34-year-old supercommutes between Atlanta and Philadelphia via bus, train, plane
Daniel Rodriguez typically uses three modes of transportation to get from his home in Philadelphia to his job in Atlanta, 800 miles away.
The 34-year-old project manager for an urban design firm splits his time between two cities each week, often using buses, trains and planes to get to work.
Rodriguez started super-commuting in May. He was living in Philadelphia full-time with his wife, but after struggling to find work there, he took on a hybrid role where he did some work locally and also worked a few days a week in Atlanta, where his main team was based. The couple considered moving to Atlanta but decided against it due to living costs.
Now Rodriguez usually takes his super trip once a week, usually staying in Atlanta 2 to 3 days a week.
The day he was supposed to be at the office, he alternated between flying out early in the morning and catching the evening flight the day before. Rodriguez travels light and packs only one personal item, which includes her laptop, food and a change of clothes.
Each route usually takes between 4 and 6 hours door to door. Rodriguez spends her time brainstorming or editing content, catching up on work, reading, or studying for licensing exams she plans to take soon.
“I work from the airport, I work from the plane,” he says. “I try to fit as much life into this as possible.”
Although his co-workers think his commute is “interesting,” Rodriguez has yet to encounter any travel mishaps.
“My boss says, ‘For some reason it works,'” he adds.
Factoring of costs
Traveling from Philadelphia to Atlanta, Rodriguez wakes up around 3:30 a.m. and walks from her apartment to the train station in less than 10 minutes. He goes to the airport using the regional train line for $8.75. He often takes a flight at 5:30 a.m., which costs $90 one way and takes 1.5 or 2 hours. Once he lands in Atlanta, a $2.50 train and a 10-minute walk usually gets him to the office around 8 or 8:30 a.m.
On the return journey, he basically retraces his steps with a few changes. In Atlanta, he wakes up a little later, around 4 a.m., and usually books a rideshare to the airport, which costs about $20 and takes 15 to 20 minutes. After his flight and a half-hour regional train ride, he can get to work around 9 a.m. with a short walk, whether to his office in Philadelphia or to a coffee shop.
Rodriguez typically spends up to $240 a week on round-trip transportation costs.
He and his wife spend a total of $2,000 on monthly rent in Philadelphia. Rodriguez is currently staying with a friend when he’s in Atlanta, for which he pays $400 a month, but he plans to have his own home there soon.
He also spends $200 a year on a CLEAR+ membership to get through airport security checks faster.
Super getting used to the commute
Rodriguez says to get used to it His super commute was “easier than a lot of people think” because he had gotten used to using public transportation after selling his car a few years ago.
He finds his commute “overall less stressful than driving to work every day, stuck in traffic, and feeling angry.”
So much of modern life in America feels like “you’re on autopilot,” he says. “You wake up, go to work, log in, log out, and repeat.” Rodriguez finds that commuting “forces you to be intentional,” whether it’s how he spends his time on public transportation or how he and his wife spend time together despite being physically apart some days of the week.
“Everything needs to be thought out in advance,” he says. “Everything you value and prioritize in your relationship and how you live your life cannot happen by accident.”
Rodriguez sees commuting as a “form of a third place,” referring to the concept of a place that is neither work nor home.
“It’s not just these pain points that will take you to the next level,” he says. “These are also places.”
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