Have you considered moving home near the place of work? Especially if your route has that heavy traffic all the time, moving nearer your office is a good consideration. However, you also have to think of the plus and minus of leaving your present home. We live in the suburbs where trees are everywhere and the atmosphere is cool. In the city, there’s the hustle and bustle of the concrete jungle. For comfortable living, I prefer this suburban home although we have to brave the morning traffic for 2 to 3 hours every weekday. We are actually still in the process of evaluating whether to move or stay put in our home.
Some areas near workplaces are full of crime, noise, lack of trees, and/or pollution. In that case, it wouldn't be worth the trouble. However, though, if you can pull off moving near your workplace without trouble, then, of course, you'd save a lot of money in transportation fees, especially if you are driving.
I have worked for only two companies in my 8 year period. Both these places were near my house. So I haven't faced this problem. My brother works in a city where the traffic is extreme. He used to live far from the office at a cheaper rent, but faced traffic issues. It took 2.5 hours more time. He became tired and frustrated. Currently he lives near his office paying a little more rent but saves a lot of time and stress.
Yes,you should move closer to your work because it can be stressfull and bad for your health, when you have to drive a long way everyday to work. People tend to exercise less and have more anxiety and depression from this type of setup as well-also the cost of gas and maintenance go up as well after awhile. You could get closer to your work so you could take the bus,walk,or ride a bike to work-and this way you could get your exercise on the way to work or after a lot easier.
I also live in a suburban home which is about 1.5 hours away from work considering the early morning traffic. I don't feel stressed out though, because I don't drive to work. I usually ride with a group of employees on a shared private van service to and from work. I can even take a nap on the way. I don't think that I would trade the comfort, space, and security that our suburban home and neighborhood offers for city living. I'm working in a financial district where the rentals are incredibly high for such small spaces. It's a big no no for me. I've considered transferring to a factory or office near our home, but the salary and benefits being offered were substantially less than what my currently company is paying.
When I was young I was always moving to be nearer work. It was only me to worry about and I didn't have to uproot a family. I would go wherever the work was. After I had children I chose jobs that were near to where I lived because we were settled and I didn't want to keep moving my children about. If you have raised your family it is easier to make a decision because it only involves you and your wife but at this stage of my life I would choose comfort over everything else.
I guess if you can find a cheap place to rent then it would be worth it and the convenience that you will get being spared from all that hours of sitting in traffic would be priceless.
Actually, I did think to this but if I would do so, we would be too far from our friends and our kid's school. I work outside the city and it is very hard for me to make such a long trip every day but this is the only solution now. Still, I am thinking about the option to change my job and take a job near my house, it is cheaper in this way!