Posted on 09/06/2005 7:54:48 AM PDT by newgeezer
PHOENIX-- Gas prices continue to soar to record levels in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and the out-of-control costs may force some homebuyers to rethink ... about where to live.
While comparatively low home prices on the outskirts of the Valley have encouraged sprawl..., it's also becoming a lot more expensive to live far from where you work.
...
With Valley gas prices approaching $3 per gallon, a 70-mile, round-trip commute in a car getting 20 MPG will run you $10.50 per day. ... A gas-guzzling SUV will cost you even more.
Stuart Banks, chief operating officer of the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, is someone who battles that long and costly commute each day. Banks ... gets into his ... minivan and leaves his Anthem home at 5 a.m. each day for his 35-mile commute.... He has to fill up his tank about twice per week, ... recently, the receipt read $50.
"I have to drive. There's no other way," he said. "It takes about 35 minutes to get there and 50 minutes to get back."
Banks ... said he doesn't regret the move to the far north Valley, but said he understands why some are moving back to the urban cores.
"It all depends on what people want in a home," he said. "But half of my $300 a month in gas could go toward a mortgage if I lived closer."
...
"There is tremendous demand right now for urban living," said Jonathon Vento, co-principal of 44 Monroe developer Grace Communities. ...
In addition to the downtown Phoenix project, Tempe is beginning construction on three 22-story condo towers, which will be the tallest buildings in the city. There also are a number of residential projects under way in downtown Scottsdale...
Vento said more Phoenicians are beginning to understand the draw of living close to where you work.
...
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
On a related note, I just heard on the radio that the record high national average of $1.437 in 1981 was equalled (after adjusting for inflation) when it reached $3.05 this week.
The sound you are hearing is the "outer suburbia" housing bubble deflating...
Adjusted for inflation, taxes are at an all time low for many people -- especially those who pay no taxes or are awarded the EIC. We should demand an increase in taxes immediately.
"Sprawl" is not the problem.
"Smarth Growth" city planners who want everyone to live in densely populated areas downtown are.
Decentralized offices would be better.
It is difficult to evacuate a city when all you have are commuter lines between apartments and offices and too much of a population centered in town.
The end of Cheap Gas will return america to the concept of Living close to work and USING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION...
DUmbest moves local governments made in the 50s were being conned by GM and Firestone to rip up their trolley systems, and put in busses.
Riderships been increasing in my area for months over the gas prices... and I get to hear more and more of folks who decided to move into McMansions 25 miles away gripe about their gas. Like its someone elses fault they chose to live 25 miles away from town and own an SUV that gets 13 MPG highway.
This is sarcasm, right?
Of course, working closer to where you live might be another option.
------
The actual solution to the problem should have ocurred over two decades ago, when we needed a government that was dedicated to a functional energy policy and management agenda (Clinton? HA!) and the mandate to BUILD MORE REFINING CAPABILITY and domestic supply of crude...
We have seen what the combination of government incompetence, political pandering and collusion with industry as done to our fuel supplies and costs...
Another solution is to telecommute.
How much of what is done in the office requires immediate presence? Or is it just that employers don't trust their employees to actually do the work?
Hardly is it more difficult to evacuate a central core.. it is far more difficult to evacuate an area where people are spread out and criss crossing, having to drive INTO the core to go back out the other side because they live in one suburb and work in another....
The automobile and cheap gas lead to "sprawl"... when its no longer cheap to commute, more folks will realize that living withing walking distance to work or public transit is beneficial.. as it was not all that long ago.
Telecommuting is a pipe dream for most workers.. nice PR, but not reality. Most businesses are never going to allow the bulk of their employees to work from home, no matter what technology allows.
My brother does it. Some of my co-workers are doing it.
I sit at a terminal most of the day. I'm as likely to use the phone or IMs or email to pass along info as I am to walk down the hall.
I attend very few meetings and when I do, there is often someone from Boston or Dallas on the phone also "at" the meeting.
If this guy rode a motorcycle instead of driving a minivan (!), he'd get twice or three times the miles per gallon and slash his commuting cost accordingly. I bought a used Honda 550 for $250. Likewise, he could search the various online and community resources for a carpool partner or six for his minivan, and cut his gas costs even further.
Sure, commuting with six people is inconvenient, but so is paying $300 to $400 per month for gasoline.
When people live "out" of the city, they don't have to "evacuate the city".
They are ALREADY gone.
Correct me if I am wrong, but with longer commutes and higher gas prices, the taxes ARE higher.
I'll tell you what the biggest appeal for me is to live in the suburbs-LAND.
I don't want to live on a lot where I'm so close to my neighbor I could spit in their living room from my dining room.
Most suburban subdivisions are just as bad, but here where I am you can get a good acre lot and a decent, small, modest home for a good price if you're willing to drive 15 miles to work.
That's the advantage of a medium sized city like Akron as opposed to a huge metropolis like Phoenix.
I guess (gas prices aside) if I had the choice to live either in the city, in an old house with a small lot in a high crime area with bad schools, or a larger lot, newer home with a nice sized well landscaped lot and safe streets...the choice is easy.
Ok,
I just did the my commute is now going to cost me approx. $122 per month vs the $80 a month it was before.
~~sigh~~
I'll just cut back on ice cream, cheetos and and...
SHOES!
AIEYYYEEE!
This is actually comparable to the cost of public transportation. A monthly train pass for a 70-mile commute would typically be in the $300-400 range. If you have to take a subway or bus when you reach the city, add another $70-80 per month.
You are right. Too many positions do require a physical presence at the place of employment. I'd love to telecommute, but I work in an R&D lab. Don't think I want that in my house. Also, what about service workers - the A/C repairmen, the roofers, the plumbers, the electricians, etc. They drive a lot more than back and forth to an office. THe gas prices must be hitting them hard.
For those of you who work from home, mow might be a good time to pick up a house in the "ex-urbs" from someone who is panicing over his/her long commute.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.