India, Sept. 24 -- A mother of one living in Sweden has one of the world's longest commutes - flying more than 5,000 miles (over 8,000 km) each way to work shifts in California.

Courtney El Refai, 32, lives near Stockholm with her husband and young daughter but still works as a per diem nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of a San Francisco Bay Area hospital.

El Refai moved to Sweden in December, describing it as a "really good place to raise a family." She and her husband pay less than $1,500 a month for their apartment and use public transport instead of owning a car.

But her career remains in the US. Every few weeks, El Refai boards a $450 round-trip flight with only a carry-on bag and spends around 10 days in Californi...