Simple Manifesto #71: Live closer to work
This is part of our series on Leo Babauta’s Simple Living Manifesto. We invite you to join us on the journey.
The 71st idea in the manifesto is:
Live closer to work. This might mean getting a job closer to your home, or moving to a home closer to your work. Either will do much to simplify your life.
The Big D Commute | Photo by Jonathan Blundell
This goal in the manifesto may be difficult for many of us to accomplish. If you’re married and with kids you may have chosen your housing based on a number of factors, including schools, where your spouse works, the neighborhood, proximity to family, etc. etc.
For our recent move, all of these factors (and more) played into the equation.
While my dream would be for my wife to be able to stay home with our boys, and for me to work out of my home office all the time, it’s not yet possible at this point in our lives.
I’d even be happy working 10 minutes away, vs. the 30-45 minute commute I have each day — but that’s not in the cards for us right now.
And there’s nothing wrong with giving more weight to other pieces of the equation when choosing a place to live.
For us…
- We were living 45 minutes from all of our immediate family — parents, brothers and sister.
- We were also driving 30-45 minutes to work.
- We had a great community around us but saw the value of being closer to our family — especially when kids enter the equation.
- We wanted a good school district for our kids.
- We wanted a safe neighborhood.
- We wanted an affordable home.
- And we knew anywhere closer than 30-45 minutes to work would be a great thing.
So we weighed our options.
While there were great neighborhoods closer to work — it would have also meant smaller homes for more money.
For the price of a 2 bedroom home in one part of town, we were able to get a 3 bedroom (with an office) in another part of town.
And we’re still closer to work than we were and closer to those who mean so much to us.
So like life — it’s a balancing act.
Weigh your options.
Decide what’s most important to you. Where are you going to spend most of your time.
And once you find what matters most to you — go for it.
You make it happen — and leave the regrets for someone else to worry about 
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This one really hits home for me. My commute to and from work is around 120 miles. It’s the one part of my life that doesn’t really fit with my goal of living simply and sustainably.
Moving is not really an option. My wife and I moved back to the town we group up in to raise our kids and be closer to family. Relationships outweigh work convenience for us.
So until my work situation changes, I take on that long commute with a healthy dose of public radio, my iPod, and the mindfulness to enjoy the moment — even if it’s in a traffic jam.
120 miles? That makes my 60 mile commute not so bad
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“Relationships outweigh work convenience for us.”
That’s true for us too. It’s also why we stayed where we were for several years after we were married. I had a number of great friends and relationships I had built around me and Laurie didn’t want me to have to give those up. But in the end, we decided family came first and decided to move closer to them.
It just goes to show, you have to find balance with where you’re at in life. What matters most to you. And that’s going to be different for everyone.
Thanks for the input!