Commute Time in Rural WI (Eau Claire: rent, how much, houses)

[ConnieJoy]

My husband and I are hoping to buy a house in WI soon but we are struggling to find a house in our ideal location.

Here is a bit of the back story: We currently live in MN and my company recently acquired a new second office in WI. Since our family lives in WI, my employer is letting me move back to WI and work out of the new office. The office, however, is not near our families, so we were hoping to find a place in between the office and family.

My employer has agreed to let me work from home 2 days a week because of this distance. Also another big perk to my job is that I do have a company vehicle so I don't have to worry about how much it will cost to commute, just time.

There are 3 towns that I would consider 'ideal'. 50 min - 1 hour away from the office and about an hour and a half from family (the opposite direction of the office). There aren't any houses in our price range in those towns right now.

There are a few great homes in a city about an hour and 15 mins away from the office. Also being closer to this city (Eau Claire) means more job opportunity and a short commute for my husband. The farther we move north away from the city and towards my work's office (shorter commute for me), the less opportunity there is for my husband.

So my question is... Is an hour and 15 min commute 3x a week a deal breaker? Really not sure if I could take more than an hour commute. Or should we keep looking and waiting for a house to pop up in the other towns? My husband is anxious to move.

The commute is all interstate driving and no city traffic to deal with so that's good! It's also just the two of us right now. No kids yet.

Would love to hear personal stories and advice! Thanks in advance!

[ranger17]

Hi OP, without knowing actual communities you are looking at about all i could really add is pertaining to the travel time. You are from MN so have a good understanding if winter travel and summer construction seasons. A rule if thumb I follow is worst case travel can double in bad conditions. So if some map site shows an hour best case just know it can and will be worse at times.
So at least keep that in mind.
As for where to live between close to family and close to work that could depend on who you may see more often and whats more important. And of course where work is for both is critical as well; as having 2 cars racking up miles every day may not make much sense.

Probably not much help but more info may make it easier for members to offer up assistance

[crazyme4878]

I would live closer to Eau Claire. You will spend much more of your life driving, than visiting family. My dad lives in WI and works in the Cities. It's an hour commute and he hates it and is counting down the days until he can retire.

And family tends to disappoint. Even the best families. Don't stake your immediate's family day-to-day happiness on other people. Also, "no kids yet." Living an hour away from where they will go to school (and have friends, events, etc.) is difficult.

[ConnieJoy]

Thanks so much for replying ranger17. Weather is definitely something to consider. However on extremely bad weather days I can probably switch my working from home days to stay home during bad weather maybe. At least it is interstate driving!

Also I apologize for not being very clear in my original post. Eau Claire is the city closer to family and also where my husband would most likely work. The town I would work in is 1 hour and 15 min north of E.C. So the only one commuting far would be me (in that situation).

Also to answer crazyme4878's question, once we have kids they would go to school, etc. in the community where we live. Not where I work. Only I would be commuting for work a few days a week and not every day.

Just wanted to clear those points up. I might not have said it clearly in my original post.

Thanks again for responding!

[Rynldsbr]

Originally Posted by ConnieJoy

Thanks so much for replying ranger17. Weather is definitely something to consider. However on extremely bad weather days I can probably switch my working from home days to stay home during bad weather maybe. At least it is interstate driving!

Also I apologize for not being very clear in my original post. Eau Claire is the city closer to family and also where my husband would most likely work. The town I would work in is 1 hour and 15 min north of E.C. So the only one commuting far would be me (in that situation).

Also to answer crazyme4878's question, once we have kids they would go to school, etc. in the community where we live. Not where I work. Only I would be commuting for work a few days a week and not every day.

Just wanted to clear those points up. I might not have said it clearly in my original post.

Thanks again for responding!

Live closer to work. Once you have kids and need to get to a dr. appointment, after school activities, or parent teacher meetings you don't want to be an hour and 15 minutes away. Work is daily, family visits are not (typically) so fashion the life and commute around the work.


Also, remember that without a contract, the work-from-home and flexible time from an employer can disappear with any new manager or project deadline that comes along.

[cfbs2691]

Originally Posted by Rynldsbr

Live closer to work. Once you have kids and need to get to a dr. appointment, after school activities, or parent teacher meetings you don't want to be an hour and 15 minutes away. Work is daily, family visits are not (typically) so fashion the life and commute around the work.


Also, remember that without a contract, the work-from-home and flexible time from an employer can disappear with any new manager or project deadline that comes along.

Spot on!

[ranger17]

I'll add that for any relocation especially in a case like this with questions not yet answered, rent first. Find a place to try and give it a year. See how often you visit family, what it was actually like for commuting to work and so on. Then you have a better feel for what works and what does not; before purchasing a home that may not end up being where you want to live.

[crazyme4878]

Originally Posted by ConnieJoy

Also I apologize for not being very clear in my original post. Eau Claire is the city closer to family and also where my husband would most likely work. The town I would work in is 1 hour and 15 min north of E.C. So the only one commuting far would be me (in that situation).

Ah, that clears things up a bit. But still, I still advise living in the town you work. There are lots of towns in your work area for your husband to look at. If need be, he can do the commuting, but as you already have the job...

I grew up in that area, as did my parents. I really like it.