1. What's the absolute longest you will commute for a job (time wise)? 30 min without traffic. Right now I'm about 25-30, but with traffic it can be an hour.
I had commute of about an hour for 3 years. it was hell, because one bad accident meant the commute could be as much as 3 hours each way. I wanted to tear my hair out when this happened.
2. Pros and cons to a long commute? Pros- um, you're employed? Cons- everything
3. How do you make it work with balancing children in school, dr. appointments, etc. I didn't make it work. I was laid off (thankfully) and I found a new job much closer to home.
I probably would not commute over 45 minutes, but this would be pretty far away since I don't live in a city that has too much traffic compared to most of you. A long commute means less time with family, which sucks. When I think of applying for a job I usually add the amount of travel time to the time I am required to work in a day and then compare wages. It would have to pay much more than a competing job in my area for me to go for it. That probably has a lot to do with our winter though, would could make the commute double or triple what it is in the winter.