120 mile commute for $20 an hour worth it... (jobs, pay, money)
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Currently commute 60 miles a day. Rent is too high and cheapest rent is the further you are from where the jobs are. Found cheap rent saving me $100 bucks utilities included right on the route I use for work. It's a direct shot to work, which is a plus.
By moving so far from work, you'll probably eat up an extra $100 a month in gas. So at best it would be a wash. You could even end up poorer, 'cause the cost of the extra gas and lower rent together might be more the the higher rent on the old place combined with lower commute costs. (You'd just have to pencil it out to see.)
Then there is the issue of the unpredictability of traffic and weather and the plain irritation of just having to drive that far even when you don't feel like it.
Unless the rent is really, really lower than what you're paying now -- like say $600 instead of $1200 -- I'd stay put and just deal with the higher rent.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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No, in fact I would say half that commute is enough for double that pay, but if you have to live that far to afford housing, with a car that gets decent mileage, and current gas prices, the worst part is just the wasted time. Hopefully your traffic is not as congested as ours.
If you are only getting $20/hour, you might as well quit that job and find one by the new home for $20. If you take a pay cut, you could go down to $19/hr and save money on gas. It may only be an hour, if there are no accidents. The longer the route, the more likely there is to be an accident.
The 1 hour drive often turns into 80-120 minutes, when you come across rain storms or an accident. It's likely to occur every week. You are more likely to pull over for a drinks, snacks, or eat, because of the traffic. You spend more money.
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