Michelle,

I completely agree! I have a horrible commute of 10 seconds from my house to my office I build beside it. :) If I HAVE to go to a clients' location, then it's about an hour to an hour and a half for my current clients but that's rare these days of constant internet access and remote sessions. It's only going to get better with higher bandwith and Application Service Providers (if those EVER come about!). Heck, I may never have to leave the homestead again!

- A Hilton


SNIP

>>My office is in Arlington, next to DC. I know of only one person here who lives as far out as King George. Most of them are 1 hour or so away in places like Prince William and Stafford counties, which is as far as you need to go to get the cheapest ex-urban housing. Further than that is by choice, inertia, or a spouse working in another city. My middle class colleagues aren't paid enough to have 4 bedrooms and a yard within a few miles (Arlington or Fairfax) and aren't interested in night life anyway. An experienced programmer in this market could afford to live anywhere, however. Fairfax has the highest median income of any county in the US - about $90,000. Some of those people are probably programmers.
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>The sad thing is that a lot of people making these commutes are ones that could work from home some or all of the time. Think of all the gas that would be saved if more businesses would embrace telecommuting.
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>Michelle