Another first-time home buyers question regarding commute to work

[Hugo Drax]

LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I will rather live in a 1200 sqfeet home in a good location than in a 3000 sqft home in a crap location.

Your Fiancee is being smart. Everything she is pointing out is smart. Don't be a moron.

 

[Baked]

60 miles commute is retarded. You want to waste 2 hours 5 times a week on the road? No thank you.

 

[Slew Foot]

You are stupid, do what the fiance wants. Grandparent day care is priceless and you dont ave to worry about a soul killing commute

 

[richardycc]

someone bumped a 5yr old thread? is the OP married or divorced now?

 

[ShawnD1]

someone bumped a 5yr old thread? is the OP married or divorced now?

Irony: they buy the house out of the city and he dies on the commute to work :biggrin:

 

[Red Squirrel]

1 hour commute is brutal. I don't know how anyone does that. I'm already tired enough having to get up at 7am, I can't imagine having to get up at 6am, and having to drive an hour while tired. Probably worse than driving drunk.

As much as I too would like a home away from the city, this is something that is reserved for retirement imo. By then, it might also become possible and cheap to run fiber to such a place.

 

[shortylickens]

Gas is $4/gallon right now. Factor that into your 60 mile commute.

A long time ago I figured out my dollars per mile I knew how much it cost me to make a trip.
But I havent done that with my Murano yet. I should get on that.

PSA the Chevy was something ridiculous like 40 cents a mile. That might not sound like much but it adds up FAST!

 

[Tweak155]

1 hour commute is brutal. I don't know how anyone does that. I'm already tired enough having to get up at 7am, I can't imagine having to get up at 6am, and having to drive an hour while tired. Probably worse than driving drunk.

As much as I too would like a home away from the city, this is something that is reserved for retirement imo. By then, it might also become possible and cheap to run fiber to such a place.

Yeah I thought the same... until I started doing it.

I landed a job at a company I wanted to work at (my top company) 3 days before I signed for a mortgage. 45min commute one way and I still do it.

If I stay here, I'll be looking to move closer. Also I'm working with them to be able to tele-commute 1-2 days a week. They're ok with it, just gotta get some things out of the way.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Knowing that this is a 5 year old thread:

I was commuting 120 miles this past couple of months.
Staying with grandchildren.
the extra 3 hours drive alone was taking a beting on my body; working 9 hours a day at the same time.
While the weather was nice; it was handling it.

When bad weather came in; I was seeing 2-3 accidents each way on the drive (all but 10 miles was interstate - straight shot).

The extra road time starts to increase the accident odds drastically with bad weather and tiredness for just getting up or on the way back. Not as alert; reflexs slowed down a little.

So after 2 months; moved into a hotel that is 2+ miles from the client office.
More relaxed; more time with the wife; and every other week-end, head to see the grandkids.
When commuting, I saw them only 1-2 hours a day at the most.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

I'd gladly make the drive for a bigger home and a quieter neighborhood. City living is right up there with living in a jail cell IMO.

 

[Vdubchaos]

I can't come to terms with spending $360K+ on a small 1700 sq-ft house just to live in this area when we could buy a 2700sq-ft house an hour away for $50k-$100k less.

1700 sq ft house is small?

My house is 1600sq ft and we have 4 children. It's perfect for us.

How many kids do you have? Also do you realize how much cleaning and upkeep goes into 2700sq ft house?

Other reasons why she wants to stay in this area is because when we have kids, our parents can watch them while we are at work so we can save money. My argument against that is with all of the money we'd be saving on a house in the other area, we can afford daycare, hell, even maybe a nanny.

Do you know how much day care is per month? A decent one will run you 1500-2000 a month IF NOT MORE!!!

Also, why have kids if you are going to have strangers raise them?

Family raising the kid sounds great to me.

What do you all think of this? Is this commute I am proposing crazy? In the end, if she wants to live here, then we will live here, because the #1 factor when buying a new home is are we happy with the lifestyle in our home/area. I'll be fine here or there, I just prefer to live there.

I think the commute is not crazy at all.

I would compromise with the wife on this one BUT tell her that you are not selling this house/moving for next 10-15 years +. So whatever decision/house you end up with....there is no going back.

Heck have her sign a paper and throw it in her face when the time comes (cause that time WILL come).

As you have kids your priorities in life COMPLETELY change. Everything you like now will become worthless. And everything you think is worthless NOW will become most important.

For example: close to mall/stores/friends. All of those things will have very little meaning to you 5-10 years from now as you become a parent. Heck, depending on your age, you will probably lose all your friends as you "taking care of family" will become "pussy whipped to them" or a waste of time/not fun etc.

Also with kids, you will want quiet neighborhood, big hard etc......woods/peace etc.

YOu also need to realize that 1 hour commute when you have children and want to get home QUICK is a BIG deal. Trust me on this, I went from 1 hour commute for 8 years to 5 min commute for past 6 years and it's really great. Heck, offer me double the salary and I probably won't take the new job. Being home for lunch or 5 min after work is just great.

I suggest both of you sit down and write down all of the pros/cons. Compare them and make a decision. Each will have to compromise a bit for sure.

I'd gladly make the drive for a bigger home and a quieter neighborhood. City living is right up there with living in a jail cell IMO.

This. I can never EVER raise a family/kids in a city/urban environment. No way in hell. I'm not exactly sure how people do that....

I never really been to ANY city that didn't have crappy sections. Here in CT every city is a shit hole (even though there is some nice sections in few). Problem is, public schools SUCK and you HAVE to pay for private. Go ahead look up the prices.

We also have always loved the freedom of having to choose from 100s of parks in the area that are not overpopulated.....

 

[Capt Caveman]

someone bumped a 5yr old thread? is the OP married or divorced now?

A spammer who's post has been removed nercro'd the thread and now you have all these fools replying to it.

 

[Tweak155]

A spammer who's post has been removed nercro'd the thread and now you have all these fools replying to it.

I knew it was a necro thread and still chose to respond. That's the point of a public forum.

 

[EagleKeeper]

A spammer who's post has been removed nercro'd the thread and now you have all these fools replying to it.

I knew it was a necro thread and still chose to respond. That's the point of a public forum.

this ^^^

Even acknowledged it within my post:

Information within the thread is still valuable to others

 

[gorcorps]

Well, now that this thread is here I'll voice what I'm going through in buying a house

Right now I'm ~35 minutes away and take a toll road every day which comes to about $20-25/month in tolls. However it's also very close to the shopping areas, so it's very easy to go pick up something at the grocery store quickly and it doesn't feel as much as a chore (hate shopping). On the downside, I'm also close to fast food which I eat too much because I hate shopping.

The one I'm leaning towards now cuts that commute at least in half if not more, and I wouldn't be taking a toll road. It's further from shopping so it would be more of a chore than it is now, but I'm also not close to fast food which doesn't help. I'm thinking this would be a better area from a money saving aspect alone with gas and tolls, but also could help my health as odd as that sounds.

edit: Just did the math. I'd be saving anywhere from 150-180/month in gas alone being closer. That'd pretty much cover the increase from rent to mortgage.

 

[SunnyD]

lol at thinking 30 minutes from work is close.

Even more lol at thinking a 60 mile commute equals at 1 hour commute.

Even even more lol at thinking it's a good idea in general.

Even at 30mpg, you're looking at 4 gallons a day at ~$3.50/gallon, so you're willing to waste $14/day, or $70/week, or ~$300/month just on your weekly commute? That doesn't even take into account the additional wear and maintenance needs for your vehicle. So all of a sudden are you really "saving" that much money on the house by living farther out?

Then there's the time-cost of it. Do you really, truly want to waste 2 hours every day in the car driving? It has to be one of the most fruitless, often times downright frustrating activities on earth. Sure, it can be nice and peaceful, but it gets old, fast. There's nothing like needing to be somewhere only to go, "Ugh, okay, 60 minutes of driving." That's also 2 hours you'll be taking away from your family/spouse/kids/whatever and NOT getting back.

Yes, I know it's a necro, but commuting should be reserved for as short a term as possible situations - such as just moved to a temporary rental for a new job in a new area or something. Otherwise, unless you're avoiding living in a shithole, just avoid the commute.

 

[dethman]

i wonder if the OP bought, and where, and if the home prices crashed a few months later.

 

[ShawnD1]

On the downside, I'm also close to fast food which I eat too much because I hate shopping.

Go online and order some protein powder. Now that I drink lots of protein shakes, I don't get hungry enough to warrant driving to get fast food.

Then there's the time-cost of it. Do you really, truly want to waste 2 hours every day in the car driving? It has to be one of the most fruitless, often times downright frustrating activities on earth.

Not if it's all highway. I actually enjoyed my 45 drive to work when I drove all the way around the city instead of through the city. Set the cruise control and rock out to some music :biggrin:
20 minutes of driving in rush hour traffic makes me want to kill people. Lots of people. With a dull knife.

 

[gorcorps]

Go online and order some protein powder. Now that I drink lots of protein shakes, I don't get hungry enough to warrant driving to get fast food.

(appologies for taking this OT) What do you use? I've tried different shake mixes and none of them keep me full for more than an hour or so. I try to make smoothies with them too hoping more fruit would help, but not really.

 

[Gibsons]

2 hours a day is a ton of your time, like 20 days per year. I understand wanting a bigger house, but the smaller house you might buy is certainly bigger than your car.

 

[TheKub]

There is a reason that smaller houses near stuff costs more.

 

[Aharami]

wow i remember this thread from back in the days!

 

[KeithTalent]

We paid more for a smaller house so we could continue to walk to work and live in an area with a lot of things to do (restaurants, etc.); this was more important than having a bit more space or paying a bit less. Commuting that much, particularly when you pull in your fiancee's reluctance, is a recipe for disaster.

KT

 

[JTsyo]

I'll pile on and agree with your wife too.

Long commutes suck.

Having family and friends nearby is really really nice and makes life easier and more pleasant.

1700 square feet is not small. I live in a 1200 square foot house with my wife and son and it's plenty big. We'll live here when kid #2 arrives too. People's perception of what is "small" has gotten out of whack over the years.

heh I think everyone actually agrees long commutes suck ass.

Knew a coupe that lived in an apt in NJ near NY. Went all the way out to Penn for a nice house on an exclusive neighborhood. 2 years later they hated it but couldn't move due to the drop in their house price. Still stuck with an almost 2 hr commute. The guy got fed up with traffic and switched to a later shift.

 

[skyking]

We paid more for a smaller house so we could continue to walk to work and live in an area with a lot of things to do (restaurants, etc.); this was more important than having a bit more space or paying a bit less. Commuting that much, particularly when you pull in your fiancee's reluctance, is a recipe for disaster.

KT

sounds like a solid decision on your part. We live where we do because I work all over. If I had a solid job near my wife's work, we would make the effort to move closer in.