Helping mostly. For 13 years, I walked 0.1 mile from home to work--lower income at the time, but extremely low COL there as well. We looked long and hard for the best move possible afterwards with respect to commute and schools for the kids. We made the move, and for the next 3 years (renting in a new city), I drove ~15 mins to a park and ride so I could park for free, riding a bus the last 10 mins to work (best commute alternative for that side of town). Finally, having learned the area better, we spent time looking at different neighborhoods, schools, etc until we found a great neighborhood in a suburb about 20 minutes from my newest job. We've been here for 6 years and have learned the bike routes, transit schedules, and amenities. Housing is ~5% higher than in the larger neighboring city, but my job is < 45 min bike ride, my wife's job is < 30 min bike ride, and almost everything else we do regularly (except church) is within a 4-mile radius.
In reflection, the first move wasn't the absolute best option, but it was actually pretty good given that I wasn't biking back then and my cashflow was much more liberal--on a lesser income to boot! Now that we're earning much more and we've "moved up a bit," we're still living at nearly the same income level as we were when we first relocated. We're saving much, much more, and we're enjoying our life more. When we spend extra cash, we spend it on things that we want, things that matter to us, not trinkets, baubles, fuel, and chrome. I attribute much of this to choosing a place to live that makes life as accessible as possible. The remainder is due to personal motivations.
