Rando Redditor asks: I may have an opportunity for a new role. The downside is the commute. It’s a nice bump in pay but at the cost of 750 miles a week commuting. Relocation isn’t something I would consider. I would start commuting in a (car that has a fuel economy of 35mpg) with the goal of switching to either a hybrid or EV
TL;DR: Hell. No. The quality of life hit would suck.
A commute of 150 miles a day is approximately four hours in the car. If you were on public transit, you could at least use that time to pursue a low-footprint hobby like knitting, writing, or puzzles. Or sleep. You cannot do any of these while driving.
Economically, 100k/year is approximately $50/hour (assumes 2000 hours worked = 250 business days * 8 hour days; yeah, American vacation is terrible). If you add the extra four hours a day just for the commute, your effective hourly rate decreases to $33/hour. Is that worth it to you? To me, it is not.
Car expenses would make that worse. As a lower bound, you’re fuel costs alone are going to be on the order of $5100 (assuming 30mpg and $4.05 gas from Costco). For the upper end, we can use the 2024 IRS mileage rate of $0.67/mile. 150 miles/day * 250 days/year * 0.67/mile = 25,125/year. Having worked at a delivery service the summer after high school using my own car, the IRS estimate is more realistic to what you’ll experience. Driving a lot is hard on the car and well-being.