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You have me thinking, sphinx. There are apartments right next to my work location. Right now, I’m living with my mother about 36 road miles away from work, or rather, I own the house and she lives with me. So maybe, if these apartments are age-compatible (I’m currently 51), I will move into one of them after she passes from the scene and I’ve paid off the house. Then I could literally walk to work. I would want to keep the car to visit relatives and friends outside of town, however.

Moving is a hassle when a job changes. I understand that, and I might accept a long distance commute in that situation. BUT: if I worked in DC and took a job in Baltimore, would I move? Probably, if I thought the job was permanent. But again, if I lived in College Park and took a job in Tysons or further out along the Dulles Corridor, would I move?

There's a psychological oddity that comes into play at this point. People live in College Park and take a job in Tysons … and think, "I'm still a Washingtonian. I don't need to move, I just need to get across town." From there it's a short step to, "It's my inherent right as a Great American to get across town quickly, because a fast commute is right there in the constitution. So why can't those &(%*#&+#@! politicians get the &(%*#&+#@! beltway fixed?" And never mind that it would be closer and faster to drive up to Baltimore.

My advice, as always, is to live within five miles of your job. Life doesn't always work out that way, but if we could get more people thinking in those terms, it would get an awful lot of people off the arterial roads. Living close to work should be the default option. We need to concentrate on building neighborhoods that make it an attractive option for more people.