The joys and challenges of commuting to Sac State
Despite the cost of gas and other expenses, it can still be cheaper than having to find housing in Sacramento
Melissa Ventura, a third-year student at Sac State who commutes two days a week from the Bay Area, says she does miss out on some of the traditional college experiences of living on or near campus.
May 2, 2023
Analia Garcia, Bridgette Gutierrez and Melissa Ventura are all students at Sac State in their third year – and something else they have in common is that all commute or have commuted more than an hour each way to attend school.
Garcia has been commuting to Sac State from the Bay Area for two semesters now and drives about an hour and a half to Sacramento four times a week. Ventura has been commuting to Sac State two days a week for two semesters and Gutierrez chose to commute to school five days a week for half a semester.
“I didn’t like my living situation over here in Sac,” Gutierrez said. “So I kind of felt like I had no choice but to leave to a safer environment which was my parents’ house. That led me to have to commute like an hour (and) 10 (minutes) every day.’”
Joys of Commuting
Garcia is able to appreciate the benefits that come with commuting – one of them being not having to worry about moving just yet.
“I’m able to live at home and I mean, my work is over there,” Garcia said. “And I like what I’m being paid. … I think living at home is just the biggest benefit because I wouldn’t have liked to have to move out here so soon, or have to think about housing for sure. So, I mean, it’s just nice. I like living in the Bay Area. No offense to Sacramento, but I mean, I like the Bay more.”
Gutierrez really enjoys driving. So, when she had to commute for the time she did, she didn’t mind having to drive.
“Honestly, I didn’t dislike it,” Gutierrez said. “That was kind of my alone time. Because when I’m at home, I’m getting questions from my family. … So the car ride was my time to just be alone.”
Disadvantages of Commuting
Although there are benefits to commuting, there are disadvantages as well. Garcia discussed some of the things she deals with as a student who commutes.
“I don’t like spending money on gas,” Garcia said. “That’s probably the biggest one. I don’t like that this semester, it just worked out where I had to come four days a week. Next semester, I’m hoping for only three days.”
While having to pay a lot for gas to commute is a more obvious disadvantage, there are other less apparent ones – one being that students who commute don’t feel like they are getting the “college experience.”
“ I don’t get to know a lot of the people there (and) have the same college experience as most people do,” Ventura said. “I feel like it’s harder since I’m only there for a limited amount of time… When we do group projects in certain classes, it is really hard to schedule up the timings that we meet up since I’m only there two days.”
Making commuting more enjoyable
To make commuting more enjoyable, Garcia chooses to carpool with Ventura two of the days she goes to school. Also, she enjoys playing music while she commutes.
“It’s so nice that I get to go with my friend,” Garcia said. “So we can just talk during it, or I like to sleep to pass the time. It’s only an hour and a half to get to school. On Tuesdays and Thursdays. I do take my sister with me. She’s also in community college.
“So it’s her nice escape for the day. And then by the time we get home like around 12 on Tuesdays and Thursday, we both have zoom classes. So at least I get to take her out for a little bit, and then we just get to enjoy the ride listening to music.”
Ventura also said carpooling makes commuting more enjoyable.
“Well just having a friend to commute with is easier,” Ventura said. “Since we just talk on the way there, the drive doesn’t feel as long.”
Ventura chose to commute to school instead of moving because it was the best option for her financially. This is one of the main reasons why students who commute choose to.
“It’s basically cheaper for me to stay home and then just drive over there, and it isn’t too much of a drive to be doing it,” Ventura said. “Also, I only go twice a week, so it isn’t too bad.”
