So many considerations... amount of pay increase, shape of your vehicle, missed time with family, if you like to drive, if you like audiobooks/podcasts. People do it for sure, but it's a really personal calculus.

Totally depends on your personal preferences, gas prices, fuel efficiency, and how much you earn.

Personally, I would hate every single second of that. My car is good enough on gas so I guess I wouldn't care too much about that part. But driving 2 hrs and 20 mins everyday would get super old after the first couple of times... Well ok, I would hate it after I got to work the first day, but I don't like driving much. I prefer to be the passenger on any rides longer than 30 mins lol

One hour and 10 minutes each way is 2 hours and 20 minutes per day of commuting. (in good weather)

A little over 11 1/2 hours per week of commuting. (in good weather)

~50 hours per month of commuting. (in good weather)

You need to consider gas prices and wear and tear on your vehicle.

Whether it's worth it or not is up to you.

9 hours a day is my commute limit.

Having done something similar, the only way to make it worth it would be to line up a set of audio books or podcasts or something of the sort. But even still, long commutes get old.

I drove over three hours a day for three years. Would not recommend. It’s exhausting.

In the short term you can do anything for a few months. I used to fly between Portland and Anchorage every 3 weeks for 6 months. I always knew it was temporary though.

But if I were you and you really wanted this job, I’d look into relocating. Spending your days commuting is hell

1 hour one way was too much for me. Makes the thought of driving anywhere on the weekend to do something fun appalling

15 minutes

My wife used to commute over an hour each way (without traffic) for many years. Bad weather, accidents, a butterfly farts in Japan...and that one way trip can nearly double in duration. The stress ended up affecting her health in the long run, and between that and the affect on family life, she dropped out her career job 100% for more soul satisfying work within a local commute.

I commuted Portland to Augusta for 2 years, it was a bit rough since I worked late fairly often at the time, but totally doable, and with an efficient vehicle (my car gets 33-35 mpg) really not a big deal

Hard pass for me!

30 minutes at the most... Even that gives a lot of people road rage and feeling the need to speed to get it over faster...

I drive 40 minutes from Waldoboro to Boothbay Harbor and back.

Depends on how much you love your job.

It’s like being at work for over an extra week per month if you think about it. Would have to be a hell of a raise.

I couldn't do more than 30.

How long is a piece of string?

Yup lol. I was a 7 min ride to work and then moved up north to keep my job and now I'm 15-20 depending on weather. It's my max lol

That's a loooong commute.

Edit: And just wait until the tourists hit route one. That's going to add a significant amount of time to that hour and ten.

Ah yes, the well-known Butterfly Fart Effect. I think there's a movie about that.

Yeah, the addition of the Wiscasset bridge 2x daily in this commute is going to be problematic.

All interstate too, so I can imagine it wasn’t too bad.

Starred Ashton Fartser, IIRC?

I should add that my wife's commute was 100% highway. It sucked.

For context, one site says the average U.S. commute time is 27.6 minutes 41 miles. Their data for Maine shows 23.9 minutes (did they really do a survey?) If that job is a good stepping stone to something better and closer it might be a good deal. Others had great comments.

After basically 3 yrs of working remote tho I wouldn't want to do it again - would have to be a LOT of money

All these comments are great and helpful thank you!

I did a 1 hour commute for 20 years. I didn’t think the first job would last long but I stayed 11 years. By then we had attachments in the community we lived in, and my wife worked 5 min from home. I ended up getting another job, also an hour away because that’s where my professional network was.

I was able to do some of my job from the car, like calling contractors etc. I also had customers in my area and on the way, so it was often not a fully wasted trip. It also allowed me to hit certain stores on the way, so if my wife’s aunt likes a restaurant that’s 40 min away for us, I could pop in easily for a gift card. Later, I could occasionally catch my son’s high school sports because they were closer to work than home.

My job was very flexible and I could make up hours at home if I needed to leave early. I now mostly work from home.

So it wasn’t all bad, but some of it was. I figure it cost me an extra car over those years, and it ate a lot of time. I think it impacted our social life a bit because my work friends were out of reach for dinners with spouses, etc. it definitely impacted my health with extra sitting and too much fast food.

2 hours a day *200 work days is 16.7 days on your ass in the car every year. So in my case I’ve blown almost a year of my life driving to work. I get a little bitter when I think about that.

Don’t forget what an horrendous nightmare route one is during the warmer months. Slow ass drivers, limited spots to pass, Reds Eats. Anyone you can car pool with?

Commuted an hour each way and it was exhausting. Felt like my whole life was on I 95.

Heck yeah dude, glad you got something remote. After some time that would eventually take a toll, I had about a 25 minute commute from Augusta to Gardiner.

Are you opposed to moving? I had a commute like that for a while and I hated it. It’s such a waste of time.

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I drive 1 hr 7 minutes each way from where I live to Westbrook for less than $20 an hour. I don't go anywhere on the weekend because I'm so sick of driving and don't want the extra wear on the car more than what I'm doing. I've been doing it for a year and a half now. You get used to it but it is never fun. Being gone 11 hours a day everyday (and that's before incorporating after work errands) is challenging.

I am looking for something closer or in a town that I can actually afford to live in

Think hard on whether it is worth it or not

I had this same dillema, drive about 45-50 minutes one way for work. Anything GPSd over 50 minutes was my comfort zone, probably just for the psychological factor. If you're talking about a pay bump from the $35k to $40k's, personally not worth it. If this is a jump from the higher end of average salary of $60k+ to a career jump of at least another $15k I would take it. Just depends on your family, your vehicle, and that you've thought it over.

I drive from Ellsworth to auburn every day, a little over 2 hours one way every day (almost 5 hours round trip.) My 8 hour day turns into a 13 hour day. I wake up at 3:30 and get home at 6. In the mornings, it’s great because I have time to drink coffee and wake up. The evenings I unwind and listen to podcasts. You just gotta learn how to enjoy it. But it’s not for everyone.

I will also say, I drive a diesel pickup and it costs about $120 a day in fuel. Make sure your wages will cover the added expense.

Idk go on Craigslist maine & see how long a reply takes. That will be ur answer.

We own a house in Nobleboro, and my wife is close to her work from here. We also like were we live.

😆😂

I used to have an hour commute elsewhere in Maine, and I do not miss it in the slightest. Early mornings followed by late nights punctuated by constantly buying gas and spending more time in my car opposed to time doing literally anything else. Obviously if you don't mind all of that then up to you, but I'd definitely be looking for a shorter commute. That or remote work.

Nope. I commute 1.5 hours each way daily. Kennebunk to Augusta and back. Money is worth it. You just have to find some good podcasts to listen to during the drives.

That sounds like a stretch to me. Then factor in the traffic in Wiscasset during the summer? Oof, hard no for me.

I will add though, I’m making triple what my previous salary was. So to me, worth it.

This. OP should seriously consider the traffic debacle in Wiscasset. ~4mos out of the year, there is a chance you will be stuck in traffic around Wiscasset for an additional 20mins. All because of a mediocre lobster roll shack.

It’s not worth it.

It may be tempting, but the opportunity cost… the exhaustion…. Weather and then needing to use PTO because the commute is MUCH too long to white knuckle it during the snow or rain… an hour and 15 is really at least an hour and a half with accounting for variables and needing to be on time, you’re constantly needing to buy gas….

In my opinion, it would be better to move closer or not take the job.

I drove 99 miles one way from my house i bought in greene to the shipyard in kittery. I left at 4am every day to be there by 6am, earlier if there was a snowstorm. The pay was absolutely worth it until I was pregnant; then the commute became brutal.

I could do that. I could do 90 minutes, no more than that.

I used to commute 1 hour 15 minutes around Atlanta. It was all highway, but the draw-back was that there was always an accident and in the Atlanta area there are vey few alternate routes. When I moved back to Maine, I thought nothing of having a long commute, but I got tired of it quickly because I’m stuck on Route 1. I currently drive Brunswick to Rockland which is about 1 hour and 5 minutes…until the tourists come. Route 1 gets clogged and adds 15-30 minutes onto the commute. It really cuts into your day. Been looking to relocate but there’s not a lot of homes for sale in the Rockland area.

Realistically, I think Nobleboro to Portland is going to be a challenge. You’re going to see heavy traffic flow on Route 1 Memorial Day right through Fall foliage. Then you get to look forward to going to work in the dark and coming home in the dark. The winter will have it’s challenges too. There were a few nights this past winter that I had to get a hotel room because commuting that distance wasn’t safe or would take me several hours.

I drive an hour one way to work and have done it for 20+ years. If you plan for it, it’s fine. I get to live in a cost effective area ($800/mo mortgage for a 4 bedroom) and make a decent salary so my spouse doesn’t need to work. I also work somewhere that typically closes when the weather is bad and can work remotely 2 days a week. If I wanted to live closer to work, I wouldn’t be able to live in the town I work in and I wouldn’t make the salary I do now in my current town. It’s all about compromise.

The opposite of from long a commute?

Everyone has posted most of the big downsides of a long commute. But there are some people dont see or realize right away. Dealing with exceptions to your day. Things like need to meet a plumber, picking up kids, dentist/doctor appt, or even attending after work happy hour or other event. These all become much more complicated when you have a 1+ hour commute.

When I first moved to Maine, I commuted from Bangor to Castine. It's a roughly 1-hour drive. Unless it snows. Or it was windy the night before and a tree fell on the highway. Or there were a lot of logging trucks on the road. I did this drive or four years. Yes, it is too long. Of course, the drive is beautiful, and I got through a crazy amount of audiobooks and podcasts. But I commute 20 minutes to Orono now, and can work from home pretty much whenever I want. Having all that commuting time back to be home with my wife and our newborn is worth it, and if I could do anything differently in my life it would be to arrange things so I didn't have to spend all that time just driving.

This right here is an excellent point.^

Well; I walk downstairs and in to my office- some mornings that’s too far. Personally if I had to drive in- 15-20 min tops.