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The Rise of the Outrageously Long Commute

theatlantic.com

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Re: The Rise of the Outrageously Long Commute

#81

Post by omouse »

mirceal wrote: post #78
sjclemmy wrote: post #61

I've done various commutes in my working life. Nothing beats being able to walk to work: 1) It's not too far, 2) It's exercise - what's not to like? 3) It's always, ALWAYS, the same length of time. Which allows you to plan. 4) It's not too far. My least favourite commute is on the British motorways, one day it could take the minimum amount of time, the next it could be 4 times longer. This amount of variation adds to…

this you never really truly appreciate what impact your commute has until you have a 5 minutes walking commute. I did this at some point for around 1 year. It was awesome. 3) above did not apply though. I had to cross a really busy street (i.e. car traffic) and the pedestrian traffic light took around 2.5 minutes (I kid you not). Depending on that damn traffic light my commute time could be 4 minutes or 6+ minutes. R…

Indeed, it's something you can really appreciate on a university campus where most everything you need as a student is within 10 minutes of walking. Amazing how easily we give that up for a fat paycheck and a mortgage.

Re: The Rise of the Outrageously Long Commute

#82

Post by robbrulinski »

kaitai wrote: post #52
hobos_delight wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Almost 1 year ago I gave up a 90-minute each way train commute in Sydney for a 20-minute cycle commute in Ireland (obviously there were other factors). I love the freedom to come and go when I please, and not be held up by seemingly random infrastructure failures that can ruin your whole evening. I've actually found myself extending the bike route to get a bit more exercise in (when it's not lashing that is).

Yep. When's the last time a crash on the bike lane added 40 minutes to your commute (unless it was your crash)? Construction on the bike lane = extensive detour? Nope.

I'm two years into my bike commute. I ran into a woman on the street as she was not paying attention.

Re: The Rise of the Outrageously Long Commute

#83

Post by hiram112 »

lrvick wrote: post #31

If you are optimising for having nice accommodations for your family, but never see them, you get points as a provider I guess, but you fail at being a parent or spouse. I would of waaaay rather of lived in a trailer, and grown up actually having a father around, instead of some distant workaholic male figure that is the "great provider" that allowed an upper middle class lifestyle. For some I feel being far away mak…

Part of raising kids is providing them with the means to excel - good nutrition, education, clothing, etc. In our society, this equates to money.

While I understand it is not fair to trivialize a typical stay at home mother, it seems we've pushed the pendulum too far to the other side, where the typical working father is damned if he works a lot to pay the bills, and damned if he cuts down in order to take over more parenting duties. He's either a workaholic male or a deadbeat. Can't win.

And yes I realize that some two parent families have reversed gender roles, but the statistics still show the stay-at-home mother and working father are typical, at least in the US.

Re: The Rise of the Outrageously Long Commute

#84

Post by dwd »

cmarschner wrote: post #42
technofiend wrote: post #3

Is this the next "I work 27 hour days and never leave the office" thing people will brag about? I understand keeping a family together is good parenting but is choosing to spend 3-4 days a week elsewhere good parenting? I would question that versus relocating them if needed.

Being at home tired Fridays to Sunday afternoons is not what I would call good parenting. It means the wife (and I guess we're mostly talking about women here) is carrying the family.

Spot on - the wife/partner carrying the family is the biggest issue in my daily 4hr commute. Also an issue is just not able to be there in an emergency. For example, my wife locked herself out of the house yesterday and fortunately her parents who are close have a spare key. But children or pets get sick/injured and you really need to be close and that is always a worry.

Re: The Rise of the Outrageously Long Commute

#85

Post by Terr_ »

dba7dba wrote: post #29
dclowd9901 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And they kept saying "I didn't want to uproot my family blah blah." Is there no value in exposing your children to unique and different experiences? I'll have failed if my kids grew up in the same town/city all their lives.

>> I'll have failed if my kids grew up in the same town/city all their lives. I grew up in a family that had to move around a lot, to the point where I attended 3 different elementary schools, 2 different junior highs and 1 high school. We were not rich but poor. And I SO WISH I had grown up in same neighborhood so that I could've have made some friends in my childhood. You can go live in different towns/cities when…

It isn't just geographical either: I spent many formative years in a single school-system as an expatriate in Hong Kong... But despite being a long-term resident everybody else (or at least, those who spoke English and went to my school) kept cycling in and out. (Executives' kids, military service-members' kids, etc.) I wouldn't be surprised if the yearly turnover was 10-25%.

Re: The Rise of the Outrageously Long Commute

#86

Post by adebtlawyer »

omouse wrote: post #80

I'm about to go from a 40min commute to an hour and a half commute (or so). It's quite astounding how many people commute in from the suburbs to downtown when it would be much easier and cheaper just to setup smaller offices in the suburbs or allow more remote work. It's also amazing to me that after 30+ years, the suburbs are barely built up. It's somehow economically sustainable to move a bunch of people from point…

Zoning won't allow it - the suburbs are not built up intentionally.

Re: The Rise of the Outrageously Long Commute

#87

Post by ek750 »

zhte415 wrote: post #44
raz32dust wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Picture this - you could be sleeping in the car while it drives itself. It doesn't sound so ridiculous then. Anyway, I think telecommuting is going to be the norm pretty soon. Commutes would themselves be rare. They might be a lot longer though.

> I think telecommuting is going to be the norm pretty soon. Holograms. Imagine sitting next to a hologram, in a meeting or just in an office setting. This would be amazing, and is coming (I hope).

And until we perfect holograms, hopefully gear like oculus rift can fill that role.

Re: The Rise of the Outrageously Long Commute

#88

Post by dclowd9901 »

tsotha wrote: post #60
iamphilrae wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I grew up in the same small Scottish town my whole life, as did all my friends. I'm now 32, live in London, have travelled the world, but best of all, I still very regularly see my old school friends. Giving kids culture growing up is one thing, but giving them the gift of being friends with the same people since they were 3 is amazing. My uni friends have come and gone, I barely see them, but I see my old school mat…

I agree with this. My dad was in the military, and we moved every three or four years. I was always jealous of kids who had lifelong friends, and tired of always being the new guy.

Its unrealistic to have expected to make lifelong friends with people whose only commonality you have is where you grew up.

Re: The Rise of the Outrageously Long Commute

#89

Post by dclowd9901 »

voidz wrote: post #38
dba7dba wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> I'll have failed if my kids grew up in the same town/city all their lives. I grew up in a family that had to move around a lot, to the point where I attended 3 different elementary schools, 2 different junior highs and 1 high school. We were not rich but poor. And I SO WISH I had grown up in same neighborhood so that I could've have made some friends in my childhood. You can go live in different towns/cities when…

I agree, having grown up similarly. It's very important to be able to grow roots. Not being able to because of frequently relocating can cause a permanent feeling of being disconnected throughout adult lifehood as a result.

News flash: I grew up in the same area for 30 years and still feel disconnected. What you're experiencing is ennui.

Re: The Rise of the Outrageously Long Commute

#90

Post by voidz »

dclowd9901 wrote: post #89
voidz wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree, having grown up similarly. It's very important to be able to grow roots. Not being able to because of frequently relocating can cause a permanent feeling of being disconnected throughout adult lifehood as a result.

News flash: I grew up in the same area for 30 years and still feel disconnected. What you're experiencing is ennui.

No, that's what you're experiencing I think. And 'news flash' makes you sound very condescending, can't help but wonder if this was intended.

Anyway, you might feel disconnected. I actually was disconnected, multiple times, from my friends, environment, and had no other possibility but to start from scratch. So I don't even understand why you feel the need to compare, to be honest.

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