When we’re choosing a place to live, our commute time tends to tumble down the list of priorities. Our ride to work often ranks far below things like square footage, number of bathrooms, and stainless steel appliances. However, your commute can wreck your happiness.
Why does this happen? Can other factors balance out the negativity? How MUCH does a long commute affect your satisfaction? And most importantly, what do we do about it?
More Commute = Less Satisfaction
Let’s start with the basics – getting to work is a drag. Anyone who has an hour long drive to and from their job can tell you that. However, plenty of people assume it’s just a small annoyance, and doesn’t have a lasting effect on your overall life satisfaction.
This is incorrect.
Empirically, having a long commute systematically lowers subjective well-being. Accounting for other variables, including the quality of the home, job, and means of transportation, the results hold true. Many studies correlate high commute times with increased stress and social isolation, and consistently rank it among modern life’s largest annoyances.
However, when it comes to deciding where to live, we don’t give it enough weight. Psychologist Ap Dijksterhuis calls this a ‘weighing error,’ a common mistake where we lose sight of what’s really important.
What if I have a great house? Won’t that balance it out?
In short, no.
Swiss economists Frey and Stutzer call this the ‘Commuting Paradox.’ According to their studies, commuters consistently underestimate the negative effects of their daily drive. Rather than a slight drain on your mood, your commute can wreck your happiness. This is partially because the travel is a little bit different every day.
One day, you might have clear traffic. The next, a construction zone has started, and you have to slow down for 4 miles. In the winter, you have to worry about poor road conditions. Since each day is a new challenge, your brain has to dedicate resources to solving stressful problems.
However, you live in the same house every day. So, while your home may provide a net ‘positive,’ it is static. Your commute is a new kind of terrible every day. While the extra space might be great a few days a year for birthday parties or holiday celebrations, it can’t outweigh the daily burden of travel.
What if I make a bunch of money at my job?
This one depends on how much you’re making. If a very long commute drastically improves your finances, you are likely better off taking the job. However, according to Dan Buettner, National Geographic fellow, the differences have to be pretty significant.
In his studies, he concluded that if you are making $50,000 – $60,000, you would need to make an EXTRA $40,000 or so to balance out the negativity of an hour-long commute. Stetzer and Frey note a similar figure, saying that the commuter would need to make 40% more to consider themselves as ‘satisfied’ as the non-commuter.
So of course, money helps. But your commute can wreck your happiness – be careful not to sell your satisfaction for a few dollars.
What if I don’t drive, and ride smoothly on public transportation?
You might think that driving is the culprit. However, even if you take public transportation, which removes a lot of the moment-to-moment decision making, a long commute reduces satisfaction.
American researchers Wener and Evans researched commutes on trains, and concluded:
“Longer commutes were significantly associated with elevated cortisol, poorer proofreading performance and higher levels of perceived commuting stress–even after controlling for participants’ sociodemographic characteristics and the conditions of the train, including passenger density and whether commuters had their own seat.”
In short, the longer the commute, the higher the stress. Sorry train-riders.
So, how should we handle it?
Many, many factors affect where you choose to live. Of course, you can’t throw out everything else and decide solely based on your travel times.
However, your commute can wreck your happiness. As you are deciding where to live, don’t underestimate the distance factor. Remember, sacrificing a bit in other areas to reduce your commute may greatly help your sense of daily satisfaction.
So as you consider where to live, move the commute up a few spots in your list of priorities. Don’t ignore your daily drive when choosing a place to live… you may regret it!