The true cost of commuting isn't close to whats listed in that article.


The alternative I would have recommended to this couple, if they had asked my opinion, would be to make sure their house is within biking distance of both jobs, immediately sell both borrowed cars and replace them with a single ten-year-old manual transmission hatchback, and finally, let the good times roll.

What an absurd recommendation. Thank goodness this guy doesn’t get paid to consult as this sort of advice is worthless. It assumes people are mobile in their careers, which often times couldn’t be less accurate.




“Schools” are often used as an excuse as well, but until you’ve reviewed every close-to-work school personally and interviewed the principal, you might be making quite a bad trade-off for your kids. What’s better – higher standardized test scores and more rich kids, or real-world diversity and an extra two hours to spend with Mom and Dad every day reading books?

Why is it one or the other? I work 18 miles from home. My commute is 21 minutes. I live in a city.
If I didn’t own a car and biked or walked to work, I would have to live within about 3 miles of my work to have the same commute- 20 minutes. That severely limits the possible places I could work, if I stayed in my current home. Or it would mean we would need to sell a house and buy a new one all for a job- which is often times temporary in today’s economic reality.
So instead, I drive so I get the job I want and the schools I want. And my commute is the same as if I worked within a few miles of home and biked.
I get to spend the same amount of time with my kids and they are able to enjoy an education where they arent having to overcome the typical distractions that take away from learning in a poor neighborhood. For the record, my kids are in public school and in one of the most socioeconomically diverse schools in the region.
And actually, my commute is shorter since I pick my kids up after work. If I bike commuted, I would have to ride home to get the car to then pick them up. Instead, I just drive to pick them up on the way home. I have MORE time with them this way.
How this writer doesn’t address the realities of family life such as daycare and time commitments for youth activities is obvious- either he didn’t even think of them, or he had to ignore them since they don’t help his argument.



Public transit, although an afterthought in most of the US, is great if it’s available to you, because you get your brain and your hands back for the purpose of getting some of your day’s work done while enroute.

So he makes the argument that working close to home will free up time to spend with kids, and then cites public transit as an option? That’s nuts! With public transit, you have to conform to the schedule of the bus/train. You have less flexibility which often times doesn’t work well for families with busy kids(most families have busy kids). Furthermore, you are often times on a longer than otherwise possible schedule due to bus stops, walking to the stop/station, etc.




This article is as useful as those filler articles in home décor magazines that tell you 8 ways to creatively use felt.