Reducing commute to work- anyone have a hard time finding a closer job? Move?

[purplish]

Just curious what you guys have done to live close to where you work.  Right now I work a little over 22 miles away from where I live, the commute sucks!  But in looking around at places in my field closer to where I live, there don't seem to be many openings right now (and of the ones available, I've applied and it didn't happen). 

The town where I work, I wouldn't want to live in.  It's also far out from the city, which is why I moved in the first place.  I also don't want to move just for that job because I don't know how long I will be there, if I got another offer I would take it.  So... yeah, this is my dilemma.  Anyone have similar issues?  Or was it easy for you?

Edited to add: Complicating it too is that they have told me they're going to promote me to Management once I get my license (in a year and a half).  I could take the chance of finding a closer job and hoping they will promote me too, but I wouldn't have that guarantee.  However they also have crappy benefits.

[Rezdent]

Yeah, my company moved the office far from my home.
 I can't likely get a comparable job nearby because I am vested and grandfathered into some nice benefits and have years of pay increases.
The pay difference is enough that I can absorb the commute costs and still come out ahead.  Plus I get to work remotely sometimes.
But if I get a comparable offer or lose the job I will find something closer.  I hate that commute.

[oinkette]

The problem I've found, and is probably the norm in many cities, is that most people work downtown.  The closer you get to downtown, the more expensive housing is, thus defeating the (financial) point.  Even the sketchy areas have been tagged for gentrification and I couldn't even buy a tear-down shack since the land value alone makes it over priced. 

[Daisy]

I've worked at the same company for a long time. I've gone from a long commute for 2 years (still living with parents after college) to moving really close to work for about 9 years, to moving away from work (for personal reasons - a 28 mile one way/56 mile round trip commute).

Just this past year, I decided to sell my house and downsize costs, somewhat. I thought about moving closer to work again, but then I am about one or two years from FIRE and/or I may get laid off soon, so it didn't seem worth moving close to work. I don't want to live in the area close to work because it is far from the beach and friends.

So I decided to move about a mile away, keeping my long commute. The good thing is the commute to the beach is a half mile walk. :-) Where I live is a great place for FIRE. I suppose I can find a part-time job something water related a walk away from home while FIRE'd which would be both fun and stash-friendly.

I do hate the commute though. I try not to think about it too much as I know it's a means to an end...or rather a new beginning - FIRE!

[Hedge_87]

We got VERY lucky. I took a different position Within the company. I had to start reporting to a different location and was required to move. This was OK for me we made a little money on our house we renovated and found a place <1 one mile from my work. However DW now had an 80 mile round trip to her job (special ed teacher). She finished the school year out and applied to the school here and got the job. Now our commutes are ridiculous. Hers = 400 ft. Mine = approximately 1/2 mile. As I said before we got pretty lucky but it did take a little work on our part to get it done. The money savings are nice but don't underestimate how much time you will gain not having to commute.

[purplish]

We got VERY lucky. I took a different position Within the company. I had to start reporting to a different location and was required to move. This was OK for me we made a little money on our house we renovated and found a place <1 one mile from my work. However DW now had an 80 mile round trip to her job (special ed teacher). She finished the school year out and applied to the school here and got the job. Now our commutes are ridiculous. Hers = 400 ft. Mine = approximately 1/2 mile. As I said before we got pretty lucky but it did take a little work on our part to get it done. The money savings are nice but don't underestimate how much time you will gain not having to commute.

That's pretty awesome!

[Dicey]

Ha! We bought our house because it met the needs of our family AND it's 3 1/2 blocks from DH's work. It was a short sale and escrow lasted eight long, tortuous months. Now that we're in, we love being so close. Since I'm home with his mom and her pal Al Z. Heimer, it's nice knowing that he's nearby if needed.
Last week, DH came home with the news that his firm is negotiating on a new property. His job would probably be relocated to the new complex. Alas, it's about 2 miles from home. We figure it will take at least a year for that to happen, so we're not going to worry about it before it's actually happened.

Yeah, two miles is no biggie, but it underscores my point: Moving for a job is tricky. You could move and then your job could change. Or the nature of your job could change and you could feel stuck. I'd still try to get as close as I could, while keeping costs as low as possible. Some time-honored ways to accomplish this, even in expensive areas, are to find properties that need improvement and/or have multi-family units. Something with a rental unit or the potential for same is a great way to reduce costs.

Commuting costs are a huge resource suck. Usually, no one repays you for your time or costs. If you can't telecommute, better to spend more on housing closer to work, as real estate is generally an appreciating asset, whereas commute costs are just wasted time and money. Living closer to work is literally buying part of your life back until you can FIRE and get it all back.

[Donovan]

My wife and I are moving at the end of January to reduce my commute from 22 miles to 3, and I can't wait. It's been 8 months in the making to find the house, because the area close to my work largely ranges from overly pricy -> overly downtrodden.  However, I would say that it's going to be waaaaaay better for us to be biking distance from not only my work, but several other things like groceries and a hardware store.

However, I like my company and intend to stay at my company for several years at a minimum, and then hopefully move to remote or freelance if/when I leave. In your situation, I might stick it out in the area that I like and work harder to get one of the jobs closer to the current home.  I don't think I would ever sacrifice too much quality of life and living space simply to reduce commute time.  If you don't like where you move to, you'll just either be miserable or try to move too quickly.

[Johnez]

Currently dealing with a 65 mile round trip which costs roughly $200 a month in gas alone. Rent in a closer spot typically runs between 2-400 more a month, plus my school is in the other direction from work negating any commute savings. I could of course transfer to a closer location for work, which would reduce my gross income $500 a week in the heavy months (no OT, lower wage, and union dues.. ) Once I get my degree, out I go though.

Bottom line, "just move closer" is really empty advice. It's one of the things that bothers me about the blog. The assumption that it's just so easy to pick and choose home and work and you're set. I suppose it's motivation to GET to that place of freedom though.

[BlueHouse]

I moved to be closer to my primary work location.  I have recovered so much time in my life back.  It's not just the commute time -- I used to also leave home early and leave work late to avoid the worst of rush hour.   I was regularly working 20+ extra hours per week just to avoid traffic. 
Now I just have to make myself more productive with all those extra hours...because I'm not yet.  :( 

[Inkedup]

Currently dealing with a 65 mile round trip which costs roughly $200 a month in gas alone. Rent in a closer spot typically runs between 2-400 more a month, plus my school is in the other direction from work negating any commute savings. I could of course transfer to a closer location for work, which would reduce my gross income $500 a week in the heavy months (no OT, lower wage, and union dues.. ) Once I get my degree, out I go though.

Bottom line, "just move closer" is really empty advice. It's one of the things that bothers me about the blog. The assumption that it's just so easy to pick and choose home and work and you're set. I suppose it's motivation to GET to that place of freedom though.

I am in the same boat. Commuting takes a bite out of my free time, but it's a price I'm willing to pay for now. I could live practically next door to my workplace at the cost of hemorrhaging 75% of my net income every month on rent and utilities. I could walk to work, but any hope of amassing enough savings for an emergency fund (to say nothing of ER) would be doa. No thanks. Since I have the option of taking public transportation for the longest leg of my trip, I don't mind a longer commute. Would I still do it if I had to drive and pay for parking? Yes. It's still cheaper than living near work.

[gnomemom]

We sacrificed on house to get the short commute for DH.  I was a stay at home mom to three toddlers, and he was going to grad school and commuting.  We had moved pretty far out to get an affordable, nice home for our growing family - but the longer we lived there, the worse his commute got.  It was 45 minutes when we moved out there, and by the time we sold our house, it was over an hour each way. 

So, we downsized from 1900 square feet, two car garage, full basement, new construction (I really did love that house!) and bought a tiny fixer-upper (really, tear down, LOL), 1200 square feet, 3 bed, 1.5 bath - 2 miles from DH's work.

This house was the pits for years and years, until we could finally afford to gut the kitchen and main bath 2 years ago - BUT - we all love his non-commute.  He comes home for lunch sometimes - or if I need him for anything, he can be here in minutes.  Absolutely priceless for our family.  Plus, he isn't exhausted from being in the car - and our cars have very low mileage and should last basically forever ;)

No regrets, it was absolutely the right choice for our family. 

[Davids]

Sometimes living close to work cannot always be an option depending on situation (spouse works in opposite direction, location of job sucks as a place to live...) I live 20 mins from my job which may be antimustachian for some but for me is the best scenario given where I live and the field I am in.