[donk.]

Looking to get revscenes opinion on this.
I work everywhere from North Van to Langley, mostly in Vancouver.

Generally i spend an hour driving to and from work.

I have been looking to move out for a few years, joke is on me for not doing so last year, or the year before. Anywho, i am now limited to Maple ridge for a townhouse (with a single / dual garage obviously) :awwyeah:

Have any of you moved further away from your work? Was it worth it?
Its just time for me to move out of my parents house, thats all. Im so torn in having to spend an extra 30 minutes, ontop of what i already drive to get to and from work.

Apartments arent an option for me, for multiple reasons. Plus, like you, i need to turn a wrench on my cars to keep myself occupied.

Arigato Gozaimas! SwiftRage

[murd0c]

I moved from Surrey to Mission in Sep and I work in Poco. It's way more then twice the drive for me and I couldn't be happier. I would rather move out further and have a nice piece of property then staying in the city and live in a box 5' from my neighbours.

[godwin]

It depends on the OP's horizon..

Maple Ridge will never expand / appreciate as much as Langley since Langley is slated to have the LRT and MR will probably never will, due to being locked in by ALR and Aqualinis in Pitt Meadows. Just remember if you buy a new townhouse on the edges of Metro, you will be more susceptible to price fluctuations and depreciation and not much upside.

If you are living in PMoody and needs to wrench.. buy one (or 2, since they are not that expensive) of those commercial spaces along Spring St, Clarke or Murray St. Rent it out to your friends and wait for it to redevelop (probably in the next 5 years). Once it redevelops, reevaluate your needs and buy residential property then.. I still haven't met anyone with new family needed to wrench to be occupied, so I assume you are still single and can live with your parents.

[N.V.M.]

buddy at work just bought in Maple Ridge. was he ever surprised when he found out there's no city garbage pick up,lol.

[quasi]

My wife is in the process of switching jobs from a 7 to 3 Monday to Friday to a shift work position that pays less money but is closer to home. She hates her commute so much I have to support her on the change. Her commute will go from 1.25-1.5 hours each way to 10 minutes. A person's time commuting has a heavy price.

[flagella]

No one can assess your value of time better than you do. I commend you for having that pressure to move out vs. people happily spending away their money on their hobbies while living with parents well into their 20s.

Personally for me I can't imagine the stress associated with driving an hour each way to work. I take west coast express from PoCo to DT and it's nearly an hour door to door. There's no way I'm willing to travel any longer. Just try to list out all the pros and cons associated with moving to Maple Ridge, put a weight and rating for each factor, and you'll get a clearer picture.

[Spoon]

After you factor in gas and depreciation, you'd probably come out ahead unless it's a significant reduction. Then there's the gains associated with time cost, stress etc.

[Hondaracer]

While working briefly at the trump tower a guy who worked for us lived in ducking Sardis and commuted downtown to Trump everyday..

I told him I'd rather make $10 an hour and work at a McDonald's 5 minutes away then spend 2+ hours on a commute each way.

Spending your life in your car ain't worth it imo

[blkgsr]

i live near coquitlam center and worked at steveson and no 5 road for a year.....was the worst commute ever

I've told recruiters (looking for a new company) that i will not work in richmond or the north shore again....surrey would be fine but not those two

currently working downtown and it's a 30 minute commute that i share with my wife

[6o4__boi]

Nothing at Pitt Meadows?

MR to Van is a pretty brutal commute. Hell, I live in PoCo and I hate driving out to MR.
I grew up in Van, moved to Burnaby to rent and finally to PoCo to own. I work in Burnaby. I think this is the absolute furthest I can mentally tolerate as a commute, typically a 30-40 min commute one way but I have the choice of using Barnet as an alternative if the highway hits the fan. The firm I work at also has an office in Langley...though the way there is tolled so I never really work there.

Unless it was a six figure job, I would never take a job in Vancouver/Richmond/North Shore. The commute will just kill me inside over the years.

[Hondaracer]

My fiancés cousin bought a house near golden ears up the road to allouete lake

We went over for a birthday party one Sunday afternoon and left around 6pm, it took like a fucking hour and 15 minutes to get to Lougheed and gaglardi from there.. on a Sunday.

Some places you move to such as east of 176th in surrey, south of highway 10, poco/maple ridge, once you're there the idea of going downtown even for somthing like a canucks game etc is pretty much eliminated. Let alone just a typical night out for dinner etc

[6o4__boi]

Some places you move to such as east of 176th in surrey, south of highway 10, poco/maple ridge, once you're there the idea of going downtown even for somthing like a canucks game etc is pretty much eliminated. Let alone just a typical night out for dinner etc

lolwut...MR is a good 15 clicks away from Poco

On non-peak hours, it takes me 20-25 mins to go downtown, less if the flow of traffic is faster. Even coming down from Burke Mountain or Downtown PoCo it'll take around the same time to go downtown Van.

it took me longer to go from downtown to ubc/vice versa than it takes me to go downtown to Van.

Hell, whenever I head downtown from PoCo for a game or for a night out it takes pretty much the same time to get to downtown Van from Metrotown area

[VR6GTI]

I find Burke mountain to burnaby 45 minutes brutal i couldn't imagine going from maple ridge to down town
Having a lesser commute is way better than living in your car

[Tapioca]

I had a 30 minute commute by Skytrain for many years until I got married and had kids. My commute is now about an hour door to door, but it is only tolerable because I take the West Coast Express which far more civilized than the Skytrain. Moving east worked for us because my wife and I both work downtown during regular hours and the transit system is still designed to serve people like us. We also happen to be in a pretty nice neighbourhood, so the commute is worth it to us for other reasons.

It sounds like you're in sales, or a you're a contractor of some sort, so I would focus on finding a home in an area that is easy to get in and out of. Maple Ridge is a tough place to get in and out of. If you want a garage, find a woman with some wealth or real estate and combine your assets to buy a house.

[slicrick]

MR to Vancouver can be a disaster sometimes, I used to carpool with a co-worker who lived in MR and would meet me in Coquitlam where I left my car, I live in Surrey.

Depending on where in Vancouver we were going it could be an hour or more just from Coquitlam leaving at 6:30 AM (or later depending on how bad MR was :lol) on a day with just volume, add in an accident or other traffic impeding event and it was even worse.

Days when I used my own car it was painful paying the Port Mann toll just to sit in gridlock traffic till you passed the IKEA. The commute back home always seemed worse as well.

[CivicBlues]

It sounds like you're in sales, or a you're a contractor of some sort, so I would focus on finding a home in an area that is easy to get in and out of. Maple Ridge is a tough place to get in and out of. If you want a garage, find a woman with some wealth or real estate and combine your assets to buy a house.

LOL why is this your answer for everything RE related? Not all of us are willing to become whores or sugar babies for the sake of owning a piece of overpriced Vancouver land. Some of us still believe in LOVE I hope... :D

[Hondaracer]

You willing to take on someone else's debt for love? Lol

[StylinRed]

I'm in ridge, and outside of the rush hour it only takes 30-45mins to get to downtown

But during the rush? Omg it's brutal and its only gotten worse over the years due to the massive influx of people, and they're still building thousands of units omg

[VR6GTI]

LOL why is this your answer for everything RE related? Not all of us are willing to become whores or sugar babies for the sake of owning a piece of overpriced Vancouver land. Some of us still believe in LOVE I hope... :D
To rent something similar where i am is $3500 more than my mortgage :pokerface:

[CivicBlues]

You willing to take on someone else's debt for love? Lol

Within reason as I don't think someone with massive consumer debt would match me on a personal level.

I'm lucky enough to be debt-free as is my SO. I would shudder to imagine dating and having being asked how much you make/how much debt you have before proceeding further. Maybe you guys are not so far off the Sponsored Divas you mock. Maybe I'm just old fashioned (although not so old fashioned to view marriage as a business agreement).

[Rallydrv]

its all about

Time vs Space/cost issue to me


i rather spend less time commuting (less gas) and make do with less space. than the other way around.
.
i bought a place near vcc clark, best decision ever. central to everything for me.

[Tapioca]

It depends on the OP's horizon..

Maple Ridge will never expand / appreciate as much as Langley since Langley is slated to have the LRT and MR will probably never will, due to being locked in by ALR and Aqualinis in Pitt Meadows. Just remember if you buy a new townhouse on the edges of Metro, you will be more susceptible to price fluctuations and depreciation and not much upside.

If you are living in PMoody and needs to wrench.. buy one (or 2, since they are not that expensive) of those commercial spaces along Spring St, Clarke or Murray St. Rent it out to your friends and wait for it to redevelop (probably in the next 5 years). Once it redevelops, reevaluate your needs and buy residential property then.. I still haven't met anyone with new family needed to wrench to be occupied, so I assume you are still single and can live with your parents.

This isn't as crazy of an idea as it sounds. German Motor Car was for sale as recently as last August. The problem for the OP I imagine is getting financing through a bank with no viable business plan, other than running a hobby garage.

Based on some conversations that I had with municipal staff out in PM/MR, Ridge doesn't actually have any ALR within the city limits, so it more or less has room to grow. The Evergreen Line does have a spur built at Coquitlam Central for eventual extension to Port Coquitlam and beyond.

[GS8]

WutFace

If you want a garage, find a woman with some wealth or real estate and combine your assets to buy a house.

:inout:

This has to be one of the oddest suggestions I've ever read.

---

As for the OP's question, I'll tell you this. Moving further away from work drains both your expenses and sanity over time. Initially, you're riding high on your new swaggy home but it might wear off when you wake up earlier than before, pack a half assed lunch, pop some Tylenol and watch your dash cam light up from all the stupid shit you're about to see on your commute.

[Hondaracer]

Within reason as I don't think someone with massive consumer debt would match me on a personal level.

I'm lucky enough to be debt-free as is my SO. I would shudder to imagine dating and having being asked how much you make/how much debt you have before proceeding further. Maybe you guys are not so far off the Sponsored Divas you mock. Maybe I'm just old fashioned (although not so old fashioned to view marriage as a business agreement).

I think people generally gravitate towards similar financial situations or at least within the circles they are in.

I'd be pretty weary to take on someone as a partner who has massive debt or baggage that brings debt such as children etc.

Was once dating a chick I met through work and through general discussion she kind of casually brought up here student loans from a university back east (keep in mind she had not completed any degree and essentially abandoned her studies)

"Oh yea somthing like 50..."

Me: oh 15?...that's not too bad I guess.."

Her: "no..50..."

:pokerface:

Losers end up marrying/dating other losers it seems. Some guys I hired on as labourers for my last company I have on Facebook, making sub $20 an hour go out and buy a new vehicle post all about it, next post is about why everything is so expensive, next post is linking their s/o to federal govt debt relief programs lol

And what do losers do when they're in dire financial need? Have a kid! That will solve your problems! lol although for some acquaintances I know it kind of did solve their problems because they were forced into the work force and making actual money whether that be in Berta' etc

[GLOW]

gotta look at the type of commute too.

some people don't like driving on a highway everyday for an hour, too stressful for them but they're ok with city traffic. other people can't stand stop & go city traffic but are totally OK travelling on a packed highway.

[lowside67]

Unless it was a six figure job, I would never take a job in Vancouver/Richmond/North Shore. The commute will just kill me inside over the years.
Lol... I have a 6-figure job and my commute now from Port Moody > DT on the WCE and it's already annoying. Anything further than Poco and I'd be out. Maple Ridge would take about $500k/year haha.

For me, it's not so much the time on the train, but rather how much of a pain in the ass the connections to/from the train are.

I'd rather take the WCE from PoCo where I had a house walking distance to the station than live in Anmore and have a 15 minute drive to the closer Port Moody station.

Mark (who is thinking when we buy a house, we will be buying in East Van instead of TriCities for that proximity to DT)

[Presto]

Saving 1 hour of commute time is huge. That adds up to 10+ days over the year, which is 2+ weeks of vacation, for us wage-slaves. The time savings, combined with the savings of fuel and car maintenance, is awesome. Side effects are significantly less stress, and more sleep and free time. I haven't had to crawl through traffic in 10+ years. I'll be 39 this year, and I credit my few gray hairs, and lack of losing it, with having an 8 min stress-free commute.

[CivicBlues]

Looks like your WCE ride may possibly be full of toxic fumes as well. Might want to consider that on top of your life-shortening commute DansGame

No changes to WCE as study sounds alarm of seeping fumes - NEWS 1130 (http://www.news1130.com/2017/02/28/no-changes-wce-study-sounds-alarm-seeping-fumes/)

[Bonka]

You don't realize the toll it takes until you're living it for a while thinking you can manage and get used to it. Think about how you'll cope as your life evolves over time (it will) like settling down and starting a family because commuting time will eat into everything else you do in your personal life. Some people can and will re-arrange their lives to fit things in and do well, others will dread the notion.

Just think, all the extra wear and tear on your car from commuting. You said you wrench your own cars. You may save money on paying for a mechanic and keeping your car on the road longer but eventually you won't have the time or energy to want to wrench and this is just all else being exactly the same! Personal time should also be time for you to R&R yourself not just catching up on things that need to be done.

Buying a condo closer to work and slowly moving your way up really is a more sensible (sane) option if you value your time. I work in real estate so I'm travelling all over creation to show clients around and with rising prices I've had to gradually travel more east over the years (Surrey>tri-cities>Langley>Maple Ridge>Abbotsford>Chilliwack) but it's not a daily grind. Trust me, that alone is quite enough. There's enough stress when running late.

[godwin]

It depends on how much down payment OP has. I don't think it is hard right now.

The whole strip where German Motor Car used to be will be torn down once the sawmill gets the okay to redevelop.

It is not within city limits you have to worry about, it is how you get there (basically from Pitt River to Harris Rd).. first you need another bridge over Pitt River, you also need right of way.. both side of the highway is ALR, and a good chunk of the farms are owned by Aquillinis.

With all the focus on Surrey and Langley LRT, those 2 lines will take priority. I just can't see any mass transit other than shuttle bus/ B line for Maple Ridge a couple of decades down the road.

As for marriage, if your potential partner's spending habit is vastly different than yours (or accumulated debt).. the odds is stacked against you. Finances is one of the many indicators.

This isn't as crazy of an idea as it sounds. German Motor Car was for sale as recently as last August. The problem for the OP I imagine is getting financing through a bank with no viable business plan, other than running a hobby garage.

Based on some conversations that I had with municipal staff out in PM/MR, Ridge doesn't actually have any ALR within the city limits, so it more or less has room to grow. The Evergreen Line does have a spur built at Coquitlam Central for eventual extension to Port Coquitlam and beyond.

[ImportPsycho]

buddy at work just bought in Maple Ridge. was he ever surprised when he found out there's no city garbage pick up,lol.

This only applies to detached? Assume Condo/TH would have private collector paid with strata fee?

[fliptuner]

Surprised at how many Tri-city RSers there are.

At least with WCE, you just have to sit and wait, as opposed to be frustrated in traffic.

[donk.]

Thanks alot for the responses, alot of extra stuff that the guys at work/family did not bring up.

I dont have to worry about gas, company vehicle / contractor. Wrenching on my car is more of a hobby, not a money savings thing.
I dont need to move out, its more of a want, and cant go wrong with equity rising year by year.

Im not interested in langley or surrey, thats a topic on its own.
Buy a commercial space on spring street?!!?!? or one of the spots by german motor car?!!? Those are 1-2mil each, what are you smoking? Send it over! KappaPride

Im maxed out around 425k, as for downpayment, lets just say its iether an original NSX, a new corvette, or a townhouse down payment.
Pitt meadows is not bad, its just limited selection at the moment.

Im not concerned moving forward in regards to wife/kids/settling down, etc, if needed i will sell and move into the city, its just right now, what i want is a townhouse.
Who knows, i may even bail to Japan in a few years.

A con/pro list is a good idea, i will get on it.

[Tapioca]

Im maxed out around 425k, as for downpayment, lets just say its iether an original NSX, a new corvette, or a townhouse down payment.
Pitt meadows is not bad, its just limited selection at the moment.



If this is your budget, then this is about as good as you can get - 3 parking spots, including the garage:

https://www.zolo.ca/pitt-meadows-real-estate/19060-ford-road/64

[fliptuner]

Keep in mind, property tax in Pitt Meadows is pretty high.

Have you considered buying a condo and using your parents garage when you want to work on your car? Seems like a good compromise if they're cool with it.

[flagella]

I seriously don't know how some people do it, driving 40+ min to work during rush hour. I guess you guys try to listen to audiobook to entertain yourself? I'm from poco and one of the main reasons I was okay moving this far from DT where my wife and I work is because of WCE. I've driven to work a few times last year and, each time it just starts to kill me from inside as I prepare to merge onto Hwy 1 and see the madness.

For me I'd be happier taking extra 10 min on WCE than taking skytrain or driving. My time on WCE is productive as I get to catch up on reading.