Why I Respectfully Decline

In 2009 the evening commute on the San Mateo Bridge was
congested because the Bay Bridge was closed. In 2015 it's
like this every day (cbs8 photo)

The booming Peninsula economy and limited housing supply have yielded predictable phenomena: skyrocketing home prices and an awful commute.

The five-year jump [in traffic between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m.] is 81 percent on the San Mateo Bridge, 61 percent on the Dumbarton and 43 percent on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge.

Because Foster City sits on the nexus between major highways 101 and 92 (the San Mateo Bridge), it's nearly impossible for residents to get into or out of the City in under 30 minutes during rush hour. (Compounding the problem, East-Bay commuters often use our surface streets when the freeways are jammed.)

Last week I spent 30 minutes on the offramp to Foster City in the late afternoon. And so it is on weekdays that I avoid going home between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m., nor do I leave between 7:30 a.m. and 9 a.m.

When prospective employers talk to me about 9-5 jobs, I respectfully decline. Life is too short, and commutes are too, too long.