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The misery index of your commute is inversely related to your average speed.

For a spell I had a 50min commute with an average speed of around 40mph. It was a pleasant drive, mostly rural roads.

If I had to grind my way into a major city in traffic and averaging 20-25mph (with a worst case significantly slower) for those same 50min I would go insane.

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Absolutely. I used to commute in southwestern CT and it could easily take 90 minutes to drive 15 miles. It was sheer misery and I soon resorted to taking the train even though it meant walking 1.5 miles.

These days I have a 25 mile commute from a rural area to the suburbs and it's 55mph most of the way, very little traffic, pretty scenery and very relaxing (except in the middle of a snowstorm!).

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