Fake Bill Gates Doesn’t Move When Gas Gets Expensive
What the hell is with gas prices causing people to move? Even if you don’t have more money than god (like myself), the gas savings are negligible for so many movers. Let’s play with some numbers.
Lets say you live in the burbs and drive 15 miles to work each day each way, for 50 work weeks of 5 days each. You’re talking about 15 * 2 * 50 * 5 = 7500 miles per year driving to and from work. Now, most people don’t actually go into the office 250 days a year because that’s only weekends and 2 weekends of vacation. There are numerous other holidays, but I figured it’d be a decent estimate. Now, if you drive a sedan or coupe that gets a modest 25 miles/gal, it takes you 300 gallons commuting. At $4 per gallon, that’s only $1200 a year driving to and from work (I use more than that every day as napkins).
Now lets say you move so you’re only 3 miles from your workplace. Now, we’ll ignore the fact that if you live that close you’re probably going to be driving less highway mileage, thus reducing your average miles/gal. This is (3 * 2 * 50 * 5) 1500 miles per year. At 25 miles/gal, that’s 60 gallons, and at $4/gal, $240. Now, it’s only fitting that we add on the cost of wear and tear on the difference that you’re saving. At a very reasonable $.40/mi, that difference of 6,000 miles is $2,400 (I regularly tip waiters at Taco Bell that much - yes, my Taco Bell has waiters).
Thus, by moving, you’re saving $960/yr in gas and $2,400 in wear and tear totaling $3,360 per year. Of course, the U.S. zone planning is generally set up so people live in one area and work in another. Living closer to work is more often than not, more expensive. At $3,360/yr over 12 months, you get $280 more per month for increased living expenses like rent/mortgage/maintenance, taxes, parking space rental fees. For the vast majority of metropolitan areas, the increased living expenses are much more than $280/mo, and that is why people commute.
And even then, this assumes that the actual cost of moving is $0.
Now, for me, the one and only Fake Bill Gates, this is a non-issue. I could take an SR71 to work every day (if I wanted to go to work anymore) and still never be near broke. But for everyone still living in the real world, you’re probably not saving any money yet.
i must have bad gas. my car only gets 15/gallon, and 25 miles from the office.
25 * 2 * 50 * 5 =12,500 / 15
It’s 833 gallons, and sometimes I drive other places besides work. at 5 a gallon, thats more than $4000 a year driving to work. Average family earning is about $40,000 in America, so I spend nearly 10% of Average family earnings just going to work.