Weekend Commute- feasible? (Seattle, Quincy, Mattawa: real estate, to rent, house)

[JBarry]

Does anyone find it workable to live far out of the city and commute on the weekends?

There's a possibility of a new job taking me to Seattle, specifically the Seattle Center area. The idea for us (50-ish couple) is to rent for a year nearby, and take our time looking for a home.

Naturally the housing prices are intimidating, and she may prefer small town life anyway. We currently live in a beautiful little town 21 miles from my work downtown in a medium sized city, and it takes me under 30 minutes each way (yes, such commutes exist elsewhere in the country).

So do many people live far out and commute on the weekends? I can see making the trek Monday morning and leaving Thursday night, perhaps working from home on Fridays. The real estate options could be wide open going out 50-100 miles. The trick is finding a cheap, minimal place in town (think BLUES BROTHERS and Elwood' room in the flop house with the hot plate).

[wythors]

One of the guys I work with has a home in Cle Elum and rents a furnished room in Seattle. He commutes back and forth on weekends.

[scirocco22]

So are you planning on leaving your spouse (or S.O.) in this outlying location while you stay near the city during the week?

I know of a couple who tried that for awhile; he commuting weekly from the Quincy/Mattawa area to Seattle. She stayed and worked from home; home business. He'd come back on the week-ends. However, that didn't last more than a year. They just didn't think it was worth being apart for that long. Now they live closer to the city and use the place on the other side of the mountains for a "vacation" retreat of sorts, going over on the weekends ...almost every weekend during the times when there's no snow on the passes.

If you "like" or think it's healthy being away from your spouse all week, yes, I suppose it could work. I personally think it would be more feasible doing it the other way around as described.