Saturday, November 26, 2011

Cost of Commuting

I've read about the cost of commuting before and the demands that it puts on your life and health, but Lifehacker had a post that talks about dollars and cents the cost of commuting and breaks down how much more you should consider paying for a house that cuts your commute time.

The blog is quite long and goes through several scenarios, but the argument is well laid out.  I am curious about cases where rent is exorbitant (West Coast Mega cities), and the cost of living offset.  Some places are ridiculous to live, because groceries are expensive and then there are the Urban Food Deserts.  I'm sold on the premise of the argument so don't mistake that, I'm just questioning some of the simple math that may ignore other cost variables.  For instance the previous receptionist at work here made kind of a pittance, and was commuting almost 2 hours each way in a financed BMW(no joke), bitched about how expensive the boat was, and cost of living ect and rolled her eyes at me when I talked about not working in Downtown Seattle when she lived so far away.  She made some snark about the worse wages, I wish I had this article then to show her.

Anyone think it's a load of blarkey?  I'm up for discussion, if you post your long thoughts on your blog or just in the comments I'll respond.

6 comments:

  1. I recently moved across town to cut down on my travel time to work... I've saved so much money that I actually have more to spend, even though my rent is more.

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  2. Anonymous4:29 PM

    I don't even have a job.

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  3. Anonymous10:48 PM

    Thanks you review I like this,go that

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  4. I telecommute, so the cost is almost nonexistent :D

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  5. For me the money is secondary to the hassle factor, but then I'm not trying to buy a house anytime soon. That secretary sounds like a typical American r-tard who doesn't live within her means and then complains about finance issues. I've seen enough of the consequences of that firsthand to be happy driving a Chevy Malibu and living in a little apartment in the rather drab little town in which I work. My commute is approx. 6 minutes.

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  6. Yeah these are definitely things you have to consider when you buy a home. I completely agree that commuting is a cost that is often overlooked.

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