by sentientslug on 1/15/24, 5:59 AM
by andy99 on 1/17/24, 8:32 PM
I just skimmed it, I'd say what makes this atypical is he's trying to do it on a budget. A "normal" supercommuter would be working as a consultant or something and have travel baked in to their pay, so they would not have to skimp in the same way. It's actually (unsurprisingly) pretty easy to commute if you don't worry about your budget. Buy a flight pass, find a regular hotel, and expense your meals. Maybe some people also enjoy playing budget traveller, I think that would make it unbearable.
by quartz on 1/17/24, 8:44 PM
I knew an eng manager who lived in a flight focused community (each house had parking for an airplane!) like this one [1] way outside of town. They'd fly in each morning for their commute.
I always thought that sounded like it would provide maximum flexibility since there are so many tiny airfields in the US you'd be hard pressed to work somewhere too far from one.
Seemed pretty incredible overall... at the time I remember looking it up and the cost working out to a bit cheaper than bay area housing all-in, but I didn't really know how to calculate the airplane costs accurately.
[1] https://www.businessinsider.com/cameron-airpark-estates-cali...
by skywhopper on 1/17/24, 8:42 PM
Sounds like a miserable life but he also seems like the kind of person who gets off on it. I do feel sorry for his family, though. I agree it's ridiculous for the WSJ to force folks to work from the office if it's not actually a requirement 5 days a week. I also wonder if they're properly accounting for state income taxes from this setup (he should owe state income tax to the state he's working from on any particular day).
His boast about getting $2,000 in cash for accepting the offers to put off your flight till later reminded me of the time my family went to Hawaii over Christmas. We were flying from Honolulu back to Chicago in early January and the flight was severely oversold. Unfortunately there was a huge snowstorm predicted for 18 hours later in Chicago, promising 18+ inches of snow. So no one was taking the offers. They eventually got down to offering to rebook you for a flight the next day in exchange for a suite at the Waikiki Hilton overnight, $2,000 in cash, and an upgrade to first class for the rebooked flight. I was so tempted to accept the offer, but we really wanted to beat the snowstorm (as did everyone else of course).
by jimt1234 on 1/17/24, 9:37 PM
Years ago I worked with a guy that was a flight attendant and a systems engineer. He lived in Phoenix, Arizona, woke up early every morning, worked the same flight to San Diego, California, then took a taxi (this was before Uber) from the airport to the office, worked his engineering job (government contract work; the hours were very predictable), then took a taxi back to the airport and worked a flight home to Phoenix. He said his day was usually about 12 hours, which isn't too bad. I always respected that way of 'supercommuting'.
by jmercouris on 1/15/24, 7:27 AM
This is some next level masochism. They should allow people to just work remote.
by karaterobot on 1/17/24, 8:45 PM
I don't understand why he wouldn't just live in OH, save money for a house, and in the mean time commute to NYC for, let's say, one week a month. This seems cheaper and more pleasant, and easier to plan, and less physically exhausting, and more obvious. Does his work as a journalist require him to be physically located at the company, but on an irregular schedule? I'm trying to figure out the series of requirements and constraints that make this behavior seem like the best choice. Interesting article, but just not enough details in it for me to understand it to my admittedly naive satisfaction.
by spacecadet on 1/17/24, 8:29 PM
So they(WSJ) forced him to write a piece defending their need for butts in seats? comes off inhuman. Cant think of a logical reason to allow this other then absurd laziness and apathy from the WSJ leadership.
by jasonpeacock on 1/17/24, 8:47 PM
by swader999 on 1/17/24, 8:35 PM
I did something similar, moved rural in 2014, two hour drive away from contract gigs in big city. Rather than rent and then have to break lease on next contract or commute a long ways, I just did the van life thing for weeknights and had zero commute aside to and from home once a week. Then pandemic and haven't been back since with all the remote jobs.
by philomath_mn on 1/17/24, 8:47 PM
What a nightmare. This guy needs to get a remote job or at least move to someplace like Stamford
by mise_en_place on 1/17/24, 9:36 PM
I had a family member do a similar commute, iirc it was from the Bay Area to NM. Luckily the real estate was a lot cheaper in NM, so he was able to lock down a month-to-month very cheaply there. He would live and commute near work in NM, then return home to his wife on the weekends. I'd imagine it was stressful in multiple ways.
by sjfjsjdjwvwvc on 1/17/24, 8:43 PM
Strange as hell.
No job is worth this - I would rather cleaning toilets in some shithole than spend all my time commuting
by crims0n on 1/17/24, 9:20 PM
I do this... work in NC, commute to DC each week. Grab a hotel a couple nights and drive back. I was a remote worker pre-pandemic then my company recently mandated RTO with no exceptions. Sucks but not going to find a higher paying job locally so I deal with it for now.
by kelnos on 1/17/24, 9:54 PM
>
The Wall Street Journal requires office attendance at least three days a weekThis is the problem. WSJ needs to stop being dicks about this. What a waste of the author's money, time, and carbon footprint.
by ElevenLathe on 1/17/24, 8:55 PM
"I'm a Supercommuter. Here's What It's Like" or "I'm Slowly Going Broke So I Can Live In An Apartment In Columbus, Ohio"
by Toutouxc on 1/17/24, 8:41 PM
Some call it "supercommuter", some may call it "carbon tax can't come soon enough".
by schappim on 1/17/24, 9:36 PM
Pfft Ohio to New York, that is playing on easy mode!
After selling a business, I did this for a while between Sydney, Australia and Boulder Co.
I did this craziness because we had a toddler, and newborn.
The key to making this work was to just stay on Mountain Time when getting back to Sydney.
Whilst it is an easy way to get airline status, I do not recommend it.
by trevoragilbert on 1/17/24, 8:30 PM
I read “supercomputer” and was ready to hear the inner monologue of a machine.
Didn’t get that but also wasn’t disappointed!
by SomeoneFromCA on 1/17/24, 8:29 PM
I misread the title as "I'm a Supercomputer".