I got freaked out commuting from Silver Spring to Dupont Circle. It wasn't the length of the commute, but the packed trains and metro stations. Now I'm in Seattle and the 1 hour commute by 2 buses to go a distance of 4 miles is killer.
Next month I move to a small town in the midwest, where I'm told they have 'rush minutes' and not a rush hour. I'm ready for the change. I can't deal w/being out in the weather and waiting on buses anymore. I'm going to buy a car and join the rest of America in subsidizing Big Oil. Even if it's cold, I won't care anymore. I'll be in my own freakin' car in my 10 minute commute to work.
Most of the South is still quite reasonable as well.
THere's a lot to be said for small town living.
We built a new house in a nice subdivision w/ a five acre lot for just under $200K a couple years ago.
I 'commute' to town about 6 times a day to run kids. (6 mile round trip).