Living closer to services or work can help you save money on transportation costs. Utilities also typically cost less in multi-family buildings.
I heard a story about a nanny choosing a basement suite so they could live to their host family. I heard another story about a student renting a suite. Sometimes a smaller unit in a great location can dramatically reduce transportation costs, but also help someone spend much less time commuting.
Transportation consumes a larger share of household budgets than housing for many North Americans, a decade of research shows, even as policymakers largely ignore this reality and its negative impacts on housing costs, public health, and climate change.
In a November report, the Smart Prosperity Institute’s PLACE Centre identified extremely high transportation costs as a significant barrier to housing affordability. On average, 17.2% of Canadian households’ “shelter-related” budget goes towards transportation (largely ownership and use of personal vehicles), exceeding the 16.5% cost for mortgages or rent.
Responding to a longitudinal study of lethal levels of ultrafine particulate air pollution in Toronto and Montreal published last August, experts urged measures to decrease the total number of cars on Ontario’s Highway 401 by building out public transit and bike lanes to better protect public health.
Sarah Buchanan, campaigns director at the Toronto Environmental Alliance, said whether policymakers are trying to ease the misery of commuters or protect public health, the “worst way to solve these problems is by adding more traffic, adding more cars.” (Read More: https://www.theenergymix.com/commuting-costs-families-more-than-housing-as-affordable-homes-drive-buyers-out-of-town/)