getting on with a regional based in ORD and have been planning to make the drive, figuring that it can't really be worse than a flying commute. Am I right or wrong here? Is anyone else doing this?

No brainer. Drive. Get a soda, some music, and enjoy relaxation before/after a trip. Although traffic on 294 outside O'Hare can be murder.

My current commute (drive) is 2 hours and 40 minutes and yes, I complain about it all the time, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. I sometimes fly to work, and it's so much more of a hassle.

As said above, just put on some good music, bring something to drink, and you are set.

I've never missed a show time. Been close, but I always give myself an 30-45 minutes of wiggle room in case of an accident or heavy traffic.

Thanks guys! I appreciate the great feedback.

For what it's worth, I currently work and live in DTW and I'm making the move that would put me right at about 2.5 hours from DTW and 3 from IND. At least you control your destiny when you drive.

Work your schedule so you have 4 to 6 days on the road to minimize your driving. It's vastly better than wondering if you will have a seat, and coming back home knowing you always have a seat is priceless. If you worked at a place with all day trips, it would suck.

I will likely have to commute to a choice of two towns that are each about a 4.5 to 5 hour drive away from my home by car. However, it's not all that much faster to commute by air. So I haven't done either yet as I'm a newbie, I will likely drive as often as I fly for reasons stated above. Even on long call reserve, I know I can always get to the airport on time without wondering if I'll get a seat. I'll do it both ways and see. However a 2 to 3 hour drive would be much shorter than almost any airplane commute unless you live really close to an airport.

Man, I know we are different and are bothered by different things, but that is a LONG drive and I would get incredibly sick of it very fast...especially if you are on reserve for a while and you have to do it 2 or 3 times a week.

I just can't do it. That's 4 hours of being an attentive driver which can be stressful and fatiguing on it's on. Throw on top of that gas money and vehicle mx?

a 4.5 or 6 hour drive is what a 1 hour flight? Wheels up to wheels down? Let's be liberal and call it 1.5 hours block. Through on half an hour either side for boarding and deplaning and we are up to 2.5 hours. Who knows what your drive to the airport is like. Maybe it's really bad in which case throw this out the window. If it's just an normal commute figure in a half hour to get there. What are we up to now, 3 hours? That's 3 hours of mindless time you can do what you want...read, look at porn on 4chan, try to convince that nurse to go out with you. I'll take that over driving any day.

Again, different strokes/folks and all that.

Do you commute? Because what you described is in now way close to being accurate.

First look at the commuter policy. Most people do not give them self one commuting attempt to get to work. Depending on the frequency of flights they may be 1-4 hours apart. My company requires two attempts to get to work for a CP to kick in. Secondly, you aren't guaranteed to get on. Third, weather and canceled/delayed flights.

If your sign in time was 12 and you flew to work then you would have to start your commute early that morning 5-8am depending on the flight schedules. 5-7 hours by plane or 3-3.5 by car?

Drive. Drive. Drive. No question about it. But, try not to have to make it more than once a week.

I was in a very similar circumstance 20+ yrs ago. Lived 2 hrs from ORD working for a regional carrier (8 yrs). Was subsequently hired at a major and based in DTW ever since. That was a 3.5 hr drive. Sometimes I flew to DTW with driving as a backup plan. Other times I just drove to work. Kind of a dealer's choice.

After commuting 2 yrs to DTW at the major airline, my wife and I decided to move to base. Just a lifestyle choice.

Some people in cities with bad traffic spend an hour each way going to and from their 9-5 M-F job. That's 40 hours a month. If you do that commute you'd still only be driving about half that amount.

Yes I do commute. Have for my entire career. Admittedly I've got a pretty easy commute. Not a lot of frequency, but it's on company metal and I always get a seat. So my narrative is pretty accurate in MY case. It's a thirty minute drove to the airport, and I show up about 30 minutes prior to push.

Yes I know not all commutes are equal, and I know some don't share my views on commuting. That's the different strokes park in my original post. I would gladly sacrifice an hour or two of home time to not have to worry about having to drive myself a couple hundred miles away. That's just me, though.

And really 3 or 3.5 hours is not what I was talking about. That's right on the border of what I would consider doing. 5 or 6 hours is a no brainer to me. Not a chance. Is someone really up for a 14 hour duty day with 5 legs after driving 5 or 6 hours?

I agree a mindless 4 hours is actually not bad (nap, read, watch a movie).
It sucks when you land from the last flight of your trip at the same time your flight home is departing and that 4 hours turns into 8 though (depending on frequency).
Also even with the easy commute you indicate, a flight commute means there is always a chance that you won't be making it home that day.

I would strongly consider driving to DTW if I were you. Driving through Chicago west to east to ORD is really tough from 0600-1000 and 1530-2000. Detroit is out in the middle of no where. I live in Chicago and Commute to Detroit. I make the drive every 4 months or so. THE absolute worst part is getting out of the city on 294. This might sound crazy but consider actually making the drive to ORD (if you haven't already) just to test the waters.


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this is incredibly true. Like I said though, mileage varies person to person and I'm not like most commuters. I've made my piece with it the process,and the cons of driving would greatly out weigh the cons of flying.

Drive! You could spend twice the time commuting on a plane/sitting at an airport trying to catch oversold flights. Plus, there's something about knowing at the end of a 4 day trip you will make it home at the time you expect and not having to worry about leaving up to chance catching flights...

I did a 3.5 hour drive temporarily for a few months before I made a base switch. I would still take that drive over the stress of commuting via plane

Detroit would be way easier.

Just to specify a little bit, Detroit is about 40 miles farther one-way for me. I realize that traffic could be a bit more of a concern getting into Chicago though.

I'd plan on driving once a week.....get a comfy crashpad to minimize the temptation to do extra round trips......as you gain seniority you might ditch the pad for cheap hotels if you need it less. I've commuted by air for the last 16 years.....every week I get done and get home 9 hrs later, wishing I was climbing into a car and driving instead.

Drive to DAY or CVG, much closer than DTW and you don't have to deal with ORD traffic.