After getting that dream job, everything seems perfect. Excellent pay, a great career, and friendly workplace culture.
But, you have forgotten one thing – the commute. The distance between your home and work may not seem like a big deal to you now. However, as days, weeks, and months pass by, you will realize that the time you spend on the road can be detrimental to your work and personal life.
Like you, many Americans spend way too much time during their commute. According to research, the average worker spends at least 26 minutes commuting to work daily.
But it is not only about the time spent alone. There are many other factors affected by a long commute to work. If you are indecisive about whether to move closer to work and need solid reasons, this article is for you. Follow us as we explain the benefits of moving closer to your office. But before we begin, let us take a look at questions to ask yourself before proceeding.
Questions to ask yourself before moving closer to work
The questions to ask yourself to help clear any doubt about moving are:
- Is my family on board with this idea?
If you are married or have kids, moving closer to work is not a decision you should make alone. For those of you with a working spouse, your spouse will have a longer commute if, for instance, moving towards your work means moving away from theirs. Your kids’ schooling may also be affected by this move. Therefore, you have to ensure that your family members feel good about the plan before setting it in motion.
Moving can be scary, especially for children. However, counseling together as a family and sincerely listening and acknowledging their concerns will help you develop more trust within your family and help you make a better decision that will benefit everyone. Remember, putting your career above the needs of your family members can be a severe mistake. However, if moving closer to work means spending more quality time together, it may be easier for your family members to start to see the benefits of such a move.
If you are single, you may want to check in with your family or friends before deciding to move closer to work. Moving can be a huge decision. However, seek wise counsel from trustworthy individuals who care about your best interests. Moving to a new location can allow you to make new connections that may benefit your career or personal life. Sometimes, moving to your dream location can be exactly what you need. For us, Utah has many of those dream locations, and Orem, Utah is one of them.
- Am I excited about this job?
This is another question to ask yourself if you are looking to move closer to work. Whether you are a new hire or you have been on the job for a while, it is not wise to move closer to work if you think you may lose interest over time or regret your actions.
- Is there a long term benefit to moving closer to work?
Now, let’s say you are currently excited about your job but feel you don’t want to stay five or seven years – that is fine. You have to ensure where you are moving to is a hotbed of opportunities. For example, in Utah, there are many jobs available, notably from Salt Lake City to Lehi and down to Provo. So if you move closer to a job in these areas, you can rest assured of the long term benefits as there are opportunities around you everywhere.
- Does moving closer to work make financial sense?
It would be wise to assess if moving close to work would affect you financially. Take time to analyze the long term and short term implications of moving. Would moving close to the office save you cost? In what way? For instance, if your long commute affects your productivity at work, it would be wise to move to improve your chances of promotion.
So, what are the benefits of moving closer to work?
4 benefits of moving closer to work
- More time to do important things
It has said that time is money. But the truth is you can get money back after losing it but time lost can never be gotten back. Hence, time is everything. Many of us need time to attend to the important things in our lives, and commuting sure takes a lot of that time when you look at it. For example, let us assume that you spend the average 26 minutes to work and back. That is 52 minutes daily and 260 minutes weekly. In a year, you will be spending 13,520 minutes or more than 9 days on the road.
This extra time can be put into better use. Remember that book you meant to write? Or that plan you have to hit the gym? Cutting down on your commuting will afford you more time to do these things. For many professionals, this extra time means they get to spend more time with their family. Not being there for your kids – physically and emotionally – can affect their upbringing. They might grow up to see your work as your biggest priority, which should not be so. Your family deserves the same attention as your work and not one being sacrificed for the other.
By moving closer to work, you get to free up more time to do the things you love and be there in person for your family.
2. Improved health and well-being
Sitting in traffic is bad for your health. According to research, people who commute 10 miles daily have a higher chance of developing anxiety, high blood pressure, and depression. For commuters who journey more than 10 miles daily, they are likely to add high blood sugar and cholesterol levels to the problems mentioned above.
These health problems are a result of the physical and mental strain that comes with long commuting.
For one, there is the backache and headache from slouching behind the wheel for too long or the constant struggle with bad drivers who may cut in front of you or refuse to let you merge. Even if you chose to use public transportation, you are not guaranteed a distraction-free experience. There is the nosey passenger, the lousy one, or even the cranky ones. There’s the risk of catching an airborne virus, such as COVID-19, which is causing permanent lung scarring in many of its survivors. Add all these to the lack of time to unwind, relax, or exercise, and you are likely to experience a mental and physical breakdown in the long run.
If you ask a doctor for a solution to your health problems, they will advise you to cut down on the long commute to work, and what better way to do that than moving close to work?
3. Better productivity
Getting off from bed early to get to work on time or coming home late may prevent you from getting adequate sleep. According to a Boston Brigham and Women’s Hospital study, a sleep-deprived person is likely to be less productive. But this is not the only way a long commute affects your productivity.
Whether through a late bus or congested traffic, a long commute slowly ebbs away all the positive energy you woke up with and replaces it with feelings of irritation and frustration. By the time you get to work, you are already feeling physically and mentally drained. Lastly, to beat the rush hour traffic and get home on time, you may decide to leave the office early. Overall, all these problems will affect your performance at your workplace and lead to decreased output.
By contrast, living close to work will enable you to catch that extra hour of sleep, get less frustrated by traffic, and focus on your work without having to leave early. You will be able to give your job the needed attention and excel at it.
4. Cost-effectiveness
It is estimated that the average employee spends about 0.51 cents per mile on their commute every day. If you work 20 miles from home, you are spending 20 dollars daily. If you go to work five times every week, you are spending about $5304 a year on fuel alone! This is without factoring maintenance or repair costs. Spending that massive chunk of your income on commuting is not fair to all that hard work you do. It would be wise to save yourself the cost of that by moving closer to work. According to some estimates, moving closer to your workplace can save you $340/mile per year. This extra money could go a long way when you put it into more important things.
Let Bost Redevelopment sell that house for you!
To move closer to work, some people will first move into an apartment that gives them the luxury of taking their time to sell their home. This doesn’t work for everybody, especially if it means that you need to pay your mortgage and a rent bill while still paying for repairs and other tasks to get your home ready to be sold. Some people will instead move in with extended family while preparing their home to be sold, and this can be a great option if you have nearby family members whom you’re on good terms with.
The key to staying with extended family, however, is to have very clear communication about expectations to ensure that expectations aren’t violated. It’s when expectations are violated that people get upset, even if it happens accidentally. So, keep your communication clear and open, and be sure to keep your promises. It’s even better to get an agreement in writing that itemizes all the terms to ensure that everyone’s needs are met.
With that said, it is typically a LOT less stressful and seamless when you sell your home before finding a home to buy. Many people make the mistake of buying the home first, and it’s going to be a nightmare if your buyer backs out at the last moment or has problems with the transaction.
Many people end up in this situation and end up greatly damaging their negotiation position due to getting stuck with a second house mortgage and new closing costs that eat up their available cash, causing desperation to sell their existing house. Even worse, sellers in this situation who get a bad appraisal may be forced to drastically discount the sale price of their home to ensure the sale goes through, resulting in even more loss. This is why we are here to help you.
At Bost Redevelopment, we are experts at handling every home selling problem you may be facing. We would use our marketing expertise to ensure you get the best buyer for your home at the maximum value possible. Want to talk more about your options? Please leave us a message below with your contact information and let us know how we can be of help to you.
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