My wife and I were recently considering moving. As frequent flyers, the distance from the airport factors into our decision-making. How much does your airport commute affect your home buying decisions?
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Just How Much Flying?
Between work and personal trips we estimate we make about 30-35 commutes annually from our home to our home airport. My work trips comprise about 20 of those visits to the airport every year. Considering that I live between 30-60 minutes from the airport depending on traffic, that can be longer than one work week every year fighting traffic just to leave.
Benefits of Being Close to the Airport
Not only do I reduce my commute time by being close to the airport but I also reduce fuel cost and parking. My employer would be much happier to pay for Uber and taxis than parking fees. It’s cheaper, faster, and more convenient.
My wife, who has become rather talented at sales, pointed out planes on final approach during a particular house viewing. She also mentioned that the closest coffee shop would put me in the arrivals hall, that they offer free parking, and I could get in some plane spotting while I buy a cup of Joe.
The ability to quickly change plans (due to Same Day Changes from status or Southwest flights) and jump on an earlier flight because of proximity is a very valuable advantage – one that doesn’t compute into my savings calculations – but it is valuable.
I’m not sure how to value my sleep and peace of mind either. That being said, I am not a morning person but frequently need to take early flights. The prospect of getting up at 4:30 for a 6:30 AM flight is never welcome – in fact, early flights are the only ones I have missed in nearly a decade. Being able to sleep until 5:00 AM seems like a little change but feels like a luxury.
Using back of the napkin math I save (myself and my company) about $350 in fuel, $2000 in parking, and approximately 24 work hours every year.
Some Airports Are Not In Desirable Locations
While my home airport offers desirable communities near the airport, some cities do not. In fact, many cities have airports in the least desirable part of town, either because land prices were cheap, or the city has moved on.
In an effort not to offend readers or residents, I will avoid naming some that come to mind. Suffice it to say that plenty of airports are not only in dangerous areas but those offering few amenities, especially when it comes to residents. Due to the nature of airports and commerce, many are also surrounded by industry and all of them carry a risk for accidents with planes but also with large amounts of fuel they store and passengers they serve.
Airports like Denver International are so far out of the city that city dwellers have to factor in closer to an hour to make the commute. However, living near DIA puts some dwellers on an island, far from Denver proper and its amenities.
Would You Pay a Premium to Reduce Airport Commutes?
In our case, the neighborhood near the airport presents a premium. It’s not due to location necessarily, but it doesn’t change the fact that we would need to pay more to be closer. In the book, Aerotropolis: How We Will Live Next, authors Kasarda and Lindsey discuss communities built to serve flying commuters. They cite Denver, Washington Dulles, Seoul, and Bangkok as examples of communities of workers that have seen the benefit just as I have and have changed their lives to reduce the commute to the airport.
While some see living in close proximity to active runways as a nuisance, we are considering paying more for the convenience – and the view.
What do you think? Have you moved closer to the airport to reduce your commute time? Is it worth it for the trade-offs you’d have to make?
DIA is not an hour from Denver, it is 30 minutes, unless it is rush hour, in fact due to the way the highways are built most places in Denver (except the southwest side of town and Boulder) are 30-45 minutes
It’s 30 minutes from DIA to Denver proper*†.
*unless it’s rush hour
†some places, others closer to an hour
So it’s an hour at least twice a day and sometimes all day depending on where you’re going in Denver. That’s an hour in my book.
Almost always travel in business and first, but didn’t want to pay extra fuel for commuting and parking? I’m scratching my head…..
For me, a stronger factor in determining where to buy a house is the commute between the house and where I have to work everyday.
Maybe consider a small to medium size airport where housing is more affordable and security lines are non-existent and you can choose a beautiful place to live too.
Not to hijack your article, but I’ve been pondering where is the best place to live after I retire to take advantage of good international airfares. Is somewhere between DFW and IAH the best? Florida? East Tennessee?
I think most people would rather be close to their job, rather than their main airport. Since most people have a “9-5” job where they need to commute 5 days a week.
We now fly out of our home airport (SEA) 40 weeks a year and never considered moving because of this change in duty station for this 10 year max change in our life. I would buy a home for where I really wanted to live – where the schools are the best, close to friends and family and where my house value is going to appreciate the most. Blessedly the new light rail station to SEA is 1.5 miles from our house and we both use it whenever possible to save wear and tear on our cars and our relationship. I have no desire to make things more convenient for my employer, I want to love the place I live because of the community of friends and neighbors I’ve built over the years.
I didn’t pick where I live for proximity to the airport, but at my current level of travel (50+ trips, ~80% same-day), I’m very glad to have it.
I don’t travel enough for airport travel time to be a factor, but even if I did, that would rank pretty low down the list. Commute times to my place of work and quality of schools are far more important (I ain’t paying $20k a year for private school, period).
Psssshh. He wants the world to know that he travels a lot. Let him brag.
Brag? This is a travel blog. He is a travel writer.
Agreed about quality of schools & quality of life being top priority…but if I can live closer to the airport…that is a big bonus. I feel DFW airport is just about the perfect example, in that very nice communities are right next door. (Grapevine, Southlake, West Lake, Colleyville, Coppell, etc.)
I travel once or twice per week and think the very same thing. I have a 5-10 minute bike ride to the office from home but a 30-minute drive to the airport in Portland. As much as I want to live closer to PDX, I am at the office more and it would be an uneven tradeoff. Very few people travel THAT much to make it a priority since the closer you are to the airport, generally the farther you are from civilization. Generally….
In my case, where I live has determined what airports in the metro area I am more likely to fly out of.
I live 15 minutes from the DFW terminals and love it. Personally, it is important to me.
If you’re going to purchase near an airport, try to avoid purchasing under a flight path. Next, find out which direction the prevailing take-offs occur. The reason being, take-offs are done at full power, while landings are basically gliding in. It’s MUCH quieter on the landing side. So, for DFW, the northwest & northeast of the airport are the best.
we now live (with traffic ) up to over 2 hours to get to the airport with traffic..and at the wrong time which is always…on a thurs at 4:10 pm it took 4 yes 4 hours to go the 45 miles home.. nuts and nothing being done about it.. we must move to a city less congested..
You weren’t going to offend anybody by saying that ATL is in a horrible part of town 🙂
Being in the DMV one of the great assets we have are three very useable airports that are functional for commute and each offer their own unique set of advantages.
DCA-close in to DC and you can be to the terminal in under 15 minutes from the city. Disadvantage is the size of the airport that limits options…especially to the West Coast.
Dulles-40 minutes and the go-to for Intl flights with numerous options. Disadvantage would be the trains to terminals and the added time it takes from car to gate.
BWI-45 minutes and an often viable option. Generally cheaper as a Southwest hub and offers a lot of good options throughout the day. Disadvantage is being the furthest and, well, Southwest pretty much controls it.
I personally think that the DMV is the best urban region in the world for offering options that are each unique and perfectly placed. You can live anywhere in the area and adjust accordingly.