Does where you live affect how you parent?
NBC News recently ran a story about moms and dads dubbed “super commuters.”
According to the peacock network, the title is bestowed upon a growing number of Americans who live in one city and are forced to travel extreme distances to work in another. In the Nightly News piece, one dad shared his story of spending nearly four hours behind the wheel a day, putting 1,000 miles a week on his car, and forking over $450 for gas per month. All so that his four children can remain in the same home and city they’ve known their entire lives.
Like the dad profiled on NBC News, the main motivation for super commuters is family… and money. Most moms and dads say they don’t want to uproot their children from their schools and neighborhoods, so they are willing to sacrifice hours upon hours upon hours traveling to and from home and work. What’s more, with job and economic insecurity at an all-time high, some parents say supercommuting makes more financial sense than trying to sell their home in a dismal economy.
I used to commute 70 miles roundtrip while working at a local television station prior to becoming a mom. I can’t imagine making that same drive every day and still finding time to parent my child in the way that she has grown accustomed to.
You have to wonder how much time those super commuters have to spend with their kids if they are on the road for 20-30 hours per week. Add in the 40 to 50 hours they spend actually clocked in at work and when does the parent-child bonding time happen?
Interestingly, Forbes just released its list of the “Best Cities to Raise a Family.” According to the magazine, it measured and ranked America’s 100 largest metro areas by “median income, overall cost of living, commuting delays, crime statistics, school quality, and housing affordability.”
In the end, Grand Rapids, Michigan came out on top.
Apparently, the cost of living there is low, the local school system ranks in the top third in the country and… commuting to work is a breeze.
Rounding out the top five were Boise, Idaho; Provo, Utah; Youngstown, Ohio; and Raleigh, North Carolina.
You can view the entire list here.
Did your hometown make the grade? Do you think where you live helps or hinders you as a parent?
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