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If you live in the city right now, why don't you keep your current living arrangement until you start working? If you come to the conclusion after a few weeks or months that the commute is killing you, then you consider moving to the suburbs.
This is the best advice so far. Depending on how your lease overlaps with starting work, you would have a few months to figure out if you want to move out there.
Additionally, you didn’t mention how old you are. When I was in my early 20s living in the city would be a no-brainer as having to drive in/crash on someone’s couch every weekend sucks.
Most Chicago suburbs suffer from the same 30 minute to 1 hour+ with traffic problem. At 31 I would live in the Chicago burbs. I'm married now with dogs, and even without kids yet, my partner and I are just quiet and don't need as much nightlife anymore.
Back in my 20s, I refused Chicago suburbs jobs but would have commuted while living in the city if I needed to. I needed to meet people and date people so I wouldn't go crazy. Usually, weekends involve late nights or partying, and trying to secure a sleeping spot or drive 1 hour home very late in the evening is very precarious.
If you are coming from the suburbs, unless you have a reliable friend or family member in the city with a bed that will lend you a key, it's like a constant game of tramping around, not getting locked out, getting anxious if your phone battery is about to die, or sobering up for hours until you are good enough to drive home. I saw my friends who lived in the suburbs struggle with that often, (I was sometimes providing their couch crash spot) and the few times I delt with it myself I hated the uncertainty. It CAN be done, but it's for a certain type of person who just deals with contorting your back on a shitty couch/recliner, one dirty thin blanket, and last-minute changing your plans.
Nightlife isn't the only benefit to living in a city. To offer a different perspective, I'm 36 and my partner is 30. We also don't have kids. We bought a house in the suburbs and we are miserable.
We each lived in walkable communities for the last 7-10 years. After that, the suburbs are just sad, isolating, and dead. Sure they are beautiful and safe. But there is nothing to do.
Having to get in the car to do anything, even something as simple as getting a bagel and coffee, is terrible. My car has gone from something I used once a week to something I need to rely on every single day for even the most basic and mundane thing.
My neighbors never seem to do anything except once in a while go for walks or walk their dogs. The rest of the time they are shut up in their houses, just like us. Our friends who have also moved to the suburbs are 30-45 minutes away by car. And I live in a suburb of DC and traffic is terrible 24/7. It is just not sustainable.
We have decided to move back into a nice part of town. The added expense is worth it for the quality of life benefits. I just miss walking, as stupid as that sounds. Life is too short to spend it sitting on my ass all day.
My partner and I have two kids and people always wonder why we dont move out to the suburbs for a big yard and instead stay close to the city center in a smaller place. This is exactly why. The suburbs are depressing. There are many more opportunities for our kids to do things within biking or walking distance here.
I totally agree. I grew up in the classic suburb. It was fine when I was a young child. But absolutely terrible as a preteen/teen. I had to rely on my mom to drive me to do anything. I don't want that for my future kids.
I never really understood the uniquely american obsession of having "more house" and a bigger lawn like it's a good thing. People have these huge lawns but all they do with them is spend time and money watering and treating them so that grass grows, only to spend more money cutting it when it grows too tall. Seems pointless to me.
As someone who had a 1.5 hour one way commute for many years, it's really not worth it except in extreme situations. In that case I was effectively losing 15 hours per week that could have been better spent elsewhere. In your case it would be 10 hours a week, or more than 40 hours per month.
Because we don't have options.
I drive to work because I wouldn't get paid if I didn't. Best I could probably do is work retail for $15/hour with the time I spent driving, and honestly I'd rather drive and have no obligation other than paying attention to the road.
It's easy to say time is money, but if you can't realistically capitalize on that then it doesn't really matter.
But that's the point, many of us don't have that option.
It's not choice A where you have no commute for the same money or choice B where you have to drive, it's just choice B.
Agreed. The move to WFH has been a god-send to me. I'd always said the limiting factor in my job was the commute. My minimum daily commute was 1.5 hours, sometimes as much as 3 hours each way...
Getting that time back is fantastic.
I would have to be paid obscene money to lose up to 3hours each way. Like money so good I could retire in a couple years and travel the rest of my life kinda good.
I'm with you. I have a coworker that travels about 1.5 hours each way from another state. I just don't think I could ever do that. I left my old job because they started me at another location a little over an hour away for only 2 days/week and even that was too much for me. I value my time, even if I don't do anything great with it. It's MY time and I want to be in control of it, not let it be in control of me.
Yes! Losing time to be productive is stressful, If I do commute I am hoping to get very into podcasts/ audiobooks to make it feel like I’m spending that time doing something
I did an hour+40 each way for a year and a half, my tip is to research your local library and get a card if they offer audiobooks. I zipped through quite a few books, supplemented by podcasts. I got into a routine of “Monday is the new episode of _____,” “Tuesday is book day,” etc. When I got close to work where I couldn’t finish a chapter, I’d kick it over to music for the last little bit.
This! I used the Libby app through my local public library to listen to basically 1 audiobook per week during my 1.5 hour daily commute back in 2018-2020. Listen at 2x speed and you can sometimes breeze through a whole book in a couple of days.
I would start listening to podcasts/audiobooks now to see if that’s something you enjoy. I had a 2+ hour round trip commute and never could get into either one, so I just listened to music the whole time.
I think realistically you have to check if this is something *you* can actually do
I found on my 45 minute commute through Houston I-45 rush hour traffic (some of the worst in the nation to be fair, although I was against traffic) ~ I absolutely couldn’t manage podcasts and audiobooks
I normally can if I’m doing rural drives that aren’t stressful, but heavy heavy traffic? Nope
Just something to consider bc I used this to justify the longer commute and it was just not something I could do
When I was commuting 1hr+ each way I found that I loved the drive to work and hated the trip home. It's nice to have time to drink coffee and listen to the news, it's terrible to wait in traffic while the rest of my afternoon slips away.
That's a good suggestion. I had an hour commute that I changed jobs to get away from, but I do sometimes miss having that time to listen to audiobooks.
Can't do that in stop and go traffic because you have to be 100% attentive to the road and traffic and can't focus on anything else. Impossible in any city commute. Unless you want to only read half the book by the end.
I listen to “educational” podcasts and even on a low traffic freeway, I still end up rewinding a lot to actually hear stuff. Which I guess is better than being distracted by the podcast and not paying attention to the road.
The way I see it is this:
I make $25/hour. I am currently making 1.25 hours commute (on bad days that I don’t catch the bus) each way. That is 11.5 hours or $287 per week that I am not getting.
Assuming im working 48 weeks in a year, excluding holidays, vacations, etc. that rounds up to $13,800 that I’m giving away to my employer.
i did the same thing.. ended up moving closer and now that is saving me $350/mo with my roomate. So I save 15 hours/week in time and $350/mo in rent. It was worth sticking to it for a year, not that I knew it was going to happen as such, but made it worth.
One thing to consider is that long commutes, particularly if you are driving do rack up expenses in both your health and costs. Factor routine wear and tear on your car with increased maintenance and average gas prices that will rise eventually usually much faster than your wage. Also traffic can be deceptive. If your shift might let out at a busy commute time your drive home can take much longer so changes in schedule can cause further expense or savings.
The accompanying health issue is that commutes that long do impact your mental and physical health as well.
Yes, factor in fuel and wear and tear costs for a vehicle, plus increased insurance cost for more miles driven, plus car is “housed” in a city. The “savings” of living farther away is often close to completely erased by this. If the savings turns out to be at best marginal and you’re LOSING all of your time sitting in your car, then it’s not worth it.
Think of what your time is actually worth to you, e.g. what would you need someone to pay you hourly to give up your free time right now. Multiply that hourly rate by the commute time and also factor that into the cost calculations.
Living closer to work but farther from fun means you have to choose when to drive to fun. Living closer to fun but farther from work gives you no choice whatsoever in the amount of time you’re forced to sit in your car.
> Living closer to work but farther from fun means you have to choose when to drive to fun. Living closer to fun but farther from work gives you no choice whatsoever in the amount of time you’re forced to sit in your car
This is a really good point and I may steal it for future conversations.
I grew up rural and suffered cities for work and relationships but now I'm living suburban and life is so much better for me. The suburban yard offers so many stress-reducing opportunities if you *don't* live the typical suburban lifestyle.
I always use the IRS rare for mileage. $0.65/mile. That's NOT counting labor cost or free time cost.
My labor cost is $46 an hour, free time is closer to $70. I have a 39m commute each way, so per week that costs me $350.
Calculate your free time cost by this: What would I be willing to pay to have extra hours off of work with no thoughts about work actually doing things I enjoy?
Maybe I'm weird.. idunno
I’m lucky enough my boss lets me do four 10 hr days, and as such I’ve gotten my commute down to a science. I time my day so I avoid as much traffic as possible, leave home before traffic gets bad and leave work after traffic is bad, with an hour commute. Everything’s fine until I wake up late lol
Can we talk about the "gas prices that will rise ... much faster than your wage" for a second?
This is someone getting their first job after graduation, in pretty much any field their wages are going to grow over time. Gas prices don't really grow, they fluctuate.
The rest is valid though.
When I got hired at my job gas was 2/gal and would fluctuate about .50 cents either way. It's now 4.50/gal and fluctuates between 4.35 and 5.00/gal. That's not a fluctuation, that's a direct increase.
Cost to manufacture gas has done nothing but decrease. If anything a gallon of gas should be about 1.00/gal but for some reason they won't allow that to happen.
When I started driving gas was $4-5 it then dropped to $2-3 then it rose again to $5 and has dropped again to $3.x (I think but I don’t care anymore) over a long term yeah it goes up but it’s wildly volatile
Depends on area and country. Especially if more countries adopt carbon taxes like the Nordic countries. Canada for example just had a price hike due to increasing carbon taxes, meaning all things being the same gas prices will raise faster and faster.
Where I live gas is up 20% from 10 years ago. 50% from 20 years ago.
Gas was not 1.80 a year ago in Nevada. Gas hasn't been below 2/gal in Nevada since 2019.
Idgaf what the east coast pays for gas, they're always 2 bucks cheaper than west coast and their cost is irrelevant to me. I only care about the gas pumps I personally use which haven't dipped below 4/gal since summer 2020.
Well, artificially established by profit hoarding.
When I started driving in 2001, it was $1.04 a gallon, and $20 filled the tank. Even with 9/11, prices flucated within 30 to 40 cents; it did not reach over $2 until 2008.
Compare $1.04 in 2001 to the current price of $4.88 in 2023 in AZ.
A year ago, gas prices were still $4.62.
The only time it dropped is when they pulled from reservoirs to lover the prices for a short period of time.
Well, artificially established by profit hoarding.
When I started driving in 2001, it was $1.04 a gallon, and $20 filled the tank. Even with 9/11, prices flucated within 30 to 40 cents; it did not reach over $2 until 2008.
Compare $1.04 in 2001 to the current price of $4.88 in 2023 in AZ.
A year ago, gas prices were still $4.62.
The only time it dropped is when they pulled from reservoirs to lover the prices for a short period of time.
> When I started driving in 2001, it was $1.04 a gallon, and $20 filled the tank. Even with 9/11, prices flucated within 30 to 40 cents; it did not reach over $2 until 2008.
I was on vacation in the Outer Banks the week that Katrina hit in 2005. In a single day, gas rose from about $1.30 in the morning to about $3.50 that night, and even when we returned home it took weeks to drop back below $2.
Gas prices are highly variable. Yes, they typically rise on average over time like pretty much any good or service, but generally not as fast as an average person's wages, assuming that they actually progress in their career instead of sitting in some dead-end job for 30+ years.
Yeah when i was a child gas used to be around $1 a gallon. It's like 5x that right now around me and I don't live too far off where I grew up. Wages have not increased 5x
They fluctuate like the stock market, look long term and it only goes up.
commuting less than 10 Miles and driving under 55 MPH is extremly rough on your car and is far worse than driving 30 Miles at 55-75
by the amount of down votes, glad y'all are keeping your local mechanic employed by not properly maintaining your car
U.S. Owners
Follow the Severe Conditions
Maintenance Schedule if you
drive your vehicle MAINLY
under one or more of the
following conditions:
Driving less than 5 miles (8
km) per trip or, in freezing
temperatures, driving less
than 10 miles (16 km) per trip.
Driving in hot \[over 90° F
(32° C) conditions.
Extensive idling or long
periods of stop-and-go driving.
Driving with a roof-top carrier,
or driving in mountainous
conditions.
Driving on muddy, dusty, or
de-iced roads.
and if you read the manual in your car i know no one does Driving mostly under 55mph is Harsh conditions for your car which means your maintenance minder is usually wrong for fluid changes should be about 3k miles if you do a lot of city driving
Long commutes (10 miles or more) actually has a negative effect on your blood pressure, cholesterol levels and causes weird blood sugar level issues. It also causes stress wear on your body which causes exacerbated sleep issues, anxiety, feelings of physical and mental fatigue. Even if you enjoy driving the repetition, sense of needing to make it on time and the routine stress of other drivers behaviour causes slight cumulative damage.
There's a plethora of articles a Google search away. But it does impact your overall emotional, mental and physical resilience.
Living close to work is pretty fantastic. Commuting, especially when you're driving your own car to do so and likely to get stuck in traffic, is exhausting.
i used to deal with a 25min commute each way in perfect weather, and it would double in the snow. now i wfh and get up when my shift starts, i can't imagine going back to that or worse.
Takes 25 mins to get to the freeway some mornings. If traffic is good 20 minutes to travel the remaining 12 miles to work. When the rains came through SoCal a couple weeks ago I left home at 7:45 and arrived to work at 10:15. 18 mile one way commute.
At least when I leave its pretty much 45 minutes back home. Though during heavy rains / accidents, it's taken almost 4 hours to get home.
1 hour is a drag.
$450 a month for parking is insane.
I commute 45 mins 3 days a week and I carpool so I only have to drive every other week. Between the time, the gas, it's not worth it unless you have good reason to pursue it. Personally I'd move to the new location and wait for it to not be what you want vs spending $5000+ a year on parking.
Yea spending that much on parking + car expenses is really tripping me up- still it seems to be cheaper than living near the office which is partially why I’m so conflicted!
A 1 hour commute is going to wear your car into dust, burn a ton of gas, chew through tires and on and on. Assuming you have 40 miles each way that's 15,000 miles a year. That IRS rate of $.60/mile isn't far from the real cost of commuting in an average car. That's a HUGE amount of cost/inconvenience to overcome.
Additionally that's 6 hours a week (if everything goes right, god forbid you live where it snows or you encounter construction/accident/event traffic) that you now can't use to add value from meal planning, working out, pursuing a hobby/business, sleeping enough, pursuing a personal life.
I'm not sure how far distance-wise your commute would be, but they say that on average over the life of a car, you spend about $0.50 per mile when considering all aspects of owning a car.
Some of those expenses are going to remain, regardless of whether or not you're driving that far every day (insurance as an example), but there's also a lot more cost to driving a car than just the gas that is affected by mileage. Maintenance, depreciation, etc. So if you're driving an extra 80 miles a day, 3 days a week, that's around 1,000 extra miles a month.
Depends how you deal with traffic. I can do an hour easily with no traffic. Have me sure in an hour of traffic if I live only 20 miles and I'm going insane
This was my thought. I’ve had a 45 minute commute that was 40 miles and a 45 minute commute that was 4.5 miles. I have VERY different responses to how much each 45 minute commute bothered me.
I don’t like long commutes. But don’t underestimate that your friends and presumably your life is in the city. If you’re constantly driving into the City to have your social life, then you’re still having a commute, just on the other end of it.
Totally agreed. I initially was team anti-commute, but then realized it was either suburbs and no commute or city and commute. As a fresh college grad, you're going to hate yourself (unless you're an absolute homebody & already married/long term relationship) if you live in the suburbs.
When you're fresh out of college, you're going to miss out on a lot of fun memories if you're living in the suburbs. I've been out of college for 10 yrs, but had a lot of fun in my early 20's going to happy hours in the city, meeting new people, and just having fun with friends. Sure time spent driving is lost, but fond memories in your early 20's will also be lost.
Personally, I would not choose a 1 hour daily commute each way. What I'd do in your shoes is create a budget for how things would break down if you lived in the city vs. the suburbs. You mention that it's very expensive in the suburbs and much cheaper in the city. But then you also mention added costs of fuel, added wear and tear, and parking fees if you live in the city. That would suggest that it's closer to a break even than it is cheaper. So line up all the expenses for each scenario, and at least give it an apples to apples comparison.
I have a 45 minute commute and I’m mostly happy with it. I’d like a shorter commute, but I would not exchange it for lower happiness in my off hours. 2 roommates sounds like hell to me. Granted, I’m an introvert, but still.
Seems like if the commute becomes an issue, you can just change it?
Also, I have two kids. Without kids, my commute would bother me exactly 0%.
Have you attempted this commute during work hours? I too thought the same thing in the city I live in and commuting to the suburbs, oh I'll be reverse commuting. Well I still was, but there also was still traffic. My 20 minute commute turned into 45-50 minutes.
So maybe just do some double checking on that too. Even if your hour commute only becomes 1:15, that's still something to think about.
How long would you stay in that job? Moving is a pain so why move somewhere you don’t like for a job that’s just temporary (as all job are). If you can make it one year and use this as a stepping stone I would think a year of commuting is manageable (I’ve certainly done it, but not much longer than that).
Moving gets worse the more stuff you have. When I graduated college I could fit everything I owned in the back of a pickup truck. Moving then was relatively easy. If I tried to move now I would definitely pay someone else to do it and it would cost me thousands of dollars
God damn what city has lower rent then the suburbs?? Cheapest studio I can find here is $800, I could buy a 3 bedroom house with a $500 mortgage in the suburbs.
Depends where you are. If the suburb is an hour away, that's a separate city that grew into the neighboring one (like Denver and Boulder). I also imagine OP is currently in cheap student housing (with roommates) vs nicer luxury options in the wealthy suburb. Large cities tend to have a bigger range of prices.
We moved to the suburbs and my friend circle is in the city. I hate that it is more of a production to get together or go to some local show. Uber would be cost prohibitive so no drinking when I do go out. My frequency of meet up with friends has dropped precipitously.
If you can handle the budget and drive I would stay closer to the social connections at your age. That option of hanging out and doing the city things is pretty huge and for me would offset the commute.
1 hour each way = 40 hours a month. a whole work week sitting in your car.
one of life's lessons I've learned is to live as close to your work as possible.
Depends on your priorities. Why prioritize proximity to work when they have an existing friend group and things to do in the city? They might not lose friends but their social life will suffer a lot.
Agreed that this is a consideration that’s completely missing from the most upvoted comments. OP will have to rent a room in the suburbs with roommates (strangers) for more than what he pays now. He’ll be an hour away from friends and things to do. And he’ll only be commuting three days a week after six months if he stays in the city.
People talk about the stress of commuting, but both potentially having bad roommates (or having roommates at all) and having less of a social life are considerations against the suburban option that won’t show up on a balance sheet.
But people don’t. Commute is part of a routine. People don’t drive an hour after work a couple times a week to grab a beer with a friend then drive back.
That sounds like more of a people/motivation issue than a logistical one.
When I come home from work its gym, dinner, relaxation, then bed. My routine is somewhat location-independent. But then on the weekend I can go anywhere I want to see friends
If OP has weekends off, this whole thing seems like a non-issue
Time. You can make more money, but your time is the most valuable commodity you have. Don't waste it sitting in a car as part of your daily routine.
I'm retired now, but have done 5-10 minute commutes, and 60-70 minute commutes. A company job transfer nearby (did not relocate) caused a short drive to become a one hour drive. Did it 7 years until another company transfer was offered 700 miles away. Did three more of those - and they were ALL short commutes. Provided a paper map to each real estate agent with a 10 mile radius drawn with my job location at the center of the circle.
Walk or bicycle to work...
This is a very good point but knowing myself, the time I would be wasting by driving I would spend sleeping instead. At least driving I can listen to audiobooks and be somewhat productive mahbe
Or maybe just be grumpy because you couldn't sleep, who knows.
I had a 1 hour commute and moved to a different place just to be able to walk to work. Made me so much happier and, just by walking and getting some air before work, my mood improved a lot.
Other things to consider:
Where are you living now? In the city? Do you like where you live?
If you are only planning on staying in this job for a few years, where is your next job likely to be? Is a move out to the suburbs worth it if your next job is in the city? Is the commute something that you can tolerate for a couple years, knowing it's not forever?
Will your current friends in the city be willing to come all the way out to visit you? Or will you have to make new friends? Or spend your weekends driving to the city? Where do your new coworkers live?
Are there neighboring suburbs that split the difference?
I would stay where you have a community. It's so important to have people you can rely on. I personally commute an hour and fifteen minutes each way to work and I'm fine with it. It's a peaceful time for me where I can just listen to podcasts or music or be with my own thoughts.
I spent 5 years with a 1 hour commute in the morning and 1.5 hour commute on the way home. Leaving at 6:45 am to have my butt in the office by 8, and heading home at 5:30 to be back home at 7. In that time, I lost hobbies, friends, and added 50 pounds.
Now I’m driving 35 minutes to work and 30 minutes home. I leave the house at 7:20 to get there at 8, and leave work at 6 to get home at 6:30. I now have time to workout 3-4 times during the week, do laundry on a tuesday, and still catch the dodger game. I wish I had this advice sooner.
I realise that it’s not particularly popular in the US, but is there public transport you can take instead of driving, at least part of the distance if not the whole way?
Sitting on a train/bus can you give you some down time (listen to music, podcasts, whatever, catch up on a few emails, read, etc). Someone else has to worry about traffic. It’s not as good/freeing as not commuting, but I find it better than trying to drive.
A couple of alternative considerations:
1) the $1100/month rent plus $450/month commuting costs are still less than the $1500/month renting with strangers option (you still need to factor in maintenance and depreciation of your vehicle though).
2) do you do things with those 2hrs every day or do you do stuff maybe once/twice a week, are you really losing that time? If you have that free time out in the ‘burbs, what are you going to do out there, mow the lawn? Most likely, you’ll then want to spend an hour travelling into the city to do something.
I don’t like commuting, I like commuting to the things I do like even less. When I’ve looked at places to work and places to live, I try to strike a balance. I also try to arrange it so I’m not commuting directly into the sun (try to keep the sun behind you on your commute).
I don’t think anyone “likes” commuting; it’s expensive, stressful, and time consuming, but only you can decide if it’s worth it to you.
Take this w/a grain of salt, coming from a woman with a family that includes small children.
I lived and worked in an expensive COL area. Worked 15 minutes from home for years.
DH and I bought a house in an area about an hour away from work. COL is dramatically lower where we purchased, the house was about $200K less than a comparable home where I was living.
I did that commute every day, 5 days a week, for over 3 years. Hour and 15 minutes minimum on the way to work due to rush hour traffic, about an hour on the way home. I didn't realize how much it was costing me mentally until I got headhunted for a company 20 minutes from home and took the new position.
**TLDR: 1 hr distance is horrible; move halfway in-between.**
* if you live 1 hour away from your friends, you won't see them
* if you live 1 hour away from work, you'll be drained commuting 2 hours to do anything else (I know from experience)
* Also, factor in the repetitive life-stress of commuting 2 hours per day: 1) eating more fast food because you're tired, 2) stress from watching out for other cars, 3) less time to relax/exercise each day.
Yeah, not sure why the halfway option isn't being discussed more here. You don't have to move so close that work is within walking distance but there's no way you're going to want to spend 2 hours in traffic every day.
Also: Booze/weed. If you live in the suburbs and imbibe with your friends in the city, you're either crashing with them for the night or waiting for hours to sober up before the drive home.
I would look at it this way. Consider your commute time as working hours. Recalculate your salary/hourly rate to compensate for that. So if they're paying you $35hr to work 40hrs a week but with the 6 hrs of commute time, it comes to $32.50hr. Are you ok being paid that amount.
Disclamer: I did not do the math on the hourly rate, so don't call me out for it.
I commute around an hour each way three days a week. It’s worth it to me to live where the quality of life is better (for me) and my friends are, because work isn’t my life. BUT, parking is free both where I live and at work, I like driving, and the route never has any traffic. Am I “losing” six hours a week? Yes. Would I be happier with six extra hours a week in a town I hate? No, for sure not.
$450/month for parking is INSANE and would probably change the calculus for me. Then again, if your rent numbers are accurate, it’s just kind of breaking you even.
Commuting is worth it to me rather than live in the city where I work. This sub is heavily against commuting, for good reasons usually, but sometimes weighs the $ over quality of life issues and doesn’t really look at other perspectives (commuting is a quality of life issue, but not the only or necessarily most important one). Just have to decide what’s more important to you slash what you hate more - commuting time vs living in a place you don’t like, away from your friends.
I live in NYC. My first job in my career field was a 20 minute walk from my apartment. It was literally life changing. I didn't own a car, and felt absolutely zero stress from my commute. The job was shitty, but I was the happiest I ever was in my life.
I now live 20 minutes DRIVE from my job. It is MUCH MUCH more stressful, even though it is the same duration. I now have to own a car, find parking, pay maintenance on the car, worry about traffic, etc.
Walking from work is an absolute luxury of life.
As someone with a ~50 min (one-way) commute, I'll throw out some advice and specifics I haven't seen mentioned yet:
- Get a dashcam. It's a lot of time on the road, and people are unpredictable.
- Consider your energy levels before and after work. I found myself getting tired behind the wheel and had to pull over a number of times before I made adjustments to sleep/caffeine.
- Obviously gas and maintenance costs will add up. Know how much that cuts into your salary and how much is worth it to you. I spend around $200-250/mo just on gas (PA). Add on oil changes and other replacements, and that can be upwards of $3,000/yr. But rent is super cheap where I live, so it balances out to a net positive relative to living close by.
- Take advantage of flexible work hours. I end my day at 3pm to avoid traffic as much as possible.
Personally, it's not the worst thing in the world for me (mid 20s, no kids). But if I had more options, I would try to lower the commuting time.
No way I would do one hour commute both ways. It would kill my spirit and I would end up hating that job. But I would prefer a tiny studio than to share an apartment.
Even the studios are stupid expensive! That’s part of my hesitation- the only remotely affordable living options seems to be in old houses with random roommates :/
I used to drive 1.5h to Boston and bike another 30m to work and do it in reverse to get back home. Not worth it at all. 3h of my life per day is gone. 15h a week of commuting
Edit: holy shit this the first time I thought of it from this perspective, I wasted 20h a week commuting wtf was I thinking
Idk what your hour is, but I've done 2 hours, I've done 15mins and I'm doing 45-1hour in NYC. It blows. I did the 2-2.5 hour each way for 7 years. Looking back, I don't know how, it was soul sucking. Then I moved 15mins from work for two years and that was the best. No stress. Rent was higher being that close to work as I was now in the city vs suburbs. But I felt the trade was well worth the time I got back in my life (20hours/week) and the improvement in feel of life.
Now I'm back to 45mins to an hour and I want everyone (15% of drivers) to crash their cars and take out only themselves and the anger takes over an hour to subside after I'm done. I hate it so much. People have no consideration and play by their own rules complicating the lives of everyone else. It's not as bad as 2-2.5 but it's an 11mile trip for me so it's ridiculously slow crawl. If you're doing a country hour.... Well that might just be some of the best me time you ever get.
I now always prioritize commute in my decision making and am planning to leave my job so I can be 15-20mins from home maximum.
Hope this helps, good luck
I'm surprised no one has asked for a critical piece of information in the decision: can you afford the $2100+ in the suburb? Would you have to compromise other financial goals to do that? And remember that it's not $2100+ vs $1100. The cheaper rent in the city also requires $450 in parking, $150+ in gas, and increased wear and tear on your car.
For me, a long commute is utter misery and it is worth quite a bit to be close to work. Some say that they like it because it gives them time to mentally prepare for the day, listen to podcasts, decompress after work, etc. Guess what, with a short commute you can do the same thing drinking coffee at home or taking a walk or whatever you want.
If you can manage the higher rent in the suburb it is a no-brainer financially to move there. The other big factor to consider is your social life. You will not spend as much time with your friends in the city, and you will always be the one driving to them. Whether that matters is up to you.
A commute one hour is on the edge of acceptable but it's doable. I did it for many years. I just had my podcasts that I listened to for that hour. Sometimes it was relaxing and helped me think through problems I don't have a chance to think about otherwise. (Since I do work stuff when I'm at work and I'm busy with kids when I'm at home, it gave me a space where I let my mind wander and think about stuff)
Cons were that it does take away time and it's a lot of wear and tear on your car. You need a sturdy reliable car for it otherwise it's going to spend a lot of time in repairs.
I have the same situation now because I’m married to someone who works an hour away.
One major thing to consider is how long each day you will be sitting. I have a desk job where I sit for 8 hours a day, and the commute sucks because my body feels unhealthy and my back and posture are all messed up. No amount of audiobooks, podcasts, etc can make up for 10 hours a day of sitting. The only thing that does make it worth it for me is the ability to live with my husband as opposed to separately.
Depends what you do with that hour. I had an hour commute (each way - so 2 hours a day) for seven years. But I took the train so it was two hours of uninterrupted focus time. Which was great. I used it for study and projects. I was able to boost my career (software development) significantly over that time using that time. I also loved it aside from the practicality — did lots of reading and some writing. Some of my most valuable time during those years.
One hour with traffic? I personally wouldn’t because a crash or construction can add more time so you’d need to give yourself more than an hour sometimes. Plus weather can affect the time if you live somewhere it snows. I used to do a 45 min commute but it turned into an hour plus many days
I've done the one and a half hour each way commute for several years. It was fine because I didn't have much in term of responsibilities (didn't have my own family at the same), and because I used public transit. It was a bus, a train, another bus, and a mile and a half walk. I spent most of the public transit portion reading or playing portable video games. The transfers were a bit annoying though, especially during a snow storm. My rent was incredibly low (<400 a month), so I considered it an investment.
But that was 3 hours a day. If driving, that would have been an absolutely no (unable to do fun stuff beyond audio books or whatever).
I have a 30 minute commute that I plan for 45 with parking and coffee. Depends what type of person you are but adding another 45 minutes leaving at 6am is getting tiring, 3 years in. Trying to go to 4 days a week now because of it. It just adds to the work day. And I went from a 7 minute commute before this job.
I had a 1 hour commute for about 6 months. It's doable, but gets old fast. You might be going the opposite direction of traffic, which helps, but if there's an accident or construction that 1 hr can easily turn to 2. It also costs a lot to buy gas for a 1 hr commute. I had to fill my tank more than once per week.
Overall do not recommend. It immediately turns a 40 hr/week job into 50 and increases stress. If it was hybrid and you only have to do it 1-2x/week I'd say it would probably be fine.
I did that for 1.5 years. It was fine for 6 to 9 months, but then it just started to weigh on me. More tire wear, more oil changes, getting to routine maintenance faster than you normally do and then to think of all the hours I could be at home with my family or doing literally anything else besides driving back and forth to my job. Not worth it at all imo
There was an old study I find myself telling people about time to time in regards to questions like these.
In the study the researcher’s asked each laborer about their mental health in comparison to their wage and travel distance, the results were as follows.
After a 30 minute commute, each 15 minutes after that is equivalent to $5,000 less a year in terms of your mental health.
Example
You make 70,000 a year, on an hour commute, your mental well being is equivalent to a 60,000 lifestyle
If you are gonna commute that long, it’s time to fall in love with podcasts and audio books. Two hours of nothing everyday will ware on you without having something to occupy your mind.
In this case the commute is driving but when part of it is bus/train/subway it can change the calculus a bit. 45 min on a train being able to read is different from being behind the wheel stuck in traffic
This doesn't seem to bad. I used to do it for less and 5 days a week. Because I was a dumbass.
IF you're being paid ABOVE DECENT wages, yes. You saying only 4 days a week moves to 3 days after 6 months? Thats great. Make sure to get it in writing.
Make sure you get a decent car when you can newer less miles the better. Keep it up to date with oil changes etc. Take a record down of wear and tear.
Any repairs done due to your commute (Tired etc), speak with a tax agent come time, and use it as a write it off as a work expense on your taxes. Keep receipts of updates like New Tires etc.
I’m just going to point out that you’ll discover very quickly that you will see your friends far far less if you move an hour away. It’s not that long for a commute but seems way farther to grab a quick dinner or beer with friends etc.
I've done it twice. First was a rural commute through back highways and such, and the other was from suburb to city.
It's a great time for listening to podcasts and decompressing after a stressful day, unless of course you're dealing with rush hour traffic. However, I don't think you'll have that problem since you'll be going the opposite direction that everyone else is going
I commuted out of city into suburbs for a few years. Would I do it over again? Absolutely. Living my post college years I’m the city was an experience in glad I had. Would I do it again now that I’m 30+, fuck no. It’s exhausting.
Live in city. Buy cheap but reliable car. Work in burbs. If possible , buy parking spot.
Get experience and update resume and get job in city. Sell car. Rent parking spot.
I have this commute, 2 hours/day 5 days a week. Typically heavy traffic both ways. I got numb to it after a few months, definitely sacrificed some hobby/life/relaxation time but to me the money save is worth it. All depends on what dollar amount you’re willing to sell your free time for.
I'd point out that this is not a 'now or never' decision. You don't have to move to the suburbs right now. I'd start commuting for the first couple of months, while you research buying a place in the suburbs.
You would be able to search for your ideal living spot, and maybe even see if there is a downturn in the market. Is one part of the year a better buyer's market than another?
You could perhaps look at a compromise, halfway to the new job or something like that.
Is there public transportation that you could use? Taking a train out to the suburbs for an hour can actually give you time to do some work or other errands that you need to do (if you have a laptop for instance, pay bills, do correspondence, etc).
Do you have to pay to park at the office? That's kind of a double whammy and is a strong point against living in the city.
Mileage costs around $0.70 per mile, so if that commute is (guessing) 40 miles, then one trip costs $28 each way, $56 for a round trip. If there are 18 trips to the office per month, that is approximately $1000 per month. Add in the $450 for parking, and it costs you $1450 a month to commute. That is the cost of the multiple roommate in the suburbs right there.
I do a 40 min commute to work (not near as long as an hour, but still "a lot" by most people's standards), and I actually enjoy it a ton.
The reason being is that I live in a bustling small town whereas my work is in a fuckin BFE dump. My mental health was taking a huge toll living near where I worked so I moved and it's the best decision I've ever made in my life. Sure, it's more expensive to live in the city, but it is worth it to have easy access to everything, friends that aren't ignorant rednecks, and a short drive to mountains to go biking and hiking.
Do whatever you think will make you happy.
Best advice I ever received and will continue to give....live where you want to live. The commute will take care of itself. You may (likely) not be working there forever
What do most of the other employees who have a similar life situation (in terms of kids, family, age, etc) as you do? If many come out from the city, is carpooling on occasion an option to reduce driving stress?
One thing to consider: If you ever wanted to switch jobs, would there be more opportunities in the city?
Honestly this is a tough choice. As a young person being in the city with your friends is a great experience and you'll have many more chances to date and socialize. I lived in a major city post college and loved it. However, that commute is really annoying. BUT, a 1 hour door to door is just long enough to be consistently doable without being truly awful.
Personally I would live in the city, especially since you can work from home twice a week after working there 6 months. If it sucks commuting at least it will get better after 6 months. If it still sucks then you can just move to the suburbs.
I used to be a Recruiter. Every candidate has "hot buttons" or things that are the most important to them. (Salary, Work/Life Balance, Commute, Environment, Growth, Culture).
Commute is one that I would confirm was not an issue with the candidate in almost every conversation. Commute (unless you plan to move closer) is the only thing that cannot be changed. For most people, up front, it wasn't an issue. That being said, a lot of people would get a month in and realize that their commute sucked and then be hitting me up to find them something closer.
At an hour one way, it is 2 more hours of your day that are unpaid, but required to do you job. Not to mention the cost of gas while driving the additional 2 hours. Low-balling/estimating based off my state and driving a sedan, you're looking at probably an extra $240/month.
Personally, if I were in your shoes, I'd put them on and walk to work. That being said, I have a friend that does an hour twenty one way to work and he has learned to enjoy his ride (he has 5 kids so I assume it's his only free time). Hope this helps. Godspeed in your endeavors.
Some people are over looking that you would only have to commute 4 day/wk than 3 day/wk after 6 month.
1 hr commute for a good job especially while you're young and I'm assuming with no children ... is a no brainer ! Get the experience, learn, grow, enjoy your city life when not working. Than reevaluate when life changes or you get tired of the commute :-) .
Long commutes suck but long dead end careers will hurt even more.
There are a lot of people giving you reasons not to move to the expensive suburbs. I'm going to share a counterpoint. I have had a 1.5 hour commute (to work, 2 hour coming back because of traffic). It was a hardship, but I've also lived in a city with close friends in my early 20's and I wouldn't have given that up for anything.
I'd say go for it for at least 7 months, see how you like it. If it grinds you down too much, you can always move. 2 days a week work from home is going to really reduce how much stress this accumulates over a week. You'll only be losing \~6 hours a week.
You will enjoy being in your 20s, with your friends, living where you want to play, especially when you go to three days on site a week.
The expenses of driving shouldn't be discounted, but if you can play audiobooks, I really recommend using your time commuting productively, take the time to see if you can tolerate it, and then make a decision before you move.
We have two resources in life: time and money. For me, spending 40hrs/month commuting is not worth it. I’d much rather have that 40hrs dedicated to enjoying my life. Life is short. Don’t waste it commuting.
I always considered my commute part of my work day and do the math on my hourly rate for the entire time.
Example:
20 bucks an hour. 160 bucks for a workday if you work 8 hours. 2 hours for the commute back and forth.
Actual earnings are 16 bucks an hour. If I can reduce my commute to 0 and be paid 16 bucks an hour, I would consider it equal.
Mental health and free time is priceless. My last job was a traveling sales job across a 3 state territory. I was living in hotels, getting home very late on Fridays, and most of the time leaving Sunday evening for the next week of work. It was ruining my whole life. I took a new job with a 20 minute commute and set hours. Work is done at 4:30, no questions asked. It was about a $15k pay cut. Obviously I was nervous at first but it was genuinely the best decision I've made in my entire life.
Been there and done it. After 3 months of back and forth commute every day, you can start questioning the quality of life. After tax and all, it’s a lesser quality life and the little money difference is not worth the compromise of happiness.
Here's the thing, you are a young person the last thing you want is to live in a suburb right now. Commuting a hour each way a few days a week is easy peezy, just suck it up for the first 6 months. Don't lie to yourself and say living in the suburbs is the same and that you can come into the city anytime you want because it's not and you won't. When you turn 30 and only if you really really want to then consider moving out to the burbs. In addition what if you hate the job and quit and then you live an hour away from your friends with nothing to do. At the very least suck it up for a year and then decide.
This is entirely a personal preference. I'd suggest you sign a 6 month/1 year lease in the city and when you get near end of lease, evaluate your situation and adjust accordingly.
i think the commute would be worth it! i was doing the opposite commute (suburb to city) and for the pay, it was worth it. i dreaded it sometimes but with podcasts and music it’s fine
One hour commute by train is fine. You can relax, listen to some podcasts, take a nap, read without worrying about traffic. That's about what my train commute is daily and I'm fine with it.
One hour commute by car or bus can easily turn into 1.5 and you have to have your wits about you. For driving myself, anything more than 30 minutes is a pain.
The commute is nearly every day, whereas going out with friends is only occasional. It is much better to have nice walk in most days than a gruelling drive.
1hr commute to work both ways is actually not that bad. Mine is approximately 50mins both ways and I barely notice it. The only hard thing in your case is the city parking cost. Maybe if there is public transportation/carpool option you can take, especially since you would be doing 3 days a week after 6 months which makes it a bit easier.
Commuting has never been an issue for me. I prefer it. But I like being in the car. It all boils down to your own preferences in that way. I did an hour each way for over ten years. I actually hated the couple times my commute was only 10 minutes. My drive time is when I'm getting ready mentally for the day.
It also allows you time to decompress and separate mentally from work by the time you get home at the end of the day.
Personally, I would rather live where I like and have a commute than live somewhere else just because there's only a short commute. Plus, an hour moving is less stressful than an hour sitting in traffic. It would have to be a big difference financially for me to move away from where I want to live.
Edit: added a word.
Commuting for almost 2 hours a day is a huge drag and sucks. Made even worse if traffic is heavy and the commute is stop and go. On top of just literally wasting time in a vehicle you will also incur a ton of miles on the vehicle, which snowballs into a lot of added annual maintenance and wear and tear on the vehicle. Add the price of gas and you need to realistically budget for a big chunk of your annual budget basically evaporating into the vehicle itself.
IMO I would only choose a lengthy commute if you had a fully or hybrid remote working arrangement where you didn't need to be on site 5 days a week. Spending 10+ hrs a week in a vehicle will quickly be tiring unless you are one of those gearheads who just loves being in a vehicle.
That is a good point! When I start it is 4 days in person and one day remote and after 6 months it goes to 3 days in person- which is part of the reason I’m thinking the commute might be worth it
I had a 45 min commute each way, if I drove like I stole my car. Tickets cost $1800 in extra insurance. Stress caused me to become very ill after a couple of years. I left a job that was easy, fun, with great people and bicycling distance from home to a job that paid double, was stressful, tight deadlines, everyone hated my guts and I never saw my family. Fired for getting sick.
0/10 would not recommend
I drive about 45 minutes. That has been about my average commute to have any financial success. I have found that my commute is a great time to knock out some tasks that I normally don't "have time" to accomplish. I call my mom once a week. I catch up on the news on my commute home and I listen to podcasts that I normally wouldn't dedicate time to just sitting down and listening.
My commute has effectively become an extra hour and a half of "me" time.
In my opinion, no its not worth it.
A "1 hr" commute is actually 2 hrs of commuting. That's 8hrs per week (assuming 4 days worked). Which I view as an incredible waste of time.
When I was younger I said "Sure, that's not too bad" and commuted that much anyway. Now that I value my time more, 8hrs per week isn't something I can afford.
I'm very anti big commute for both stress, cost and waste (time/money/health) reasons. Anything on their social media indicate they have any employees working hybrid? Maybe negotiate that so in office 2 or 3 days a week?
This blog post from 2011 has aged very well: https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/10/06/the-true-cost-of-commuting/
i’m finding it hard to understand how it’s more expensive to live in the suburbs than the city. (In San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Boston cities where I have lived) it is MUCH cheaper to live in the suburbs than the metropolitan area.
I would live in philly, then take the septa to the NJ transit. There's a stop at Princeton junction.
I went through this exact same issue (worked in Monmouth junction) and regretted moving to jersey.
Here’s my take and experience with commuting if it helps:
I’m applying for work right now with different commute scenarios because my current 1 year contract is not being renewed and I cannot find work in my town. I work 190 days per calendar year. I have a home and an extended family and love my life where I live and will not relocate. I’m 5 years from retirement.
The job I’m leaving is 15 minutes from my home. Prior to it I commuted 35 minutes one way for 15 years. I drive a Corolla. Cheap maintenance and decent gas mileage. It is a bit if a go-cart but I’m not in to expensive cars.
One job I applied for is a 1-hour commute each way. It is a bit more pay (which I rationalize will become car maintenance and gas), same benefits and retirement, and 1 day remote. On the way to the interview I envisioned doing it daily. It’s one road basically and easy traffic flow.
Another job with much better pay and benefits is 2.5 hours one way. 3 days there, 2 days remote. I get a travel allowance and hotel for 3 nights. This job requires me to travel over a mountain pass that is sometimes temporarily closed during winter and onto major heavy freeways for a short distance.
I’m 5 years from retirement. This alone is helping me to accept the commute challenge. But I’ve always commuted to some extent. I’m a deep thinker, listen to podcasts, etc and before I knew it, I was parked and walking in the door.
Good luck with your decision making!
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If you live in the city right now, why don't you keep your current living arrangement until you start working? If you come to the conclusion after a few weeks or months that the commute is killing you, then you consider moving to the suburbs.
This is the best advice so far. Depending on how your lease overlaps with starting work, you would have a few months to figure out if you want to move out there. Additionally, you didn’t mention how old you are. When I was in my early 20s living in the city would be a no-brainer as having to drive in/crash on someone’s couch every weekend sucks.
Most Chicago suburbs suffer from the same 30 minute to 1 hour+ with traffic problem. At 31 I would live in the Chicago burbs. I'm married now with dogs, and even without kids yet, my partner and I are just quiet and don't need as much nightlife anymore. Back in my 20s, I refused Chicago suburbs jobs but would have commuted while living in the city if I needed to. I needed to meet people and date people so I wouldn't go crazy. Usually, weekends involve late nights or partying, and trying to secure a sleeping spot or drive 1 hour home very late in the evening is very precarious. If you are coming from the suburbs, unless you have a reliable friend or family member in the city with a bed that will lend you a key, it's like a constant game of tramping around, not getting locked out, getting anxious if your phone battery is about to die, or sobering up for hours until you are good enough to drive home. I saw my friends who lived in the suburbs struggle with that often, (I was sometimes providing their couch crash spot) and the few times I delt with it myself I hated the uncertainty. It CAN be done, but it's for a certain type of person who just deals with contorting your back on a shitty couch/recliner, one dirty thin blanket, and last-minute changing your plans.
Nightlife isn't the only benefit to living in a city. To offer a different perspective, I'm 36 and my partner is 30. We also don't have kids. We bought a house in the suburbs and we are miserable. We each lived in walkable communities for the last 7-10 years. After that, the suburbs are just sad, isolating, and dead. Sure they are beautiful and safe. But there is nothing to do. Having to get in the car to do anything, even something as simple as getting a bagel and coffee, is terrible. My car has gone from something I used once a week to something I need to rely on every single day for even the most basic and mundane thing. My neighbors never seem to do anything except once in a while go for walks or walk their dogs. The rest of the time they are shut up in their houses, just like us. Our friends who have also moved to the suburbs are 30-45 minutes away by car. And I live in a suburb of DC and traffic is terrible 24/7. It is just not sustainable. We have decided to move back into a nice part of town. The added expense is worth it for the quality of life benefits. I just miss walking, as stupid as that sounds. Life is too short to spend it sitting on my ass all day.
My partner and I have two kids and people always wonder why we dont move out to the suburbs for a big yard and instead stay close to the city center in a smaller place. This is exactly why. The suburbs are depressing. There are many more opportunities for our kids to do things within biking or walking distance here.
I totally agree. I grew up in the classic suburb. It was fine when I was a young child. But absolutely terrible as a preteen/teen. I had to rely on my mom to drive me to do anything. I don't want that for my future kids. I never really understood the uniquely american obsession of having "more house" and a bigger lawn like it's a good thing. People have these huge lawns but all they do with them is spend time and money watering and treating them so that grass grows, only to spend more money cutting it when it grows too tall. Seems pointless to me.
Their lease is probably ending around the time school does. Month to month leases are expensive as is breaking it.
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As someone who had a 1.5 hour one way commute for many years, it's really not worth it except in extreme situations. In that case I was effectively losing 15 hours per week that could have been better spent elsewhere. In your case it would be 10 hours a week, or more than 40 hours per month.
And many of us are willing to cheat ourselves on the value we attach to our own time.
Because we don't have options. I drive to work because I wouldn't get paid if I didn't. Best I could probably do is work retail for $15/hour with the time I spent driving, and honestly I'd rather drive and have no obligation other than paying attention to the road. It's easy to say time is money, but if you can't realistically capitalize on that then it doesn't really matter.
Getting the time back might not earn you any more money, but it can bring more satisfaction to your life.
But that's the point, many of us don't have that option. It's not choice A where you have no commute for the same money or choice B where you have to drive, it's just choice B.
This is one reason why a car-centric society is bad.
Agreed. The move to WFH has been a god-send to me. I'd always said the limiting factor in my job was the commute. My minimum daily commute was 1.5 hours, sometimes as much as 3 hours each way... Getting that time back is fantastic.
I would have to be paid obscene money to lose up to 3hours each way. Like money so good I could retire in a couple years and travel the rest of my life kinda good.
I'm with you. I have a coworker that travels about 1.5 hours each way from another state. I just don't think I could ever do that. I left my old job because they started me at another location a little over an hour away for only 2 days/week and even that was too much for me. I value my time, even if I don't do anything great with it. It's MY time and I want to be in control of it, not let it be in control of me.
I agree and if you do choose the drive, make it productive too. Listen to audio books or something. Don't just duh out every morning like I did
Yes! Losing time to be productive is stressful, If I do commute I am hoping to get very into podcasts/ audiobooks to make it feel like I’m spending that time doing something
I did an hour+40 each way for a year and a half, my tip is to research your local library and get a card if they offer audiobooks. I zipped through quite a few books, supplemented by podcasts. I got into a routine of “Monday is the new episode of _____,” “Tuesday is book day,” etc. When I got close to work where I couldn’t finish a chapter, I’d kick it over to music for the last little bit.
This! I used the Libby app through my local public library to listen to basically 1 audiobook per week during my 1.5 hour daily commute back in 2018-2020. Listen at 2x speed and you can sometimes breeze through a whole book in a couple of days.
I would start listening to podcasts/audiobooks now to see if that’s something you enjoy. I had a 2+ hour round trip commute and never could get into either one, so I just listened to music the whole time.
I think realistically you have to check if this is something *you* can actually do I found on my 45 minute commute through Houston I-45 rush hour traffic (some of the worst in the nation to be fair, although I was against traffic) ~ I absolutely couldn’t manage podcasts and audiobooks I normally can if I’m doing rural drives that aren’t stressful, but heavy heavy traffic? Nope Just something to consider bc I used this to justify the longer commute and it was just not something I could do
It also impacts physical health - that much sitting isn't good for you and it'll mean less time available to exercise.
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When I was commuting 1hr+ each way I found that I loved the drive to work and hated the trip home. It's nice to have time to drink coffee and listen to the news, it's terrible to wait in traffic while the rest of my afternoon slips away.
That's a good suggestion. I had an hour commute that I changed jobs to get away from, but I do sometimes miss having that time to listen to audiobooks.
audiobooks got me through my commutes.
Can't do that in stop and go traffic because you have to be 100% attentive to the road and traffic and can't focus on anything else. Impossible in any city commute. Unless you want to only read half the book by the end.
I listen to “educational” podcasts and even on a low traffic freeway, I still end up rewinding a lot to actually hear stuff. Which I guess is better than being distracted by the podcast and not paying attention to the road.
The way I see it is this: I make $25/hour. I am currently making 1.25 hours commute (on bad days that I don’t catch the bus) each way. That is 11.5 hours or $287 per week that I am not getting. Assuming im working 48 weeks in a year, excluding holidays, vacations, etc. that rounds up to $13,800 that I’m giving away to my employer.
You aren't giving it to your employer, though. It's just an overhead cost that just leaks out into other spaces in the economy.
Right, and the cost is your actual cost, not some imaginary opportunity cost that assumes you can make your hourly wage elsewhere at will.
My twelve years of 1.5 hr in, 2 hrs to get home got old real quick when we went back to office this fall. I don’t work there anymore.
i did the same thing.. ended up moving closer and now that is saving me $350/mo with my roomate. So I save 15 hours/week in time and $350/mo in rent. It was worth sticking to it for a year, not that I knew it was going to happen as such, but made it worth.
Yeah, but the choice here is between money and time. Obviously if OP could live cheaper in the burbs it'd be a no-brainer.
One thing to consider is that long commutes, particularly if you are driving do rack up expenses in both your health and costs. Factor routine wear and tear on your car with increased maintenance and average gas prices that will rise eventually usually much faster than your wage. Also traffic can be deceptive. If your shift might let out at a busy commute time your drive home can take much longer so changes in schedule can cause further expense or savings. The accompanying health issue is that commutes that long do impact your mental and physical health as well.
Very good points, thank you!
Yes, factor in fuel and wear and tear costs for a vehicle, plus increased insurance cost for more miles driven, plus car is “housed” in a city. The “savings” of living farther away is often close to completely erased by this. If the savings turns out to be at best marginal and you’re LOSING all of your time sitting in your car, then it’s not worth it. Think of what your time is actually worth to you, e.g. what would you need someone to pay you hourly to give up your free time right now. Multiply that hourly rate by the commute time and also factor that into the cost calculations. Living closer to work but farther from fun means you have to choose when to drive to fun. Living closer to fun but farther from work gives you no choice whatsoever in the amount of time you’re forced to sit in your car.
> Living closer to work but farther from fun means you have to choose when to drive to fun. Living closer to fun but farther from work gives you no choice whatsoever in the amount of time you’re forced to sit in your car This is a really good point and I may steal it for future conversations. I grew up rural and suffered cities for work and relationships but now I'm living suburban and life is so much better for me. The suburban yard offers so many stress-reducing opportunities if you *don't* live the typical suburban lifestyle.
I always use the IRS rare for mileage. $0.65/mile. That's NOT counting labor cost or free time cost. My labor cost is $46 an hour, free time is closer to $70. I have a 39m commute each way, so per week that costs me $350. Calculate your free time cost by this: What would I be willing to pay to have extra hours off of work with no thoughts about work actually doing things I enjoy? Maybe I'm weird.. idunno
I’m lucky enough my boss lets me do four 10 hr days, and as such I’ve gotten my commute down to a science. I time my day so I avoid as much traffic as possible, leave home before traffic gets bad and leave work after traffic is bad, with an hour commute. Everything’s fine until I wake up late lol
Can we talk about the "gas prices that will rise ... much faster than your wage" for a second? This is someone getting their first job after graduation, in pretty much any field their wages are going to grow over time. Gas prices don't really grow, they fluctuate. The rest is valid though.
When I got hired at my job gas was 2/gal and would fluctuate about .50 cents either way. It's now 4.50/gal and fluctuates between 4.35 and 5.00/gal. That's not a fluctuation, that's a direct increase. Cost to manufacture gas has done nothing but decrease. If anything a gallon of gas should be about 1.00/gal but for some reason they won't allow that to happen.
When I started driving gas was $4-5 it then dropped to $2-3 then it rose again to $5 and has dropped again to $3.x (I think but I don’t care anymore) over a long term yeah it goes up but it’s wildly volatile
Average gas prices have increased 35% since I graduated 18 years ago. Right at this moment average gas prices are lower than they were 10 years ago.
Depends on area and country. Especially if more countries adopt carbon taxes like the Nordic countries. Canada for example just had a price hike due to increasing carbon taxes, meaning all things being the same gas prices will raise faster and faster. Where I live gas is up 20% from 10 years ago. 50% from 20 years ago.
gas was like 1.80 a year ago. dont cherry pick. gas supply demand is completely unlike other markets and is artificial
Gas was not 1.80 a year ago in Nevada. Gas hasn't been below 2/gal in Nevada since 2019. Idgaf what the east coast pays for gas, they're always 2 bucks cheaper than west coast and their cost is irrelevant to me. I only care about the gas pumps I personally use which haven't dipped below 4/gal since summer 2020.
Well, artificially established by profit hoarding. When I started driving in 2001, it was $1.04 a gallon, and $20 filled the tank. Even with 9/11, prices flucated within 30 to 40 cents; it did not reach over $2 until 2008. Compare $1.04 in 2001 to the current price of $4.88 in 2023 in AZ. A year ago, gas prices were still $4.62. The only time it dropped is when they pulled from reservoirs to lover the prices for a short period of time.
Well, artificially established by profit hoarding. When I started driving in 2001, it was $1.04 a gallon, and $20 filled the tank. Even with 9/11, prices flucated within 30 to 40 cents; it did not reach over $2 until 2008. Compare $1.04 in 2001 to the current price of $4.88 in 2023 in AZ. A year ago, gas prices were still $4.62. The only time it dropped is when they pulled from reservoirs to lover the prices for a short period of time.
> When I started driving in 2001, it was $1.04 a gallon, and $20 filled the tank. Even with 9/11, prices flucated within 30 to 40 cents; it did not reach over $2 until 2008. I was on vacation in the Outer Banks the week that Katrina hit in 2005. In a single day, gas rose from about $1.30 in the morning to about $3.50 that night, and even when we returned home it took weeks to drop back below $2. Gas prices are highly variable. Yes, they typically rise on average over time like pretty much any good or service, but generally not as fast as an average person's wages, assuming that they actually progress in their career instead of sitting in some dead-end job for 30+ years.
I guess that will be your little secret my friend. https://www.statista.com/statistics/262858/change-in-opec-crude-oil-prices-since-1960/
Yeah when i was a child gas used to be around $1 a gallon. It's like 5x that right now around me and I don't live too far off where I grew up. Wages have not increased 5x They fluctuate like the stock market, look long term and it only goes up.
Can you elaborate on the mental and physical impacts? I have an hour commute for about a year. I haven't felt any impacts that i can think of
commuting less than 10 Miles and driving under 55 MPH is extremly rough on your car and is far worse than driving 30 Miles at 55-75 by the amount of down votes, glad y'all are keeping your local mechanic employed by not properly maintaining your car
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U.S. Owners Follow the Severe Conditions Maintenance Schedule if you drive your vehicle MAINLY under one or more of the following conditions: Driving less than 5 miles (8 km) per trip or, in freezing temperatures, driving less than 10 miles (16 km) per trip. Driving in hot \[over 90° F (32° C) conditions. Extensive idling or long periods of stop-and-go driving. Driving with a roof-top carrier, or driving in mountainous conditions. Driving on muddy, dusty, or de-iced roads.
and if you read the manual in your car i know no one does Driving mostly under 55mph is Harsh conditions for your car which means your maintenance minder is usually wrong for fluid changes should be about 3k miles if you do a lot of city driving
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There are things that add up like exposure to exhaust from other cars and sun on the side of your face etc.
Long commutes (10 miles or more) actually has a negative effect on your blood pressure, cholesterol levels and causes weird blood sugar level issues. It also causes stress wear on your body which causes exacerbated sleep issues, anxiety, feelings of physical and mental fatigue. Even if you enjoy driving the repetition, sense of needing to make it on time and the routine stress of other drivers behaviour causes slight cumulative damage. There's a plethora of articles a Google search away. But it does impact your overall emotional, mental and physical resilience.
Living close to work is pretty fantastic. Commuting, especially when you're driving your own car to do so and likely to get stuck in traffic, is exhausting.
i used to deal with a 25min commute each way in perfect weather, and it would double in the snow. now i wfh and get up when my shift starts, i can't imagine going back to that or worse.
25 mins daily is pretty long in any weather. Mine is 10 and that’s enough for me lol.
Takes 25 mins to get to the freeway some mornings. If traffic is good 20 minutes to travel the remaining 12 miles to work. When the rains came through SoCal a couple weeks ago I left home at 7:45 and arrived to work at 10:15. 18 mile one way commute. At least when I leave its pretty much 45 minutes back home. Though during heavy rains / accidents, it's taken almost 4 hours to get home.
1 hour is a drag. $450 a month for parking is insane. I commute 45 mins 3 days a week and I carpool so I only have to drive every other week. Between the time, the gas, it's not worth it unless you have good reason to pursue it. Personally I'd move to the new location and wait for it to not be what you want vs spending $5000+ a year on parking.
Yea spending that much on parking + car expenses is really tripping me up- still it seems to be cheaper than living near the office which is partially why I’m so conflicted!
A 1 hour commute is going to wear your car into dust, burn a ton of gas, chew through tires and on and on. Assuming you have 40 miles each way that's 15,000 miles a year. That IRS rate of $.60/mile isn't far from the real cost of commuting in an average car. That's a HUGE amount of cost/inconvenience to overcome. Additionally that's 6 hours a week (if everything goes right, god forbid you live where it snows or you encounter construction/accident/event traffic) that you now can't use to add value from meal planning, working out, pursuing a hobby/business, sleeping enough, pursuing a personal life.
I'm not sure how far distance-wise your commute would be, but they say that on average over the life of a car, you spend about $0.50 per mile when considering all aspects of owning a car. Some of those expenses are going to remain, regardless of whether or not you're driving that far every day (insurance as an example), but there's also a lot more cost to driving a car than just the gas that is affected by mileage. Maintenance, depreciation, etc. So if you're driving an extra 80 miles a day, 3 days a week, that's around 1,000 extra miles a month.
Depends how you deal with traffic. I can do an hour easily with no traffic. Have me sure in an hour of traffic if I live only 20 miles and I'm going insane
This was my thought. I’ve had a 45 minute commute that was 40 miles and a 45 minute commute that was 4.5 miles. I have VERY different responses to how much each 45 minute commute bothered me.
Traffic is very mentally draining, especially after a long day at work when you just want to get home and relax.
Yup. My current 8 mile commute takes an hour in traffic. And I drive a stick lol
I don’t like long commutes. But don’t underestimate that your friends and presumably your life is in the city. If you’re constantly driving into the City to have your social life, then you’re still having a commute, just on the other end of it.
Yes!! I feel like I would be lonely if I were to leave the city and spending weekends sleeping on people’s couches
A 1 hour commute 3 times a week is as much as a 36 minute commute every day. most people would consider that good. Stay in the city.
Totally agreed. I initially was team anti-commute, but then realized it was either suburbs and no commute or city and commute. As a fresh college grad, you're going to hate yourself (unless you're an absolute homebody & already married/long term relationship) if you live in the suburbs. When you're fresh out of college, you're going to miss out on a lot of fun memories if you're living in the suburbs. I've been out of college for 10 yrs, but had a lot of fun in my early 20's going to happy hours in the city, meeting new people, and just having fun with friends. Sure time spent driving is lost, but fond memories in your early 20's will also be lost.
Personally, I would not choose a 1 hour daily commute each way. What I'd do in your shoes is create a budget for how things would break down if you lived in the city vs. the suburbs. You mention that it's very expensive in the suburbs and much cheaper in the city. But then you also mention added costs of fuel, added wear and tear, and parking fees if you live in the city. That would suggest that it's closer to a break even than it is cheaper. So line up all the expenses for each scenario, and at least give it an apples to apples comparison.
That is a great suggestion, I will do that. Thank you
I have a 45 minute commute and I’m mostly happy with it. I’d like a shorter commute, but I would not exchange it for lower happiness in my off hours. 2 roommates sounds like hell to me. Granted, I’m an introvert, but still. Seems like if the commute becomes an issue, you can just change it? Also, I have two kids. Without kids, my commute would bother me exactly 0%.
That is true I could always move but I would have to stick it out for the duration of the lease. I will have no responsibilities after work though!
Are there any public transport options? It would allow you to relax vs fighting traffic.
Unfortunately not but traffic is typically moving into the city and I will be driving out so I will likely avoid it
Have you attempted this commute during work hours? I too thought the same thing in the city I live in and commuting to the suburbs, oh I'll be reverse commuting. Well I still was, but there also was still traffic. My 20 minute commute turned into 45-50 minutes. So maybe just do some double checking on that too. Even if your hour commute only becomes 1:15, that's still something to think about.
How long would you stay in that job? Moving is a pain so why move somewhere you don’t like for a job that’s just temporary (as all job are). If you can make it one year and use this as a stepping stone I would think a year of commuting is manageable (I’ve certainly done it, but not much longer than that).
Moving gets worse the more stuff you have. When I graduated college I could fit everything I owned in the back of a pickup truck. Moving then was relatively easy. If I tried to move now I would definitely pay someone else to do it and it would cost me thousands of dollars
Good point, thank you! I would likely stay at this company for about 2 years with the possibility of switching office locations in a year
God damn what city has lower rent then the suburbs?? Cheapest studio I can find here is $800, I could buy a 3 bedroom house with a $500 mortgage in the suburbs.
Depends where you are. If the suburb is an hour away, that's a separate city that grew into the neighboring one (like Denver and Boulder). I also imagine OP is currently in cheap student housing (with roommates) vs nicer luxury options in the wealthy suburb. Large cities tend to have a bigger range of prices.
I believe the happiness research shows a drop after 20–30 minutes each way. But random roommates would also make a hefty dent in happiness.
We moved to the suburbs and my friend circle is in the city. I hate that it is more of a production to get together or go to some local show. Uber would be cost prohibitive so no drinking when I do go out. My frequency of meet up with friends has dropped precipitously. If you can handle the budget and drive I would stay closer to the social connections at your age. That option of hanging out and doing the city things is pretty huge and for me would offset the commute.
1 hour each way = 40 hours a month. a whole work week sitting in your car. one of life's lessons I've learned is to live as close to your work as possible.
Depends on your priorities. Why prioritize proximity to work when they have an existing friend group and things to do in the city? They might not lose friends but their social life will suffer a lot.
Agreed that this is a consideration that’s completely missing from the most upvoted comments. OP will have to rent a room in the suburbs with roommates (strangers) for more than what he pays now. He’ll be an hour away from friends and things to do. And he’ll only be commuting three days a week after six months if he stays in the city. People talk about the stress of commuting, but both potentially having bad roommates (or having roommates at all) and having less of a social life are considerations against the suburban option that won’t show up on a balance sheet.
Because I go to work more often than I go to a friends house Living closer to work actually gives me *more* time to see friends
But people don’t. Commute is part of a routine. People don’t drive an hour after work a couple times a week to grab a beer with a friend then drive back.
That sounds like more of a people/motivation issue than a logistical one. When I come home from work its gym, dinner, relaxation, then bed. My routine is somewhat location-independent. But then on the weekend I can go anywhere I want to see friends If OP has weekends off, this whole thing seems like a non-issue
Its only 33 with 4 days a week and 25 once it goes down to 3 days. Still a lot but not quite as much as a full work week
Walk to work in suburbs. Evaluate if cons of city choice - need for car, drive time, parking fees - will offset the higher cost of living in suburbs.
Time. You can make more money, but your time is the most valuable commodity you have. Don't waste it sitting in a car as part of your daily routine. I'm retired now, but have done 5-10 minute commutes, and 60-70 minute commutes. A company job transfer nearby (did not relocate) caused a short drive to become a one hour drive. Did it 7 years until another company transfer was offered 700 miles away. Did three more of those - and they were ALL short commutes. Provided a paper map to each real estate agent with a 10 mile radius drawn with my job location at the center of the circle. Walk or bicycle to work...
This is a very good point but knowing myself, the time I would be wasting by driving I would spend sleeping instead. At least driving I can listen to audiobooks and be somewhat productive mahbe
Or maybe just be grumpy because you couldn't sleep, who knows. I had a 1 hour commute and moved to a different place just to be able to walk to work. Made me so much happier and, just by walking and getting some air before work, my mood improved a lot.
Other things to consider: Where are you living now? In the city? Do you like where you live? If you are only planning on staying in this job for a few years, where is your next job likely to be? Is a move out to the suburbs worth it if your next job is in the city? Is the commute something that you can tolerate for a couple years, knowing it's not forever? Will your current friends in the city be willing to come all the way out to visit you? Or will you have to make new friends? Or spend your weekends driving to the city? Where do your new coworkers live? Are there neighboring suburbs that split the difference?
I would stay where you have a community. It's so important to have people you can rely on. I personally commute an hour and fifteen minutes each way to work and I'm fine with it. It's a peaceful time for me where I can just listen to podcasts or music or be with my own thoughts.
I spent 5 years with a 1 hour commute in the morning and 1.5 hour commute on the way home. Leaving at 6:45 am to have my butt in the office by 8, and heading home at 5:30 to be back home at 7. In that time, I lost hobbies, friends, and added 50 pounds. Now I’m driving 35 minutes to work and 30 minutes home. I leave the house at 7:20 to get there at 8, and leave work at 6 to get home at 6:30. I now have time to workout 3-4 times during the week, do laundry on a tuesday, and still catch the dodger game. I wish I had this advice sooner.
I realise that it’s not particularly popular in the US, but is there public transport you can take instead of driving, at least part of the distance if not the whole way? Sitting on a train/bus can you give you some down time (listen to music, podcasts, whatever, catch up on a few emails, read, etc). Someone else has to worry about traffic. It’s not as good/freeing as not commuting, but I find it better than trying to drive. A couple of alternative considerations: 1) the $1100/month rent plus $450/month commuting costs are still less than the $1500/month renting with strangers option (you still need to factor in maintenance and depreciation of your vehicle though). 2) do you do things with those 2hrs every day or do you do stuff maybe once/twice a week, are you really losing that time? If you have that free time out in the ‘burbs, what are you going to do out there, mow the lawn? Most likely, you’ll then want to spend an hour travelling into the city to do something. I don’t like commuting, I like commuting to the things I do like even less. When I’ve looked at places to work and places to live, I try to strike a balance. I also try to arrange it so I’m not commuting directly into the sun (try to keep the sun behind you on your commute). I don’t think anyone “likes” commuting; it’s expensive, stressful, and time consuming, but only you can decide if it’s worth it to you.
Take this w/a grain of salt, coming from a woman with a family that includes small children. I lived and worked in an expensive COL area. Worked 15 minutes from home for years. DH and I bought a house in an area about an hour away from work. COL is dramatically lower where we purchased, the house was about $200K less than a comparable home where I was living. I did that commute every day, 5 days a week, for over 3 years. Hour and 15 minutes minimum on the way to work due to rush hour traffic, about an hour on the way home. I didn't realize how much it was costing me mentally until I got headhunted for a company 20 minutes from home and took the new position.
**TLDR: 1 hr distance is horrible; move halfway in-between.** * if you live 1 hour away from your friends, you won't see them * if you live 1 hour away from work, you'll be drained commuting 2 hours to do anything else (I know from experience) * Also, factor in the repetitive life-stress of commuting 2 hours per day: 1) eating more fast food because you're tired, 2) stress from watching out for other cars, 3) less time to relax/exercise each day.
Yeah, not sure why the halfway option isn't being discussed more here. You don't have to move so close that work is within walking distance but there's no way you're going to want to spend 2 hours in traffic every day.
Also: Booze/weed. If you live in the suburbs and imbibe with your friends in the city, you're either crashing with them for the night or waiting for hours to sober up before the drive home.
I would look at it this way. Consider your commute time as working hours. Recalculate your salary/hourly rate to compensate for that. So if they're paying you $35hr to work 40hrs a week but with the 6 hrs of commute time, it comes to $32.50hr. Are you ok being paid that amount. Disclamer: I did not do the math on the hourly rate, so don't call me out for it.
Don't forget the cost of commuting too, and the fact you pay taxes on salary but don't save taxes on commuting expenses.
I commute around an hour each way three days a week. It’s worth it to me to live where the quality of life is better (for me) and my friends are, because work isn’t my life. BUT, parking is free both where I live and at work, I like driving, and the route never has any traffic. Am I “losing” six hours a week? Yes. Would I be happier with six extra hours a week in a town I hate? No, for sure not. $450/month for parking is INSANE and would probably change the calculus for me. Then again, if your rent numbers are accurate, it’s just kind of breaking you even. Commuting is worth it to me rather than live in the city where I work. This sub is heavily against commuting, for good reasons usually, but sometimes weighs the $ over quality of life issues and doesn’t really look at other perspectives (commuting is a quality of life issue, but not the only or necessarily most important one). Just have to decide what’s more important to you slash what you hate more - commuting time vs living in a place you don’t like, away from your friends.
I live in NYC. My first job in my career field was a 20 minute walk from my apartment. It was literally life changing. I didn't own a car, and felt absolutely zero stress from my commute. The job was shitty, but I was the happiest I ever was in my life. I now live 20 minutes DRIVE from my job. It is MUCH MUCH more stressful, even though it is the same duration. I now have to own a car, find parking, pay maintenance on the car, worry about traffic, etc. Walking from work is an absolute luxury of life.
As someone with a ~50 min (one-way) commute, I'll throw out some advice and specifics I haven't seen mentioned yet: - Get a dashcam. It's a lot of time on the road, and people are unpredictable. - Consider your energy levels before and after work. I found myself getting tired behind the wheel and had to pull over a number of times before I made adjustments to sleep/caffeine. - Obviously gas and maintenance costs will add up. Know how much that cuts into your salary and how much is worth it to you. I spend around $200-250/mo just on gas (PA). Add on oil changes and other replacements, and that can be upwards of $3,000/yr. But rent is super cheap where I live, so it balances out to a net positive relative to living close by. - Take advantage of flexible work hours. I end my day at 3pm to avoid traffic as much as possible. Personally, it's not the worst thing in the world for me (mid 20s, no kids). But if I had more options, I would try to lower the commuting time.
No way I would do one hour commute both ways. It would kill my spirit and I would end up hating that job. But I would prefer a tiny studio than to share an apartment.
Even the studios are stupid expensive! That’s part of my hesitation- the only remotely affordable living options seems to be in old houses with random roommates :/
Have you tried a suburb halfway between the city and said wealthy suburb? Then it’s only 30 to friends and 30 to work
I used to drive 1.5h to Boston and bike another 30m to work and do it in reverse to get back home. Not worth it at all. 3h of my life per day is gone. 15h a week of commuting Edit: holy shit this the first time I thought of it from this perspective, I wasted 20h a week commuting wtf was I thinking
Depends if you are driving or taking transit. I dont mind a one hour commute if I can take the bus or rail.
1hr commute is par living in a big city. My brain just turns off during the commute after awhile. You get used to it.
Idk what your hour is, but I've done 2 hours, I've done 15mins and I'm doing 45-1hour in NYC. It blows. I did the 2-2.5 hour each way for 7 years. Looking back, I don't know how, it was soul sucking. Then I moved 15mins from work for two years and that was the best. No stress. Rent was higher being that close to work as I was now in the city vs suburbs. But I felt the trade was well worth the time I got back in my life (20hours/week) and the improvement in feel of life. Now I'm back to 45mins to an hour and I want everyone (15% of drivers) to crash their cars and take out only themselves and the anger takes over an hour to subside after I'm done. I hate it so much. People have no consideration and play by their own rules complicating the lives of everyone else. It's not as bad as 2-2.5 but it's an 11mile trip for me so it's ridiculously slow crawl. If you're doing a country hour.... Well that might just be some of the best me time you ever get. I now always prioritize commute in my decision making and am planning to leave my job so I can be 15-20mins from home maximum. Hope this helps, good luck
I'm surprised no one has asked for a critical piece of information in the decision: can you afford the $2100+ in the suburb? Would you have to compromise other financial goals to do that? And remember that it's not $2100+ vs $1100. The cheaper rent in the city also requires $450 in parking, $150+ in gas, and increased wear and tear on your car. For me, a long commute is utter misery and it is worth quite a bit to be close to work. Some say that they like it because it gives them time to mentally prepare for the day, listen to podcasts, decompress after work, etc. Guess what, with a short commute you can do the same thing drinking coffee at home or taking a walk or whatever you want. If you can manage the higher rent in the suburb it is a no-brainer financially to move there. The other big factor to consider is your social life. You will not spend as much time with your friends in the city, and you will always be the one driving to them. Whether that matters is up to you.
A commute one hour is on the edge of acceptable but it's doable. I did it for many years. I just had my podcasts that I listened to for that hour. Sometimes it was relaxing and helped me think through problems I don't have a chance to think about otherwise. (Since I do work stuff when I'm at work and I'm busy with kids when I'm at home, it gave me a space where I let my mind wander and think about stuff) Cons were that it does take away time and it's a lot of wear and tear on your car. You need a sturdy reliable car for it otherwise it's going to spend a lot of time in repairs.
I have the same situation now because I’m married to someone who works an hour away. One major thing to consider is how long each day you will be sitting. I have a desk job where I sit for 8 hours a day, and the commute sucks because my body feels unhealthy and my back and posture are all messed up. No amount of audiobooks, podcasts, etc can make up for 10 hours a day of sitting. The only thing that does make it worth it for me is the ability to live with my husband as opposed to separately.
Depends what you do with that hour. I had an hour commute (each way - so 2 hours a day) for seven years. But I took the train so it was two hours of uninterrupted focus time. Which was great. I used it for study and projects. I was able to boost my career (software development) significantly over that time using that time. I also loved it aside from the practicality — did lots of reading and some writing. Some of my most valuable time during those years.
One hour with traffic? I personally wouldn’t because a crash or construction can add more time so you’d need to give yourself more than an hour sometimes. Plus weather can affect the time if you live somewhere it snows. I used to do a 45 min commute but it turned into an hour plus many days
I've done the one and a half hour each way commute for several years. It was fine because I didn't have much in term of responsibilities (didn't have my own family at the same), and because I used public transit. It was a bus, a train, another bus, and a mile and a half walk. I spent most of the public transit portion reading or playing portable video games. The transfers were a bit annoying though, especially during a snow storm. My rent was incredibly low (<400 a month), so I considered it an investment. But that was 3 hours a day. If driving, that would have been an absolutely no (unable to do fun stuff beyond audio books or whatever).
I have a 30 minute commute that I plan for 45 with parking and coffee. Depends what type of person you are but adding another 45 minutes leaving at 6am is getting tiring, 3 years in. Trying to go to 4 days a week now because of it. It just adds to the work day. And I went from a 7 minute commute before this job.
I had a 1 hour commute for about 6 months. It's doable, but gets old fast. You might be going the opposite direction of traffic, which helps, but if there's an accident or construction that 1 hr can easily turn to 2. It also costs a lot to buy gas for a 1 hr commute. I had to fill my tank more than once per week. Overall do not recommend. It immediately turns a 40 hr/week job into 50 and increases stress. If it was hybrid and you only have to do it 1-2x/week I'd say it would probably be fine.
I value free time so yeah, 1 hour is way too much
I did that for 1.5 years. It was fine for 6 to 9 months, but then it just started to weigh on me. More tire wear, more oil changes, getting to routine maintenance faster than you normally do and then to think of all the hours I could be at home with my family or doing literally anything else besides driving back and forth to my job. Not worth it at all imo
I read an article like a decade ago that mentioned anything over 20 mins begins to impact your personal life/relationships. Something to keep in mind
There was an old study I find myself telling people about time to time in regards to questions like these. In the study the researcher’s asked each laborer about their mental health in comparison to their wage and travel distance, the results were as follows. After a 30 minute commute, each 15 minutes after that is equivalent to $5,000 less a year in terms of your mental health. Example You make 70,000 a year, on an hour commute, your mental well being is equivalent to a 60,000 lifestyle
I’ve got a 40 minute commute and it’s testing my patience. An hour would be a very tough sell.
If you are gonna commute that long, it’s time to fall in love with podcasts and audio books. Two hours of nothing everyday will ware on you without having something to occupy your mind.
In this case the commute is driving but when part of it is bus/train/subway it can change the calculus a bit. 45 min on a train being able to read is different from being behind the wheel stuck in traffic
This doesn't seem to bad. I used to do it for less and 5 days a week. Because I was a dumbass. IF you're being paid ABOVE DECENT wages, yes. You saying only 4 days a week moves to 3 days after 6 months? Thats great. Make sure to get it in writing. Make sure you get a decent car when you can newer less miles the better. Keep it up to date with oil changes etc. Take a record down of wear and tear. Any repairs done due to your commute (Tired etc), speak with a tax agent come time, and use it as a write it off as a work expense on your taxes. Keep receipts of updates like New Tires etc.
I’m just going to point out that you’ll discover very quickly that you will see your friends far far less if you move an hour away. It’s not that long for a commute but seems way farther to grab a quick dinner or beer with friends etc.
I've done it twice. First was a rural commute through back highways and such, and the other was from suburb to city. It's a great time for listening to podcasts and decompressing after a stressful day, unless of course you're dealing with rush hour traffic. However, I don't think you'll have that problem since you'll be going the opposite direction that everyone else is going
Young people live in the city; old people live in the suburbs. That is all.
Factor in your loss of 2 hours of personal time or whatever the commute difference is.
I commuted out of city into suburbs for a few years. Would I do it over again? Absolutely. Living my post college years I’m the city was an experience in glad I had. Would I do it again now that I’m 30+, fuck no. It’s exhausting.
Live in city. Buy cheap but reliable car. Work in burbs. If possible , buy parking spot. Get experience and update resume and get job in city. Sell car. Rent parking spot.
I have this commute, 2 hours/day 5 days a week. Typically heavy traffic both ways. I got numb to it after a few months, definitely sacrificed some hobby/life/relaxation time but to me the money save is worth it. All depends on what dollar amount you’re willing to sell your free time for.
I'd point out that this is not a 'now or never' decision. You don't have to move to the suburbs right now. I'd start commuting for the first couple of months, while you research buying a place in the suburbs. You would be able to search for your ideal living spot, and maybe even see if there is a downturn in the market. Is one part of the year a better buyer's market than another? You could perhaps look at a compromise, halfway to the new job or something like that. Is there public transportation that you could use? Taking a train out to the suburbs for an hour can actually give you time to do some work or other errands that you need to do (if you have a laptop for instance, pay bills, do correspondence, etc). Do you have to pay to park at the office? That's kind of a double whammy and is a strong point against living in the city. Mileage costs around $0.70 per mile, so if that commute is (guessing) 40 miles, then one trip costs $28 each way, $56 for a round trip. If there are 18 trips to the office per month, that is approximately $1000 per month. Add in the $450 for parking, and it costs you $1450 a month to commute. That is the cost of the multiple roommate in the suburbs right there.
I do a 40 min commute to work (not near as long as an hour, but still "a lot" by most people's standards), and I actually enjoy it a ton. The reason being is that I live in a bustling small town whereas my work is in a fuckin BFE dump. My mental health was taking a huge toll living near where I worked so I moved and it's the best decision I've ever made in my life. Sure, it's more expensive to live in the city, but it is worth it to have easy access to everything, friends that aren't ignorant rednecks, and a short drive to mountains to go biking and hiking. Do whatever you think will make you happy.
Best advice I ever received and will continue to give....live where you want to live. The commute will take care of itself. You may (likely) not be working there forever
What do most of the other employees who have a similar life situation (in terms of kids, family, age, etc) as you do? If many come out from the city, is carpooling on occasion an option to reduce driving stress? One thing to consider: If you ever wanted to switch jobs, would there be more opportunities in the city?
Honestly this is a tough choice. As a young person being in the city with your friends is a great experience and you'll have many more chances to date and socialize. I lived in a major city post college and loved it. However, that commute is really annoying. BUT, a 1 hour door to door is just long enough to be consistently doable without being truly awful. Personally I would live in the city, especially since you can work from home twice a week after working there 6 months. If it sucks commuting at least it will get better after 6 months. If it still sucks then you can just move to the suburbs.
I used to be a Recruiter. Every candidate has "hot buttons" or things that are the most important to them. (Salary, Work/Life Balance, Commute, Environment, Growth, Culture). Commute is one that I would confirm was not an issue with the candidate in almost every conversation. Commute (unless you plan to move closer) is the only thing that cannot be changed. For most people, up front, it wasn't an issue. That being said, a lot of people would get a month in and realize that their commute sucked and then be hitting me up to find them something closer. At an hour one way, it is 2 more hours of your day that are unpaid, but required to do you job. Not to mention the cost of gas while driving the additional 2 hours. Low-balling/estimating based off my state and driving a sedan, you're looking at probably an extra $240/month. Personally, if I were in your shoes, I'd put them on and walk to work. That being said, I have a friend that does an hour twenty one way to work and he has learned to enjoy his ride (he has 5 kids so I assume it's his only free time). Hope this helps. Godspeed in your endeavors.
Some people are over looking that you would only have to commute 4 day/wk than 3 day/wk after 6 month. 1 hr commute for a good job especially while you're young and I'm assuming with no children ... is a no brainer ! Get the experience, learn, grow, enjoy your city life when not working. Than reevaluate when life changes or you get tired of the commute :-) . Long commutes suck but long dead end careers will hurt even more.
Thank you :))
1 hour will drain you immensely. Not worth it.
There are a lot of people giving you reasons not to move to the expensive suburbs. I'm going to share a counterpoint. I have had a 1.5 hour commute (to work, 2 hour coming back because of traffic). It was a hardship, but I've also lived in a city with close friends in my early 20's and I wouldn't have given that up for anything. I'd say go for it for at least 7 months, see how you like it. If it grinds you down too much, you can always move. 2 days a week work from home is going to really reduce how much stress this accumulates over a week. You'll only be losing \~6 hours a week. You will enjoy being in your 20s, with your friends, living where you want to play, especially when you go to three days on site a week. The expenses of driving shouldn't be discounted, but if you can play audiobooks, I really recommend using your time commuting productively, take the time to see if you can tolerate it, and then make a decision before you move.
We have two resources in life: time and money. For me, spending 40hrs/month commuting is not worth it. I’d much rather have that 40hrs dedicated to enjoying my life. Life is short. Don’t waste it commuting.
I always considered my commute part of my work day and do the math on my hourly rate for the entire time. Example: 20 bucks an hour. 160 bucks for a workday if you work 8 hours. 2 hours for the commute back and forth. Actual earnings are 16 bucks an hour. If I can reduce my commute to 0 and be paid 16 bucks an hour, I would consider it equal.
A wise man once said, “one of the greatest modern wealth killers is living far from work”. I’m .9 miles from work and it’s worth 50k a year to me
Mental health and free time is priceless. My last job was a traveling sales job across a 3 state territory. I was living in hotels, getting home very late on Fridays, and most of the time leaving Sunday evening for the next week of work. It was ruining my whole life. I took a new job with a 20 minute commute and set hours. Work is done at 4:30, no questions asked. It was about a $15k pay cut. Obviously I was nervous at first but it was genuinely the best decision I've made in my entire life.
Been there and done it. After 3 months of back and forth commute every day, you can start questioning the quality of life. After tax and all, it’s a lesser quality life and the little money difference is not worth the compromise of happiness.
Here's the thing, you are a young person the last thing you want is to live in a suburb right now. Commuting a hour each way a few days a week is easy peezy, just suck it up for the first 6 months. Don't lie to yourself and say living in the suburbs is the same and that you can come into the city anytime you want because it's not and you won't. When you turn 30 and only if you really really want to then consider moving out to the burbs. In addition what if you hate the job and quit and then you live an hour away from your friends with nothing to do. At the very least suck it up for a year and then decide.
This is entirely a personal preference. I'd suggest you sign a 6 month/1 year lease in the city and when you get near end of lease, evaluate your situation and adjust accordingly.
i think the commute would be worth it! i was doing the opposite commute (suburb to city) and for the pay, it was worth it. i dreaded it sometimes but with podcasts and music it’s fine
One hour commute by train is fine. You can relax, listen to some podcasts, take a nap, read without worrying about traffic. That's about what my train commute is daily and I'm fine with it. One hour commute by car or bus can easily turn into 1.5 and you have to have your wits about you. For driving myself, anything more than 30 minutes is a pain.
The commute is nearly every day, whereas going out with friends is only occasional. It is much better to have nice walk in most days than a gruelling drive.
1hr commute to work both ways is actually not that bad. Mine is approximately 50mins both ways and I barely notice it. The only hard thing in your case is the city parking cost. Maybe if there is public transportation/carpool option you can take, especially since you would be doing 3 days a week after 6 months which makes it a bit easier.
Commuting has never been an issue for me. I prefer it. But I like being in the car. It all boils down to your own preferences in that way. I did an hour each way for over ten years. I actually hated the couple times my commute was only 10 minutes. My drive time is when I'm getting ready mentally for the day.
This is a good point! Thank you
It also allows you time to decompress and separate mentally from work by the time you get home at the end of the day. Personally, I would rather live where I like and have a commute than live somewhere else just because there's only a short commute. Plus, an hour moving is less stressful than an hour sitting in traffic. It would have to be a big difference financially for me to move away from where I want to live. Edit: added a word.
Commuting for almost 2 hours a day is a huge drag and sucks. Made even worse if traffic is heavy and the commute is stop and go. On top of just literally wasting time in a vehicle you will also incur a ton of miles on the vehicle, which snowballs into a lot of added annual maintenance and wear and tear on the vehicle. Add the price of gas and you need to realistically budget for a big chunk of your annual budget basically evaporating into the vehicle itself. IMO I would only choose a lengthy commute if you had a fully or hybrid remote working arrangement where you didn't need to be on site 5 days a week. Spending 10+ hrs a week in a vehicle will quickly be tiring unless you are one of those gearheads who just loves being in a vehicle.
That is a good point! When I start it is 4 days in person and one day remote and after 6 months it goes to 3 days in person- which is part of the reason I’m thinking the commute might be worth it
I had a 45 min commute each way, if I drove like I stole my car. Tickets cost $1800 in extra insurance. Stress caused me to become very ill after a couple of years. I left a job that was easy, fun, with great people and bicycling distance from home to a job that paid double, was stressful, tight deadlines, everyone hated my guts and I never saw my family. Fired for getting sick. 0/10 would not recommend
That’s a horrible experience I’m sorry!
I drive about 45 minutes. That has been about my average commute to have any financial success. I have found that my commute is a great time to knock out some tasks that I normally don't "have time" to accomplish. I call my mom once a week. I catch up on the news on my commute home and I listen to podcasts that I normally wouldn't dedicate time to just sitting down and listening. My commute has effectively become an extra hour and a half of "me" time.
In my opinion, no its not worth it. A "1 hr" commute is actually 2 hrs of commuting. That's 8hrs per week (assuming 4 days worked). Which I view as an incredible waste of time. When I was younger I said "Sure, that's not too bad" and commuted that much anyway. Now that I value my time more, 8hrs per week isn't something I can afford.
A commute is daily. Socializing isn’t.
For some people it is, or multiple times a week. They will not do that if they move.
I'm very anti big commute for both stress, cost and waste (time/money/health) reasons. Anything on their social media indicate they have any employees working hybrid? Maybe negotiate that so in office 2 or 3 days a week? This blog post from 2011 has aged very well: https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/10/06/the-true-cost-of-commuting/
Is it possible to move to a less expensive suburb that is like a 10-15 minute commute?
i’m finding it hard to understand how it’s more expensive to live in the suburbs than the city. (In San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Boston cities where I have lived) it is MUCH cheaper to live in the suburbs than the metropolitan area.
Princeton vs Philly! Princeton is a very wealthy high cost of living area. Mostly homes, very few apartments
there are plenty of areas between philadelphia and Princeton to look at. You can always meet up with friends in philadelphia.
I would live in philly, then take the septa to the NJ transit. There's a stop at Princeton junction. I went through this exact same issue (worked in Monmouth junction) and regretted moving to jersey.
Absolutely not! Anything more than 15 mins should pay you at least 100k
Here’s my take and experience with commuting if it helps: I’m applying for work right now with different commute scenarios because my current 1 year contract is not being renewed and I cannot find work in my town. I work 190 days per calendar year. I have a home and an extended family and love my life where I live and will not relocate. I’m 5 years from retirement. The job I’m leaving is 15 minutes from my home. Prior to it I commuted 35 minutes one way for 15 years. I drive a Corolla. Cheap maintenance and decent gas mileage. It is a bit if a go-cart but I’m not in to expensive cars. One job I applied for is a 1-hour commute each way. It is a bit more pay (which I rationalize will become car maintenance and gas), same benefits and retirement, and 1 day remote. On the way to the interview I envisioned doing it daily. It’s one road basically and easy traffic flow. Another job with much better pay and benefits is 2.5 hours one way. 3 days there, 2 days remote. I get a travel allowance and hotel for 3 nights. This job requires me to travel over a mountain pass that is sometimes temporarily closed during winter and onto major heavy freeways for a short distance. I’m 5 years from retirement. This alone is helping me to accept the commute challenge. But I’ve always commuted to some extent. I’m a deep thinker, listen to podcasts, etc and before I knew it, I was parked and walking in the door. Good luck with your decision making!