New Jersey has the third longest commute time in the country

For a state that's so compact, you wouldn’t think we would have very long commute times. You think of long drives in a state like Wyoming, Utah or Idaho. Maybe even Maine or Pennsylvania.

Even though we’re a tightly packed state with homes and businesses, commute times can still be long.

The average in New Jersey is 28.6 minutes. That’s the third longest in the country.

Mine is almost double that for the last 30 years. Yes, 30 years of driving fifty-one minutes each way. And that’s doing well over the speed limit once I get on the highway.

If I did the speed limit honestly, it would be closer to an hour. But I’m not going any faster than the other cars on 295 along with me. If you love where you live and you love where you work, but the two places aren’t very close to each other, that’s what happens. You get stuck with a 30-year commute of close to an hour.

I’ve been through five SUVs each going well over 250,000 miles. They’re not good on gas but when you’re raising kids with hockey equipment to haul and have to get to work when it snows you need an SUV with four-wheel-drive.

So, you take the good with the bad. Does New Jersey have everything anyone could want, aside from the overreaching, overtaxing government? Yes!

Am I grateful and happy to be at the job I’m in? Very much so!

As a lot of people in New Jersey like to say, “You do what you gotta do."

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy only.

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