My New Job Is 40 Miles From My Home; Should I Move Closer To Work?

Anyone who has moved a family recently can tell you they hope never to be done again. Memories fade and many do it over and over again. If you land a new job that is say 40 miles away, it may be tempting to get closer to work. Here are some considerations to help you decide:

1. Rent or own? If you are renting your current residence, the cost of moving is much lower, and the opportunity to save enough to finance the movement is much more likely. If you own your home, it could take decades to save enough in transportation costs to be given in respect of the move.

2. Car or train? If you will just have to drive to your new job every day, the costs of the commute will add up more quickly than if you can take the bus or train most or all of the way.

3. Graveyard or 9 to 5? If you will be working normal hours, leaving the additional job around five and can still be home for dinner every evening, the pain for your family may be small. On the other hand, if you work shift work that makes time with the family scarcely yet, you may be willing to make a financial sacrifice by moving to have more time with your family.

4. Fast or slow? Your commute being 40 miles long now could take anywhere from about 40 minutes to an hour and forty minutes, being dependent upon the speed of the commute. The longer time required for the commute, the more it will wear on you and your family.

5. Telecommuting, yes or no? Will your original employer enable you to telecommute some of the time? The less often you need to take the original, longer trip to the office the more sense it makes to stay where you are.

6. Tax deductible (1. Usa. Gov/UmkVXu), yes or no? If your new job isn’t 50 miles farther from home than your old job, the move isn’t tax deductible in the United States. If your move is tax deductible, it does a lot of more sense than otherwise.

7. What’s best for the family? It plays a major role in most circumstances to know what is best for the family, all things considered. That includes thinking about non-financial considerations. For some people, purchasing a new home is pure pleasure and they are always figuring out an excuse. Don’t ignore the pecuniary considerations in making your final judgment, but don’t overweight them either.

Finally, consider some simple math. Selling a home and having a new one could easily cost 10% of the value of the homes. With a typical home costing about $250,000 in many parts of the country, a movie costs $25,000. That cost is not recaptured in any way ever. It’s gone for good. The cost to conduct a car you’d own anyway is quite roughly $0.25 per mile. You’d have to drive 100,000 on your commute to compensate for the cost of the move. If your commute is 60 miles longer per day, 300 miles longer per week, 6,000 miles longer per year, you’d need to do at the new job for about 15 years to save enough on gas and car maintenance to be paid for the move.

As you can see, it is difficult to justify selling a home because of a long commute simply based on monetary considerations. You may find that quality family time is just so scarce that it is correct in your case.