An easy way to save gas

[DoYouEverWonder]

Move closer to your job.

I don't understand why people even want to waste half their lives in traffic just to live in an ordinary house in an ordinary place, when if they shop around they could live in a very similar house somewhere else.

Years ago I lucked into a great apartment that was 2 blocks from my job. I could walk home for lunch and spent the time learning to play the fiddle, that way I didn't disturb my neighbors so much. I certainly don't mind having that extra 1 - 2 hours a day, that I'm not stuck in traffic. I would never go back to commuting.

What the government should do is give tax incentives to people based on how close you live to your job.

We don't have to have an energy crisis.

[Debau2005]

1. I wish I could

The area that I work in has much higher mortgage and rent prices then where I live now...*sigh*

[DoYouEverWonder]

4. That's why there needs to be tax incentives

plus the money you save on transportation and the benefical impact on the envirnoment should certainly be worth it.

Not to mention the bonus of all that extra time for yourself.

[Debau2005]

35. That is true

I am hoping to be able to buy a house in the next 12-24 months, and I am going to try to move closer. I deal with Atlanta traffic, so even 5-10 miles closer would make a huge difference for me.

[MsTryska]

71. Hey Debau i'm in Atlanta too....

where do you live and where do you work?


I live in Cobb and work Downtown - i know what you mean about being priced out.

My Commute isn't too bad tho, although it is 10 miles one way.

[shoelace414]

2. I own my house

and I go where the jobs are.

(that being said.. I live 10 minutes from my job)

[no_hypocrisy]

3. Great idea essentially. However, with the trend being toward job

instability with outsourcing, layoffs, budget cuts, downsizing, salary reduction or stagnation, etc., one cannot guarantee how long one will be at any job. Moving close to a job may mean moving every other year for some of us.

[AndyTiedye]

5. His Job or Hers?

Most households have more than one person working nowadays.

[DoYouEverWonder]

6. Whatever works for you

n/t

[AndyTiedye]

37. Telecommuting Works Really Well For Both Of Us

[DoYouEverWonder]

85. Can't get any closer to work then that

That's great.

[bluethruandthru]

7. The government needs to give tax incentives for tele-working

and 4 day work weeks! Most people can't just sell their homes and move next door to their job. I couldn't afford a shed near my office...let alone a house for a family of four! The government needs to take all the money they spend on new roads (usually state government) and give it back to employers based on how many employees are allowed to telework/how many days allowed to telework. Or..go to 4 day work weeks (staggered days within the company). That could take 20 percent of commuters off the roads every day.

[DoYouEverWonder]

11. There are millions of young people

who are just starting out and can live wherever they want.

Tax incentives for tele-commuting and living close to work need to be enacted.

[bluethruandthru]

13. You're right that young people can live where they want...

but where I am - in Washington, DC - it's very difficult for young people to find anywhere to live without having 5 roommates. I don't believe tax incentives should be given for living close to your job since jobs change often. I used to live very close to my job...but then got another job which happened to be much farther away.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

8. let's see...

areas within 5 miles of my office...average home price...$400,000 or higher
price for a home comparable to my current home ... $525,000

area in which I live ... average home price ... $270,000
price of my home $245,000

It is amazing what 16 miles will do to the price of a home...

sP

[AndyTiedye]

42. 16 Miles on a Bike Isn't Bad

unless the cars make it bad.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

47. sixteen miles on a bike in a suit...

that's bad...and I don't really care to lug a suitcase with me to work to provide a change of clothes...it just not really feasible...

sP

[AndyTiedye]

55. Could be a Motorbike or a Hybrid or an Electric Car

for purposes of this discussion.

Moving close to work isn't the only way to save gas.

Riding/driving something more fuel-efficient is often a possibilty.
Public transit may be as well.
Some transit systems carry bicycles. That can work well in cases
where the transit is not within walking distance of home and/or
one's destination.

Telecommuting works very well for some kinds of work (including mine) :-)
That saves the energy required to commute by whatever means and potentially
that required to maintain, light, heat, and cool an office that is generally
used only about 40 hours a week.

[chopper]

64. asdf

first, you don't need a suitcase, you can bring your suit folded up in a carrier on the side of the bike. they work great.

altrernately, you can keep your work clothes at work and change there.

i've done both of those when i used to ride ~10 miles to work.

[boston bean]

65. and I bet you smelled great for all your coworkers on a hot 90 degree

summer day.

lol

[chopper]

69. asdf

my work has a small gym. take a shower.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

67. i had considered at one time

when I was a little more spry the whole bicycle to work thing...and your suggestions were considered...only a couple of problems...

1) i don't care how careful you are, you pack a suit and it is going to wrinkle to some degree
2) no storage at work for my clothing (and at some point I would have to take them home)
3) traffic around here would likely get me killed before the end of week one...no good bike-path choices

Good ideas all, but it just is not feasible...

subjectProdigal

[DoYouEverWonder]

68. Biking is NOT a practical solution for most folks

It's great for those who can and again should be encouraged but it's effectiveness in the grand scheme of things is very limited.

Living closer, telecommuting, hybrid and flex-fuel cars, better public transportation all need to expanded and then we can put a real hurt on Big Oil.

For the rest of you who don't mind maintaining these jerks' lifestyle



keep filling up.

[chopper]

70. asdf

<i>1) i don't care how careful you are, you pack a suit and it is going to wrinkle to some degree</i>

you're only packing it for a half hour, no big deal.

<i>2) no storage at work for my clothing (and at some point I would have to take them home)</i>

no space for a hanger? or a closet? well, depends on where you work. as for taking it home, you can probably find a dry cleaner nearby..

<i>3) traffic around here would likely get me killed before the end of week one...no good bike-path choices</i>

that part sucks. depends on when you ride, i guess; i used to leave at 6 am and the streets were pretty clear..

[boston bean]

53. r u joking??

[Jane Austin]

76. Especially for those of you in good health.

Then, there are the rest of us.

[noahmijo]

9. Let's see live downtown in a roach infested apartment at nearly 55% of a

mortgage payment or live in a decent home...DECENT apartments here in Tucson that in the downtown area easily run $750+ NOT including any other expenses like utilities.


I never liked this attitude it's not that simple, some people don't even live in "cities" that can truly be defined as urban, not to mention as I said rents are RIDICULOUS in areas that can be called urban.


Here's a better idea this is what I do (As a person who lives in an apartment though it's about 15 miles away from where I work) Use public transportation. We have TERRIBLE public transportation here in Tucson, but I still find ways to make the bus work for me. I drive a total of maybe 5 miles a day (I drive to the bus stop because it would take about a half hour to walk to it and then I'd have to wake up at 3:30 am instead of 4am for my 10 hour shift)

Plus I drive an '06 Honda Civic so essentially combine very little driving and to boot use a gas efficient vehicle.

At worst I think everyone no matter where you live could find a way to at least truck yourself to the nearest center for public transportation whether it be bus or ferry and shave off considerable gas usage on your vehicle.

[spinbaby]

10. Great

My husband and I work 60 miles apart. We've both been at our respective jobs for over 15 years. We own a house. How much do you figure it would cost us if one of us were to quit their job and we sold the house to move closer to the other job?

[DUHandle]

24. Just guessing here, Spinbaby

but I bet you did the math once and found it impractical.

[unblock]

12. i work in manhattan.

my house is in central nj. my commute is about 2 hours each way, most of it on the bus, the mahattan part on foot.

my house is now worth about $450,000. put it in midtown manhattan and it would be worth i'm guessing $30,000,000, mostly because someone would buy it, tear it down, and put up an office building instead.

the cost of living in manhattan is much higher than in central nj, there's virtually no grass or quiet for family to enjoy, it's not as safe for kids to grow up in, and why should mrs. unblock spend all her time in manhattan just because my job's there?

plus we have a ton more space than we would in a tiny apartment, which is all we would be able to afford in manhattan.

[DoYouEverWonder]

16. I grew up in NYC

and when I graduated college I decided I didn't want to live like that.

I now live in a city in N FL of about 250,000 and my business is 5 minutes from my house.

BTW: The economy here is great and I can't find a decent office assist for love or money at the moment. I just offered the job to a woman who already had 3 other offers that day.

There's a lot of opportunities right now if you look around.

[DoYouEverWonder]

14. Wow, everyone has a reason why they can't

With attitudes like this we deserve to go the way of the dinosaur.

Get real folks. Time to get creative and start rearranging your lives.

There is no one solution. We need a combination of a lot of little solutions.

One thing is for sure, if we don't change our ways and change them soon there won't be anything left to commute to.

[mdmc]

22. I would never live in Florida

too hot and muggy.

I like the idea of living closer to work.

[RebelOne]

41. That's why I moved up to the Atlanta area in 1989.

I lived in South Florida most of my life. I hated the heat and humidity. I went from my air-conditioned house to my air-conditioned car to my air-conditioned office. I avoided the outdoors as much as possible.

[mdmc]

49. thats how summer in las vegas was for me

i'm a hudson valley kind of guy now

[Clark2008]

28. I have already REARRANGED my life - to make it the best

possible for my child.

If I took your suggestion, my kid would be stuck in some daycare instead of with my mother. Considering my mother isn't a drug addict, psycho or child molestor, I think she's the better (and cheaper) choice over daycare.

Most people can't just up and move closer to their work for - as you've seen - a variety of reasons.

I agree that public transportation SHOULD be the wave of the future, but, first, we have to fall out of love with our automobiles - as a collective.

[kestrel91316]

34. I feel in a distinct minority. For the past 15 years I have managed to

live within 3 miles of my office. Yes, I rent. I could NEVER afford to buy a home here, but then I couldn't do any better in the suburbs. But I have a bus route 1/2 block away, and can walk if I want, and even bike (though the cars make it dangerous). Those of us who CAN do this, SHOULD do this. Some cannot, for various reasons. Wanting to have more ostentatious stuff like a McMansion is not a valid reason IMHO.

[Name removed]

39. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[WildEyedLiberal]

61. Wow, you sure are eager to pass judgment

:eyes:

Maybe you should stop and think about those reasons, and understand that not everyone can rearrange their entire lives to be 100% pure liberals.

Why don't you just go ahead and advocate that we all live on a commune and grow our own vegetables and make our own clothes so we don't contribute AT ALL to environmentally destructive practices?

Or is that too unrealistic, unlike the idea of just packing up and moving?

[BlueEyedSon]

15. You don't know how clueless that sounds to a New Yorker!

Better mass transit from the bedroom communities might help too. Moving and paying 3 to 10x the monthly is not an option....

[DoYouEverWonder]

17. I grew up in Astoria

and went to school in Manhattan.

10 minutes on the RR tops and rents aren't that bad when you add back the savings in time and gas money.

Edit: Showing my age. The RR doesn't run there any more. Neither does the Double EE (kudos to Warren Zevon). I guess it's the N nowadays?

[BlueEyedSon]

18. Yes there are a couple good B&T communites

Astoria has gotten crazy (to buy, anyways) and Hoboken too!

But what's really key, as implied in your answer, is the presence of GOOD MASS TRANSIT. Astoria would suck if you the only way into NYC was by car!

[DoYouEverWonder]

19. Everything has gotten crazy to buy

Even here in No FL. condos are starting at $250,000 when a couple of years ago the same place was less then $100,000.

I really feel bad for young people who don't own anything yet. How the hell are they going to make it?

[BlueEyedSon]

20. They are going to buy their starter house in a neighborhood FURTHER

from their jobs, and all the action!

[AndyTiedye]

44. "The Action" is in the City, But The Job is Often in the Burbs

and near the job is nothing but acres of office buildings.

[Lib Grrrrl]

21. I Disagree!!

As wired as we are these days, it is a HELL OF A LOT EASIER for companies to allow their workers to telecommute. give the incentives to businesses who allow their employees to telecommute and work from home.
Then you get to live where you want...don't have to pay crazy rent/mortgage/taxes in order to live close to your work...you don't spend 2-3 hours a day in traffic, screwing the environment, and building stress...and it really helps bring down those daycare bills, too for those with young children...it's even better for single moms!

What about it? Let people work from home, where possible...they can make their own schedules, spend more time with their families, fuck up the environment less, etc, etc, etc....the benefits are incredible.

Not to mention...the business would get the tax incentive...and also would not have to maintain a large office building for all it's employees. It could maintain a smaller office for essential employees...and even have their telecommuters come in one or two days a week instead of five. And, of course, alternate the days employees come in, and desk-share...this way, people can schedule family/school things around work...and be more involved in their kids' school...family life...all the things we currently never seem to have time for these days!

[Clark2008]

30. I'd applaud that!

:applause:

[bamapachyderm]

58. telecommuting is the answer

See this:
HR 5154

HR 5154 proposes tax incentives for "telework" (telecommuting). It was referred to the House Ways & Means committee earlier this month. (See also S.1292)

Let people work from home, where possible...they can make their own schedules, spend more time with their families, fuck up the environment less, etc, etc, etc....the benefits are incredible.

You said it all right there--and you're right, it IS perfect for single moms (like me).

:thumbsup:

[Lib Grrrrl]

75. Thanks

it's all true. I speak as one who IS a telecommuter. I work out of my own home. Only part-time, at present, because I am going to school for yet another job that I plan to do from home.

I'm setting myself up to be a telecommuter, because, in my case, there is no other viable option, really.

Firstly, job opportunity in my line of work is often more than 50 miles from where I live - unless, of course, you want to flip burgers or work on an assembly line in some factory, neither of which suits me...

Secondly...as a transgender person, I face incredible discrimination in the workplace. Telecommuting solves that problem. Now, the only thing a company ought to care about is the quality and quantity of work I do. No more crappy co-workers creating problems for me because of their hangups...no more stupid morons blathering on about which bathroom I ought to use...none of it.

Hey, I never asked for anyone's acceptance or approval...but if someone else has a problem, then THEY are the one with the problem, and they have NO RIGHT to make it my problem. Yet, they do.

I am, quite literally, one of those people for whom telecommuting was invented for! You, I think, are another...single moms could really benefit from the ability to telecommute.

[bamapachyderm]

80. yet another good point

...discrimination in the workplace.

And I can just imagine a bunch of nitwits wanting to have a "meeting" to discuss how you should go to the bathroom. Oy.

(Not really) funny story about this kind of thing: I used to work with a black guy a few years ago, and he was looking to fill a position. Some jackass called him, they chatted for a while, everything was cool, but then this guy decided to mention, "by the way, I'm white," because he just ASSumed the potential boss was white too (I guess he "sounded white"). Needless to say, that call ended pretty quickly. Lack of face-to-face contact has a nice side effect of exposing asshats. ;-)
Of course, it's not REALLY funny, but you have to laugh at the bigot for being so stupid and exposing himself.

So yeah, discrimination. That too.

[Ron Green]

79. Telecommuting is ONE answer, but

there is still the social need for human contact at work. Public transportation increases human contact, and supports society. Driving alone to work (or to shopping, or anywhere for that matter) is counter-social. I hope telecommuting will increase and take some cars off the road, but there is also something lost in this process.

[Lib Grrrrl]

81. Well...

I don't need human contact. Humans just go out of their way to hurt me. to hell with 'em. My work life would be much happier without people.

[DoYouEverWonder]

82. I'll tell you what

at this point in my life becoming a hermit is starting to look attractive.

[Lib Grrrrl]

93. Isn't It, Though??

personally, me...I would not like to be ALONE...I just would choose to surrond myself only with those I consider family - and leave the rest of the world to just plain go to hell.

And just who do I consider family? Well, certainly there are some of my blood relatives who count as such (many more who do not) and some very close friends that I consider family. In addition, I adore dogs, dogs of all kinds, so, my ideal living would be surrounded only by family...and, in my family, I include dogs.

[ikojo]

87. American companies are loath to allow tele commuting on a

large scale because they are too into micromanaging every aspect of what their employees do while "on the clock." Unitl employers are able to give up that control and trust their employees even a wee bit, there will never be large scale tele commuting. My job could be done anywhere as long as I had a printer. I don't know why I can't work from home. I'd love to work a couple hours here and a couple hours there. I'll bet I'd be more productive in the long run because I wouldn't have any co-workers to shoot the breeze with.

[DUHandle]

23. Tax breaks for Special Interest Groups is mighty Republican

Also, it ignores the fact that gasoline taxes are not paid, already providing the tax break,

If you want to get real about something, how about the fact that jobs are not guaranteed for life, and that you will have to move time and time again? That gets expensive, you know.

It’s also convenient to ignore the fact that millions of jobs, nationally, have disappeared making it more than a little difficult to live closer to work.

Now, how many housing units can be built within a thousand feet of an employer of 100 people? Would there be more than one employer in this area? Bump the number of employees to a thousand and do the math.

If something like what you describe would exist or be built, the amount of commercial/industrial property would be landlocked by housing units.

[Clark2008]

25. That's an option for some, but, honestly, not many

I couldn't afford to live where I work.

I only travel about 10 to 15 miles (but it is stop and go traffic because of construction); however, if I tried to buy where I worked, I wouldn't save anything. First, housing is more expensive and secondly, my mother is my daycare and she lives near where I live now - I'd still be wasting gas driving across town to pick up my son after work.

I think other methods are keeping up with your car: keep the oil changed, keep the tires properly inflated, use fuel-injector cleaner regularly (and get the fuel injection professional cleaned ever 30,000 miles) and shop on your way home from work. I have gone whole weekends without moving my car once, so those all-inclusive stops on my way home from work, works.

[LostinVA]

29. IO couldn't even afford rent where I worked any more

I bought a house 21 miles out of town -- almost 30% less than my RENT was. Houses literally cost almost TWICE as much in town, plus that county has an insane tax base. It's crazy. And,m that was for a one-bedroom apartment with two people in their 30's and 40's jammed into it... plus two cats, things like furniture.

This just isn't practical to many people. I wish it were. I wish I could take in a bus every day to work. I wish alot of stuff.

on edit: I have a diesel car, keep it maintained (including tire pressure). And, like another poster said, sometimes I don't start the car even once on weekends. Or maybe drive it ten miles all weekend, tops.

[elehhhhna]

26. Hubs moved his job closer, lol

had to select a warehouse/office space for a new division. 8 mile commute versus 36.

[newportdadde]

27. Married? Have kids?

The apartment thing is much easier when your single or just rooming with a girlfriend.

[hlthe2b]

31. I desperately want to...

but, the cost of moving is considerable as well... Right now, I'm looking at a way to ride a bus most of the way and bike the rest--at least a couple days a week. My problem is that I have a frequent priority need to be in the city where I live, but I work out near the foothills. As the crow flies, it is 15 miles each way and would be rideable, but there are not bicycle-rideable routes for much of it.

How, I wish we had had insightful planners 20 years ago for better mass transit, bike routes, alternative fuels.... Jimmy Carter was so damned right. It just makes me crazy, that the RW has had their way, all along-- bringing us to a crisis point with respect to global warming, but economic disaster as well with peak oil...Yes, I know that Dems have enabled as well. That makes me even crazier.

[madokie]

32. There is several manufacturing plants out here in this rural part

of Ok. when Carter was president and we had the gas crisses they helped companys to relocate to the rural areas where their workers lived. They all seem to be doing very good too.

[libnnc]

33. Not all of us have that option

My partner works in Charlotte but we live in Winston-Salem to be near her disabled, elderly mother (she lives next door to us). I start grad school in Greensboro this fall.

I say a better way to save on gas is to SLOW DOWN.

The only way you get the posted mpg on your car is if you do no more than 60 mph.

SLOW DOWN.

[onenote]

36. If a repub official had made this suggestion, we'd be all over him

and justifiably. Not everyone has the option of moving, for a variety of reasons evidenced by posts in response to the OP.

onenote

[ComerPerro]

38. No way in hell I could afford that

And, besides, who knows how long one will be at any job, anyway

[MadHound]

40. Sorry, but I moved out of the city for many reasons

Mainly because I wish to grow things, I'm raising an orchard, working the soil in order to do CSA farming, etc. In ten years I won't have to leave my farm very often, but until then, I commute.

Besides, in the upcoming economic shitstorm, the old truism is going to still hold, it is easier to be poor in the country than in the city.

And besides, I simply wanted to get out of the city. The air quality, the noise, the crime, the lack of space. Now when I get home, I hear the sound of nature, I breathe clean air, and there aren't running gun battles up and down the road, unlike my old place in the city.

Oh, and I can practice my drums anytime, day or night, and the only person I would bother would be my wife.

[dysfunctional press]

43. why not get a job closer to your home?

getting a different job can be a lot easier than the headaches involved with selling a house, and then shopping for and buying another one, and then having to move a houseful of belongings...

[deaniac21]

45. That could be unpleasant if you work at something like a

landfill or airport.

[Norquist Nemesis]

46. Could also pick up 2 or 3 to ride with and switch off driving

That would cut by 60% or so. For some, it is just not possible though. Salespeople, for instance. They have to have a car...but I doubt the companies are upping per diems/mileage remibursements any time soon, either.

[RB TexLa]

48. Self employed outside sales here

:shrug:

Guess I'd just have to put that tax break into all the ones that are for "faaaaaaaamlieeeees."

[tammywammy]

50. I could live almost right next door to work

But I choose not to. There's a lot of crime, including gun shots being heard during the night. People have broken into the parking lot where cars are, and cars have been found the next day with gun shots in them. There was a huge SWAT bust at one of the apartment complexes.

So, instead, I live 12 miles away in a much safer area.

[BlackVelvet04]

51. My husband and I work in different towns.....

and live in the middle.

It is too expensive to buy in either town where we work and we both were raised in the country and you know what? We shouldn't have to make the choice of either living in the city or going broke because of gas prices.

We DON'T HAVE AN ENERGY CRISIS....the whole thing is contrived.

[nonconformist]

52. Novel idea, I bet nobody ever thought of that

Most people live where they can afford to live and work where they can find a job that pays well. And most people don't have the same job for their entire lives, by far, anymore. People want to own homes, put down roots and raise their children with some sense of stability in an unstable world. Moving every time they have to change employers isn't practical and usually isn't cost effective. I'm sure most people try to work close to home, but sometimes it just isn't possible.

You ARE lucky to only live 2 blocks from work - unfortunately, not everyone is that lucky.

[Walt Disney]

54. I live in the country and work in the city and one thing's for sure,

I,m not moving to the city.

I work to live, not the other way around.

[Odin2005]

56. Suburbia is the biggest waste of resources in the history of Mankind

[kevinbgoode]

57. When I lived in Des Plaines...and later Atlanta

with my partner a few years ago (before we broke up) I HATED the commute to work - he always wanted to live in certain "areas" of the city which weren't usually very convenient. My commute to teaching part time and working took about 30 minutes one way - nothing too awful, until he decided he wanted to move to Des Plaines. At least we were only five blocks from the METRA, so I would buy a monthly pass and commute to work in the Loop. But when we moved to Atlanta, he wanted a condo in Buckhead, which was (if traffic was bad) nearly an HOUR from both my jobs in the east suburbs of the city, and the same distance for him in the far northeast suburbs.

Frankly, I remember in Chicago having those one hour train rides into the city - but at least I could get work done going in and relax and unwind on my way home each night. Having grown up in small cities, I was shocked that I had to add two extra hours into my regular workday to include the commute, but I was glad for the mass transit. Atlanta just wasn't very feasible that way - the MARTA was still new, the bus schedules terribly confusing and requiring multiple changes. . .now I'm in a small college city that only has a bus service because the STUDENTS pays for it - and the community gets to use it as well. And while the stops are frequent around campus, going anywhere else is a once-an-hour deal - and students without a car have a terrible time getting basics like groceries or small necessities for the home. Like most American cities with little insight into the future, this one built all the large stores, shopping centers, restaurants and supermarkets on the farthest points of the edge of town, often without sidewalks or bike paths and along four lane roads with 40-45mph automobile traffic. Heck, in my own hometown, the buildup of commercial centers along the beltway is so extensive that you can't shop without having to venture there - and if you take a bus and get off at one point, you risk your life trying to figure out how to get across the six lane roads (without a crosswalk). For people without a car (and I was one of those people until I was 28 and bought my first little new Renault LeCar. . .without even a RADIO. . .) it was awful trying to run errands on a day off. I would take the bus to the mall and have to stay most of the whole afternoon, because bus stops were very infrequent and you had to be right at the stop or miss it for the next hour. I was very lucky that I had a lot of friends then who were kind enough to offer a ride.

[LittleClarkie]

59. Images of a hundred plus people all clustered within 2 miles of our work

Hrm... There's only so much room closer to work.

[NMMNG]

60. Which one?

I have two full-time jobs, which are 21 miles apart from one another. Either way I'm going to have a commute. (Quitting either job is not an option)

[B Calm]

62. Job security is very shaky nowdays. Dysfunctional control freaks

are running the show.

[recoveringrepublican]

63. Which job does my family move closer to?

I wish it was as easy as you make it sound. I live outside of Tampa, in Tarpon Springs. My husband works in St. Petersburg during the days, I work in Tampa at night. When we bought our house, it was cheap and even cheaper than market value since it was my husband's grandmother's house. She died and my FIL didn't want his share. Since then home prices around here have just exploded. When we bought our house it was valued at 90K, now similar houses are selling at 250K. Forget about it closer to Tampa or St. Pete, they just go higher and higher. Our property taxes right now are about $900, if we buy similar house now they will jump to $3000, also figure in a higher insurance rate.

Not to mention we couldn't afford the cost of daycare, which we get for free thanks to my amazing in-laws. Also I don't want to live in freaking Tampa, no thank you! St. Pete I would love, but like I said, can't afford it.

[DoYouEverWonder]

66. This thread has sure turned out to be disappointing

Lot's of excuses why we can't do anything and very little in the way of solutions.

Again, I am not passing judgement on individual situations, all I am advocating is that for the people who can, that there should be incentives and rewards.

[onenote]

72. that may have more to do with the original suggestion

than with the responses. What incentives and rewards are you suggesting apart from simply saving money on gas, savings that in and of themselves are unlikely to be great enough to justify the financial and other costs of relocating one's home or finding a new job. Frankly, I don't know that many people who choose to live far from their place of employment just for the heck of it. Typically its because of (1) the cost of housing nearer in to where they work; (2) school quality; (3) other amenities of the neighborhood where they've chosen to live; (4) compromise location between spouses with separate work locations.

onenote

[ikojo]

88. In the St Louis area people choose to live far

from where they work because there are fewer black people in the surrounding small towns. St Louis is one of the most economically and racially segregated urban areas in the US.

An anecdote...I was working in customer service at an HMO about ten years ago. One of my co-workers came up to me to get help for a friend of hers. This friend lived in Cape Girardeau MO and worked at Boeing in North St Louis County (easily a three to four hour daily commute). When I saw that this guy lived in Cape Girardeau and worked in north county, I said "does he hate black people that much?" to which she responded, "yes, that's why he lives in Cape." I said I don't want to help him. He can find his own doctor down there.

[Liberal In Texas]

74. Yes. We spent almost 2 years making plans and searching for a house

that was near downtown, where we both work. A house that we could afford.

Some people are just stuck with the idea that they have to live in the 'burbs to afford the big cracker box houses prevelent there. We now have a house built in the 40s and there is always something to repair. It has a pond instead of a swimming pool. It only has a one car garage instead of a two or three car. But it has a yard with big trees, is in an upcoming historic middle class neighborhood within walking/biking distance to a lake, and about 7 miles to downtown Dallas.

I hated my job and had to retrain myself to do something else. I now work as a contrctor in jobs that normally only require a round trip of 14 to 20 miles. My wife drives 14 miles round trip every day. Commuting 50 to 100 miles every day is totally unacceptable for the waste of time and the sheer annoyance to us.

In short, it's hard work to reorient your life, but it can be done.

[LittleClarkie]

91. Perhaps if you had started off asking for solutions

Instead of a flip comment about moving closer to work, and saying that it was just that simple, you might have gotten more of a discussion.

[Samurai_Writer]

73. Not as easy as it sounds

I moved from about 2 miles from my work to 10 miles from my work. My expenses are much lower where I live now, up in a tiny little historic gold-mining town, as compared to living in Boulder, which is one of the most expensive places to live in the US. Yes, it takes me 30 minutes to get to work (those 10 miles are all mountain roads, with a 3000 feet difference in elevation between home and work). I am training on my bike so I can at least bike some of the way (once I get down the mountain), but with a bad back and torn ligaments in my ankle, it's hard to do, even on flat, even surfaces.

My one idea is to get rid of my truck (Toyota Tacoma, 2WD) and buy an old Subaru 4WD that would get better mileage. And I need a 4WD anyway. I'd love to buy a Ford Escape Hybrid, but can't afford it.

[ileus]

77. Ever get tired of moving every three years?

It gets old.

[Jane Austin]

78. There has been a push recently for Austin fire and police employees to be

required to live within the city limits of Austin. I believe more than 40 cops and firefighters live in our little town of Elgin, 30 miles to the east, and that is pretty typical of other towns outside of Austin.

Why do so many public-safety employees not live within the city that pays them?

The cost of housing in Austin is high and rising. Property taxes in Austin are extraordinary. (Our house in town burned down five years ago. We still have to pay thousands and thousands of dollars in property taxes on an almost empty lot.)

Meanwhile, there are lots of people who raise horses, goats, cattle, chickens and crops at their homesteads. Sometimes one spouse works in town while the other cares for the livestock and crops.

Other people live in small ex-urban towns so their kids can attend community-centered schools.

It's not always as simple as a an single person with a small pet living in the city near their job.

[DoYouEverWonder]

83. You don't need 100% participation

Even if just 20% more of the work force found a way to cut back on miles to work, it would make a big difference.

We don't have to have an energy crisis.

[Jane Austin]

84. Agreed. That's the major reason I bought a diesel VW last year.

In one day, I doubled my gas mileage - - my minivan only got 18 mpg. DH rides his motorcycle into town when he can, and there are days when one of us just doesn't make the trip at all.

We are looking for a high mpg minivan now, and there just aren't any. I'd love a diesel van so I can use BioWillie diesel fuel in it or a flex-fuel one, but the only diesel minivan isn't sold in the US. :(

[GoneOffShore]

86. This is something I've been saying for awhile

The numbers of people who complain about their commute, the price of gas, insurance, yadda, yadda, yadda, stems from the fact that they have moved to the suburbs.

You want to save money? Stay in the city.

You want to have a voice? Stay in the city.

You want to have better schools? Stay in the city.

Unless you're a farmer there isn't a reason to move to the country. Oh, you want grass? Start a community garden. You want better schools for your kids? Organize and agitate for better funding for public education. You want a shorter commute? Stay in the city.

Cities are the hub of civilization. Kill the cities and we're all back to the rural, xenophobe, anti-culture, theocratic society.

Oh yes, I'm going to be flamed for this as an elitist, urban ****head. But guess what, art, music, painting, literature come mostly from the urban conurbation. Sure, we've seen great pastoral poets and novelists from the heartland. But by and large the big ideas, the things that make life worth living on a large scale are found in the great cities of the world.

I'm painting with a broad brush here, but I'm doing so to make a point. And the point is that by deserting the large urban hubs we will destroy our civilization. We will fragment our society - hell, we've already done that - by eliminating the sense of community that cities give us.

[politicat]

89. Must be nice...

We're ten and eleven miles out, but we have excellent public transit. The bus stops across the street and half a block up, and has a bike rack on the front.

The bus drops us off at a point that's about a mile and a half from my office and about .75 miles from my husband's. He gets a nice walk and I get a brief bike ride twice a day. It takes the same amount of time to bus/bike/walk as it does to drive, with none of the hassle. There are a couple of restaurants within walking distance, and a lot of them deliver, and taking our lunch is also an option.

But we live in one of the most progressive counties in the country. We have bike paths and pedestrian bridges and great transit.

When we lived in the county directly to the east, we had a 2 hour bus commute (even though, by straight line, we were only 20 miles from the offices - no bus ran on that straight line highway), no access on weekends, and no bike lanes. The buses only had undercarriage bike space, and half the drivers refused to give access to it, knowing they would not be punished for it - schedules being more important. We had to cross a busy 4 lane highway without a crosswalk or a bridge or a light to get on the bus, and we had to wait on a shoulder that was so narrow, I could touch the cars going by if I was crazy enough to try. We both narrowly avoided getting hit on several occasions.

It's great to say live near where you work, but reality is that unless your community has invested in safe pedestrian and bike routes, has affirmed its commitment to non-car transportation, and has interspersed high density housing and business, it's not realistic. There are not many New Urbanist communities, and the few that are effectively New Urbanist are often considered ghettos or are gentrified. Most cities and counties zone business away from residential, and zone high density housing away from single family housing -- both stupid in terms of long term sustainability, but that's what people want.

I'm lucky. I have community garden space and a park within 10 minutes' walk, a small yard, enough room for a clothesline, a shed and a small garden, a house that's comfortable for two people and two cats and 3000 books, room for guests, office space, an affordable mortgage and transit and a great local community. But there's a reason that houses start at $250K in my neighborhood. (I got really lucky, and mine's the smallest in the area.) I rolled sevens. Most people don't.

[Dave Reynolds]

90. Why did I not think of that?

Hell, I'll sell my horses, break my lease, and pay $600 more a month to live around a bunch of college kids.

Sweet deal.

Utopia, oh how some believe in ye.

[ProgressivePatriot]

92. My job is in construction.

I would have to move several times a year, possibly.

[Ilsa]

94. I won't do a commute again either.

We are in a smaller town, sometimes my husband can work from home.

[Norwood]

95. I would really like to but thats not possible for all of us

I wish I didnt have to have to commute to work but I cant help it right now. You think I like having to spend a couple hundred bucks on gas every month?

[mnhtnbb]

96. My son moved to a new apt. with 3 minute walk to work

earlier this month, in the Research Triangle of NC. He loves it. It costs over $50. to fill the gas tank of his car--which he's doing a lot less frequently.