Normally I'd say, if everything else is acceptable, take the job, then later on, once you have proven your worth to the company, see if you can negotiate an alternative work schedule, whether it's 4 10-hr days, telecommuting one or two days a week, etc. However, if you are already concerned about the commute, understandably, I'd think long & hard about whether to risk this tactic. If the commute gets to be too much for you, and they will not agree to a different schedule, you will be out looking for a job again. Believe me, I've had plenty of experience related to this situation (my DH has had 2 jobs in which he commuted over an hour, and one of them was 1 1/2 thours to 1 hr, 45 minutes (more in heavy traffic or bad weather). The 70-minute commute he was able to do for quite some time, but the longer one simply didn't work, even with him staying overnight 1 or 2 days a week. He has done the hour commutes on a long-term basis, but that seems to be the outside limit for a comfortable, workable permanent arrangement. I'm in real estate, and we have a LOT of commuters to Baltimore in our area, and that is what I continue to hear over & over again--that the hour is workable, but anything longer than that, and people burn out quickly.

Have you considered: What if you have to work overtime--then your days get even longer. Do you live in a feisty climate in which snow, ice, wind, or rainstorms are common? That will undoubtedly come into play several times a year. If you have to unexpectedly stay overnight, does that cause any arrangement issues for your family, if you have one?

Unless this job pays enough money for you to regularly stay in a hotel overnight, or you can take public transportation in to your job, and you have few other obligations in your life, I would ask upfront about the possbility of, once you prove yourself not only competent, but trustworthy, working out an alternative schedule. Most people would say that is the wrong thing to do, and normally I would agree. But you do not, I assume, want to be looking for a job again in 6 months. Some companies that already have flex schedules or off-site oar telecommuting employees may be very open to this. Others that do not yet have this flexibility may not ever be willing to offer it. My husband worked for a firm that had never allowed an employee to telecommute, but they eventually allowed DH to (because of the distance; he worked further away than any other employee) for 2 days/week. This worked out well for a long time, and they also implemented some limited flex scheduling for other employees. But the company culture was such that they felt they no longer had "riigid control" of their employees, and they cancelled all alternative schedules. Big mistake--workers were happy & productive under these arrangements, company was profitable, etc.. Quite a different story later on.

Good luck!