Move several miles in any direction? Better buy some books on tape!

"Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo" (thetomselleck) 03/25/2018 at 01:55 • Filed to: It's late so this qualifies as a shitpost of the First World variety

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For those not in the know, traffic in Snohomish County is so dreadful that moving just several miles in any direction can more than triple your commute. Today’s example: I’m considering looking at this good house in great area, which is about 8 miles south of where we are now. Here’s how this hypothetical move affect our drive times:

Zoidberg
- commute to work: decreased by 7 minutes
- commute from work: decreased by 20 minutes

Mrs. Zoidberg
- commute to work: increased by up to 40 minutes , or five times the current!
- commute from work: increased by 15 minutes

This is because — if your job requires you to take the Highway 2 trestle like my wife’s does — unless you’re already living in north Everett (which connects directly to the trestle), you will never get to your job. You’ll never make it past the Everett Mall exit, or past 41st ST. Don’t even think that 99 is moving. You’ll never make it through Cathcart to connect to 9. Oh, and you’ll never make it through 9, ever.

You can flip our results if we move even 2 miles north (which is not on the table), or 4 miles east. My commute skyrockets and hers is largely unchanged. But desirable neighborhoods in north Everett are getting too expensive and scarce to begin with. $400k to live on a 4,000 square foot lot too close to Broadway, in an 1,100 square foot home with no garage? How about NO.

Please note I did put in that big “First World” qualifier in my tag. I know many of you have substantial commutes. I myself used to commute 150 miles a day, 5 days a week, for four years. So yeah I’ve been over that shit. Ironically, I now work a job that revolves almost entirely around driving...

And if my wife were to love a house that bumped her commute up, she will certainly weigh the pros and cons for herself. I just feel bad that in most scenarios, only one of us is severely punished for moving. Although I can tell you that my wife would gladly commute for a house she really really REALLY wanted.

Oh, who am I kidding. We all know you’ll see a post from me tomorrow about how I found ten dead hookers in the basement during the open house or some crazy shit.

AestheticsInMotion > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 03/25/2018 at 02:02

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Motorhome. Boom. Problem solved.

Next problem!

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > AestheticsInMotion 03/25/2018 at 02:10

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Don’t tempt me.

AestheticsInMotion > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 03/25/2018 at 02:28

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Built in Lexus storage. The long bed could be strapped to the roof, and the Vibe (or was it a Matrix...?) can be towed. Should be everything unless you’ve got an old Toyota or ten hidden somewhere

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > AestheticsInMotion 03/25/2018 at 02:32

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Or sell all my worldly positions and just get this:

AestheticsInMotion > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 03/25/2018 at 02:34

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I like the rims and stripes package

RooseveltDad > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 03/25/2018 at 02:46

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Have you considered remodeling / adding to the house you have? Yes, the Puget Sound area is crazy for housing issues. (I’m in the Ravenna ‘hood in Seattle.)

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > RooseveltDad 03/25/2018 at 03:09

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That was our original plan, many moons ago. But the idea is still on the table.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 03/25/2018 at 06:37

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I am somewhat curious about both your destinations based on random locations you must pass through. I do know never to trust an estimated time nor go into the shitstorm that exists from the Edmonds region through at least Everett. Every time I forget that, I end up waiting for three ferry cycles or getting stuck in traffic that I try to bypass (which fucks me dry because there is no way to bypass traffic that will help you up there, rendering Waze worse than simply using Google maps, which is worse than just following street signs, because chances are the base maps are all wrong due to some random construction and/or traffic revisions). There seems to be an effectively permanent traffic jam in north Everett due to all the building up in Marysville leaving that small group of highways (I-5, 9, 2, 204) as the only way to enter/exit the area where the last affordable housing theoretically within the shortest commuting distance of Seattle or Redmond once existed. With no traffic it would be a mere 35-45min, but is really a minimum of 90min when it isn’t the middle of the night on a weekend. Still, it’s a faster commute than the equivalent in the opposite direction (Auburn near Lake Tapps; Kent is getting pricey for the 5-10 min you’ll save each direction while still getting trapped in the major rush hours traffic heading to anywhere with work).

The road system up there is like the road system in Seattle, except there is an insane amount of open land. That is, full of bottlenecks with a design that would have supported the population in the 1960s, but is now unable to cope with the population and high density housing.

I have noticed some companies pushing hard to locate talent in these areas (vaguely, Kent-SeaTac & Snohomish-Marysville) with the implication of a shorter commute being their draw. Basically, they’ll trade you lower pay for not being stuck in traffic for hours a day.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 03/25/2018 at 09:13

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You could move to a small town, make no money and think that “traffic” is when you have to wait more than 4 minutes to get through the McDonald’s drive through

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 03/25/2018 at 10:00

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Can’t she change her start time? Lots of people in my office work 7-330 to avoid the rush.

benjrblant > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 03/25/2018 at 10:24

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Is there a really valid reason for staying in the region? If you and Mrs Z have easily transferable or relocatable jobs could/would you consider moving?

Not knocking the PNW here, but if there’s a chance that you could move and get your money to stretch further elsewhere it might be worth considering.

nermal > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 03/25/2018 at 10:32

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Perhaps you should re-evaluate your short and long term life goals? How much does (and should) your jobs dictate the other parts of your existence?

Everything has a price. Is it worth having the house of your dreams if you spend all of your time either working or driving to work, and never get the chance to enjoy it?

I recommend taking a long weekend with the Mrs to go away somewhere - rent a cabin in the woods and just get away from things for a few days. If you have kids, put them up in a kennel so you don’t have to deal with them. Perhaps you’ll figure out a better answer to your housing situation?

NKato > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 03/25/2018 at 11:30

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You live in my area. We should have coffee sometime.

Also, instead of North/South, think about East/West.

NKato > benjrblant 03/25/2018 at 11:33

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I’m actually considering moving out of Western Washington. The problem is finding an employer who will hire a deaf guy.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > nermal 03/25/2018 at 11:49

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fintail > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 03/25/2018 at 11:49

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I don’t like those stools, they are hiding something. That’s the dining room. The couch is in the living room, the area off to the left is the bedrooms (once was once a closet, now has a new door, no permits were used because regulations are for wimps and socialists and I built it all myself I work for my dad’s contracting company fixing up houses for dopes Murka) the pic is taken from the family room.

If she wants the house, she should make the biggest sacrifice, right? :)

I still think you are better off staying put, fixing up the old place, and living a little.

Co-workers I know who live in Renton/Kent usually average over an hour in the morning, and I work in south Bellevue.

One cool thing with having 99 problems is that I am fine remaining in my little shoebox.

fintail > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 03/25/2018 at 11:49

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Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > benjrblant 03/25/2018 at 11:52

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Lots of reasons that we are not leaving the area, most of which are too personal to share here.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind 03/25/2018 at 11:56

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To change her start time, should would have to transfer to a different position. One that pays significantly less .

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > fintail 03/25/2018 at 12:52

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I think they tried to sell that on BaT for over 20 grand.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 03/25/2018 at 12:55

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There’s nothing you said that I don’t 100% agree with.

To answer your inquiry: we live in north Everett, I work in south Everett-ish, she works in Snohomish-ish.

fintail > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 03/25/2018 at 13:10

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I think it eventually sold for something like that, too. Probably worth it to the right wacko. I remember my brother fell in love with that thing, but so did thousands of others, and it was way out of his budget.

He had a Hilux like yours, but loaned it to a friend who promptly crashed it. Got a nice insurance payout, couldn’t find another old Toyota that wasn’t insanely weathered, moved on to S10s of all things.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > fintail 03/25/2018 at 13:17

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Older S10s are really underrated pickups though. I think I’d buy one before an old Ranger, and I do love the Ranger.

fintail > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 03/25/2018 at 13:32

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His current baby is a 95 extended cab 2WD 4cyl 5-speed, he has it up to around 250K miles now. Other than a clutch at around 200K miles, it hasn’t had many issues. Bought it from the second owner, first owner lived a block from my mom, small world.

The Hilux crumpled like a beer can in a not high speed crash, but he got three times his purchase price for it, so all’s well that ends well. It was in good shape (can’t find a pic), but the bed was slowly starting to go.

fintail > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 03/25/2018 at 13:34

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Found it:

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > fintail 03/25/2018 at 13:41

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RIP

fintail > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 03/25/2018 at 13:46

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It had the coolest graphics package, I think more frequently seen on later run models like his.