Commuters moving closer to work in NC

[mnhtnbb]

We've talked about the idea of moving closer to work on these boards because of the price of gas to commute. Here's a story in the local Raleigh, NC paper today (front page of print edition) about
people who are changing their lives (moving) because of the price of gas.

I just noticed on another thread http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=3730809&mesg_id=3730809
that people were talking about how difficult it is to make ends meet
each month, and some were also saying their rents are due to rise soon. Landlords are going
to get the idea when they see demand increase for rentals--and then rents are going to rise
for places close to employment centers.


How many here have seen rents rise (beyond the normal 3-5% each year)?

From the story:


Commuters longing to live near work
Far-flung communities losing favor as fuel bills burn holes in pockets


When gas prices jump, people change their habits. They car pool more, dine out less. They might take the bus.

When the prices don't come down, they change their lives.

Renters in far-flung bedroom communities are seeking apartments closer to work. Homeowners are inviting rent-paying strangers into their homes. Families have been split.


For the full article: http://www.newsobserver.com/print/tuesday/front/story/1165412.html#MI_Comments_Link

[mnhtnbb]

1. Sinking like a stone.

[Blue_Tires]

2. no-brainer

you knew sooner or later the days of 30-mile one-way commutes was going to end...I'd love to see this happen in Atlanta or D.C., but knowing most suburban attitudes, instead of taking this advice, more will cry and whine and demand a train station line be built to their doorstep

[SoCalDem]

5. Suburbs cannot usually support or attract businesses that can pay enough

that's why suburbs came to be..live-out..drive-in..

Finding a job where one lives will usually not support the payments for the home..

we created a big mess for ourselves :(

[arcadian]

12. Too late, Orange line is being extended out to Leesburg

I think it will be the "silver line", which is perhaps a sick inside joke as all the people using it will be extremely wealthy, well, wealthy at least.

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

3. Thanks for the story

The only problem that I see is, what if you cannot sell your home or break the lease and move? I work with one such person whose house has been on the market for nearly 6 months and he cannot afford to move until he sells his home. His habits have changed; his son is no longer on the soccer team and he never goes anywhere on the weekends.

[SoCalDem]

4. It's been like that for DECADES out here..

Incomes have not kept up, and housing near most higher paying jobs, eats up 2/3 to 3/4 of the take-home pay, so people moved out and further out and even further out..

Affordable gasoline made it possible, but now people will have to accept living on less and driving, or living on even less than less, and not driving so far..

[mnhtnbb]

6. I just looked up the first house I bought in 1976 with my first husband in Studio City

We paid $63,000. for it--the night before it came on the market. Now, according to zillow.com (fun website) somebody added a second story to it at one point, put in a pool, and it sold for $1.4 million
in Sept 2005.

Unbelievable. Just unbelievable. But it is in a great location.

We bought in the SF Valley because we couldn't afford $75,000 for a fixer-upper on the west side
in 1976.

[Lex]

7. Our IDIOT Senators (Dole & Burr) & Bush helped kill our light rail in 2006.

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/growth/traffic/trains/story/397011.html

[Progressive_In_NC]

8. No offense, but the light rail as they designed it wouldn't have worked

Too many big businesses were trying to tell the Commission where to put the depots, so they could build around them.

It's a great idea, but it needs to be rethought and de-politicized here in NC.

[Lex]

9. No offense, but I disagree. With gas at $4 per gallon

almost anything would've been better than NOTHING.

[Mudoria]

10. Light rail in Charlotte seems to have been a big hit.

So popular in fact that a northern route to the university area is going to be studied.

[Lex]

13. That's great news!

I think if we had've gotten something started here 2 years ago, we could've studied putting spurs off in different areas too.

It's crazy we don't have it in the Triangle yet with the Universities, the 3 cities, and the RTP.

[CRF450]

11. I'd move closer to work if I could...

But the houses are WAY WAY out of my price range close to my job! I can only afford a home right where I'v been living all my life, and its 45 miles away from my house (I work at the Outer Banks) and because of the routes I'm forced to take, its 60 miles in total each way.

I can afford the gas, but not a house close to work. Additionally, I prefer rural country life rather than the noisy city.