How much would no-commuting be worth to you?

[Shwaa]

I realize this is leaving out a ton of details, but all else being equal which job would you pick (assuming the job/benefits are more or less the same)...

Bay Area CA traffic

A. Work from home full time - 110k/yr
B. Commute 30-60 miles each way (45 mins - 2 hours each way) - 125k/yr

If you picked option A, how much $$$ would Option B have to be to make you consider it?

Just curious

[HPstache]

I would choose 'A' for sure .  I would start to consider 'B' if it was something like $150K personally.

[35andFI]

I commuted 1 hr 15 minutes each way for about 3.5 years and now has a 30 min commute by bike (I moved).
I’ll never go back, even if I have to pay more or make less.

Is $15k/yr in gross income worth the extra 2-4 hours a day in a car and the extra expenses associated with commuting?
I don’t think it would be to me.

There’s also another variable here though. How will you like working from home full time?
I work from home once a week which is great but my longest stretch was 3 months and I started to go stir crazy.

[YttriumNitrate]

A. Work from home full time - 110k/yr
B. Commute 30-60 miles each way (45 mins - 2 hours each way) - 125k/yr
If you picked option A, how much $$$ would Option B have to be to make you consider it?

I once had a 80 minute each-way car commute. I lasted 18 months before it darn near drove me insane. For me to take option B, it would have to be a number that had a meaningful impact on my daily living.

When I was just starting out, I would guess that would be somewhere in the $130-140k range, but these past few years have been good to my portfolio and it would take a salary well north of $200k to make me consider option B.

[catprog]

There’s also another variable here though. How will you like working from home full time?
I work from home once a week which is great but my longest stretch was 3 months and I started to go stir crazy.

Go to somewhere else and work from their?

[Travis]

120 miles per day, 5 days per week, 50 weeks per year at $.50/mile in fuel, insurance, and maintenance cost at least $15k/year.  My peace of mind avoiding spending 2 hours per day on the road has a price tag too (especially if we're talking a Bay Area commute).

I would choose 'A' for sure .  I would start to consider 'B' if it was something like $150K personally.

Agreed.

[norajean]

I would add the cost of an Uber each way so I could relax in the car.  Let's say $100 each way and round up to $250/day for surge pricing.  That's about $60,000/yr just for transportation.  I would then double that to account for the fact I don't like being in the car, the risk to my health from sitting or being in an accident, and to account for taxes.  So, $120K extra or $340k in your case.

[ketchup]

Option A, no contest.

[35andFI]

There’s also another variable here though. How will you like working from home full time?
I work from home once a week which is great but my longest stretch was 3 months and I started to go stir crazy.

Go to somewhere else and work from their?

It would have to be a non-public WiFi to connect to the work VPN so basically that leaves me with someone’s house.

[ketchup]

There’s also another variable here though. How will you like working from home full time?
I work from home once a week which is great but my longest stretch was 3 months and I started to go stir crazy.

Go to somewhere else and work from their?

It would have to be a non-public WiFi to connect to the work VPN so basically that leaves me with someone’s house.

Big-ass wifi antenna linking back to your house while you sit at the park down the street?  I used a cheapie one about five years ago that had a half mile range, and I'm sure they're even better now.

[35andFI]

There’s also another variable here though. How will you like working from home full time?
I work from home once a week which is great but my longest stretch was 3 months and I started to go stir crazy.

Go to somewhere else and work from their?

It would have to be a non-public WiFi to connect to the work VPN so basically that leaves me with someone’s house.

Big-ass wifi antenna linking back to your house while you sit at the park down the street?  I used a cheapie one about five years ago that had a half mile range, and I'm sure they're even better now.

Ha! I guess that could work, although the closest place that I could go would probably be a Target with a little cafe about 2.5 miles away so I’d have to get something with a decent range if they make them.

Knowing myself, I’d rather just suck it up for the 8 hours then to spend the money on an antenna.
I would work then once I could, ride my bike somewhere to get out.

[PacificaFog]

I don’t think there’s any amount of money that would make it worth me spending an extra 20 hours/week in a car.  I have an 11 mile Bay Area commute and it’s the absolute max I would drive.  The traffic here has gotten so much worse over the past decade.  It’s simply insane.  I have a friend at work who recently bought a house that has caused her to have one of those crazy commutes.  In just a few months, I’m already seeing it affect her energy at work and her health.

[Zikoris]

It is worth so much to me that I literally would not take a job I couldn't walk to, unless it was just very briefly while I looked for an apartment walking distance to the new place.

[PaulMaxime]

I live in San Francisco.

4 years ago my company spun out as an independent company out of Google. I got the same salary and also significant founder's equity. So not an insubstantial package.

Thankfully the new company set up an office here in the city close to my home. If they had decided to move to Oakland or Sunnyvale or something that required any kind of long commute I wouldn't have taken it, no matter what. I like where I live and don't want to move to the peninsula or east bay.

There are other jobs here that are closer. My time is my most valuable commodity.

[Freedomin5]

Option A for sure.

I actually just moved to a new job so that I could be walking distance to everything - work, DD's school, grocery store, post office, subway station. I cut my commute from a 1-1.5 hour bus ride in rush hour traffic to a 15-minute walk/5-minute bike ride.

I took a pay cut and went from working three days a week to working five days per week for approximately the same compensation package. However, this is one of the nice things about being almost FI. I don't need the money, and being able to get to work/school with no traffic, and then getting home by 4:30 PM has been well worth it for me.

[MonkeyJenga]

I would look for an option C. I don't want to work from home full time, and there's no chance in hell I'm spending 4 hours commuting every day. A if I had to choose, but I would either move closer to B or find another job closer to home.

[Linea_Norway]

When I switched to a job with lower commuting costs I accepted 6250 a year in lower salary. I got back 2500 of that later by an extra salary raise.

The newer job also had half an hour shorter work per day, as well as 1 hour training under working hours. And a different pension fund, but I am not sure if that is much better that what I had.

Just not having that stressful train commute was really good for me. Also the option to easily shop groceries on my way home, makes my life easier. And last but not least: the option to cycle/walk to work. I have many times walked to work twice a week.

[honeybbq]

I'd take a 50% pay cut to telecommute full time.

[Monkey stache]

Option A, no contest.

It's not just the cost, time, and annoyance of commuting. It's getting up early to get ready, preparing your lunch, putting on your adult costume, etc. Plus you don't have people popping into your office unexpectedly, a boss breathing down your neck, and/or having to deal with difficult coworkers in person.

I started working from home 6 years ago and I could never imagine going back to office life.

[JLee]

1.5 to 4 hours a day in commuting!?

Fuck.

Option A, no question.

[Slow2FIRE]

Bay Area?

Feel like both options are a bit underpaid for the area (unless you bought a house years ago).

I would absolutely take Option A, and hopefully be able to move to a more affordable area while keeping the $110K salary.

I would need to earn about $250K or more to take Option B, because I'd want to move in close enough to have a commute consistently less than 30 minutes.

My anecdotal experience:  Working from home FULL TIME since early 2015 and moved from a VHCOLA (DC) to a MCOLA (Raleigh/Triangle) while keeping the same salary.  One of the best career decisions I've ever made.

[EscapedApe]

You could always do what that one Google engineer did: buy yourself a moving truck, outfit it with a mattress, drawers, and a desk, and park it in the Google parking lot. Then you can live close to work AND collect a $150K+ salary XD

[Blue Skies]

If the commute was 45 minutes each way I would consider it for maybe $140k.  If the commute was 2 hours each way the only way I would consider it would be if I could move closer to that location - so the pay would more than cover whatever the increased housing costs would be.  If I didn't want to move for whatever reason, then I would not take that job regardless of pay amount.  I would never sign on for a 2 hour each way commute. 

[Linea_Norway]

If the commute was 45 minutes each way I would consider it for maybe $140k.  If the commute was 2 hours each way the only way I would consider it would be if I could move closer to that location - so the pay would more than cover whatever the increased housing costs would be.  If I didn't want to move for whatever reason, then I would not take that job regardless of pay amount.  I would never sign on for a 2 hour each way commute.

I once had a job with a 2 hour commute each way: cycling 15 minutes, taking 3 half an hour trains and cycling another 15 minutes (on a second bicycle). It was for very little money, intern pay. For my education I needed to work in a relevant position and this was one. I also didn't have options for anything else. So therefore I did this for 3/4 year or so. When my contract was finished and they wanted to keep me longer for a few months, I negotiated that I could work 2 hours a day shorter and get better pay. It went well until til day my second bicycle disappeared.

[bennysquirrel]

For me it might depend on where I am in life and how much I need the money.  I'm in my late 30's now and have earned a lot of money to this point, so even a 25 minute commute is irking me these days.  Today I would definitely take a pay cut for more interesting work that I could do from home (so Option A).

Twelve years ago I had a 40 minute commute and it didn't bother me too much at the time until my second child came along, that's when my time-value dramatically started to change.

[MsPeacock]

A, absolutely.

15K is not worth spending what - 15-30 hours per week commuting. NO THANK YOU. That is a ton of time lost during which you could be doing much more preferable things (hobbies, time with spouse or children,  - anything)

A shitty commute is a real life suck. (And not at all uncommon in these parts - Washington DC).

[EscapedApe]

I used to commute 140 miles a day, round trip.

Now I commute 2 miles round rip by bicycle.

There is no comparison. I finally get to live my life AND work.

[parkerk]

A, no contest.  I work from home and I love it.  It would take a LOT to get me to go back to commuting.  I don't even know if I could give you a number because financially I'm more than comfortable with what I'm making now.  If I was still trying to get out of debt or something I'd probably be a lot more willing to consider it.