What makes a 220-mile commute worth it?

Ask Thurmond Alford about the sacrifice he made to stay near his loved ones. Alford travels seven hours each day for his dream job in Washington, D.C. Steve Hartman reports.

[cheebagreene]

Why not stay in DC Mon-Fri and home on weekends?

[AA-grgk]

He says family is the most important thing. Did he ever consider how many hours a year he is away from his family by commuting? Get another job or move your family there.

[rosemvp]

Making more money doesn't mean anything when you don't have the time to enjoy yourself.

[FreekToTakex]

My dad used to work on the other side of the country here in the Netherlands. Roundtrip he also did 220 miles a day. His car used to run on natural gas because that’s way cheaper here in Holland, but that meant he had to fill up every day on his way home.

[andresreyes]

Once you factor in all his time and wear and tear commuting he is making no where near 3 times the amount he use to make, time is money this just doesn't make any sense

[skilledsports]

He only drives 160 miles a day and got an oil change every two weeks? Thats 1600 miles.. who gets their oil changed in 1600 miles?

[somersetlax]

Lol car companies should pay him to test drive their cars with this commute

[daveice]

I guess no body told this guy he could just rent an apartment in DC for the weekdays and go home to Richmond on the weekends like mostly everyone in DC does lmao

[nachobusiness]

and i live 15 minutes away from my job... and i'm late every day 😂

[sanchezking]

I havent done any research on this, but intuition tells me that there HAS TO be a way for him to organize a place to stay from Monday night to (including) Thursday night every week which is only about an hours commute away from his job. Even a hotel, just a basic one to sleep, wash, keep his clothes in good shape, should be feasible - surely you could strike a good deal when youre staying 4 nights a week, every week.
What hes doing might be acceptable very temporarily, but in the long run that sort of commuting will (most of all) take a huge toll on his health and his family. In addition to the fact that this commute is a financial death trap. Nevertheless, this mans determination is outstanding!

[edwardhernandez]

In the most honest way possible, God Bless that Man.

[talkingbob]

Somebody get this man a pilot certificate, so he can FLY to DC and back!

[lidyedmiranda]

Jeez here is a good man working and sacrificing for his family and y'all gotta tear him down

[starburst]

Coming up next: I accept a job 2 continents over, Monday thru Friday

[cauthoncrazy]

I think about this guy every so often. Wonder where he is now?

[daltonk.]

It might seem crazy to most people; but when you love what you do, it isn't out of the way at all. My daily commute is similar to his, but not quite as long and I don't have to ride a train or car pool at all.

My commute is around 170 miles one way, which takes a little over three hours to drive; so my daily commute is around 340 miles which takes about six and a half hours total.

[TheMastergabe]

Anyone else notice how fast his smile went away when he got on the subway

[mattka]

May God bless this man and keep him safe. This is dedication.

[ColumbiaQT]

My mother did this for 15 years. She was a social worker in the VA in DC. She left her job and transfer to SC got a year then opened a successful daycare business for 10 years, you do what you gotta do for family and income.

[twinfalls]

Son: Dad can you come to my soccer game?

Dad: No I have to travel 7 hrs to get to work. Maybe when I retire