That's 1 to 1.5 wasted hours, every single day. That's not what I would call a reasonable (or productive) use of time. I'd rather spend that time somewhere more pleasant than the freeway, doing something more pleasant than driving a car.
I used to do a similar commute from SF to Cupertino, before I moved to NYC. I felt an awful numbness of mind and spirit every time I got into my car to commute to work.
Now, my commute takes 15 minutes door-to-door; I use the brief time on the train to read a book. I actually look forward to it.
>doing something more pleasant than driving a car.
Driving is, for me, one of my favorite things to do. You're right, it's not productive, but I don't want to be 100% productive 100% of the time, I want to take some down time each day as well. What kind of car do you drive? Perhaps you could upgrade, and/or take a more scenic route.
Driving the exact same commuter route day after day is a very different experience than driving for fun.
I do enjoy driving for fun, but no more than I enjoy other activities. What I don't enjoy is the incredible commitment and mental involvement required to own, park, insure, fuel, and maintain a car -- so I don't just own one.
I listen to a lot of music, or Fresh Air/NPR. I would do the exact same thing if I was riding on a train. I listen to a lot of music anyways (i.e. go to record stores, buy albums etc... ) so it's great for me, especially because I don't listen to music or other things at work because it's distracting for me.
Also, I know I couldn't handle the drive to Cupertino from SF, and I've had an imposed limit of 45 minutes for a commute, which is why I even moved to Menlo Park when I first moved to the bay. But, I get off at Sand Hill Road, and honestly, living in Menlo Park is much more soul sucking than an extra 20 minutes of commuting each day. It was too far to walk anywhere from my house when I was home, and that's a huge dealbreaker for me.
I used to do a similar commute from SF to Cupertino, before I moved to NYC. I felt an awful numbness of mind and spirit every time I got into my car to commute to work.
Now, my commute takes 15 minutes door-to-door; I use the brief time on the train to read a book. I actually look forward to it.