Across Borders: The Ultimate Anti-Mustachian Commute?

[eldub]

What do you think about this article in last weekend's Globe and Mail:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/home-and-garden/real-estate/some-vancouver-workers-have-been-priced-right-out-of-the-country/article8970952/?service=mobile

Essentially it says that because Vancouver real estate is so astronomical (and it is), that highly-paid tech-types are living in and commuting from Washington State rather than move to the city where they work. And the reason is because in the states they can afford mega-mansions, country-club memberships, private tuition for the kids etc. Their high wages just don't go anywhere near the distance in Vancouver.

Now, admittedly, the cost of real estate in Vancouver is crazy. (See: http://www.crackshackormansion.com/) BUT! Am I the only one who thinks these people should either:
1. Give up the afore-mentioned luxuries and live like "normal" folks so they don't have to commute across a fucking international border, or
2. Get a job in the states, even if it pays less?

I mean FUCK, I wouldn't even CONSIDER a 30-minute commute from the suburbs.

What say the mustachians?

[Jamesqf]

How far is Vancouver from the border, though?  From a quick look at a map, it looks as though the border's closer than a lot of the Canadian suburbs.  If they have some sort of fast-pass system for getting across, it seems reasonable enough.  But if course telecommuting is even better :-)

But I've done similar, not as a daily commute but with more or less frequent back & forth trips when a job required me to be on site some of the time.  The longest was between Nevada and Switzerland.

[paddedhat]

The coming Canadian residential market collapse will be an entertaining train wreck to watch.

[chatsc]

The coming Canadian residential market collapse will be an entertaining train wreck to watch.

Am I being that naive to think that it might not happen?  I admit that house prices have dropped 10-15% in the past year (a large 4 bedroom 2 story house in a central suburb used to sell in my city for 500, is now 435-455) but collapse?  I dont know anyone how is underwater in their mortgage.  With the tightening of the mortgage rules, I cant really see how that can happen now.  Vancouver and Toronto are kind of exceptions to the rule, because they are insane.  like New York City is insane.

[Forcus]

Anti-mustachian? Not really. May be jobs that aren't portable (as in, available in another market), like going from one McDonald's to another. For example, I work at a Fortune 50 company and within a 150 mile radius, I make 2 to 3x what I would at any other company. If I loved the company I worked at, and the job, and the commute really wasn't any different besides crossing the border, I'd do it. Based on the prices for Vancouver, the value of the time saved living closer is way outweighed by cheaper housing in Washington.

[lauren_knows]

The whole "live close to where you work" starts to become tricky for a lot of reasons:

- Live with a spouse? You need to get 2 jobs within a close proximity, with potentially 2 different fields of work
- Already bought a house? Oops.
- Early on your career, jumping from job to job can be majorly beneficial to your long-term salary. Can you find multiple jobs within a 5mi radius?

All of these are admittedly "complainypants" to some degree, but I really question the practicality of living where you work, unless you're anchored in a very specific workplace for a long time.  *shrug*     That said, if the University that is 3mi from my house ever had a job opening that was 80% my current pay, I'd take it in a heartbeat.

[Jamesqf]

The coming Canadian residential market collapse...

Is it the Canadian housing market as a whole that is (seemingly) overpriced, or just certain popular locations like Vancouver?  The way housing prices in say San Francisco are way higher than in Sacramento.

[chatsc]

The coming Canadian residential market collapse...

Is it the Canadian housing market as a whole that is (seemingly) overpriced, or just certain popular locations like Vancouver?  The way housing prices in say San Francisco are way higher than in Sacramento.

this is what I wonder...it makes sense though.  Toronto and Vancouver have always been cities  in Canada with the highest population, therefore most competition for housing. 

I live in ottawa (population of 900 000) and and the prices are high but not Toronto/Vancouver high.  A  new 2 bedroom condo in a downtown/central hip/fancy area is 400-450K, whereas a 3 bed townhouse in the suburbs is 275-300.    A rowhouse is about 200K.  i think the average 3 bed house resale value is mid 300s. 

Prices have dropped but nothing too alarming (yet).   We bought our house in 2005 for a very good deal (but it needed a lot of work).  it almost doubled by 2011, when at the time everything in our area was selling within a month.  Now stuff stays on the market a little longer and has now come down about 30-40K.     But, we are not talking huge numbers here.

But then I read on this forum, people buying houses in the US for investment purposes for 50K, or 25K$ for a condo.  50k here gets you a hunt camp with no hydro or septic or well in the middle of nowhere.  or maybe 3/4 of a trailer in a trailer park.   Houses in Ottawa in the suburbs were 38-40$k in the early/mid 1970s...

But, I am no real estate expert though, that is for sure.   we just got a mortgage for our cottage and i realized how much tighter the rules are now, versus when we bought our house.  max 25y amortization, much more proof of employment/proof of income needed, larger downpayment needed. 

[capital]

The coming Canadian residential market collapse...

Is it the Canadian housing market as a whole that is (seemingly) overpriced, or just certain popular locations like Vancouver?  The way housing prices in say San Francisco are way higher than in Sacramento.

this is what I wonder...it makes sense though.  Toronto and Vancouver have always been cities  in Canada with the highest population, therefore most competition for housing. 

I live in ottawa (population of 900 000) and and the prices are high but not Toronto/Vancouver high.  A  new 2 bedroom condo in a downtown/central hip/fancy area is 400-450K, whereas a 3 bed townhouse in the suburbs is 275-300.    A rowhouse is about 200K.  i think the average 3 bed house resale value is mid 300s. 

Prices have dropped but nothing too alarming (yet).   We bought our house in 2005 for a very good deal (but it needed a lot of work).  it almost doubled by 2011, when at the time everything in our area was selling within a month.  Now stuff stays on the market a little longer and has now come down about 30-40K.     But, we are not talking huge numbers here.

But then I read on this forum, people buying houses in the US for investment purposes for 50K, or 25K$ for a condo.  50k here gets you a hunt camp with no hydro or septic or well in the middle of nowhere.  or maybe 3/4 of a trailer in a trailer park.   Houses in Ottawa in the suburbs were 38-40$k in the early/mid 1970s...

But, I am no real estate expert though, that is for sure.   we just got a mortgage for our cottage and i realized how much tighter the rules are now, versus when we bought our house.  max 25y amortization, much more proof of employment/proof of income needed, larger downpayment needed.

Some parts of the United States, especially Midwestern industrial cities and small towns in rural areas, have had declining populations, so there are more houses than people wanting them. Houses are cheap there, but there generally isn't a very good economy. Housing is usually more expensive, though not necessarily crazy, in cities with a better economy.

Note that a large population doesn't guarantee high housing prices. Chicago has the same population as Toronto with a similar climate, but is much more reasonably priced.