[quote=The-Shoveler][quote=bearishgurl]Oh, and people CAN drive less, Shoveler. Uhhh, it’s very simple. They can move closer to work! Novel suggestion if I do say so myself! No one … and I mean NO ONE is “trapped” in exurban hell. Everybody has choices in life and can vote with their feet if they don’t like the length of their daily commute.[/quote]
Easier said than done, What it your spouse works close and you just got laid off and your next job is 45-50 miles the other direction?
Happens all the time.[/quote]
I’m sure it does, Shoveler. The solutions I see are that the spouse should have taken a lesser-paying job closer to home, should keep looking for a good closer job while still working far way or the family could sell and move 20-25 miles so they are living between both employers. However, I don’t feel moving is a good option unless the spouse with the far-away job has passed his/her probationary period and feels secure in their new position.
I really feel that if your sample worker-bee couple had purchased a home in a more central location where there might be hundreds of available FT job openings within a ~15 mile radius at any given time, they wouldn’t have likely run into this problem during the years they resided in their home and BOTH of the parents would have had more time with the kid(s) (if there are kid(s)).
The above paragraph and the reason you cite above for long daily commutes to work is the main reason why subdivisions in “exurban hell” are more transient, Shoveler. And the homeowners who live there are more financially vulnerable than those in more established areas, causing housing distress and neighborhood (financial) volatility. During a “RE bust,” these areas are the first to fall in value and the last to rise in value during a recovery. Not only that, they fall the furthest in value (50% or more) compared to the entire region they are situated in. This phenomenon is due to the prevalent type of buyer who chooses to purchase in these areas being entirely dependent on a steady W-2 income for a living, imho.
