Would you commute 60 miles to school?

[oschrndz]

I start PT school in less than a week and have been going back and forth on whether I should commute to school or move closer to campus.
My commute will be 60 miles one way...so a total of 120 miles daily! In an ideal world with no traffic on the freeways the drive would take me about 1 hour but considering the awful traffic in Los Angeles, I am anticipating a 1 hr 30min drive or more. Do you guys think is smart to commute while in PT school?

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[DancerFutureDPT]

I wouldn't do it...I'm about an hour and fifteen minutes from my PT school, either by train or car. I would maybe consider the train because at least you can sleep/study, but I would never drive it....the hours in class are too long and I'd be too tired. Plus, gas is expensive. And you're going to be forced to drive every day - so if you're not feeling all the great, you still have to drive, no matter how tired you are. You also can't study while driving (unless it's an audiotape or something), and if you want to come in to study on a weekend, go out with classmates, you're looking at a hell of a commute.

To me, it wasn't worth the money saved in rent and food to commute. Plus, I know I'm not productive living at home - I wouldn't be able to make myself study.

But, if you're okay driving that much every day, and you're able to do the work at home and not worried about the annoyance of commuting for studying/socializing, then go for it...it'll probably save you a bit of money.

 

[vapt]

Wow. I somewhat thought it might be doable until I got to the part of your post that mentioned LA. I'd seriously consider moving closer. I've had friends that lived in the area with no time constraints at all and the traffic made them go (would spend 2-3 hours for a half hour drive). Your sanity and time is worth the extra money you'll spend living closer to school.

 

[WSUPT]

During first year I had a classmate who was originally waitlisted and then accepted a week before class started. Well, she signed an apartment lease in a city 90 miles away thinking that she wasn't going to get in. She made that 90 mile one-way commute for the first year and hated it! The inclement weather here in Michigan, especially in winter, compounded the distance. Often during the winter she had to stay with classmates near school to save herself a 3 hour drive home.