The most efficient mile is the mile not driven.
 

So, we're outta here.

After 8 years of commuting 65-75 miles one-way, five days a week, we're moving in a couple of weeks.

A lot of mounting issues with our living/working/school situation contributed, but the last straw was when we went through our bank statement and saw how much we paid for gasoline last month.

$680.

What!?

Yeah, $680. About $50 of that was for my wife, since the nearest reasonable grocery store is 15 miles each way down a winding mountain road, but for me, even at 34 mpg, I'm spending $630 a month to commute. (And that's not including the other costs involved in driving a car over 36,000 miles a year.) Add to that the rent, the higher electric and gas bills, the skunks, the flatlanders, the weed abatement, the snow and the four hours a day I spend in the car instead of with my family, and the answer is obvious: we need to move.

So we're renting an apartment near my workplace. "Near" as in 4.6 miles one-way along a bike trail. Now that's a commute I can get used to. I work in a second office two days a week, but that's now 22 miles one-way instead of 75 miles one-way. Deleting the uphill/downhill portion of that commute, I think I can improve the mileage on the Clunker even more, while still enjoying a fuel-free commute three days a week. And since the apartment building is 30 years newer than the mountain cabin, I expect the rest of the energy bills to decline as well.

I've already downloaded two years of historical usage data from the gas and electric companies, and look forward to comparing the 1,138 sq. ft. apartment to our old 1,260 sq. ft. house. I'm also purchasing a water heater blanket and pipe insulation for the exposed pipes in the water heater closet. Everything else is at least insulated to late 1980's standards.

Looking forward to wiping the dust off the Dahon and getting commuting!

Congratulations, living near where you work is common sense.

Woohoo, congrats! I know I'm loving my (one way) 7 mile vs 21 mile commute since changing jobs. Yours is a gigantic difference! Just the time you'll now have will be worth it alone. I know it has for me.

Congrats! That's one hell of a savings in time and money. Too bad you have to leave the mountains, but perhaps you can spend a good amount of your weekends in the high country.

Your title reminded me of Jevon's Paradox:
Jevons paradox - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
On this site, we are all focused on that almighty MPG number. Perhaps we should be comparing gallons per month instead!

Good point. One of the reasons that living so far away was an option was that I had sold my Ranger and bought a Metro that was getting 40-42 mpg (didn't know how to hypermile back then.) I was getting better mileage, so I moved farther away and continued to consume the same amount of fuel.

All that time behind the wheel is lost as well.
For me that is the most important part of moving close to work.

While I was mapping out my route, I noticed something interesting at the local Staples:

http://img809.imageshack.us/img809/4733/saviranch.png

thanks to an increased resistance to accepting spousal guana, i got a divorce and now i too moved close to work.

my commute is now 1 block and i can't believe the amount of coin i am saving. too bad it goes to the "ex" lol.

i see now that commuting (and a bad marriage) is a drain in gas, time, patience, and life.

living close to work is the best way to be green.

Congrats Clev, I spent nearly 10 years commuting 60-65 miles one way to work because I couldn't give up living on the beach. I have lived close to work for about 6 years before a job change allowed me to work from home. No more 2 hour commutes(always big traffic)

Like you mentioned the Time at home and not in car is awesome. Not to mention the wear and tear on cars and fuel costs. I did carpool with a friend which helped but still was tough being with someone else year after year.