90-minute ‘super commutes’ more common as Bay Area housing shortage intensifies • Hacker News Board

Re: 90-minute ‘super commutes’ more common as Bay Area housing shortage intensifies

#251

Post by LyndsySimon » Wed, Apr 25, 2018, 7:28 PM UTC

majewsky wrote: post #196

kevinconaway wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Videoconferencing introduces friction in to the process. Those meetings must be planned and scheduled. There are no serendipitous hallway or kitchen conversations that flow easily when people are colocated There is also the friction of the software itself. Whiteboarding and freewheeling discussion is possible but it doesn’t have the same feel to it

Also, you can pick up on the body language of people. When I want to discuss something with one of my colleagues, I can glance over at their desk and see if they're focused on something or just staring out of the window, waiting for something to compile. That way I don't have to rip him out of his focus like I would usually have to do with Slack etc.

I'm remote, and have largely fixed the Slack issue by keeping it silent on my desktop - no notifications. I have a very small set of filters for notification on my iPad, like if someone mentions me by name or certain people DM me. Otherwise, I tab over to Slack when I'm waiting for something else.

Re: 90-minute ‘super commutes’ more common as Bay Area housing shortage intensifies

#252

Post by ghaff » Wed, Apr 25, 2018, 7:28 PM UTC

ducster696 wrote: post #30

seibelj wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, this is because you chose to live extremely far away! There are plenty of places in Massachusetts that are closer and affordable, with decent schools. Every employee I've had who commuted from NH to Boston wound up pretty miserable because of the commute.

There aren't that many places left out there between NH and Boston that are on the affordable scale. Do you have a couple towns in mind that are fairly affordable still? I have been looking in the suburbs of Boston and when I switched it up to look at Southern NH it was crazy the changes in prices as well as how long the houses have been on the market.

The other answer is pretty good. I live in Lancaster which is a bit further west still and it's not super expensive. If you get that far out, the trick is to live near commuter rail and/or one of the highways. In my case, I'm a few minutes from the Fitchburg commuter rail and Route 2. It's still a long commute if you work in the city. (I don't.) And it's not that bad to go into the city in the evening though the traffic is worse than it used to be. I'm actually going in in a little to see a play.

Re: 90-minute ‘super commutes’ more common as Bay Area housing shortage intensifies

#253

Post by several » Wed, Apr 25, 2018, 7:28 PM UTC

r_klancer wrote: post #189

WhompingWindows wrote: post #24

This is increasingly common in the Boston area as well. Cambridge/MIT is a massive biotech hub, meanwhile we have huge companies with many large offices in the downtown or in surrounding suburbs. Many workers live in RI, NH, or Central Mass, and getting to work for 9 am consistently will involve leaving at 730 for many, many workers due to congestion, construction, and the god-awful mess that is Boston infrastructure…

Anecdata: I signed the contract yesterday for a small Somerville single-family, near the Cambridge line, for just over $700k. I'm expecting to put $200k+ into it. If a developer got their hands on it, they would expand the square footage to the maximum possible extent, put in the trendiest appliances and finishes, and flip it for > $1m. That seems to be the economically rational thing for them to do in this market. B…

Quite curious where you managed to find a single family in Somerville for $700K. On zillow the only listings between 650-750K are 1000 sqft condos.

Re: 90-minute ‘super commutes’ more common as Bay Area housing shortage intensifies

#254

Post by ghaff » Wed, Apr 25, 2018, 7:29 PM UTC

replicatorblog wrote: post #211

ducster696 wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There aren't that many places left out there between NH and Boston that are on the affordable scale. Do you have a couple towns in mind that are fairly affordable still? I have been looking in the suburbs of Boston and when I switched it up to look at Southern NH it was crazy the changes in prices as well as how long the houses have been on the market.

Depends a lot on your definition of affordable. Assuming a budget of $500K, a desire for 3-bedroom+, a commute to Boston/Cambridge, and access to a strong school system, these are the towns I'd consider: + Acton: there are a couple dozen 1,500 sqft. split levels that come on the market per year. Good commuter rail access to the red line. Top 20 state school system. + Andover/Burlington/Frankling are all top 50 school…

I'd agree with that. A friend of mine basically gave up on Malden a couple years back, sold his place, and moved to Winchester.

Re: 90-minute ‘super commutes’ more common as Bay Area housing shortage intensifies

#255

Post by eqdw » Wed, Apr 25, 2018, 7:32 PM UTC

My bay area commutes:

2012-2013, live in SF work in San Mateo 25 minute walk to caltrain + 45 minute caltrain ride + 5 minute walk from caltrain ====> 75 minute door to door

2013-2014, live in SF (Potrero Ave in the Mission) work in SF (Financial District) On bus, due to surface traffic + busses not coming, anywhere from 20 - 80 minute commute On foot, ~75 minute commute (3.5 miles walk) ===> 75 minute door to door

2014-2015, live in Berkeley, Work in SF 20 minute walk to BART + 30 minute BART ride + 15 minute walk from BART ===> 65 minute door to doo

2015-2017, live in Oakland work in SF 20 minute walk to Transbay bus + 20 - 60 minute bus ride + 15 minute walk from BART ===> on average 90 minute commute

I absolutely agree that 90 minute commutes are absurd and unacceptable. I moved out of the bay area and now my door to door commute is 15-20 minutes. It has dramatically changed my life for the better.

But every time I read an article that complains about the commutes in the bay area _getting bad_, it confuses me. My commutes in the bay area have _always_ been that bad. Who are all these people with relatively reasonable commutes and how do they do it?

Re: 90-minute ‘super commutes’ more common as Bay Area housing shortage intensifies

#256

Post by LyndsySimon » Wed, Apr 25, 2018, 7:33 PM UTC

rubicon33 wrote: post #120

nathan_long wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been a fully remote developer for 4 1/2 years. My employer has no physical office. I live in a pleasant medium-sized town, I bought a house for less than a Bay-area toolshed, and I can commute myself downstairs to make a sandwich. If every worker were remote, can you even imagine how hard you'd have to work to justify a physical office to the CFO and potential hires?

I've been remote for 5 years. I know about all the benefits, but I'm always curious how others are dealing with the drawbacks. I've written about it a few times here on HN: - Social isolation How do you ensure that your social brain is exercised? If I don't make a conscious & deliberate point of it, I can go an entire day without leaving the house, sometimes multiple days. Working from home can mean 8 solid hours of…

I do it by breaking up my work into chunks. Being remote allows me the leverage that isolation to give myself blocks of 100% productivity; I intersperse that with going out and doing things.

I often work outdoors in the warmer months. I've got an office at home, but I've also got a handful of places where I can park my Jeep and either hang my hammock or pull out the back seat and work in the shade, with the background noise of nature and/or traffic depending on my mood. I'll do that for 2-4 hours, then go grab a coffee or go to the park with my kids (we homeschool). After a couple of hours of that, I usually go back to one of my spots and do it again. Other days I'll work at night after my wife and kids are in bed.

Re: 90-minute ‘super commutes’ more common as Bay Area housing shortage intensifies

#257

Post by several » Wed, Apr 25, 2018, 7:35 PM UTC

ilamont wrote: post #114

WhompingWindows wrote: post #24

This is increasingly common in the Boston area as well. Cambridge/MIT is a massive biotech hub, meanwhile we have huge companies with many large offices in the downtown or in surrounding suburbs. Many workers live in RI, NH, or Central Mass, and getting to work for 9 am consistently will involve leaving at 730 for many, many workers due to congestion, construction, and the god-awful mess that is Boston infrastructure…

What I find amazing is companies insisting on being located near Kendall or the Seaport District (and paying massive amounts of money for the privilege) to be "innovative." Why aren't more companies in New England going to where the commercial real estate and housing are cheaper?

Part(s) of problem is A. access to employees with the right skill sets and B. their respective commutes and desire to live closer to the city.

So, you could choose to locate a company in Worcester (or even closer in, say, Framingham), but many of the 20/30 somethings will have a tough time getting to these locations and these towns themselves don't have people with the necessary skill sets.

It's criminal the train from Boston to Worcester is slower today than it was in 1950. But that's another topic.

Re: 90-minute ‘super commutes’ more common as Bay Area housing shortage intensifies

#258

Post by JetSpiegel » Wed, Apr 25, 2018, 7:37 PM UTC

nathan_long wrote: post #91

joker3 wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The people profiled in the article are a restaurant manager and a construction superintendent. How are they going to telecommute?

They're not. But if all the nerds spread themselves out over the rest of the country, the restaurants and construction projects wouldn't all be crammed up in Traffic Jam City, either.

The reason restaurants exist is BECAUSE the nerds are all stuck in the same place and they need food.

Re: 90-minute ‘super commutes’ more common as Bay Area housing shortage intensifies

#259

Post by 49bc » Wed, Apr 25, 2018, 7:38 PM UTC

jupiter90000 wrote: post #224

49bc wrote: post #145

Let’s just get a few things straight regarding remote work: * Your job is not to “write code” no matter how much you wish it was that simple. Your job is to provide value for your company. * You provide much more value for your company when you’re available in-person than when you’re remote. You provide value to your coworkers who can communicate to you easily, effectively, and timely. * it’s much easier for your man…

Let's get another thing straight: remote workers can add enough value that a company will want to hire them, and it happens all the time.

Yes, and that value is commensurate with the number of remote workers.

Re: 90-minute ‘super commutes’ more common as Bay Area housing shortage intensifies

#260

Post by d1zzy » Wed, Apr 25, 2018, 7:38 PM UTC

eqdw wrote: post #255

My bay area commutes: 2012-2013, live in SF work in San Mateo 25 minute walk to caltrain + 45 minute caltrain ride + 5 minute walk from caltrain ====> 75 minute door to door 2013-2014, live in SF (Potrero Ave in the Mission) work in SF (Financial District) On bus, due to surface traffic + busses not coming, anywhere from 20 - 80 minute commute On foot, ~75 minute commute (3.5 miles walk) ===> 75 minute door to door 2…

Depends on how far back you go for "always", the source/destination of your commutes and the manner (walking, biking, transit, driving). 10 years ago I'd commute (driving) further for around 20 minutes, now it takes me 40 minutes for 75% of the same distance. And luckily I don't even have to take 85 or 880 anymore and can bike most of the days so I don't really care but I have noticed large commute times differences over the past 10 years. And it's only going to get worse.