How much would you value a shorter commute?

My rule of thumb is $750-1000/year increase in salary per 1 mile extra of commute. So if you could take a pay cut (either by changing jobs, or by saving money) of $7500/year to shave off 10 miles of your commute, it's worth it (extra free time, saves money on commute costs, less stress, etc).

In LA, there are many, many people with 30-45 mile commutes each way, making $30-45k a year. That is definitely NOT worth the commute, since by standards you might as well not be working and be a lot happier.

For myself, I would never live further than what I can bike to for work and not show up extremely sweaty. The benefits of biking to work FAR outweigh any kind of commute at all (I still have a car for grocery shopping and such).

Dus10 said:   These are always the things we have to trade for... rarely can you find your ideal housing arrangement at an affordable cost with very limited commute. I currently have a 60 miles round trip and will soon be upping that to 70 miles round trip; it certainly isn't as long as your commute, but I find that it is tolerable for a few reasons: 1) I don't want to move within my metro area... if I move, I am moving to a different metro area and that probably isn't happening for a while, 2) I have a flexible schedule; I don't have to be at work until 9AM and I can leave as early as 3PM, so long as I figure out how to fit in my time, I can adjust my commute to a time with less traffic, and 3) I don't always have to commute; while I don't have a job where I can telecommute always, I try to do so at least 1-2 days per week, which has worked out, so far. Also, I bought and older VW TDI that is getting me nearly 50 mpg (49.18 mpg on the last tank)... so my fuel costs are significantly lower that what you might expect (~$100/month), and I didn't pay a ridiculously inflated price for a hybrid vehicle where I am unlikely to receive any ROI.

Of course, I loved the idea of a 24 hour gym membership and living in the car. If I were single and without children, I wouldn't mind living like a pauper... or even a bad neighborhood, for that matter... but that is just my nature. I have always thought about doing this as a backup strategy in the event of a power failure (I have had two extended power outages due to storms... 14 days for one and 7 days for another). Now, if you find a job that offers a gym membership as a perk or has a work gym and washing facilities, you don't even have to pay for that membership. Of course, with that situation, finding a rent situation like you already have, just closer to work would likely become extremely tolerable by comparison.

@bassmanben - I don't even get the reference...

He is talking about the Vanilla faces.

Every city is different. Also, commute time differs when you're actually driving at-speed or driving <10mph average because of thick traffic. Some cities simply have much worse roads and traffic problems - in which case, I'd strive to live as close as possible to reduce commute time in such an environment.

olvrtw said:   You guys complain too much. My high school was 2.5 hours away by train. Imagine a teen on the train for 5/hours a day for 4 years! Of course I slept the whole way, each way, most of the time, lol. All for the benefit of a better education in NYC. It was only 1 train, from one end to the other....
Was it worth it? NOPE! Would never do that again or allow my kids to go through that EVER!

That is insane.

motuwallet said:   You should take steps to enter a skilled profession and/or move to a low cost of living area

This is the key aspect. If $350 a month are making a huge change to your savings rate, OP should consider investing in entering a line of work that will pay more.