This super-commuter would wake up at 2 am, take flight to work each week: ‘It takes a toll’
Andrew Rendon, a 31-year-old DevOp engineer, spent 10 months super-commuting from North Carolina to New Jersey once a week. The techie has now opened up about the toll that super-commuting took on his health, and how he eventually had to take a pay cut to find a job closer home. Andrew Rendon would take a flight to New Jersey every week (Representational image) Rendon told CNBC Make It that he and his wife used to live and work in central New Jersey. However, earlier this year, his wife found a job in North Carolina. The couple moved from New Jersey to North Carolina — and thus began Rendon’s super-commuting phase. Why the move to North CarolinaRendon, 31, told CNBC Make It that in North Carolina — unlike in New Jersey — he and his wife could afford to buy a home. The couple had been staying in New Jersey on rent, but knew that buying a house there would be out of their budgets. “The same square footage, the same type of house that we get down here would be easily twice the cost in New Jersey,” he said. So when Rendon’s wife found a role in North Carolina, the couple packed up and left New Jersey. (Also read: Indian super-commuter who travelled 200 km every day for work says ‘I am the sole earner in family’) Super-commuting to officeHowever, Rendon’s office was still based in New Jersey, and he was expected to work from the office every week. Rendon was prepared for the supercommuting that his move to NC entailed. After moving states, once a week, he would wake up at 2 am and hit the road 3 am, driving to Raleigh airport which is roughly 2.5 hours away. While there are airports closer to his home in North Carolina, Rendon explained that flights out of Raleigh are cheaper. “I love to drive, so I try to find the best of it,” he says. “I len to a podcast, so that kind of gets me .” From Raleigh, Rendon would take a flight to New Jersey. The flight usually took between 1.5 to 2 hours to reach Newark airport, from where the techie would then board a train to office. After spending the day in office, he would spend the night in a hotel. The next day, he would work from the office again before catching a flight back to North Carolina in the evening. The cost of supercommutingThis is the schedule that Rendon followed for 10 months. Earlier, the cost of petrol, airfare and hotels would tally up to $1,200 a month. However, in the last few months, the cost has gone up to $1,800 to $2,000 a month. Money was not the only reason he wanted to stop supercommuting — it was also taking a toll on his health. Because of the constant travel, he had “gotten sick so many times”. The lack of sleep takes a toll, it does kind of catch up,” Rendon added. “The driving adds to some exhaustion in waking up early.” A new job with a pay cutTen months after he started supercommuting, Rendon managed to find a job in North Carolina. He said he’d been “dying to find something closer” as the cost of commuting increased and the long journeys began taking a toll on his health. But the job search took months, and it wasn’t easy. Eventually, he had to accept a pay cut. “The job market has been insanely brutal; even for someone with 10 years of IT experience, it’s really bad,” Rendon said. “Everyone’s looking, between layoffs and AI.” “Employers are expecting a lot more out of you now than they did 3 years ago, for the same job,” he added. “The ball is in their court.” Rendon eventually accepted an offer that came with a $40,000 pay cut. His new job is based in North Carolina and he’s expected to work out of office five days a week. “I wouldn’t second-guess this if I had to do this again tomorrow; I love where we’re living now compared to New Jersey,” the techie says. (Also read: ‘Disillusioned’ Indian man quits JPMorgan job and takes 70% pay cut: ‘Success isn’t big paychecks’)
