I would like responses to those who work in LA but commute from Phoenix, AZ, can it work financially?

Question

Want to know pros and cons....since we bought a house at the high end in LA...we are spending close 4 grand for a cracker box house....in Phx we could get more, but then there is the cost of travel to consider if my husband commuted. want to know from people who have done this and/or doing this....is it worth it? We like the pace of life better in AZ and have lived there before.

Would not even contemplate the drive...we have driven the drive on weekends and it takes us about 8-10 hours from Phx having to trek across LA to get to thousand oaks where we currently live in our cracker box. The commute being considered would be flying in...the flight is about an hour. The destination would be downtown LA. Driving to and from Phx would be totally out of the question for the job situation.

Answer 1

Well, Phx is about a 6-7 hour drive from LA so that means he'd most likely have to have a place to stay there, and go home on weekends??
That'd be a pretty miserable way to do it. Leave Friday night and get home midnight or later given the freeway traffic in SoCal, then he'd have to leave midnight or earlier Sunday night to get to work on time (provided it was an 8-5 job).
So you have the cost of gas two ways (about 500-600 miles total), plus the cost of another place. Fatigue from the commute, and the crummy type of life living alone most of the time.
If you want to go through that, have at it, but I guarantee it will get real old, real fast.
My thoughts would turn to finding another place (Thousand Oaks, Corona, Orange County, whatever) that will offer you a better quality of life in a bigger home.
Good Luck. The cost there is why I left SoCal...

Answer 2

Unless he's making at least $2500 more a month in LA, it's not worth the time and money involved. The best airfare is around $120.00 roundtrip and would involve departing your home around 5am and not getting home until around 9pm. Not to mention the unmeasurable cost of the daily grind from traveling. The wear and tear of travel is physically and mentally draining.

Is it really worth him sacrificing his mind and body for you to stay home with a better quality of life?