Why so negative?

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I found a job opening for a job that matches my skills very well and its an hour and a half commute. My husband is so positive, but my uncle and pastor was so negative, saying I couldn't drive that far and why don't I just volunteer at the animal shelter.

But I want to get off Ssi and have a job I'm really proud of and good at! But the gap in my resume due to mental problems is starting me in the face.

Go for it. You seemed to start the post off so positively and it became negative once you mentioned the discouragement of your uncle and pastor. I say if this would make you happy to at least try for the job, then go for it.

As for the gap in resume, I wish I could help there. I'm in the same boat as you. The jobs I once qualified for are now out of reach because of my huge gap due to break down... Maybe your experience will outshine the glare of the gap.

I talked to my caseworker and she was afraid we would loose our medicaid, I guess we have to remain poor for medical coverage, I thought there was obamacare?

But anyway she was concerned that I would have meltdowns on the job because I am still having them occasionally. Might be a legit concern.

I'm not sure what people think Obamacare is, but you definitely need a job for health care coverage. Obamacare is just a website that compiled most medical insurance coverage plans in one place. You can flip through and find one that is with in your budget. Some jobs may even cover health care, but if not, you have the option to search through this database and find one that is right for you. Obamacare is not a medical coverage, but a way to acquire it.

That is a legit concern. I still have them and know I will if I get a job, but I have to get one because we don't have medicaid expansion in Texas and I have a crappy therapist who thinks all of my symptoms have to do with depression.

But this is about you, and I said that to say this: you must do what you think is right for you. I used to say that some things were worth it, but honestly, nothing is. Only do what you think you can handle.

Listen, are you saying this job is 1.5 hours commute EACH WAY?

I don't want to insult your intelligence by doing the math, but that's three hours a day, plus 8 hours at the job, plus the lunch break. You are going to drop dead from exhaustion.

If I misunderstood and it's actually 3/4 hour each way, that's a little different.

If it's actually 1.5 hr each way, but you can sleep (train ride, etc.) that's a little more do-able.

I don't know how much or little opportunity there is where you live, but I'd certainly pay a lot more heed to something local. I also recommend starting part-time at something - anything - and see how you do.

What ARE your skills? What is the job title?

I commute 1 1/2 hours EACH WAY.

And I commute to a second job 20 minutes each way.

I do okay.

Go for the job---do the "ticket to work" thing. I hope you are able to get off SSI!! !! !

DANG! I'm tired just reading that!

The commute times of my past 5 jobs...
Currently, 8 minutes each way
Previously, 30 minutes each way
Before that, 1.5 hours each way
And before that, 15 minutes each way
And here's the kicker, 2.5 hours each way

I did alright in all of them, but I'm really loving my commute now.
If you can hang in there and do your time, eventually you can find a better job closer to home, or move closer to your job. Anyway, it beats staying on SSI in perpetuity.

Go for it! a job, any job, is better than SSI. Who knows, you might enjoy it.

I personally like commuting to work, it gives me a chance to empty my mind and mentally switch between 'working' and 'non-working' mindsets.
1.5 hours one-way driving myself might be a bit much each day, but that largely depends on the traffic you'll be meeting.

If you find that you can't keep up with it, at least you will have stopped the period of unemployment, making it easier to get a different job; in the worst case.

A long commute can be a mixed blessing, or can be a good or a nightmarish thing depending on a number of factors, and depending on how well you, the individual, likes, dislikes or can cope with the travel method and the environment that method creates for you.

When I was in my twenties, and was more adventurous and flexible about "experiences" in general, being willing to try to live life, I put up with a 1 hour 40 minute commute, each way, five days a week and some Saturdays. I had to get up at 6am. I didn't get home until near 7 at night. It left me very little time to just be free. It was on crowded London trains and subways (the Tube).

It was NOT nice. But I put up with it because 1) I was young and willing to try, 2) I was very determined to save money for a huge goal (I eventually got my goal), and 3) I was more able in those days to ignore my sensory issues because I was already doing quite a lot of suppression generally (which I'm not necessarily recommending...)

These days, I'm back in London. I no longer have the same work that requires that commute, and I only have to take that same journey for leisure reasons if I choose. And whenever I have -- I have wanted to scream bloody murder and claw my way out of the subway carriage! I have NOT been able to deal well with just ONE journey the same type of which I used to do every working day of my life. So, for me right this minute, I would not be able to take any job that required this particular commute. I DID deal with it once, but I find I cannot deal with it now. Everyone is different.

A driving commute in your own car will be a very different experience, if you like driving at all and are not a worried driver. To me, a driving commute would be bliss if the traffic isn't bad (it would still be miserable in my own city). If your drive is mostly freeways and not too congested, it might even be relaxing, as it's a time to be by yourself. I certainly find driving more relaxing than being stuffed like a sardine into crowds of people on the public transportation system of a major city, for example.

If you think your particular driving commute would be either hard for you or easy, go on that as an indicator, because commutes and whether they are hard on you does play very much into how well you can stick at a job, especially if the commute is a huge part of the day.

It's 1 and a half hour one way by car... And I don't even own a car right now, though I have a license and can drive. I live in a small town with little opportunity.

My experience is in relation to birds, teaching about them and doing field research of wild birds.

When you live in the country, you gotta drive for work.
City folk just don't get it.

Oh that's very specific - go for it, I say. Maybe you can carpool or something.

Oh, I get it.

In fact, even though the city I lived in before this one was most certainly "a city" too, it was like Los Angeles, you HAD to drive everywhere there too. You had to drive for work even though I was not in the country.

Don't assume people don't get something -- you don't know everyone's experiences. I totally get HAVING to drive for work, even in some cities.

I think the reference "City folk just don't get it" was to FarmersOnly.com, a lonely hearts site for country folk.

What would be useful:

Country folk buying scooters, which get 80-90 miles to the gallon, rather than cars, which only get between like 15 and 40 miles to the gallon. Scooters sometimes cost under $1000. You can't take them on the highway, though (maybe that's the problem!)

Go to any European city--they are full of scooters, which they usually call "motos."