Many mornings, stuck in gridlock along Interstate 580, Luis Pedraza watches wind turbines spin over rolling green hills and wonders: Is this grueling drive still worth it?
In September, the first-generation college grad landed his dream job at major accounting firm Ernst & Young’s San Francisco office. There was just one problem. Eager to stay with his widowed mother and help with rent, Pedraza felt he needed to keep living at the family’s mobile home — in Stockton.
Now grappling with round-trip commutes that run 180 miles and four-plus hours, the 28-year-old auditor is one of San Joaquin County’s roughly 30,000 “super-commuters” who trek at least 90 minutes into work. But it’s not just all the time in traffic that has him second-guessing his life decisions…