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Making Sense of Money

Would $12,000 Convince You to Move Closer to Work?

Would $12,000 Convince You to Move Closer to Work?

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I recently read an article on www.fastcompany.com that describes a program in Washington, D.C. that bribes people to move from the suburbs to downtown.  Would you move from the suburbs to downtown Washington, D.C. for $12,000? 

The Office of Planning in Washington, D.C. will match the employer contributions up to $6,000 to convince employees to move closer to work or public transit.  They require you to move within two miles of their work, within a half mile of a Metro station, or within a quarter mile of a “high quality” bus corridor.  Their reasoning is people who live closer to their work spend less time and money commuting, employers get the benefit of reduced parking costs and better on time and work performance, and the city gets revitalized neighborhoods and a wider tax base.  Ultimately, the region sees less traffic congestion and air pollution.

Would you move to an inner city neighborhood for money to be closer to your work?  Most of us pick a neighborhood for a variety of reasons.  Some of the factors to consider are schools, housing affordability, amenities, distance and location, public transportation, and property values.  What factors are important for you?  Does it matter if you are married?  What if your spouse works elsewhere?  Do you have children?  How do children fit in your decision?  Does it matter if you will be further from your friends? Will the program pay for your moving company? Is $12,000 enough for you to consider the move?

Would you move to a half mile of a Metro station?  In Washington, D.C. that may mean you have to be in the city limits.  In some cities, it is very livable to live near a subway or train station.  Remember, it is not enough to live by public transportation, you must use it.  The purpose of incentive is to reduce traffic, parking and revitalize the city.  Will you find a house in the city?  Will you have to adjust to an apartment, loft, townhouse or penthouse?  Can you find affordable housing in your city?

Okay, you agree to move and found a great place.  How long will you stay there?  Should the company require you stay for a certain length of time?  Should there be a penalty if you quit your job?  Do you see any personal benefit for you if you move besides saving gas?  Would rent or buy?  Will your rent or house payment be cheaper or more expensive?  Will your property taxes be higher or lower?  Are the schools better or worse?  Will you send your children to private school?

Is this enough of an incentive to make you consider a move?  Does it matter if you are single or married?  Is this a good idea?  Should the federal or local governments provide incentives to change behavior for the greater good of society?  Would this really change neighborhoods or will people just find ways to qualify without moving?  Do you think companies should just pay a portion of your public transportation costs?  What do you think?

Photo by:  Goodnight London

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Comments

  1. I think it is a great idea and would even consider it in several years after my kids are grown. Right now, I appreciate living in the suburbs with a yard for the kids and dogs. But if I didn’t have kids, it would be great. I was thinking about this the other day, how nice it would be to have a train into the city from where I live. When we visited Boston several years back, it was nice to be able to take the train into the city for the day from our hotel and walk around downtown.

    • Although I like the idea of incentives, most of the people who could take advantage of this are single or older citizens. It may help traffic congestion, but will it help the inner city?

  2. 12 k would definitely be enough for me to move in from the burbs! I’m not a big fan of commuting in heavy traffic, since I grew up in Arkansas where traffic wasn’t too prevalent.

    However, for families that have both parents working, I think it’s more complicated since you have to consider the work locations of both parties.

    • It is more complicated than it appears! How many families would be willing to just pick up and move to the inner city?

  3. There are a lot of factors to consider, as you mention. I would think that if your spouse was working in the opposite direction, there wouldn’t be a good enough reason to move closer to a major metro. This decision would probably be easier for a single person as long as housing was somewhat affordable in the metro, like Washington DC. Is the $12K every year, or a one time deal? That would make a difference!

  4. It wouldn’t work out for me in NYC. I wouldn’t park my car since parking costs about $500-$600 a month, plus rent is about $300 more per month than where I live. The incentive would be wiped out pretty quickly.

  5. Depends on the city. Probably not D.C., but possibly elsewhere because I am single and mobile.

  6. I believe the $12,000 is a one time payment! I presume it was to help defray the cost of moving. In my case my wife works less than a half a mile from home and I work roughly 14 miles from home. The $12,000 would not even cover the broker commission for the sale of my home.

  7. Do you really need an incentive? Many single people are gravitating to the city for the social life.

  8. This particular incentive includes moving to be near the Metro or a subway station. It is a great fit for NYC! I understand you would not want to live in the city, after all it is one of the most expensive cities in the U.S.

  9. This is a great idea and I would probably take that offer. My current place is in the city and we have a bus stop and street car stop right outside the front door. The light rail stop is only a few blocks away. I love having the option to use public transport.

  10. We don’t have a metro where we live, and there is no way I would move to an inter city area just to get $12,000. However, that might just be because I live in the wrong area.

    • The incentive probably won’t work for you! I would guess you do not commute to a congested traffic area either?

  11. I live within a half mile of the Metro station (MARTA) in Atlanta, but almost never use it because once it reaches its destination, there’s no way to get from your departure station to your final destination. Almost every train stops at a parking garage, from which you need to arrange a ride into that neighborhood in order to reach a restaurant/shop/office, etc.

    • That is too bad! In Los Angeles, they have a bus (Dash) that is used to reach those inner city stops. As a nation, we need to upgrade public transportation to reduce traffic in the cities.

  12. The problem with Atlanta is that many people move to the suburbs because the public schools are better. $12,000 wouldn’t begin to cover the cost of a private school education I’d want for my kids rather than the public schools within the city. Without kids, of course in the city is WAY better than the suburbs ;), but I doubt that’s who the $12,000 is aimed at

    • I believe the $12,000 is meant to encourage people out of their cars. Secondly, give people an incentive to move to areas of the city to redevelop it. Initially, single people may move and maybe stay to improve the city.

      • Atlanta has some interesting redevelopment initiatives for living in the city too. If you buy within the city, they’ll give you up to 10% of the sales price as a downpayment (0% interest loan) if your income is below certain levels ($71,700 for 1 or 2 person family, 82,455 for 3 or more.). The more years you stay in the house, the less you need to pay back. But Afford Anything is right, it’s tough to get around on public transit in this city.

        • I like the incentive to redevelop neighborhoods, because it adds to the tax roles immediately. The future for this country is in better public transportation because we can not keep with the traffic simply by building more roads.

  13. It depends on where my husband is working, crime rate of where I am moving to and (if I have children) the school district. If those factors are favorable I will move in a heart beat.

    • I think initially, single people will probably jump at it, but eventually young marrieds might be interested for redevelopment. It certainly be an interesting experiment!

  14. $12,000 is nothing to sneeze at. But if the area isn’t safe, not worth it. A better peace of mind is priceless. I’m a block from a bus stop and have been using my bus and Metro system to get to work. It’s really great. Save money and use the time on the bus to read or write!

  15. I think this is a great idea to get people to move back to the city. For me, it would depend on safety and also how close we are to church, family, and friends.

    • Although this incentive was for Washington, D.C., the secondary objective was to remove traffic congestion. If you use public transportation and live conveniently close to a Metro/bus station, you qualify.

  16. They are currently doing a similar incentive with downtown Detroit. I don’t work down there anymore so it’s not available to me, and maybe several years ago I would have considered it….but not anymore, they still have too high of a crime rate, and poor education system. Maybe if they offered it in Chicago though lol.

    • The incentive also included moving near a Metro station or bus stop and using public transportation. The objective was to reduce traffic congestion..

  17. You are eligible for the incentive because you live near the bus stop and you will take public transportation. Unfortunately, this is only for Washington, D.C. Hypothetically, you are eligible.

  18.  Tough one.  I already live in the city, so I would take the $12,000 if they asked me NOT to leave and I was planning too.  That money would be spent on private school b/c public school here has a lot of problems. Sam

    • Would you do it if it meant moving to a tough or blighted section of the city? I always wonder if monetary incentives or incentives in general actually do what they are intended. The public is smarter than legislators and they find a way to go around it.

  19. Hi Krantcents, Are you kidding me? I love city living and the culture and atmosphere it represents. But…. isn’t DC one of the most dangeous cities in the country? Safety means more to me than money. If they got the crime rate down, then you bet! Otherwise, no way.

    • Although the program is for DC, you may apply it to any large city. In your case, would you move to Philadelphia?

  20. $12k is nothing to sneeze at. If it included the city fringe, I would consider it – but not the CBD, no way – I refuse to live in an apartment, and grocery shopping would be a nightmare. (Also, while I currently work in the CBD, I won’t be much longer). On the CBD outskirts you get some houses, although they do tend to be really close together without much off street parking.

    • The incentive in Washington, DC was move into the city or move near public transportation. The goal was to reduce traffic congestion! I thought it was an interesting concept that may work elsewhere.