90-minute ‘super commutes’ more common as Bay Area housing shortage intensifies
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Re: 90-minute ‘super commutes’ more common as Bay Area housing shortage intensifies
#2It's time to start acknowledging that this is never going to be fixed. SB 827 died when homeowners protested fiercely, and it doesn't look like any proposed replacements are going to get traction either.
People just have too much of their equity tied up in their homes. I hate it, but I can also see where they're coming from: if you had a savings account that accounted for most of your net wealth and was appreciating at double-digits per year, and someone wanted to cut it by a significant percentage, you'd fight them to your last breath too. And there's always going to be a supply of readymade arguments for why this is actually the good, progressive thing to do: https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2018/04/why-should-pr...
You may need to either live with this, or get out of the Bay.
Re: 90-minute ‘super commutes’ more common as Bay Area housing shortage intensifies
#3I commuted 90 minutes each way for a year (120 miles round trip) in SoCal. The time spent driving wasn't that bad; I spent that time listening to books on Audible. The problem was everything else that had to give because I was spending that time driving. I couldn't cook dinner or spend much time with friends. It was tough to stay after work or develop friendships with coworkers because we were so geographically separated. I would not want to do this long term.
Now I work from home. I still listen to audiobooks whenever driving which is still amazing.
Re: 90-minute ‘super commutes’ more common as Bay Area housing shortage intensifies
#4traffic sucks, people leave their office at 3:30 just to avoid traffic, but _everyone_ is doing it , so they still get stuck in traffic...
Re: 90-minute ‘super commutes’ more common as Bay Area housing shortage intensifies
#5I realise new buildings are carbon intensive, but does anyone have the knowledge to do a back-of-the-envelope comparison of carbon emissions if these super-commuters were to move in to high-density housing that enabled them to walk or cycle to their jobs.
Re: 90-minute ‘super commutes’ more common as Bay Area housing shortage intensifies
#6FWIW, this is also true in Boston. I commute from southern NH to Harvard Sq. every day. Unless you have two substantial incomes, or are ok with sub-par schools and a tiny space, it's hard to live close to most economically dynamic cities.
Re: 90-minute ‘super commutes’ more common as Bay Area housing shortage intensifies
#7Wouldn't this be a prime target for new mass transit options?
Re: 90-minute ‘super commutes’ more common as Bay Area housing shortage intensifies
#8I recently had an opportunity to move out to the Bay Area with my current job (I am currently at a satellite office). The commute time combined with CoL and a few other factors made the decision easy to not go. I currently have a 3 minute commute and I would honestly lose my mind if I had to commute 90 mins one way. I have also been seeing a general rise of articles mentioning how many people are leaving, how insane the commutes are becoming, and general unpleasantness of living there if you aren't in the top 10%.
Don't get me wrong, I fully enjoy the area when I visit but unless there are significant changes I don't see myself ever being able to move there.
Re: 90-minute ‘super commutes’ more common as Bay Area housing shortage intensifies
#9Wouldn't this be a prime target for new mass transit options?
Yes, but I would put housing density above mass transit in efficacy.
Re: 90-minute ‘super commutes’ more common as Bay Area housing shortage intensifies
#10I realise new buildings are carbon intensive, but does anyone have the knowledge to do a back-of-the-envelope comparison of carbon emissions if these super-commuters were to move in to high-density housing that enabled them to walk or cycle to their jobs.
What high-density housing?