Is a long commute worth it for a stable job?
Commuting up to four hours a round trip often leads to severe burnout, leaving people feeling like zombies with absolutely no energy for anything outside of work. Driving adds significantly more stress than taking a train, and the extreme travel time puts your life on hold by forcing you to cram all personal tasks into just a few days.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- People have been saying this in most months since August 2026.
- This comes up 474.5× more often in r/careerguidance than across the site as a whole.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Accepting a temporary or lower-level job closer to home while continuing to job hunt.Did this help you?
- 2Moving closer to the job location if financially viable.Did this help you?
- 3Enduring the grueling commute for one to two years strictly to secure a better job title and experience.Did this help you?
- 4Renting a room, hotel, or AirBnB near the office to stay overnight instead of making the round trip in one day.Did this help you?
- 5Taking the train instead of driving to make the travel time less stressful.Did this help you?
- 6Listening to audiobooks, podcasts, or language lessons to make the drive productive.Did this help you?
- 7Negotiating an off-books arrangement with an AirBnB host to store belongings and reduce the stress of packing.Did this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Has anyone done a similar arrangement? How brutal is the burnout after 6 to 12 months, and are there any hidden logistical nightmares I’m missing here? Am I crazy for considering this, or is 2 nights away a small price to pay for that level of pay?”source ↗
“I've had commutes like this. Always been via train, though, which is a much more pleasant way to do it. Having to drive adds to the stress a bit (unless you enjoy driving)”source ↗
“It’s doable, but I won’t lie, it gets old. It’s not the travel itself, it’s the fact that your life is regularly on hold while you’re out of town, because there are some things you just can’t do when you’re out of town, so all of that is suddenly crammed into 3-4 days rather than 7.”source ↗
“i did a 3 hour round trip for 6 months and by month 3 i was a zombie, no energy for anything outside of work”source ↗
“I have a dilemma of either choosing a temp full time job as a HR Coordinator (until Feb 2027) OR a full time job as a HR generalist, but a two hour commute (usually an hour, but with traffic it would be two hours)”source ↗
“I fear the job market is so bad that if i do the temp role and have no return offer, i would be unemployed. However, four hour round trip 5x a week would drive me insane”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 3Is this job offer a wise move for my long-term goals?
- 2Should I take a lateral job offer?
- 13Should I take a very low-paying entry-level job out of desperation?
- 2Should I leave a stable remote job for a risky startup?
- 3Is a 1099 contractor job worth it compared to a W2 salary?
- 3Is a cheaper apartment worth a longer daily commute?