spivonious

Is there anything keeping you in your current area now? Since you don't own a house, it would be relatively easy for you and your family to pick up and move closer to the new job. Is the rent similar in the new area?

A 40% raise is very nice, but it would be tough for me to give up bike commuting. You definitely need to factor these things in when you consider the offer. Still, they must really want you if they've come back with an offer three times. That's worth something too. Two hours of driving each day versus no driving adds up. I'd plan on spending at least an extra $5000 in car costs.

tjspiel

Salary and bikeability are just two considerations. I've gotten off of a more lucrative career track to do work that fell more in line with my values. I moved to a smaller but more expensive home so I could be closer to work, spend less time commuting and more time with my family.

On the other hand, I recently inherited a small bit of money which we used part of to go on a nice vacation. We're always very cost conscious and have often opted not to do some activity or another while on vacation in order to keep expenses in check. This time we decided that if we wanted to do something, we were just going to do it and not worry about the money. It was great. It would be fun to live like that all the time.

My wife was surprised that I didn't want to spend the inheritance on a bike.

rumrunn6

good luck with that decision. 40% is nothing to sneeze at!

Leisesturm

For many, a 40% raise is just that, a 40% raise. What's not to like. For me, a 40% raise that required a car commute would require me to first, purchase a car, insure said car and then feed and maintain that car so it will be and remain reliable tranportation. That would add 25% or more to my COL. In other words, a 40% raise would only be a 15% raise. I would lose fitness, and valuable de-stressing time. For me it would be less of a no-brainer. If the o.p. takes the advice to move closer to the new job so that a bike commute is practical then, absolutely, go for it.

H

Mr. Hairy Legs

I'd rather work at Walmart than be stuck in a car for 2+ hours per day.

Leebo

Take the job, move closer and or multi modal commute. Ride the bus car or train part way.

joshuatrio

Yes, we have family where we are now, and the beach within walking distance. I do surf several times a week as well, so moving isn’t really in the cards.

I struggle with this as well. Commuting by bike has become something I really love. Getting out of bed is the hardest part, but once I get going, I can’t see any other way to travel. Lol.

The first two offers were about a 10-15% raise – which is what I asked for during the initial phone screen – before I learned how far the job site was. After I drove to the site, interviewed in person, it was like “heck, no… the commuting costs will kill any potential raise.” So after turning it down twice, they dropped 40% which caused my wife and I to both do a double take. It was one of those - "are you serious?" type moments.

Either this is a great offer, or I've been undercutting myself for a few years now.

Car cost wise, I would be planning on $5-7k in yearly expenses. Financially, the pay increase wins. However, this doesn’t take into account time trapped in a metal box.

Thanks. Which is exactly why this decision is difficult.

Fortunately, I have a low mileage, gas sipping Civic that was paid off 2 years ago. That helps ease the pain. But yes, your line of thinking is how we were thinking – gas, maintenance, not to mention future replacement costs once my Civic dies.
I average 3,000 miles a year on my car (just don’t drive it) right now. So the Civic should last a lifetime at the current pace. If I take the job, I’d be replacing it every 4-5 years…. Easily another chunk of change to account for.

Lol. Nice. Not sure if I’d rather work at Wal-mart, but I get what you’re saying.

Thought about multi-modal, and even riding on lunches. Definitely something to consider. However, multi-modal sounds unattractive if the car ride is already an hour. Time spent away from my wife and kids.

Again.. Thank you guys for the thoughtful advice. Greatly appreciate your considerations.

treadtread

Another factor to consider - and I think this is more important than the bike commuting aspect. Will this push you into a higher level job? As in, if you change from there, will you move to better things? If yes, then the answer is easier - you may have to compromise on the commuting for a while, at least till you reach the stage where you can consider another change to move on to better (and closer) jobs

Andy_K 

This alone might be a deal breaker for me. I had a 1+ hour commute by car for a while and the stress nearly killed me. For a while I took public transit (making the commute nearly 2 hours but much more relaxing). Eventually I bit the bullet and moved to the suburbs nearer to work.

That said, a big pay raise like that is nothing to be passed up lightly.

joshuatrio

Yes, it would put me in a Senior position. It would give me the hands on experience in the areas that I've been studying for several years now. It's also intimidating because the learning curve would be huge - but could really pay off long term. No pain no gain right?

Ditto - used to commute in the past and wasn't much a fan. Money wise, I haven't had a pay raise in 3 years (no one has in my company), so this would be welcome for both my wife and I.

WonderMonkey

I would inquire about the facilities and if you can bike at lunch. That may swing the deal.

Knowing only what I know in this thread I say take the job if you would enjoy the position. One way to think about it is that it could, down the road, lead to something else. Generally you don't make 80% more than what you make now before you make 40% more than you make now. And sure, money does not equal happiness but sure the hell can rent it if your mind is in the right place.

dramiscram

3 years ago I was in the opposite situation: my wife had just finish school and went from being a full time student (20000 $/year expenses) to a full time nurse (twice my salary) so I took my time a choose a nice 4 days/week job with a nice bike ride with a 15-20% decrease in salary.
A lot easier to decide.

Good luck and once the choice is made try not to look back too much.

contango 

If you want to turn it into a brutally numeric issue, look at your current hourly rate including travel time and compare it to your new hourly rate including travel time (also factoring in projected car expenses against current bike expenses).

Ongoing bike expenses for me are virtually zero, I think I figured something like $0.02/mile for chain and cassettes, about the same for tyres, and other stuff usually does so many miles it's hard to even calculate. Admittedly that's using entry level components and Marathon Plus tyres but then I don't suppose you want a full carbon bling machine to ride to work.

Obviously future prospects may count for a lot as well - if you take a 40% raise now will you be stuck priced over the market for a time, or will you have the chance to bag yourself another 20-30% raise in a year or two, maybe for a company that's more local to either where you currently live or somewhere you'd actually quite like to live?

The hassle of 2 hours travelling every single day definitely needs to be factored in. I did that every day for 12 years working in central London. My commute was by train and varied from just about tolerable to truly dismal, with particular enjoyment felt on the warm muggy summer days when it was raining hard - the only ventilation were the windows which needed to be closed so the train didn't turn into a communal shower, and having that many bodies in a warm humid carriage with no ventilation for the last 30 minutes of the commute was simply disgusting. The work I did paid well enough to set me up for a long time to come but the hassle of commuting can take its toll. Some get used to it and find it easily tolerable, I struggled with it for years and never did really get to find it anything other than a gross way to end a working day.

Drew Eckhardt 

I'd do it for six million US dollars a year and retire after the first year.

I took a six figure pay cut for work with less unpleasantness and would do it again - sanity has a price.

Of course, I am twenty years into my career. Short of being a startup founder there aren't really any unique opportunities for me to advance farther.

In your case you might view it as a temporary situation which changes things. If you're going to leave after a couple years (like spending a couple years in school) for something close and better (or move) that might make things different.

Assuming you sleep 8 hours a day and are at work for 9 hours with you'd be giving up 29% of your non-working waking hours to do something unpleasant.

What's it worth to your family for you to be in a good mood when you get back from work instead of a hostile one after an hour in traffic?

rms13

I live in Los Angeles, I make $73k/year and I live just over a mile from work. Which means I have a sub 10 minute commute by bike. A few months ago I got an offer which I turned down several times until the offer was about $100k/year. I took the job and had to commute via my 17 mpg suv about 11 miles to work which took about 90 minutes each way in traffic because I had to use the dreaded 101 and spend half my commute on the surface streets in Hollywood. One day I had to go to Santa Monica to a client and it took 2 hours to get home. Two weeks in, I called my old boss and asked if I could have my job back. Luckily he really appreciated my work, I left on good terms and they hadn't filled the job yet. So I gave up the extra 40% income and went back to my old job and I've never been happier. My life style is much better now. I am saving about $80/week on gas. I am home in 10 minutes and can enjoy an evening hike or bike ride with my fiance. And the simple fact is that my lifestyle was not going to be any better by having an extra $30k per year (before taxes). I am not going to make any recommendations to you and your situation but I will say think really hard about what is important in your life. For me, having extra stress of sitting in gridlock and losing 3 hours a day of my life are not worth any amount of money.

weshigh

Any reason you didn't commute the 11miles by bike? Depending on the route 11 miles can take about 50min or less.

rms13

The job also required having a car/truck because I would have to occasionally go to client sites and occasionally bring gear such as computers with me. I would also be wary of commuting Glendale to Hollywood due to the drivers but if I could have made done the job without the need of a car I would have tried biking there

AusTexMurf

Exactly. Not worth losing that much life trapped in a cage trapped in traffic.

the sci guy 

40% raise?
this shouldn't even be a question.
take the job.

buzzman

If schools for the kids is not a factor- in other words a good school district to a worse one- then I'd take the job and eventually move closer to work. An hour or more each way in the car every day sucks no matter how much money you're making.

nashvillwill

I think the more important consideration is what the working hours will be like. Will the hours be the same? Will it afford you time to ride your bike in leisure time? Or will you suddenly find that the 40% raise also requires 40% more working hours? If this cuts into your personal time and you suddenly don't have leisure time to ride/spend with your family/other things you love, then take that seriously. I'm not saying not to take it, I'm just pointing out that the money and commute may not be the only factors.

deeth82

I'll echo what some others here have said: Money isn't everything.

Step back and start listing the positive things taking this job would add to your life, and then list all the positive things you've got going at your current job...finish by listing the [known] negative aspects of each option. The only positive thing I can think of at the moment regarding your new job is money, but perhaps you might have less financial stress at home due to money not being quite so tight. Perhaps other things might be improved with more money, but the biggest question for me is "Am I volunteering for more [unnecessary] stress?". For me, I don't want to stress any more than is necessary, as stress itself negatively impacts our health, and thereby our long-term happiness.

I've been offered 3 positions since 2006 worth anywhere from 20%-40% more pay, but when I sat back and listed the good points of my job versus the good points of taking the other jobs (along with the negative aspects of both) I've realized that money alone wouldn't make me happy. Even though money is tight right now, my work stays at work...I'm on call 24-7, but the occasion to call me in is quite seldom in practice, and my regular hours are 8-5, Monday-Friday. On top of that, my retirement and health benefits here are quite good; better than what the other companies could have offered. In the future, if I have the luxury of deciding where I want to work, I hope to have something near enough to home for bike-commuting. It's something that's great for my health, as well as my wallet.

This is simply my method for making the decision...YMMV.

tarwheel 

My view as well. It's not just a money vs commute time question. I wouldn't take a 50% increase in salary for many jobs -- those with long workdays, no weekends off, high stress, terrible bosses, poor working environment. However, if the job had comparable hours, working conditions and management, I would probably take the new job and find other ways to get more exercise. For a long commute, I would probably get a more fuel-efficient car that was pleasant to drive, unless public transport (like a train) was available. A lot depends on your age as well. If you are young, a higher paying job could have a big impact on your career down the road as well as retirement. If you are approaching retirement age (like me), then it might not be worth the added stress and work/commuting hours to make the switch.

caloso

Is the commute also going to take away surf time too? Will you have time to do any of the things you enjoy?

BezO

Tough one. I wasn't a commuter at the time, but when I first moved to my area, I was outside of the city. Hour+ public transportation ride to work prior to moving. 30 minute drive to play on the weekends. Being from NYC, that didn't last long. Now that I'm in the city, it would take a LOT of money to go back to an hour+ commute. 40% more than I make wouldn't do it. I'd be losing 2 hours of my personal time every weekday.

As much as I love riding, it would be more about the time loss.