House location, kinda poll

Nebb · October 2009

What is more important to you, a short commute time or a bigger/more inexpensive house?We drove through a small city about 20 minutes away from where we live and I am looking at houses online and they are pretty big for a small amount of money. It would give me a 20+ minute commute and my husband a 40+ minute commute. Im just curious what others think about this.

Brie2010 · October 2009

I'd rather have the big house and longer commute. I work about 30 minutes from work and I kind of like having the quiet time to myself. (Disclaimer: if it would be a really crappy commute full of traffic I wouldn't like it.)

crfische · October 2009

a 20 minute commute for a nicer bigger house seems totally reasonable to me!

Nebb · October 2009

Its a pretty quiet stretch of highway, so I dont believe the commute would be bad. My husband already commutes 20 min to his job and doesnt mind the drive in that direction so I dont think it would be awful.

kschwedic · October 2009

I used to have a 20 minute commute, and I seriously miss it. There was something about that time to myself that made my days better. I'd say bigger house/longer commute.

*BeachBride0410* · October 2009

It's not so much the size of the house for me...I would prefer something with a large yard & some land.

louisvillebride21 · October 2009

Where I am now, I would go for the bigger house. I've lived on country roads, it was horrible to try to get to school/work when it snowed or iced.

bbyckes · October 2009

Over time the commute will grate on your nerves and you'll wish you were closer to your job.But, the commute times you listed don't seem out of the norm and totally doable. When I lived in LA, I was 28 miles from my job in downtown LA - it was an 1.5 hour commute EACH WAY.

lyndausvi · October 2009

I'm game for anything up to a 20 minute commute. Outside of that I go for convenience.

Soon-to-be Mrs. Vogt · October 2009

You already know about my commute for the sake of my house, so that's my answer

How does your H feel about increasing his commute?

EmmaBride2B · October 2009

I grew up in the sticks so I'm kind of biased when it comes to driving times. That said, I don't think of 20 minutes as a commute really, and 40 minutes isn't terrible either. I'd say save money and get more space. I live really close to my university right now, so I can appreciate being really close to where you need to go in the morning, but quality/more space is worth the travel time imo.

MeaghanandMichael · October 2009

I would pick whichever house you loved more and go with that. I don't think the commute increase would phase me.

[Deleted User] · October 2009

oh man, we struggled with this question big time. we went to see a bunch of tantalizing houses further out. the areas a bit further out start to get pretty amazing, and the prices drop. however, this area is notorious for its traffic. it's no joke. and i have no patience for slow and/or stupid drivers. so, we opted to stay closer in.that said, 20+ and 40+ commutes aren't awful. that may be worth considering.

ootmother2 · October 2009

obviously since I live in NYC, I vote the short commute and disgusting housing prices

Nebb · October 2009

I currently have almost no commute. I can leave at 8:50 and still get to work early, with construction going on on the road I take. I kind of like that. I dont know what to do!! I just saw two amazing houses, one with a 12.5x17 bedroom with a walk in closet for far lower than we could ever find something that big in the city. If we bought in this small city too, we could buy sooner than later because the houses are less expensive.

alixzafiris · October 2009

At this point I'm used to the ridiculous GTA commute so I'd go with bigger & more expensive personally.

katiewhompus · October 2009

I would take the bigger house for a 20 minute commute, that's nothing. We put in an offer on a house that would give me a 30 minute commute and dh about an hour+ until he can find something new. Everything that was within 30 minutes of both of us was going to be 100k more than we can afford.

sparklzk27 · October 2009

I'd vote for longer commute if you love the house. I usually have a 25 min drive to work and the house we found is only 5 min from my work but 30 min from my fiance's. I actually liked being a little further from work because they don't call me in all the time for little things. I know my boss is happy that I will be so close but me - not so much! But a shorter drive home to my FI is definitely a plus!

katiewhompus · October 2009

I need to be where you guys are...even when I worked 2 miles away from my apartment it was still a 30 minute commute each way...

lyndausvi · October 2009

do you want kids? If so think about the commute. I have a friend who has a 40 mintue commute. Pre-kids it was doable. Post kids it makes her miserable. Add a bad accident and well she has to pay up the ying-yang on OT daycare.Not sure if you want them, but it's something to think about.

Nebb · October 2009

No kids, atleast in the forseeable future. Probably just dogs.

[Deleted User] · October 2009

whomper knows what i'm talking about with the commutes around here. 20 minutes aint shiit. but - to be fair, i did get away with a .25 mile commute here for awhile. those were the days. and nebb wins my heart with the doggeh/no kids bit. :ye olde nose tap:

fangsiting · October 2009

A short commute is more important to me. I could handle a long commute if I was on public transportation, but I hate driving, so if its more than 5 miles, it's too far. Also, while I'd want enough space for our needs, I'd rather have something so the smaller side.

ThePinkSuperhero · October 2009

I think it depends less on short/long commute and more on hard/easy commute. An hour by public transit or an easy drive through a quiet pretty place could be better than 30 minutes of killer awful driving. That said, I'd do a little more commute if it would get me a lot more house.

smokeybailey · October 2009

I've had commutes of all lengths. A 20 minute commute is probably a 10 mile drive around here. So much of your day is wasted in a car. Your husband will be in his car almost 1.5 hours a day. I hated that.I know have a 5 minute commute (I walk). We live in a downtown area and our place is only 1450 sq ft. However, I wouldn't trade it for a commute.

sudslover · October 2009

Things to consider are the weather conditions and how they would affect the time to/from work, gas prices and economy of your car, the fact that you would need to purchase cars more often and that the mileage might affect your insurance rates; while you may not have children now, they does play into things like a pp said; I've heard people say they wish they had more time with family but haven't heard people wish they had had a bigger house. Now for storage, I'd give big money for storage! I've worked with people who have longer commutes and these are the things that have come up over the years. I wish you the best in making this decision.

TurtlesAllTheWayDown · October 2009

40 minutes might be sort of long. I wouldn't care about the size, I think, so much as the neighborhood/schools, etc.

TurtlesAllTheWayDown · October 2009

I need to be where you guys are...even when I worked 2 miles away from my apartment it was still a 30 minute commute each way...I'm 10 miles and about 40 minutes away.But I love my neighborhood. I actually like being in a totally different area than work. It lets me separate my work and non-work lives better. My life doesn't really revolve around my job, so I'm not going to rent an apartment next door to my office (though some of my coworkers moved within a mile of our office after we moved offices). I like that my neighborhood is walkable, and fun, and near my friends.Plus, jobs can change. So if it's the right house for you, do it!

Nebb · October 2009

Hmm I guess the car and gas aspect of it does matter. I never thought of that before for some reason.

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