I'm about to get a job offer from a firm in San Francisco. Big potential stock payoff 3+ years in the future. The opportunity is good enough that I think I'll have to take the job. My wife and I have talked and agreed that we wouldn't relocate our main household from Southern California, at least until the boy graduates from high school in 2008, and probably not even then.

The salary/bonus bump is plenty big enough to cover my weekly commuting costs (plane, airport parking) and monthly second residence costs in SF. The down payment on the second residence (assuming I buy rather than rent), furnishing the place, and possibly buying a YAC (yet another car) would be the heavy up-front costs.

I think I've identified and thought through the major pros & cons, costs, and risks. The biggest con is being away from my family during the week. The big risks are no stock payoff in 3+ years, a property value tank on the place I buy in SF, and air fares becoming more expensive.

Has anybody out there done this kind of thing? What thoughts can you add? What, if anything, am I missing?

It's doable. Stick with one airline.. you'll find yourself making Elite status quickly, that will mean free biz class upgrades

The biggest thing would be not being at home during the week.....

I'm about to get a job offer from a firm in San Francisco. Big potential stock payoff 3+ years in the future. The opportunity is good enough that I think I'll have to take the job. My wife and I have talked and agreed that we wouldn't relocate our main household from Southern California, at least until the boy graduates from high school in 2008, and probably not even then.

The salary/bonus bump is plenty big enough to cover my weekly commuting costs (plane, airport parking) and monthly second residence costs in SF. The down payment on the second residence (assuming I buy rather than rent), furnishing the place, and possibly buying a YAC (yet another car) would be the heavy up-front costs.

I think I've identified and thought through the major pros & cons, costs, and risks. The biggest con is being away from my family during the week. The big risks are no stock payoff in 3+ years, a property value tank on the place I buy in SF, and air fares becoming more expensive.

Has anybody out there done this kind of thing? What thoughts can you add? What, if anything, am I missing?

i did... actually ... i lived in baltimore and worked in F'burg VA

about 3 hours driving or more in traffic

granted its not neccessarily the exact same thing but i got a second residence down there for during the week

It's doable. Stick with one airline.. you'll find yourself making Elite status quickly, that will mean free biz class upgrades

The biggest thing would be not being at home during the week.....

All things being equal, I'll probably stick to American. I'm Platinum, always threatening Executive Platinum. Good point, though.

I would get the second residence. My dad has to go to stores in Chicago all the time for business, he normally drives. To save him from staying in a hotel and the costs that go with that, he bought a house in the chicago suburbs about 5 minutes where our old house use to be along with the Dick's stores. Plus similar to your situation, when my brother graduates from high school in 2010 my mom and him are officially moving into that house since that will be when my dad retires. My other two siblings are probably going college in IL anyway, its all good :thumbsup:

Do it! If your wife and your son are ok with it, go for it. Three years really isn't all that long for the kind of payoff you're hinting at.

What about if they came to you during the week sometimes? Days off of school, summer, spring break, etc...

I think that's a definate step up in the world, if the new money will give you the leeway to do that and still have a step up?! DO IT!

Or...give the job to me.

All things being equal, I'll probably stick to American. I'm Platinum, always threatening Executive Platinum. Good point, though.

i get free drink coupons on southwest:confused:

What about if they came to you during the week sometimes? Days off of school, summer, spring break, etc...

That's a definite probability, even for weekend breaks.

Oh, forgot to mention one side benefit: my daughter will be right across the bay at UC Berkeley until sometime in 2008.

i get free drink coupons on southwest:confused:

Platinum: I get free first class upgrade points for every 500 miles I fly, cheap upgrades when I run out of the freebies, discounted price on the AA lounge. And I still have around a half million miles banked away. Australia/New Zealand, first class, here we come! Someday, any way...

Executive Platinum: All upgrades are free, if seating is available. Your 500 mile upgrade points go in the bank for when you drop off Exec Platinum status. You get to bump the lowly Gold and Platinum members who are also waiting for upgrades. They give you eight free upgrade passes that work just like buying the ticket, i.e. no worrying about whether the seat is available (good for vacations!). They hold connecting flights for you when your first flight is running late.

i was being a wiseass... from my last aquisition project with STV i have about 175000 miles on USAir, whatever their GoldClub, free upgrades whenever possible blah blah blah

i just don;t travel all that much anymore

Congrats on the job offer! It's definitely doable although I would think it would be tiring. You'll be near me part of the time now!!

Yay!

Law... the important question is... what kind of car should you get?

Congrats on the job offer! It's definitely doable although I would think it would be tiring. You'll be near me part of the time now!!


That's the decision maker! He's doin' it! :)

I, too, am fairly near to the bay area. Only about an hour and fourty five minute drive from my house to Li'l B.

Oh please lol

Yeah I know, you aren't too far!

i get free drink coupons on southwest:confused:

beer & wine 3 drink coupons and cocktails 4 drink coupons on southwest :thumbsup: thats my airline that I fly, great customer service!

I find that, without fail, if you tip the guy/gal on Southwest fairly well, you get the next two or three free. ...course, it always seems to be younger stewardesses and ...stewards?... on trips to places like Vegas that it works, but hey, free drinks are great for me!

Once, on a 6:30am flight to Vegas, we bought six of the Wild Turkeys, dropped the guy a twenty for a tip and he kept bringing us more the whole flight...probably had six or eight apiece in the hour and fifteen minute flight from SMF to Vegas. Good times! :)

The second residence is the right plan, IMHO...

I had a deal 4 years ago where I had to drive 100 miles each way... that lasted 18 months.... and to be honest, I pretty much lost my will to live after about 6 months of that.... sucked.

Also, I was doing it to KEEP my job, not to UPGRADE my job.... which changed the psychology involved....

If your family is okay with it, I see no problem whatsoever...

Hello!
I don't know what your hobbies are if you have any, but be prepared to put them aside for the time you work away on a weekly basis, unless it is a hobbies you can practice on the week after your work.
The reason is that the weekends you are home will be more intense with family stuff, dinners, meeting relatives, and just spend time with your family.

That must come before any possible hobbies or own interest in such cases.

I hope it work out good for you.


jolle

Hello!
I don't know what your hobbies are if you have any, but be prepared to put them aside for the time you work away on a weekly basis, unless it is a hobbies you can practice on the week after your work.
The reason is that the weekends you are home will be more intense with family stuff, dinners, meeting relatives, and just spend time with your family.

That must come before any possible hobbies or own interest in such cases.

I hope it work out good for you.


jolle

Thanks, and good point. Up until I got my current job 3.5 years ago, my hobbies were Ultimate Frisbee, soccer referee, gym. Boy, have I come downhill a ways since then. I aspire to resume, and I can theoretically do all of 'em up there during the week.

I've known a number of folks that commute weekly. One advantage is that when they are on-site, they can be 100% dedicated to the job. There are no other commitments to your time during the week. However, the spouse back home has to handle all the crap that comes up during the week. This can be especially tough when kids are young, or teens, or have left home.

One problem to look out for is becoming known as half-day Hal on Monday and Friday. Some folks use Monday morning to fly in and Friday afternoon to fy home - or even Thursday evening. Some company cultures don't lend themselves to this type of flexibility and people start complaining about having to work around your schedule. Never mind that the other days of the week you're in the office from 7:00 AM until 9:00 PM. However, I imagine most west coast startups won't have this kind of hang up.

Check with your airline if you can cross tickets to allow you to always travel across a Saturday and get your required stay for the lowest rates. I've heard that post-9/11, this is frowned upon at best. Try to fly at times and to airports that aren't frequently impacted by weather. I don't know whether there are a lot of flight delays at SFO due to fog, but I wouldn't be surprised.

Check with the rental car company if you can rent a vehicle in SF on a monthly basis and park the car each weekend in their rental lot. It may be cheaper than weekly rentals. Another option is a leased car in SF. Since that is only your work location, you may be able to claim 100% of the lease as a deduction. If your office location is in the city of SF, you may want to forego a car altogether and merely rent one when necessary. I think they have those share-a-car services there, too.

Get a furnished condo or apt. in SF with maid service so you won't be living in a pigpen in a month. Be aware of your diet and try to eat normal meals at your SF residence so you won't have to ask for the seatbelt extender on the plane after about a year.

Good luck. It will be an adventure.

c5...I take it you've done this before? Some good ideas and pointers there that I wouldn't have thought of until I'd been doing it a while.

c5...I take it you've done this before? Some good ideas and pointers there that I wouldn't have thought of until I'd been doing it a while.

I've been working in consulting for over 25 years, including time running a nationwide practice. I've never worked a remote assignment for more than a month, but have known and supervised plenty of folks who have. The fun-factor of that definitely went down after 9/11.

Another advantage of having a residence in SF is that you seldom have to carry luggage on the plane, except a briefcase. Oh, and just be SURE you keep the keys for both of your cars and residences on the hook in your briefcase.

A number of folks I've known drove one of their family cars to the remote work site once they located a residence - usually with all the stuff they needed to set up house. They would then use either a limo service to get to the airport or buy a beater truck for back home. (Always looking for a good reason to buy a truck.)

One of the best stories over the years was about a lady that used to work for me and then transferred into training. She would spend about 40+ weeks a year on the road, as did her husband for his job. She was downsized and a few months later I ran into her. She was doing local training for a company and I asked her if she enjoyed being off the road. She responded "No, do you know how awful it is to come home at night to an unmade bed and the same dirty dishes in the sink?"

I've known a number of folks that commute weekly. One advantage is that when they are on-site, they can be 100% dedicated to the job. There are no other commitments to your time during the week. However, the spouse back home has to handle all the crap that comes up during the week. This can be especially tough when kids are young, or teens, or have left home.

One problem to look out for is becoming known as half-day Hal on Monday and Friday. Some folks use Monday morning to fly in and Friday afternoon to fy home - or even Thursday evening. Some company cultures don't lend themselves to this type of flexibility and people start complaining about having to work around your schedule. Never mind that the other days of the week you're in the office from 7:00 AM until 9:00 PM. However, I imagine most west coast startups won't have this kind of hang up.

Check with your airline if you can cross tickets to allow you to always travel across a Saturday and get your required stay for the lowest rates. I've heard that post-9/11, this is frowned upon at best. Try to fly at times and to airports that aren't frequently impacted by weather. I don't know whether there are a lot of flight delays at SFO due to fog, but I wouldn't be surprised.

Check with the rental car company if you can rent a vehicle in SF on a monthly basis and park the car each weekend in their rental lot. It may be cheaper than weekly rentals. Another option is a leased car in SF. Since that is only your work location, you may be able to claim 100% of the lease as a deduction. If your office location is in the city of SF, you may want to forego a car altogether and merely rent one when necessary. I think they have those share-a-car services there, too.

Get a furnished condo or apt. in SF with maid service so you won't be living in a pigpen in a month. Be aware of your diet and try to eat normal meals at your SF residence so you won't have to ask for the seatbelt extender on the plane after about a year.

Good luck. It will be an adventure.

:thumbsup: tx Maybe a 19 year-old Swedish maid? Hmmmm... live-in...

I've been working in consulting for over 25 years, including time running a nationwide practice. I've never worked a remote assignment for more than a month, but have known and supervised plenty of folks who have. The fun-factor of that definitely went down after 9/11.

Another advantage of having a residence in SF is that you seldom have to carry luggage on the plane, except a briefcase. Oh, and just be SURE you keep the keys for both of your cars and residences on the hook in your briefcase.

A number of folks I've known drove one of their family cars to the remote work site once they located a residence - usually with all the stuff they needed to set up house. They would then use either a limo service to get to the airport or buy a beater truck for back home. (Always looking for a good reason to buy a truck.)

One of the best stories over the years was about a lady that used to work for me and then transferred into training. She would spend about 40+ weeks a year on the road, as did her husband for his job. She was downsized and a few months later I ran into her. She was doing local training for a company and I asked her if she enjoyed being off the road. She responded "No, do you know how awful it is to come home at night to an unmade bed and the same dirty dishes in the sink?"

C5 rv you're full of good info. I've been thinking about driving my F150 up to SF and leaving it there at the emergency backup residence. But then I'll have no truck at the large main residence. So, being a car nut, I've decided that this is pretty much the perfect excuse for me to buy an old beater car for SF. I'm thinking 85-57 Grand National. :sneaky:

I'll have to check with my accountant on writing off the car lease. I'm no tax expert, but since I won't be independent or 1099 I don't think I can write off anything.

The tickets don't seem to change price between LAX and SFO if you stay over Saturday. It's treated as a shuttle, I guess.

I shared with the hiring VP that I was planning to 'commute,' which was probably the wrong term to use. I wanted him to know, partly so that the offer includes a longer period of time (3 years maybe) to exercise the relocation package, should we eventually decide to pull up stakes after the boy graduates. Anyway, his boss balked due to prior experience with commuters, and the message to me was "We'd expect you to be here 3 or 4 days a week." lol, I'm figuring 5.

... Anyway, his boss balked due to prior experience with commuters, and the message to me was "We'd expect you to be here 3 or 4 days a week." lol, I'm figuring 5.

He must know Hal. One recent client had a vendor (not my company) that recruited a programming supervisor with key certifications who lived 4 hours away and drove in weekly. His start time for the week eventually slid forward from late Monday morning to late Tuesday morning while his end time slid backwards from noon Friday to noon Thursday. Being the first line supervisor for a team of junior people, that didn't work out very well.

Probably the most frequent problems I've heard from weekly commuters are family issues. Wife, kids, and employee all agree how things will work and then within 3-4 months everything hits the fan: kids get bad grades or start hanging out with the wrong crowd, wife is stressed out, employee spends all weekend on chores and getting his ear bent until he goes back to work for some rest.

One idea I just remembered is one guy arranged for a lawn service to take care of all the outside chores while he was on assignment. I think he also arranged house painting and handyman services. That way when he went home for the weekend, he didn't have to worry about chores.