Housing Location Question

[StashthatCash]

So I have been looking at houses in southern Wisconsin to buy recently.  There are a lot of houses for sale in the area that are near my job and my wife's job (about 5 miles for both of us, easy bike).  My question is would you consider purchasing a house that is close to a lake but twice the distance away, 10 miles from our jobs in this case?  I'm leaning towards yes because one of our hobbies we both really enjoy is fishing, which after we eventually get to our goal of an early retirement we could just walk through our back yard and go fishing.  I should also mention that the prices between the two locations are very similar, within $5K-$10K of each other so not really much of an extra cost for buying near the lake.  Any thoughts would be appreciated!   

[pagoconcheques]

I'm assuming this is actually waterfront property, not nearby property with deeded access. 

I'd spring for the waterfront property because I like looking out my window and seeing water.  Since it seems like you are in it for the long haul, go for it. 

Do think about, and run the costs, on the additional commuting distance. 

[bobechs]

An e-bike will easily triple your biking endurance.  But the danger is you will become an e-bike kook.  Look at the Endless Sphere forum to see how ugly that can get.

[CashFlowDiaries]

You have to go where your heart is on this and it sounds like you want that lake house.  Driving an additional 10 miles to work every day and back is not a big deal if that is the only consequence.

Get the rods out, put some tackle on it and throw that sucker out already!  Enjoy life!

[zephyr911]

So I have been looking at houses in southern Wisconsin to buy recently.  There are a lot of houses for sale in the area that are near my job and my wife's job (about 5 miles for both of us, easy bike).  My question is would you consider purchasing a house that is close to a lake but twice the distance away, 10 miles from our jobs in this case?  I'm leaning towards yes because one of our hobbies we both really enjoy is fishing, which after we eventually get to our goal of an early retirement we could just walk through our back yard and go fishing.  I should also mention that the prices between the two locations are very similar, within $5K-$10K of each other so not really much of an extra cost for buying near the lake.  Any thoughts would be appreciated!

How far are you from that FIRE goal?

Is the extra time and associated cost enough to actually delay it?

If you're reasonably close and are cool with delaying the goal slightly for the sake of having more of what you want right now... go for it. It sounds like that is probably the case, but that's for you to say.

[Dicey]

Basically, you're trading some of what would otherwise be free time and a small amount of money on commuting costs to live where you want to live. If you would honestly get significantly more enjoyment out of the lake house, the difference between 5 and 10 miles is not all that much. You can easily find other ways to make up such a small cost differential.