04 Sep 7 Best Reasons for Living Near Your Work
Let’s say you you live 25 miles away from your new job and your commute time is 2 hours both ways total, wouldn’t you prefer to live minutes away, even perhaps steps away? This writer did it twice when he worked for a newspaper and later as a marketer for another company. The apartments were just steps away.
It’s not really easy to find an apartment near work, but your chances of finding one greatly increases when you pick corporate housing. Don’t be surprised if your company even decides to pay for the first month, or even more, especially if they’re relocating you.
As for those two hours you will lose from getting to-and-from work, that’s gone forever, unless your commute allows you to do something constructive along the way.
Here are 7 reasons why living living near your workplace in northern California is the ideal setup. Of course, your decision will also be based on the people you are involved with — and if they could move with you or allow you to be away for a period of time. If no one else is going to be affected by your decision, it should be an easy decision:
- You’ll get to know your colleagues and spend more time with family. If you live nearby, you could stick around and enjoy the company of your co-workers. For sure, there’ll be after-work parties, beers to drink, and you don’t end up being left out or the killjoy for going home earlier, which is not going to help your career one bit. And if you have a family, you can spend more quality time with them.
- You’ll know how to better take care of yourself. If you’re going to live alone for the first time, it doesn’t matter whether you’re young or old. We know someone in his late forties who could not cook for himself but is learning now because he had no choice. But some habits are hard to break and he still orders pizza when he doesn’t have the time to cook.
- You will have more quality time with your family. If you’re married with kids, the time you spend on the road means less time with them. If you live nearby, you can spend more time with them.
- You’ll learn how to try new things. You’re in a new environment which may have something you’re not used to doing. If you’re in a place where people like to bike to work and you haven’t ridden one for quite sometime, you could try the same thing. You have nothing to lose.
- You’ll expand your horizon. Oh yes, that saying again. Travel does broaden the mind, even if it’s just 25 miles away. You’ll open your eyes to new things, gain new friends, network with a possible co-founder, learn a hobby, or even go to school again, even for a short coding course.
- You’ll save on car insurance — and gas. Drivers in Cupertino pay an an annual average of $797.71, cheap by the standards of those working in Silicon Valley. But residents in the San Francisco pay more–an annual premium of $1,166.30 who also paid an average of $4.01 per gallon, according to nerdwallet.com. Plus, you don’t need to give 15 minutes of your time to a gekko.
- You’ll save two hours of your life. If you’re commuting, you would be stressed out more than you think. The INRIX Traffic Scorecard placed the San Francisco Bay Area as the third worst US city for traffic, which can also exact a heavy toll on your health. Road rage has been to known to raise blood pressure that could lead to cardiovascular disease. The American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that the farther people commute by vehicle, the higher their blood pressure and body mass index is likely to be. Also, the farther the commute, the less physical activity the person was likely to get.
When you get a chance to live near your work, take it. If no one else in your family is going to be inconvenienced by it, just do it. Staying in a corporate apartment will give you enough time to recharge for the next day. (DC)