Affordability vs commute time

[lizzie]

hubby takes 8 minutes if he misses the peak traffic - i can't say peak hour because it's more like peak 10 minutes.

did i say that living in newcastle was pretty darn good? 5 minutes to everything, yet large enough to have everything you could want - and a wide diversity of employment as well.

the only downside is that he's home before he's had time to unwind his brain from work to home ... so the first 10 minutes are "don't talk to me" time.

 

[Belbo]

Hahaha! My wife would empathise with you totally, Lizzie.

'De-fry' time I call it.

Tolerating it though is a good sign of a healthy marriage and a loving partner, so do please persist and let him become a 'civilian' again in those vital few minutes after he gets home.

It can be a war out there, even among good and rational people, and the last thing you need is him not being able to psyche out, and instead staying tense and moody after he gets home.

Silence can indeed be a very, very golden thing after a soul-crushing, all-too-common, deeply-disappointing day.

I think you know that very well though, or I suspect you wouldn't have mentioned it so 'philosophically' here.

 

[BuildingBlocks]

There are no excuses. Nothing is unreasonable if you wish to get ahead.

• Travel time - pffft.
• Work hours - pffft.
• Weekend completely consumed - pffft.
• Bugger all sleep 3 nights in a row - boohoo.
• Can't afford a nice car - so what.
• Haven't been to a restaurant in 6 months - consider yourself lucky.
• Need to load up on a part time study course as well - get on with it.
• Hurdles that Banks set keep getting higher - take a bigger run up.

Whatever it takes....


People keep putting all these false limitations on themselves for the end result that they get to sit on their @$$ a bit longer and relax. Yeah, like that's gonna help in a dog-eat-dog world. The only people who are complaining are the dogs being eaten. The winners just keep on chomping.

I was hoping for your reply

There is so much bitching about affordability lately, however nobody stating exactly what their definitions of affordable are, which is the part that interests me.

Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining about affordability, just learning more about those who are. But there needs to be a point when expectations of what someone should put up with is "unreasonable".

 

[wobbycarly]

hubby takes 8 minutes if he misses the peak traffic - i can't say peak hour because it's more like peak 10 minutes.

did i say that living in newcastle was pretty darn good? 5 minutes to everything, yet large enough to have everything you could want - and a wide diversity of employment as well.

the only downside is that he's home before he's had time to unwind his brain from work to home ... so the first 10 minutes are "don't talk to me" time.

Sounds like Geelong!

If I get stuck at the lights, it takes me an extra 3 minutes!

Driving time each way ~10 min ; walking time between all-day free parking ~10 min!

 

[bluestorm]

What would you consider a reasonable travel time to get to\from work and which city are you in?

Is it reasonable for a first home buyer to expect to afford to buy within an hour commute of their workplace?

In Sydney, I would say max 30min of travel time. Beyond that I'd prefer renting and investing elsewhere if its a matter of affordability. I know people who travel from the Central coast for the lifestyle (but then end up "working" and extra 15hrs a week in travel time to work.

It's quite easy for a first home buyer to afford to buy within an hour commute. The problem is that some don't want to, because the cheaper places closer are more shabby, and today's FHO expect all the mod-cons.

There are no excuses. Nothing is unreasonable if you wish to get ahead.

• Travel time - pffft.
• Work hours - pffft.
• Weekend completely consumed - pffft.

Whatever it takes.....

Don't agree with you Dazz. You don't need to send yourself to an early grave just to get ahead . You just need to do things smarter.

It's about productivity, and not about working 50+hrs. And you are more productive when you have down time as well.

 

[G_Man]

It's quite easy for a first home buyer to afford to buy within an hour commute. The problem is that some don't want to, because the cheaper places closer are more shabby, and today's FHO expect all the mod-cons.

bluestorm, can you please show me some evidence of FHO's wanting "all the mod-cons"?

I get really sick of hearing that FHO's won't settle for anything less than a McMansion with 16 bedrooms and a 10 car garage etc etc, when there is no evidence to support that myth.
/Rant over/

On the original post of travel time, I'd think if you can only afford an hour from your work place then that's where you should buy.
My wife and I were looking at a place a few weeks ago which would have seen me get a train for around 1hr each day to the CBD but for now that's where we can afford so it's either that or continue renting for another x years...

When I used to work as a tradey, I would drive 10 minutes to work one day and an hour the next so I don't think you can only base this on commuting to a CBD. A lot of people can't predict where they will be working day to day and go where the work is.

 

[BuildingBlocks]

When I used to work as a tradey, I would drive 10 minutes to work one day and an hour the next so I don't think you can only base this on commuting to a CBD. A lot of people can't predict where they will be working day to day and go where the work is.

Granted, however the primary CBD of each area is used as the basis for all "that suburb is too far away" arguments, I don't work in the CBD either

 

[w0nnie]

i guess im on the extreme end then, travelling an hour by train each way. i dont mind though, in the morning i jsut go back to sleep and in the evening i use the time for reading and studying. I got my last masters by utilising the travel time home on the train and spending my lunch breaks in the library.

Funny thing is that people have said, in relation to study, that i was lucky to have the travel time, they would be home in 15 minutes but then sat there doing nothing. i guess its about how you utilise your time in general, having mobile broadband these days the travel is not a problem if you utilise the time to do those admin things you would do at your PC at home anyway.

Personally i work in the CBD but live on the outskirts by choice, i couldnt live any closer to the CBD and still work here as i need the time away from the pace of the city, conversely i wouldnt want to work AND live out of the city as i would find it too slow, for me it is a good balance.

 

[Angel]

One of our IPs is more than an hour's drive from the CBD and about an hour each way by car/train.

However my tenants love where they are. They work in the local shopping centre, which is 1.5 kilometres from the house and their kids go to the local school which is on the way.

 

[Andrew_A]

Plenty of people do the coast/s to Brisbane commute which would be around the 1hr and upwards.

Quality of the commute is an issue, if you can get a seat on a train then that would greatly increase the commute time I could endure, also driving in peak hour and stop start traffic is not the same as a relaxing drive.

Walk factor is a big issue with property in my opinion, and likely just to become more important in the future.

 

[Wunderbar]

Well commute time of itself isn't the only factor. It really depends on whether the demographics of a particular area necessitate a commute to the CBD.

For example, in Melbourne you will definitely find that most people who live in the Eastern Suburbs commute to the CBD because they are relatively higher educated and hence have 'corporate' jobs. Therefore for these people the commute is quite important and explains why the Inner-East of Melbourne is highly sought after.

Contrast this with the West - lots of people who live there work in factories which are already located west-side - hence proximity to the CBD is less of a factor.

 

[silverx]

Plenty of people do the coast/s to Brisbane commute which would be around the 1hr and upwards.

Quality of the commute is an issue, if you can get a seat on a train then that would greatly increase the commute time I could endure, also driving in peak hour and stop start traffic is not the same as a relaxing drive.

Walk factor is a big issue with property in my opinion, and likely just to become more important in the future.

yeah i did that before.... have to say the service has improved (15min for next train during peak hours) but 1 hour travel isnt fun at all

 

[Indifference]

Well commute time of itself isn't the only factor. It really depends on whether the demographics of a particular area necessitate a commute to the CBD.

For example, in Melbourne you will definitely find that most people who live in the Eastern Suburbs commute to the CBD because they are relatively higher educated and hence have 'corporate' jobs. Therefore for these people the commute is quite important and explains why the Inner-East of Melbourne is highly sought after.

Contrast this with the West - lots of people who live there work in factories which are already located west-side - hence proximity to the CBD is less of a factor.

You must live in different Melbourne to the one I just left. Most of my "Westside" friends were professionals/corporate types & commuted to the CBD every day.

I think you are confusing the number of people commuting with the % of people...... far, far more people live in the eastern suburbs, so there will be more people traveling to the CBD, THis does not translate to a higher %.....

 

[wisty]

I used to live in a city you don't know in China.

It took about 30 minutes to get most places, on a bus, despite the terrible traffic.

This city was bigger than Melbourne and Sydney combined.

The reason it was so fast was that everyone lived in low-rise buildings. 6-8 story buildings can pack in a lot of people, on a very small footprint. I guess NIMBYs don't stand if front of bulldozers there!