Commute Comparison Worksheet (the Eastside)

Because you live it twice a day, every workday. Similar-looking neighborhoods can be 20+ minutes apart at rush hour depending on I-405/SR-520 access — a gap that compounds into 100+ hours a year. The kitchen you can change; the commute you can't.

Drive it at actual rush hour in both directions, not midday. Peak and reverse-peak times differ sharply, and a route that's fine at 11 a.m. can be brutal at 8. The real number only shows up at the times you'd travel.

Yes. If you commute two or three days a week, transit and reverse-commute options may matter more than raw peak drive time. Weight the commute to your actual in-office pattern, not a five-day assumption.

Yes — bus routes, park-and-ride access, and future transit plans add flexibility and can affect resale. Good transit options hedge against changing jobs, gas prices, or return-to-office shifts.

Enough to trade for. A 20-minute daily saving is roughly 80–100 hours a year; many buyers rationally pay more, or accept less house, to get it. Put a value on the time before ranking homes on price alone.

Score candidate neighborhoods on real peak-time drive and transit to your workplace, then search where the number works. Building that commute-first search is part of a Real Estate Review.