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The Shut-In Economy

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Re: The Shut-In Economy

#281

Post by JohnBooty »

yojo wrote: post #147
JohnBooty wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> For example, if you go to a laundromat regularly or > catch a bus regularly, you eventually end up seeing the > same people and might even end up making friends with > them. Maybe even good enough friends that you coordinate > your journeys/tasks in order to catch up? You can make friends anywhere. Even in stores! My mother met one of her best friends when she was a customer at the supermarket where her friend work…

I think it's not just friendship, it's a feeling of connectedness and community that comes from knowing people in your neighborhood and being known. For five years I lived in a rundown SF unit with no laundry on site. Every week my wife and I would drop our clothes at a nearby family run wash and fold. Over years of little interactions we started to develop a semblance of friendship and real fondness for the owner. T…

  > As you point out, there might be active interventions 
  > to try and replace this connection (e.g. volunteering), 
  > but the default has shifted from "get to know the people 
  > around you through transactions"
I grew up in (and recently bought a home in) a place where we were very close to our neighbors, but we were a mile or two away from the nearest retail stuff. I'm completely into the idea of "get to know the people around you" - it's actually the "through transactions" part that doesn't resonate with me!

In my head I'm like, "I shovel my neighbor's snow and build snow forts with their kids. Why would I need to be friends with the dude who works at the convenience store too? If I am, great, but it's not exactly a pressing need in order to form a connection with my surroundings..."

But I realize that's not everybody's situation. I have lived in places where neighbors didn't typically befriend each other. I definitely realize that friendly neighbors are a luxury. In my experiences, renters don't typically attempt to form friendships like homeowners do since renting is more of a transitory thing. And owning a home is definitely not advisable for everybody, nor attainable for everybody.

Re: The Shut-In Economy

#282

Post by JohnBooty »

WalterSear wrote: post #242
JohnBooty wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's the one! $60/week for three meals for two. More expensive than groceries but cheaper than dining out! The meals take about 20-30 minutes to prepare and cook. It's been working for us.

For me, that's barely cheaper than eating out, if at all. The portions are always big enough for two people - unhealthily so.

For us, sit-down meals for two at a restaurant were usually at least $50 including tip.

I'm comparing Blue Apron specifically to a sit-down meal because for us the point of dining out was to relax and spend time together - something that cooking at least three meals a week together gets us to do. It also gets us to try ingredients we wouldn't normally consider.

That's just why it works for us, specifically! Definitely not for everybody. I don't work for them and the only stock I own is chicken stock. :)

Re: The Shut-In Economy

#283

Post by smackfu »

venomsnake wrote: post #173
JohnBooty wrote: post #91

I don't feel like ordering things online makes me a shut-in at all - just the opposite. I work a lot, and by spending less time on the drudgery of brick-and-mortar shopping, I have more time to spend on the things that matter to me. Including socializing. Yeah, maybe I leave the house less, but are those trips to the store really "quality time?" Making a run to Wal-Mart or the supermarket to buy toilet paper is time…

With no knead bread, sous vide, a pressure cooker, and a tiny bit of planning you can have from scratch meals with less than 5 minutes hands on time per day.

People tend to vastly underestimate the time needed for amateur cooks to do prep work. A lot of people need 5 minutes just to chop an onion.

Re: The Shut-In Economy

#284

Post by [deleted] »

lmm wrote: post #262
mrec wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Your environment is what you make of it. Alternatively, maybe different people genuinely prefer different environments. You appear to be an extreme extrovert, so it's no great surprise that you enjoy living in a metropolis. Other people aren't, and don't.

I think that's backwards from the usual definition of "extrovert". I don't like making small-talk with relative strangers, whether that's the store clerk, someone waiting for the same train, or what have you. So I love living in a big city.

[deleted]

Re: The Shut-In Economy

#285

Post by smackfu »

WalterSear wrote: post #242
JohnBooty wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's the one! $60/week for three meals for two. More expensive than groceries but cheaper than dining out! The meals take about 20-30 minutes to prepare and cook. It's been working for us.

For me, that's barely cheaper than eating out, if at all. The portions are always big enough for two people - unhealthily so.

They always keep right around 700 calories, which is pretty healthy for a dinner.

Re: The Shut-In Economy

#286

Post by [deleted] »

unimportant wrote: post #271
normloman wrote: post #250

"Mallon is a 26-year-old in New York City who works as a branding sales consultant to tech companies, regularly working from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. " What? Who the hell thinks this is healthy? This person is literally filling all their waking life with work. Even if you love the shit out of your job, you're neglecting your mental and physical health by working that long. (And in all likelihood, she doesn't love the shit ou…

Welcome to NY, where everybody outside of Brooklyn is a high achiever who thinks it's necessary to fill his life with as much work as possible, as otherwise someone else might get his job / he might miss out on a promotion.

[deleted]

Re: The Shut-In Economy

#287

Post by WorldWideWayne »

JohnBooty wrote: post #276
agentultra wrote: post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One thing I've noticed is the missing "friendly strangers" in my life -- the people you recognize by being visible in your community at all of the places people regularly frequent (or used to at least). Seeing the same people again and even just recognizing they are there reinforces a sense of place for me. I moved out of the big city to a smaller one and was instantly fascinated by people who would say, "Hi," as I p…

Yeah it's weird. In the city, you can meet all these people, but actual neighbors treat each other like strangers. In the suburbs, neighbors are often (not always!) super friendly. My neighbors and I have watched each others' pets and helped each other in a lot of ways. I think it's just the "buying" versus "renting" thing. In the city most people are renting. There's less incentive to make friends with your neighbor…

I think it's dangerous to make friends with the neighbors wherever you live because you can't easily get away from them if you end up having problems.

Re: The Shut-In Economy

#288

Post by JohnBooty »

huehehue wrote: post #132
JohnBooty wrote: post #91

I don't feel like ordering things online makes me a shut-in at all - just the opposite. I work a lot, and by spending less time on the drudgery of brick-and-mortar shopping, I have more time to spend on the things that matter to me. Including socializing. Yeah, maybe I leave the house less, but are those trips to the store really "quality time?" Making a run to Wal-Mart or the supermarket to buy toilet paper is time…

So would you say there's now a greater efficiency to your social interactions knowing that they are, for the most part, more uncommon? There could be something to be gained by learning not to take personal transactions for granted, but I'm curious as to whether there's any proof/metrics for that. Also, playing devil's advocate, but I don't see how the online shopping experience is any better - sure, there isn't human…

I wouldn't say my social interactions are less or more common now. I never really considered my shopping trips to be social experiences anyway.

I grew up in an area where we were close to our neighbors but the nearest retail anything was a few miles away. Mostly chain franchises. After some years inbetween I now live someplace similar again.

So I had (and have) friends, family, and neighbors. To me brick and mortar shopping was just a really inefficient drudgery I'm glad to have mostly cut out. Those were not really social experiences for me.

There are exceptions. A good local comic or music store is priceless and those can be really social experiences.

AS AN ASIDE: I feel like retail shopping has gotten even less social. Since we usually pay with cards now, we make less eye contact with the cashier, since we're watching for the little screen to say "swipe now" or "enter PIN" or whatever.

Re: The Shut-In Economy

#289

Post by Kalium »

c22 wrote: post #182
Kalium wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The online shopping experience doesn't require me to find my shoes and generally doesn't have fixed hours. Also, at this point, online shops often offer better security.

What do you mean by security in this context?

Better handling of sensitive payment card information.

Re: The Shut-In Economy

#290

Post by michaelchisari »

wutbrodo wrote: post #191
ForHackernews wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I went to university with a girl who didn't know how to operate a dishwasher. At first, I assumed it was because her family had not been wealthy enough to own a dishwasher; later, I found out it was because they were so wealthy they had servants who loaded and ran their dishwasher for them.

The problem I have with people who say things like this is that these things are easily Googlable. I didn't "know" how to do laundry until I went to college (my sister and I had specific chores and laundry was one of hers). During a fight with my sister when I was still in high school, I recall her using that as an insult: "You don't even know how to do LAUNDRY". I needed to do laundry my first week of school: I coul…

The only gap between "knowing" and "not knowing" is perhaps three seconds of Googling

Have you ever worked tech support and had to help a lawyer or doctor set up their router?

It's not about mental deficiency.

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