I don't think there is an appeal. I would move 15 minutes to work _in a heartbeat_ if I could afford it. Starter homes near my job go for $1.2M+. The difference in housing costs between where I live and 15 minutes to work are about 10X the total cost of a car + all maintenance and gas. So I commute.
exactly. My house was 180k + 2hr commute. I could get a house for around 1M + 8min commute. We are talking about $4k/mo difference.
If I commuted 5 days a week, you could look at that as $100/hr made by choosing to commute. I only commute 3 days a week, so it is more like $160/hr. And I get to work on the train for half my commute. It's not bad.
> And I get to work on the train for half my commute.
That's the thing that's key for me. I go nuts if I'm sitting behind the wheel in traffic for more than 20 minutes. I can easily do, for example, an hour each way on the commuter rail or shuttle. In fact, I feel it actually allows me to waste less time because I'll bookend emails and other communications in my day to my commute, and then while I'm at work I am able to focus better.
