The Low Cost Housing Trade-Off: High Commuting Costs

"Shane and Christi Gaylor of Blount County, Alabama, are part of a growing trend of working suburban families paying higher monthly commuting costs than monthly housing costs. In a trade-off for an affordable new house, the Gaylors are adding 1,000 miles a week to their two vehicles, and spending 20 hours a week behind the wheel, combined, to live in their Blount County home, east of Hayden"

"She said the good schools and safe neighborhood for their daughter, Payton, 8, and son, Andrew, 6, as well as the $200 yearly property taxes are worth the travel. She sometimes spends 90 minutes driving home."

"High-cost housing near larger cities is nudging more middle-income families outward to less expensive housing, according to a new study, 'A Heavy Load: The Combined Housing and Transportation Burdens of Working Families,' by the Center for Housing Policy in Washington."

The report cites that people spend an average of $9,000 each year on their cars, money that could be invested in a more expensive home closer to the city. This asset would also provide a positive return on a family's investment, in contrast to a car which only depreciates.