What price/value working close to home

I have always lived in smaller cities/towns and I am gonna admit that my longest commute was about 30 minutes/9 miles. Now I live 2 miles from my office. The only thing I don't like is that due to the types of roads (almost zero curb or sidewalk and tons of traffic) there's no safe way to walk or bike to work. Small issue though! I feel lucky I can get to work in about 12 minutes even with traffic, 5 without...and come home daily for lunch.

yirara wrote: »

springlering62 wrote: »

Retired and moved to a historic bedroom community. I walk everywhere now, except grocery store- and that’s under construction.

Multiple gyms, yoga studio, all my doctors, hospital, dog park, volunteer opportunities, restaurants, art galleries, bike paths, miles of bike and hiking trails: all on my doorstep. Yay!!!!! Only put 12,000 miles on the car since moving five years ago, and the bulk of that was my daughter driving it to Florida several times.

LIFE ALTERING!!!!!!!

This is SO not my parents’ retirement!

May I ask what a bedroom community is? Sounds like a bedroom with shared facilities like livingroom and kitchen across other bedrooms?

they are usually the suburb outside of the major city. they are called bedroom communities because people commute into the city to work, but go home at nite to sleep. many of the major cities in the states clear right out after business hours and not many folks on the streets shopping, dining, etc. its kind of strange and scary.

I’ve done something that’s unusual with my current job: I’m living further away, distance-wise from work. Like I said though, it’s still just 30-35 minutes to the office.

Usually I try to work within a short cycling distance. The previous job was 1.7km This one is in a not only very expensive, but also very busy and polluted town, with luttle chance to cycle out into nature on weekends. So I looked at what other towns are with 25 train minutes and fell for this place. Got everything including a good arthouse cinema and two towns within 20 minutes for my underground culture needs and areas with a very varied nature and history just outside town, 2-3km away instead of endless suburbs.

reversemigration wrote: »

I really enjoy my 15-20 minute walk to and from work. That, plus being in an active job and having a fitness center on-site, builds exercise into my day. It's one of the reasons I chose to work where I do.

That would be the ideal for me -- I'd love to be able to walk to work -- although as I said above I don't really mind my commute because I can do other things while traveling.

My job is such that it needs to be in the downtown business district and although there are places to live a 15-20 mins walk away, I couldn't have a house and would be in a mid or high rise, which isn't my preference.

My big city is mostly a bunch of neighborhoods, and I love the one I'm in and that it's very walkable and accessible to a nice bike and running path, not to mention good shopping and restaurant districts, as well as being bikeable to work. It's also pretty easy to get wherever else I want to go by public transportation, if it's too far to walk.

My car is old and has had intermittent issues with the battery in the winter, and last time I took it in they told me the issue is that I don't drive it often enough (I usually drive it at least once on the weekend, sometimes twice). I was like what am I supposed to do, come home from work and go for a drive?

lemurcat2 wrote: »

reversemigration wrote: »

My car is old and has had intermittent issues with the battery in the winter, and last time I took it in they told me the issue is that I don't drive it often enough (I usually drive it at least once on the weekend, sometimes twice). I was like what am I supposed to do, come home from work and go for a drive?

I'm in the same boat lately. I've considered ditching one of our cars and just using Uber/Zipcar/etc for those days when my wife is working and I really need to get somewhere. I have to overcome the inertia of convenience, though!

adotbaby wrote: »

I've worked from home for 20+ years. I'll never go back to commuting! The savings in wardrobe, car wear and tear, food and, most importantly, time, is like a 25% raise!

Yep, I was in my pajamas til noon, when I changed into my gardening clothes and went out and planted peas.