Once every three weeks, Bob Schmidt wakes up at 6 a.m. and goes to work.
260 miles away, he left his home in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and drove an hour and a half to Providence, Rhode Island, where he boarded a train bound for New York, a journey that took 3.5 hours.
He then took the subway 30 minutes from Penn Station and arrived at his desk on the 77th floor of the World Trade Center at 11:30 a.m., 5.5 hours later.
Schmidt is one of a growing number of America’s “supercommuters” who live far from their jobs, make epic commutes from their favorite towns to big cities, save a fortune on rent and live What they call a better quality of life.
This trend exploded during the Covid-19 pandemic, helped by the widespread adoption of video calls and broadband internet, and shows no signs of slowing down.
Earlier this year, a reporter published an article this wall street journal sparking a new wave of interest in the subject. Chip Cutter said commuting from Columbus, Ohio to New York could save him $3,200 (£2,520) a month despite waking up at 4.15am to complete the 550-mile commute.
Mr. Schmidt has been living his remote-worker dream since mid-2020, when the pandemic and some health issues caused him to reevaluate his lifestyle.
His business—— guarantorThe program, which provides rent guarantees to people such as students who don’t qualify for rentals, had been growing since 2016, and Mr. Schmidt, a married father of two, decided to make a change.
A lifelong New Yorker, he and his wife sold their $1 million, 3,400-square-foot home and purchased a 240-year-old home on Cape Cod that is one-third the size of the property for $800,000. Two size house. Since then, he has been traveling to Manhattan for three or four nights every three weeks. The rest of the time he works in his home office.
“Before the pandemic, I was driving from the suburbs to Manhattan five days a week, an hour and a half each way, so I was used to commuting,” Mr. Schmidt said. “But it took us a while to find the best route from Cape Town to New York. I tried driving but the traffic was unpredictable and it took up to nine hours.
“The best way I chose was to drive and take the train.”
Mr. Schmidt said the cost was $350 round trip. His return journey begins with the 3.56pm train from Penn Station and, if all goes well, he will arrive in Providence at 7pm and be home by 9pm.
in summer, JetBlue Airways Once flights begin operating from Cape Cod to New York, Mr. Schmidt will consider taking those flights for $400 round-trip.
“I would even consider taking a seaplane that would depart very close to me and drop you off on 23rd Street in Manhattan,” Mr. Schmidt said. Although the round trip would cost $800, it would be a luxury squander.
Mr. Schmidt has lived in various parts of New York over the years and enjoys spending three nights in town to explore the city. The biggest challenge, he said, is finding affordable hotels. He also misses the camaraderie of the office.
But it’s been worth it for Schmidt, who works out with a personal trainer three days a week, eats lunch with his wife most days and enjoys walking on the beach every afternoon during the summer.
His sentiments are echoed by Ian Bearce, who spent 10 years commuting seven hours from Minneapolis, Minnesota to New York City before landing his dream job in advertising.
Mr. Bales stopped because he had a great job opportunity in Minneapolis.
“You can’t get the quality of life in New York that you get in Minneapolis; unless you’re in the suburbs, you’re paying a fortune,” he said. “The cost of housing there is exorbitant. My house within an hour from New York would cost three times as much.”
Mr Bearce’s commute began at 4.30am on Monday, when he woke up and drove to Minneapolis Airport to catch a 7am flight to New York. He would take the subway from JFK Airport and arrive at his office around 11.30am.
He’ll be back Friday night. His children were three and two when he started commuting, but when he’s at home the whole family makes it a point to spend quality time together.
Mr Bales said super commuting could be “very difficult”. Before he went to work in New York, he called a colleague who gave him some advice. “He told me it’s much harder on your spouse than it is on you,” Mr. Beals said. “It’s true, it’s going to be harder for the people you leave behind.”
Follow us on Google news ,Twitter , and Join Whatsapp Group of thelocalreport.in
