By Living Room Realty, December 21, 2018
“It’s not that big of a deal, really how big of a deal is a 20 minute long commute to work?” I frequently hear buyers exclaim as less than a question and more as a pitch to their future self or significant other that time is not as significant if you just check out the size of these rooms…. That’s why I feel so compelled to write this blog post. 20 minutes really doesn’t sound like much. Not a big deal at all. Well, round trip it is forty minutes each day…and at 50 work weeks per year (assuming you take some days off and are fortunate enough to have a vacation) that equates to 10,000 minutes/per year, or approximately 167/hours per year, or 7 days per year, one whole week a year sitting in a car!
So often when house hunting, buyers will start with a general area, often with a convenient proximity to work, and as they begin swiping through properties on that glowing phone screen, one pops up that is perfect! It is well below or inline with their respected budget, and has additional bedrooms, bathrooms, and a 2 car garage! The guard comes down, curiosity is piqued! It is only 20 minutes farther from work…. and so much cheaper…. and so BIG! The critical thing that needs to be considered is, what could you do with an extra 7 days per year?
To take this thought experiment one step further, suppose the nearest grocery store is a 10-20 minute drive- as are most restaurants, coffee shops, and other various amenities that you might find yourself frequenting. Suddenly you are spending an additional 1-2 hours driving to and from your home a week, or 2-4 days per year. Now you are up to 9-11 days a year commuting. 9-11 days sitting in your car.
By making a conscious effort to relocate closer to the work or places you frequent you can spend a little more time sleeping in, or doing something you find yourself saying you don’t have time for anymore. Maybe you can use that extra time to do something that generates a little side income? Imagine never experiencing the stress of running late because of the unpredictable nature of traffic and I am not even going to touch on the environmental impact of cars, because that is a given!
Instead of being rushed, and then trapped in traffic, imagine having a nice conversation with your neighbors as you enjoy the crisp morning air on a daily stroll to school with your kids, or a bike ride to the office or the corner coffee shop. Just imagine. Thats what we did. It wasn’t easy, and it isn’t the right choice for everyone, but it was for us. It certainly wasn’t convenient uprooting from our dream home in the middle of running two businesses and downsizing homes with two small, yet growing!, kids that now have to share a bedroom. Going from 3 bathrooms down to 1. What has been amazing though is how much happier everyone in our family has been since choosing quality of life over quantity of bedrooms and bathrooms.
While we are busier than ever, we feel less rushed and more able to enjoy the simple routines that occur each day. No more “hurry up, we are going to be late!”, no more kids getting restless from a twenty minute drive turned an hour or more due to uncontrollable circumstances.
So as we say in the industry… Location, location, location. I can add a bathroom and another bedroom eventually, and I will, but for the time being, we are too busy being out and about and enjoying our new found free time in a neighborhood that we now love calling home.
