Decisions and more decisions

I often wondering what goes into a decision, whether it is driven by logic, emotion, or chance there always seems to be an element of uncertainty. We almost always don't know what will happen in the future. Some decisions are fairly simple but others are almost insanely difficult with out a lot of analysis.

One of the biggest decision that I have been thinking about is whether or not to move out of my apartment into a place that is cheaper to live. Rent in the area has gone up and my place has gone up by $25, which is extremely lucky compared to other apartments in the area. Although my ideal rent would be closer to about $300-400 less than what I am currently paying.

I have done some looking around the surrounding area for cheaper places, but they only can offer a discount of about ~$100 compared to what I am now paying for a single bedroom. They are also all a bit farther away and not in easily accessible locations or new freeways. Many apartments are farther away from shopping malls, supermarkets, and gyms.

So I had a relatively easy question but the answer was more complicated when I dug into the cost benefit analysis of relocation to a new place. One of the stickler was that it most certainly would have to be farther away then where I am now. So first I looked at the cost of gas and realized that by moving 10 miles out, I would almost double my gas bill per month. That means to break even I need to move out to a place that would save me ~$140 per month.

Another factor was the time I would spend in traffic each day, which it is currently at ~20 minutes (round trip), but at +10 miles it would closer to about an hour each day. For someone who has driven a lot in LA traffic I can say that I am not spending anymore of my life than I have to sitting bumper to bumper in traffic. I would lose 40 minutes a day for a total of 800 min or 13.4 hours a month, I don't know about you but I can spend that time doing something more productive.

There are more factors that can add in to make it a more balanced analysis but I can already tell that it won't be the massive savings that I was thinking of. I might be better off finding a suitable roommate then moving out of my place but that presents a whole new set of issues. For now I am partly content with my decision to stay at a slightly higher cost but that might be the case a year from now when my new lease is up.

Renting out a lifestyle

Credit: http://www.toptenz.net

For those of you that have been with me from the start, I've always complained about the rent being too damn high. People that live in Mountain View and the surrounding areas(Palo Alto/Sunnyvale), know exactly what I am talking about. With the influx of the world's finest engineers to Silicon Valley, it has not been easy finding an affordable place to live, technology companies have been on a hiring frenzy as of late.

This has made the average cost of living around this area go through the roof. It has to be said that the law of supply and demand is clearly at work here. There is a whole lot of demand for apartments close to where I live, but not a lot of places that are relatively affordable. There a few construction sites that will try and alleviate the pressure of the mini-apartment boom and provide a couple of multi-story complexes, but these buildings are only available to those who will pay 2500+ for a single bedroom apartment.

 

There is only so much I can do before its not worth it to live in Mountain View. Honestly, I love the city, it is the cleanest and safest out of all the cities that I have lived in. It is located in a climate sweet spot and is near many of the biggest retailers. I can see why people flock to this place. 

Eventually, I'll have to do a cost benefit study to see if it is even worth the hassle of moving farther away. I may find that the cost savings might not be worth it in the short term, although if the rent keeps going up I'll have no choice at all but to move. 

 

If any of you are looking for a place to live check out hotpads.com. <-- I wish I got some ad revenue from this.