According to the U.S. Census, the national average commute to work is 24.4 miles. If you combined average commute times into days, you will find that New Yorkers commute 6.7 full days each year, while people in San Diego commute only 3.9 days a year.
These numbers do not include extreme commuters who can travel 5 and 6 hour commutes each day.
While there are many good reasons to live in a home miles away from your place of employment — such as price, and the fact that you may have owned the home before you got the job — there are also many reasons to live closer to your job.
A short job commute can save money due to lower vehicle costs from maintenance and gasoline.
Your insurance company will also charge you a great deal less money if your commute to work is short. This savings on auto insurance can be significant.
A short job commute can reduce your stress. Because your commute to work will be shorter, you will be able to avoid traffic jams and road rage. It will also lessen the chances of stress caused by running late for work, or trying to get home earlier for an event or to avoid traffic.
A short job commute means you can become a one-car household. Adults can use one car to get to work, with one person dropping off the other. This way, you can also save hundreds of dollars each month on car payments, car insurance, and gasoline.
A short job commute can make you more physically fit. If your commute to work is very short, you could walk, or even ride a bike to work on days when the weather is good. If the weather changes, you can always arrange for someone to pick you up.
I have been a certified tightwad since I became pregnant with my first child and decided to find a way to stay home with him. I enjoy sharing my experiences in my journey back to financial health and planning for a future — which will include sending 2 kids to college and early retirement.
