All of my adults life I have been a commuter to the Detroit area for work. On average, I spent about 1 to 3 hours a day driving through Southeast, MI from my home in the Romulus area. Not to mention that Detroit traffic suffers from consistent rush hour days or seasonal inclement weather. I have learned to avoid driving my normal routes on Tuesday and Thursday mornings or Friday evening rush hour. To commute in Detroit is to be patient.

Here’s my daily commute story:

Jarrett Waddy, 28, leaves his home in Belleville, MI by 8am every weekday morning to commute 1 hours to work in the administration office of the University of Phoenix. First, he takes I94 East toward M10-Southfield Fwy, which is typically congested from I275 until after Telegraph road. Considering DTW airport traffic, the time that it takes to get to Telegraph from his home can shift from a calculated 20 min route to 40 minutes easily. From there, he takes I94 to M10 North, where he drives up to the end of the M10 to Evergreen. Finally, that typical commute gets him to work between 9:30 and 10 a.m. Then he does the reverse trip every evening at 5. Most times the commute home is different to avoid more traffic.

Ideally, logic would tell me to move closer to the Detroit area but, in consideration of family and my spouses employment, I chose go the distance.

I know that I am not alone. According to a new report from the U.S. Census Bureau, 10.8 million people, or 8.1% of workers, commute an hour or more to work each way. What’s more, 600,000 are classified as “mega-commuters,” traveling 90 minutes or more and at least 50 miles to get into the office. This is in sharp contrast to the national average commuting time of 25.5 minutes.  Sheesh!