You sound like you work for the Government lol and now I’m wondering which one has offices in those spots. Most of my team works in DC and live in the DC suburbs; some with commutes close to 2 hours one way. We’re very grateful for a telework friendly organization; we also only have to report to the office twice per pay period.

The 5% pay cut you’d take by moving up here would absolutely be cancelled out by the lower cost of living. Say you were to take a transfer to the office near independence mall, check out the areas around Collingswood, NJ for living. Super easy commute on the PATCO train into Philly and just a couple of blocks walk to the office. Talking about a half hour absolute max, which includes time spent getting to PATCO, on the train, and then walking to the building. Plan it right, you can cut it down to 15-20.

One of the differences with our suburbs here, is many are less walkable than some of the DC suburbs. I feel like in DC, a lot of the close in suburbs are more like little cities themselves with their own downtown. Up here, it’s definitely more suburban sprawl. But that’s not to say there aren’t some really cute, walkable areas. And traffic isn’t nearly as congested here outside of normal rush hour.

The Philly metro area is really nicely positioned. Down to DC in 2-3 hours; up to NYC in less than 2. Down the shore in under 2. Up the mountains in about 2-3 as well. We have fewer airports, but honestly PHL is better than its reputation. The DC metro beats our public transportation easily because of its expanse, but ours really isn’t awful. Better than a lot off other cities.

I have family that just moved back to this area after being in DC for a few decades. They kept a lot of their DC doctors and just make a little trip out of visits to visit friends they still have down there. They are retired so this is probably easier for them to do than it would someone who is still working. The Philly area has great medical care as well.