Andrew Rendon liked some elements of his commute, but many people didn’t. That’s because his commute required about two and a half hours of car and plane travel.
Rendon, a 31-year-old DevOps (development and operations) engineer, and his wife lived and worked in central New Jersey, but within the past year, the couple moved to North Carolina, where his wife found a job. His in-laws had also recently moved south.
Rendon and his wife had been renting a home in New Jersey, but said they knew it would be too expensive to buy a home there.
“If you build the same square footage and the same type of house here, it’s easily double the price in New Jersey,” he says.
So they packed up for the Tar Heel State, bought a house there, and Rendon began his weekly super commute.
wake up at 2am
Most of the colleagues on Rendon’s team were hired during the pandemic-era remote work boom and continue to work remotely to this day, he said. Because he was hired later, he didn’t have the same flexibility when he started being required to return to the office. Rendon knew his move would be a super commute.
Once a week, Rendon packs a suitcase and leaves by 3 a.m., driving about 2 1/2 hours to Raleigh Airport. Although there are closer airports, airfares are cheaper in Raleigh, he said. And I’ve gotten used to driving long distances.
“I love driving, so I try to find the best of it,” he says. “I listen to podcasts, so that’s how I get by.”
After the flight, I usually arrive in Newark between 8 and 9 a.m., an hour and a half to two hours away, and then hop on the train and head straight to the office. After work, he stayed overnight in a hotel in town, worked another day in the office, and took an evening flight back to Raleigh.
“I loved flying as a kid, so being able to fly every week is really great,” he says.
But constant movement also had negative side effects. He “got sick many times,” he says.
“Sleep deprivation takes a toll, but it will catch up somehow,” he added. “Driving makes you feel even more tired when you wake up early.”
Between gas, airfare, hotels, and other costs associated with the supermarket commute, he initially expected to spend about $1,200 a month. But in recent months, that amount has gone up, to about $1,800 or $2,000 a month.
“I’m dying to find something closer.”
After about 10 months of flying to work every week, Rendon accepted a new job that didn’t require a super commute.
Rendon said it was “insane” that the case was resolved after months of demoralizing investigation.
At her previous job, she loved working and traveling, but given the rising costs and the impact on her family life, she said, “I really wanted to find something closer.” But the job market was “too competitive,” he says.
“The job market is very tough, even for someone with 10 years of IT experience, it’s really bad,” he says. “Between layoffs and AI, everyone is watching.”
In some ways, Rendon found super commuting easier than job hunting.
“I was so burnt out that I’d rather do that so I don’t have to worry about constantly doing my best, preparing my resume and preparing for interviews,” he says.
Plus, “employers expect much more from you today than they did three years ago for the same job,” he says. “The ball is in their court.”
But eventually, a recruiter contacted Rendon, and he accepted a new five-day-a-week position in North Carolina at a pay cut of about $40,000.
“If I had to do it again tomorrow, I wouldn’t hesitate. I like where I live compared to New Jersey,” Rendon said of the move.
His commute is much shorter than before, about a 15-minute drive.
“I get to go home to my wife every day,” he says. “I’m going to miss traveling…but for now I can live my life again.”
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