Living Car Free - Around D.C., a Cheaper House May Cost You (Wash. Post article)

Around D.C., a Cheaper House May Cost You
Longer Commutes Outweigh Savings of Living in Outer Suburbs, Study Shows
By Eric M. Weiss
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, October 12, 2006; Page A01


One of the lures of the outer suburbs is more house -- maybe even one with a big yard -- for less money. But a new study shows that the savings are illusory: The costs of longer commutes are so high that they can outweigh the cheaper mortgage payments.

A study of Washington and 27 other metropolitan areas by the Center for Housing Policy found that the costs of one-way commutes of as little as 12 to 15 miles -- roughly the distance between Gaithersburg and Bethesda -- cancel any savings on lower-priced outer-suburban homes.

Around D.C., a Cheaper House May Cost You (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/11/AR2006101101883.html?nav=rss_metro)


xoxoxoxoxoxox

Not to mention that Suburbia can cost you your life (http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=4215)...

A study of Washington and 27 other metropolitan areas by the Center for Housing Policy found that the costs of one-way commutes of as little as 12 to 15 miles -- roughly the distance between Gaithersburg and Bethesda -- cancel any savings on lower-priced outer-suburban homes.

I bet the cost of a 12 mile bicycle commute doesn't cancel the savings on a lower-priced outer-suburban home.

On the other hand, if you were considering the money value of your bicycle-riding time, in terms of your job's hourly wage, it might come out differently.

In New Jersey, the prices of homes in the burbs are more expensive than those living within 10 miles of the city. Those big beautiful homes will set you back 400-600K easily and we haven't estimated the cost of commuting or two cars ownership. During the 1950's, new homes in Long Island could be purchased for as little as 25K and the government would put the downpayment. Today, if you have no equity for a down payment, forget even thinking of owning in that same neighborhood. This is the reason generation Y will be moving back into the slums and revitalizing those older towns. A process called gentrification is taking place all over the nation.

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On the other hand, if you were considering the money value of your bicycle-riding time, in terms of your job's hourly wage, it might come out differently.
True, perhaps, if riding your bike is an onerous chore for you. Or if you would actually spend that riding time working over time at your job. "Opportunity costs" are one of the stupider ideas economists have come up with, IMO.

I think it's simply amazing that this obvious idea--that commuting costs money--is novel enough that a newspaper would bother to report it. I guess a lot of people are slow to catch on to something we talk about here all the time!

I bet the cost of a 12 mile bicycle commute doesn't cancel the savings on a lower-priced outer-suburban home.

12 miles is not outer-suburban DC. 30, 50, 70 miles...

True, perhaps, if riding your bike is an onerous chore for you. Or if you would actually spend that riding time working over time at your job. "Opportunity costs" are one of the stupider ideas economists have come up with, IMO.

I'm not an economist, but:

I think the term "opportunity cost" just means the "cost" of what else you could be doing with that time/money/whatever, or maybe the missed opportunity of the other things you could have done with that time/money/whatever. I think the term makes sense to help you think about things in a rational way. I also agree with you that it probably doesn't make sense to think about biking in terms of $/hour you could have made doing something else.

For example, the travel time from my house to my office is about the same by car as it is by bicycle. But, if I drive, I would have to go to the gym later. So, the opportunity cost of driving is the exercise that I get by riding my bike. But, bicycling to work "costs" me a sweat free arrival.