What I've learned while commuting to Silicon Valley for the past year

For over a year now, I have been on a project at a well known Silicon Valley technology company and have commuted from North Beach in San Francisco down to my client's office in Sunnyvale. Recently, I happened to come across Nate Davis' LinkedIn pulse article "A Year on the Tech Bus." In it, he describes his experience as a contractor working in tech and what it's been like to ride the tech bus lifestyle to and from the south bay. I would highly suggest you read it for some insight on what it's like to commute long distances to the south bay. 

It also got me thinking about what the last 13 months of commuting between San Francisco and Sunnyvale has done for me and to me. Here is what I have learned as a result of 168 days and 17,702.2 miles of commutes in 2016:

Tough Lesson #1: Sitting on a bus for hours a day kills your energy.

• In his post, Davis comments that "Tech buses are for the company’s benefit—not yours (or the planet’s)" and this is absolutely true. I normally would love to hit the gym on the way home from work as the pre-dinner workout fits my daily patterns and sets me up for a good night of sleep. But after a two hour bus ride back to San Francisco and a 20 minute walk over Russian Hill back down into North Beach, I find myself drained.

Tough Lesson #2: People don't want to interact on the bus…ever.

• I like how Davis summarized how people interact (or don't) with one another on the bus: "When other people get on, you avoid eye contact, hoping they’ll sit elsewhere. When you must share a row, you barely acknowledge the other person, as they are infringing on your right to have your bag sitting next to you." Now I'm not looking to engage someone in witty banter on a long ride to or from home (in spite of being an extrovert) but it definitely brings up images of those school bus rides in movies when kids get annoyed when you sit next to them.

Positive Lesson #1: The quiet solitude of a bus ride provides ample time to read, sleep, work, write and learn.

• The benefit of a two-hour, one-way journey is that you generally have this uninterrupted time to start and finish things as you see fit. For example...
• I finished nine books in 2016 - which is a huge accomplishment considering I used to hate reading for fun. I started a gratitude journal and daily meditation; the benefits of these two activities has calmed some of my quick reactions and frustrations so that now I approach problems or challenges with a far more patient resolve.
• I found time to write more content for my travel blog, Go See the World, which has captured some of my adventure to 34 countries, including Cuba, Russia, Indonesia, Hungary, and Mexico.
• And to top it off, I've become a huge fan of NPR podcasts (try Hidden Brain or Pop Culture Happy Hour for some fascinating topics).

Positive Lesson #2: Riding the bus really is way easier than driving.

• All of the debates about whether commuting by bus takes cars off the road don't really matter for this post. The reality is if I drove, I'd spend close to the same amount of time but wouldn't be able to read, sleep, meditate, eat, work, or listen to podcasts. And I'd be super crabby because, let's face it, Bay Area drivers are really unforgiving and hard to drive with! So if you're going to ride the bus, recognize how much more sane you'd be than if you were driving your car...and parking your car...and paying for insurance and parking for your car.

So what's the point of all of this? I don't want you to think I'm complaining about my ride. I love my work. I enjoy some of the things I've been able to do because I have had such a long ride.

If you're starting a long commute via a tech bus, consider doing some of the things I've been doing if you want to better yourself and pass the time. And if you're like me riding in these little bubbles of techland on wheels with your Bose/Beats/Airpods tuning out the sounds around you, appreciate that you've got a job in one of the most vibrant economic markets in the world. And don't forget that if your worst problem is commuting from one end of the Bay Area to the other, your lot in life is pretty darned good.