With the cost of gas weighing so heavily on Floridians, it’s no surprise that commuting distances are essential to new home owners. In 2008, buying real estate is all about location and how close buyers are to local amenities such as movie theaters, stores, banks, and their workplace.

According to the Housing and Transportation Index, Floridians can expect to contribute more than 18% of their gross income to transportation costs. By living closer to or within an urban area, homeowners can dramatically decrease their transportation costs.

The cost of gas is staggering. For example, on InventHP, consumers can calculate their current commuting costs. If you’re living in the suburbs with a 40-mile round-trip commute you can expect to spend $248 per month. Find a house within 5 miles of your job, and you’re looking at $60 a month – a significant savings!

It doesn’t stop there. Take for example the Bay City Trolley: for $20 per month, you can get anywhere within Panama City by using a monthly pass. If you live right off the trolley line, you’ll get where you need to go without any hassles. The trolley is a cheaper, greener, and more efficient solution.

Getting a house with a good walk score

As we all know, location is essential in any kind of real estate – whether you’re buying commercial or residential real estate. Suburban living has brought us further and further away from a city’s epicenter, so moving back may seem downright frightening.

However, a good way to tell if your new urban home is going to be your ideal residence, you’ll need to understand how many businesses are within walking distance. By being close to everyday needs (for example, grocery stores and banks) you’ll not only be saving yourself from filling up the tank every few days, but also you’ll be helping the environment and involving yourself in your neighborhood.

Walk Score is a website you can use when you’re house-hunting to find out what types of businesses are located nearby. Integrated with Google Maps, it shows you how many businesses are in your local area, what types, and how far they are from your address. It also provides a ‘Walk Score’ to help you differentiate between addresses.

All in all, having a home in close proximity to your work not only alleviates your daily commute and gas costs, but can have other tangible benefits such as helping to reduce global warming and becoming more involved in your own community.