Would you sacrifice convenience for extra space?

[udsweetpea]

I have found the perfect townhome to rent (buying isn't an option right now because I'm commissioned-based and need to be for 2 years before getting a loan), but its out in the middle of nowhere. Where we are now is close to pretty much everything. However, new place is only 20-30 minutes away from everything. It would add an extra 30 minutes to our commutes to work. The place we have now is 1 bedroom/1 bathroom with a garage. If we pay $25 more a month, we could have the 2 bedroom/2 bathroom townhome with a garage. The extra bedroom would be incredibly useful as I work from home 2 days a week, and SO needs more closet space since I'm taking over our walk-in as it is. And an extra bathroom is just always nice to have. I have IBS and sometimes have an attack, and that's not good when we only have 1 bathroom. And my brother has severe IBS and won't even come visit me since I have one bathroom. And I believe the garage is bigger at the townhome than what we have now.

So I guess my big question is... would you sacrifice the convenience of having everything you need around you for extra living space?

[shopaholic]

when you say everything what do you mean? Gas stations, grocery stores?

If there weren't places like that around and I would have to drive 30 mins to a grocery store I would say forget it.

[udsweetpea]

I think there's a Super Wal-mart in the same town as the townhome.

[ignutzz]

Basically you're saying that instead of stepping out of your current front door and into your favorite restaurant, now you'll have to hop in the car instead?

Provided you have a car or other transporation, for the extra space I would def. do it.

Despite living in NYC, our Brooklyn neighborhood doesn't have everything we need at our fingertips so we still use the car everyday. But I wouldn't give up my apt. for the convenience of Manhattan for anything. :)

[villanelle75]

No. I like being close to not only conveniences like the grocery store, but also to cultural and entertainment opportunities. My time is alos very precious since DH and I spend a lot of time apart so I wouldn't give up 30 mintues of tiem for a nicer home. Also, for my personal value system, I would feel very environmentally irresponsible using the extra gas and creating the extra pollution just so I could have more space.

[Jenyfer9]

I think that it's a matter of personal choice. I don't think that I would, but if it's that important to you to have more space, then go for it.

[Walton]

I wouldn't. I live in downtown Chicago and love being able to walk most places. But it's definitely a personal choice. I can't stand wasting my days commuting - I did it for awhile and had to find a new job because I was going crazy spending 2 hours each day in the car.

[MrsD108]

I would love to have more space and driving for 30 minutes would not bother me at all.

[SiValleySteph]

I hate commuting with a passion, so definitely NO for me. :)

I feel so fortunate to have *everything* in a 15 minute radius, grocery & Starbucks within walking, major mall with 5 minutes, etc.

[ivansbabe]

Well, I'd say no just because I think we did opt to live in a smaller home close to everything then say 15 miles beyond where we could have had a lot more room. We have a three bed one bath home and it is small...though I guess it could be smaller. However, it's a great in between spot for DH and I. He works in the city and I work in the burbs. Our house is close to my family, my doctors office, shopping, you name it. We have a good sized yard so we're thinking of possibly adding on in the future if we decide to stay in the area.

[yby1]

NO. I hate, hate, hate commuting.

[eponymous]

Don't forget that you're trading off time with your SO and additional money for gas (sounds like a lot of gas, actually). DH and I each have a 45 minutes commute for which we have no option (we work 90 minutes apart and split the difference), and the additional time apart from each other because of the commute is definitely felt.

[Sabrina]

I would make that sacrifice for a home that I was going to purchase, for a rental, I am not so certain. I am pretty anal, so I would make up a worksheet to calculate the change in my cost of living (gas, rent, car insurance rates will change, etc) and then do a cost-benefit analysis.

[bookworm]

No, I'm very content in my shoebox where I can walk to everything. I hate driving. And traffic. And especially driving in the snow/rain.

If I already had to drive everywhere, I might not mind driving a little further. 30 minutes would seem excessive to me though.

The other thing to factor in is the cost of moving. It's not cheap, so if you amortize the moving costs you may find that $25/month is really more like $100.

[ManteoChik]

I did it. We moved from a 3 bed/2 bath apartment (where we had two roommates, each with their own room and they shared a bath so space wise it was the same as you) to a 3 bed/2 bath/1 car garage on three lots with a fenced in back yard and in ground pool....for $100 LESS a month and no roommates.

We lived in a town where everything we need was close by. Walmart, Target, several grocery stores, Blockbuster, lots of restaurants....I was 15 min to work and school. It was pretty convienient and I liked it.

About a year ago we moved another 15 min. south of there (so 30 min. from work/school, although I'm only at work two days and school on day per week). At first it wasn't bad, because we do have a grocery store, blockbuster, and some restaurants all within 5 miles of our house. We are still only 15 min from places like Target and Walmart though. The only downside is that if you want to get something from the mall or old navy or some other specialty store it takes more planning.

Honestly, I like being farther away where I have more space, its quiet, and I get more for my money. Space was another HUGE plus. Also, I realized that I didn't need those stores like I thought I did. I tended to go there more because it was convienient than anything else.

ETA: I guess I should add that I was willing to make the sacrafice *because* it was a rental and not my forever home that I was buying. Also, we knew that we would only be living here for one year before moving to our home state so it wasn't something we'd be "stuck" doing because we purchased the home.

[DiscoDiva]

No way. I despise commuting, even if it's one day a week! Besides, what if your IBS hits during that 30 minute commute? That commute may soon turn into something you dread!

[Sami]

No way! Is it possible to find another 2br/2ba in your current town? I'm sure you might have to pay more, but you would get the best of both worlds: space and location.

[kindermom]

Given the increased costs due to gas and utilities, would you really be daving the money? Can you find something within $100 of what you are paying now but in your current area? If not, and given that you work from home PT, I would consider it but would probably not make the move. It is not like it is 15 minutes farther, it is 30 minutes farther. And if it is 30 minutes each way, you are looking at an extra 1 hour a day lost in the car.

[tlew12778]

Nope. But we're city people. I would rather cram 3 kids (not that we are having that many) into one decent sized BR and be able to spend more time with my family (in close quarters obviously) than have to commute 2 hours a day. As it is, a cross-city commute can take up to an hour so I cannot imagine coming from the burbs.

I have everything, including huge supermarkets, within 15 min of my apt (on public transport). We have one car and 2 scooters. If we moved out to the burbs, we'd need another car which is a major expense. I also LOVE what the city has to offer. If I were out in the burbs I would be too tempted to vegetate at home so as to not have to trek to the city to do something.

[thelittlebabu]

I wouldn't do it. I've had both long and short drives to work several times and I've come to realize that I value time a lot more than having a little extra space. If you add 30 minutes to your commute each way, that's an extra hour on the road each day. In your case, since you work 2 days from home each week, that's only an extra 3 hours per week, but 5 for your SO. Add in the 20-30 minutes each time you need to go somewhere (and back), you'll quickly realize you'll be in your car *a lot*.

I'd continue looking for something bigger close by. Maybe you're only one month away from finding such a place. Wouldn't you be kicking yourself if you found something closer just a couple of months after you signed a one year lease for the place in the middle of nowhere?

[udsweetpea]

Thanks for all of the advice ladies! I did some mapquesting and found my commute will be an extra 10 minutes, and his will be an extra 15, taking the back roads. Hopefully, I can get out to the town to research what else is there besides what I've seen... Super Walmart and Pizza Hut.

I'm still looking in our area though. A 2 bed/2 bath with a garage runs 1600/month in our town, while out in Amish country it runs $1200. Frustrating I tell ya!

[mindy75]

Well, it depends. Do you have to drive 30 minutes to get to anything but the Super Wally? Wally isn't a selling point for me, I REQUIRE Target at least. DH and I commute roughly 25 minutes to work, but we live in a suburb. There are restaurants, shopping, grocery stores, nice park, etc all within 5 minutes of my house. So, driving a little to get to work is fine with me, but driving forever to get to decent shopping would be a problem.

[udsweetpea]

mindy I usually require a Target as well, but Super Walmarts can be nice since the groceries are super cheap.

[shopaholic]

If you have a day off actually practice the commute with real morning traffic just to see. It might seem like its an extra 10 mins but that might not be the case.

I also have a list of requirements (Target) and if these places aren't in the area i will be un-happy.

[mindy75]

mindy I usually require a Target as well, but Super Walmarts can be nice since the groceries are super cheap.

Yeah, I agree. A pretty new one opened in the next town over. About 10 minutes from my house. We get our main groceries there. But for shopping, shopping it's got to be Target. Where we are now, there's not one, but 2 within 10 minutes. :D I get most of DD's clothes there and a lot of household decorating things. My MIL has been trying to get us to move to their town for several years. We finally told her flat out no. It's too far from the interstate, 40 minutes from Nashville, and the only places to shop are Walmart and Belk. I could move there, but I'd never BE there. KWIM? Every weekend DH and I would be driving 20 minutes to get to the town we live in now, so we could get decent restaurants and more shopping options. DH and I used to live in a rural area. We got tired of having to drive forever to get to anything worthwhile. That's just us, though. I have another friend who lives way out and has a job in her town. She loves it! Saves all kinds of money, because there's no place to shop. I'd just burn a bunch of gas.

[lil_geek]

We did.

We live 30 minutes from the city (and beleive it or not... 20 minutes of my 30 minute commute is once I'm IN town!)

We live 5-7 minutes north of a little town with a gas station, small grocery store, pizza place and a few antique shops.

We now have a HUGE house, and 215 acres! We are able to commute together, so we are actually saving gas (1 car going 30 minutes to town vs, 2 cars going 20 minutes through town). We do groceries together on our way home, and chat about the day (it's a great time to decompress and 'forget' about work) We go out for dinner less (saving $$!) and actually get to spend more time together.

[mindy75]

Congratulations!