I can speak to this one. I used to have a 45 minute commute in traffic and hated it. I've now been at my new job for a bit over a year and I have a 13 or so minute commute now. It is a world of difference. I do feel happier and less stressed, etc. I know a lot of EMers get great mileage, but I know a lot of us also have long commutes (some have really long commutes). Having experience with both sides of this debate I can definitely say the long commute was not worth it for me, and that isn't even considering the financial side of things.
Long Commutes Are Sucking the Life Out of You: Shortening Yours by 20 Minutes Could Save Your Health
Now, considering the financial side of things, MetroMPG posted this link a few days ago in another thread. It is a great read on how much commuting really costs (it is mentioned in the lifehacker article as well). Summed up it basically shows and calculates that moving 1 mile closer to work (or getting a job 1 mile closer to home) will save you around $800 per year. That is not a worst case scenario even!
My favorite part of the article, just crazy stuff:
Quote:
So each mile you live from work steals $795 per year from you in commuting costs.
$795 per year will pay the interest on $15,900 of house borrowed at a 5% interest rate.
In other words, a logical person should be willing to pay about $15,900 more for a house that is one mile closer to work, and $477,000 more for a house that is 30 miles closer to work. For a double-commuting couple, these numbers are $31,800 and $954,000.
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The True Cost of Commuting | Mr. Money Mustache