Right now, I live too far away from work to bike. Why? I changed jobs. I have a very comfortable mortgage payment (<$900/ month including taxes and insurance, low interest rate). We have two vehicles: 2006 Toyota Matrix and 2008 Toyota Sienna. (Yes, we have a mini-van. I have three children and car pool.) (Yes, we have two vehicles: both husband and I are in the Reserves or National Guard, and often are required to have transportation to drill. We both car-pool when we can.) I don't like driving, but I like my house - It's small, although it needs some work.
So, what do I do? The lack of using my bike is about the only thing I regret in my living situation. Is it worth it to pick up and move closer to work? A similar house in a walk friendly neighborhood closer to work would mean buying a house about $100k more than my current home is worth.
Even if I do move, I wouldn't be biking in the winter. It's partially the snow, but it's mostly that the bike lanes get taken up by snow banks and the wind chill is something fierce.
