How much is your time worth? How much is time spent with your family worth? Any time you’re looking at 1.5 or more hours in a car, 5 days a week, that’s a significant amount of time away from your family, it’s a significant amount of time you can’t be shopping, exercising, cleaning the house, etc… That time has to be made up somehow. Also, 40000 a year die in traffic accidents and many times that are seriously injured. Every minute you spend in a car increases your chances.
No amount of money would make me live with a commute like that. I would live in an apartment or small condo next to my work if I had to to be able to spend more time with my family. You can get a very nice townhouse around Sorrento Valley for under $600K. To each his own, though.
Now if you could work in Chula Vista or Eastlake, living down there could be great. There are some beautiful houses, great views, and nice new shopping areas down there now. I just wouldn’t want to commute from there to anywhere very far outside.