So I get that the argument against a long commute isn't necessarily the difference in $, but the difference in time.
It's about both money and time. Commuting costs money, but sometimes so does living closer to work, and where that balance is will be different for everyone.
However, an underlying theme of this forum is to spend your money on what you value.
If you enjoy your commute and have the money then there's nothing wrong with doing what you are doing.
Or put another way - is there anything you'd rather spend your time doing?
only you can answer
It really is about personal choice (though an argument could be made that commuting affects more than just yourself). Personally, I hate driving and love walking so I took a pay cut to be able to walk to work.
An important consideration, however, is that it's harder than people think to quantify exactly how much a commute is costing you. I took a >10% pay decrease and came out way ahead financially, despite only having a "reasonable" 20 mile/20 minute commute. (I didn't move to make this happen either).
Everyone should spend their time and money how they see fit, but regular driving creates low level stress in many and often costs much more than people recognize.
interesting how much response popped back up.
Just this out there - I think one aspect of this is that the "average" commuter does not realize how much (s)he actually spends on commuting. People can be surprisingly ignorant about what a 30mi commute in a leased SUV really costs, in part because the costs are broken up across so many reoccurring and relatively small payments (e.g. loan, fuel, maintenance). In those cases I think it's worth it to point out exactly how much their commute is costing them and then ask "is this worth it to you?". In contrast,
Chris22 seems to know exactly what his commute costs, and has decided its a net benefit for his life, and so I support that; who am i to say that his informed conclusions are not valid?
LIfestyle improvement also factors in, but is harder to quantify. That's what arguments like exercise, stress, and time come in. Plus, there's often a barrier to overcome even getting most N. Americans to consider that life without a car is possible/desireable. I constantly field questions from family members about how we could possibly survive with
just one car (!), even though I live in a city with excellent public transportation.
