Personally, I always choose to appreciate where I live and to make my home my sanctuary at the cost of being close to work/things. However, a 2.5 hour commute is really excessive. Are those round-trip figures, or one-way figures?
Personally, a 30-40 minute commute each way is no big deal to me. But I think an hour-and-fifteen commute each way is pretty harsh.
But I'm not you, and you need to determine what you value more: commute time or living area. You also need to figure out realistically what your commute time would look like on a day-to-day basis if you lived in Santa Cruz to help you with your decision. Obviously, shit will sometimes happen, and there are no guarantees that you would NEVER have a really long commute one day, but you should figure out the sweet spot of about how long it'll take you on most normal days. If you go on test drives during rush hour to see about how long it takes, keep in mind that different days can have different traffic volumes. For instance, in LA I find that Monday mornings and afternoons are usually light, and Friday mornings are usually light, but Thursday evenings and Fridays between noon and 5pm are always hell.
If money is a main concern for you, do not forget to factor in gas prices/mileage/car value depreciation/possible insurance rate increases (if you're driving) or train/bus fare (if you are using public transit) when considering that $500 rent figure. Also, daily items (like groceries) might be more expensive in Santa Cruz. Utilities could be too. I suspect after all is said and done that Santa Cruz will still be cheaper, but probably not by as much as you might think at first glance.
Personally, a 30-40 minute commute each way is no big deal to me. But I think an hour-and-fifteen commute each way is pretty harsh.
But I'm not you, and you need to determine what you value more: commute time or living area. You also need to figure out realistically what your commute time would look like on a day-to-day basis if you lived in Santa Cruz to help you with your decision. Obviously, shit will sometimes happen, and there are no guarantees that you would NEVER have a really long commute one day, but you should figure out the sweet spot of about how long it'll take you on most normal days. If you go on test drives during rush hour to see about how long it takes, keep in mind that different days can have different traffic volumes. For instance, in LA I find that Monday mornings and afternoons are usually light, and Friday mornings are usually light, but Thursday evenings and Fridays between noon and 5pm are always hell.
If money is a main concern for you, do not forget to factor in gas prices/mileage/car value depreciation/possible insurance rate increases (if you're driving) or train/bus fare (if you are using public transit) when considering that $500 rent figure. Also, daily items (like groceries) might be more expensive in Santa Cruz. Utilities could be too. I suspect after all is said and done that Santa Cruz will still be cheaper, but probably not by as much as you might think at first glance.
Good luck!
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