Where is Everyone Going?!?

[ExFlyBoy5]

Since being retired, I have noticed that some folks drive a LOT. What do you mean, you ask? Well, we live on a dead-end street that has 4 houses beyond ours. Our office/desk top computer area has large picture windows that overlooks the front of the house and the street. On days that I spend 3 or 4 hours in the office area, I will see that a few of the neighbors will come and go several times a day. When I say "several times a day", I mean that to be 10 or more times, in a SINGLE DAY. Sometimes, they will come and go 3 or 4 times in a single hour!

I really don't get it. We are about 2 miles from the neighborhood entrance, so it's a good 5 minutes just to get out of the neighborhood and then another 5-7 minutes to even get to the closest store. Perhaps we have several Uber drivers in the neighborhood?

I know it's none of my business, but I tend to think that it's just a big waste of time and gas. If I am leaving the house, I will try and group any errands I might have to run. Up until my Dad's recent health issues...it wasn't uncommon for my car to sit in the garage for 3 or 4 days before I had to go anywhere. Now, I pay visits to my Dad on a daily basis...but I do combine that trip with any errands I might have to run, so I usually only "come and go" once a day.

But...it's Monday...my favorite day of the week...so really, it's not a big deal!

 

[JoeWras]

I've seen this with one young neighbor. He is always running off to have coffee, go to job 1, then job 2, then lunch at the fast food, etc. Lots of running around as friends text him. And seemingly every meal is out.

In your case, another alternative is they are into drugs. That seems to cause a lot of activity.

 

[Midpack]

Since retiring I've made a point of trying to take my car out only once every other day, and I've stuck to that mostly to conserve time, gas and miles. I am outside every day walking, biking, playing golf, sailing or working in the yard - but I am starting to think it's a good idea for me to drive somewhere just to get out of/away from the house daily, for more social interaction if nothing else. So I'm not as rigid as I was, out once or twice a day is OK to me now...

Most of my neighbors are still working, so their cars are gone all day. I am noticing teenagers are coming and going several times/day now that school is out.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

Beats the heck out of me. I live near the entrance of my subdivision and I see the same thing. There’s a young man with a Jeep souped up to be as loud as possible (it seems). He starts in and out around 9:00 and continues until after dark. I can’t fathom where he goes. I’ve literally counted ten trips in one day. It’s so loud there’s no missing him if I’m home.

 

[W2R]

Since being retired, I have noticed that some folks drive a LOT. What do you mean, you ask? Well, we live on a dead-end street that has 4 houses beyond ours. Our office/desk top computer area has large picture windows that overlooks the front of the house and the street. On days that I spend 3 or 4 hours in the office area, I will see that a few of the neighbors will come and go several times a day. When I say "several times a day", I mean that to be 10 or more times, in a SINGLE DAY. Sometimes, they will come and go 3 or 4 times in a single hour!

I really don't get it. We are about 2 miles from the neighborhood entrance, so it's a good 5 minutes just to get out of the neighborhood and then another 5-7 minutes to even get to the closest store. Perhaps we have several Uber drivers in the neighborhood?

I know it's none of my business, but I tend to think that it's just a big waste of time and gas. If I am leaving the house, I will try and group any errands I might have to run. Up until my Dad's recent health issues...it wasn't uncommon for my car to sit in the garage for 3 or 4 days before I had to go anywhere. Now, I pay visits to my Dad on a daily basis...but I do combine that trip with any errands I might have to run, so I usually only "come and go" once a day.

But...it's Monday...my favorite day of the week...so really, it's not a big deal!

I don't drive much myself, less than 3,000 miles/year at this point. Everything I could possibly need or want is located nearby.

However, like Midpack I do make a point of driving every other day. In my case I do this in order to keep up my driving skills and to keep the car battery, tires, etc, in good condition. We eat out at a restaurant every day, and alternate who drives. We run all of our errands on the way home, and if we have no errands then we usually go on a pleasure drive through our neighborhood, checking things out like the nosy older people that we are, and chatting and enjoying our time together. But really that's about all the driving that I do. I fill the gas tank about once a month, if that.

My neighbors do not seem to drive any more than I do, and the lady across the street does not seem to drive at all (probably due to old age).

I don't know what to tell you - - maybe you have nutty neighbors!!

 

[kimcdougc]

We have a neighbor who lives next door. He works as a painter and is gone over 10 hours a day. When he gets home, he showers and leaves probably 4 to 5 times a night. Don't know where he goes. His DW gets home from work and never, I mean never leaves the house after that. Crazy.

 

[Mdlerth]

There's no escape

I live on a dead-end street with a total of 14 houses. Half of the street is either retired or works from home. I would have guessed maybe four trips per house per day max, plus a daily allowance for garbage trucks, mail/UPS/Fedex delivery, and a utility repair crew. So ~60 cars per day, right?

Wrong.

According to the state Dept of Transportation survey, 368 motor vehicles come in and out of my street each day. (Several years ago I bought the complete state highway survey data-set on a disk for $10. It's astonishing how much traffic there is out there!)

That's about 26 vehicles per house, not four or five. Even on a quiet cul-de-sac, it never stops for long.

 

[marko]

When we were kids we had a neighbor like that. It was during the gas crisis. We didn't know his name so we nicknamed him "Iran" because he must get his gas for free.

 

[athena53]

Since retiring I've made a point of trying to take my car out only once every other day, and I've stuck to that mostly to conserve time, gas and miles.

I try to keep it to once a day. That always includes the gym and I try to arrange the other things on my schedule so I can do them in the same trip. My route to/from the gym includes the library, the Post Office, two grocery stores and a gas station. I have less and less patience for sitting at traffic lights, even in our little town, and even less in the sprawling, over-built suburb where I still have a weekly Toastmasters meeting, my dentist and a few other connections. I always feel a sense of satisfaction when I'm back home and don't have to go out in the car again!

Possible reasons to keep going back and forth: to change clothes (although I can find restrooms to do that if necessary), because they like driving, because they're extroverts and would rather be out in the world than at home, or maybe to tend to a pet or other concerns at home. In DH's last months I did lots of short trips because I didn't want to leave him alone for too long. Now it's a relief to do everything in one trip and be done with it.

 

[SecondCor521]

Not the same thing, but I have a neighbor across the street who has the FedEx and or UPS truck deliver something every. single. day. I thought maybe they have a home based business or something and need supplies, so I asked the guy about it once. Nope.

I don't care - they're nice people - but it amazes me.

 

[MRG]

I'll go out several times daily. Went out and picked up propane and wood stain this morning. We're taking the dog's to the river in a bit. I'll run out to the grocery store later.

 

[Walt34]

If I go out at all it's usually just once and it's not uncommon for the pickup truck to sit several days in a row. DW usually finds a reason to go out at least once a day, sometimes several, since she's not always so good at remembering to write a grocery list or decides she wants bananas or something. The grocery store is under ten minutes away so it is not big inconvenience.

Most of the neighbors work so they're gone all day. The few who are retired don't seem to drive much either.

 

[Dtail]

Interesting post. Now that I am retired, I do find myself going to Publix more frequently than up North when it was only once a week food shopping.
Sometimes though, we just take a drive just to drive around.

 

[cusetownusa]

Not the same thing, but I have a neighbor across the street who has the FedEx and or UPS truck deliver something every. single. day. I thought maybe they have a home based business or something and need supplies, so I asked the guy about it once. Nope.

I don't care - they're nice people - but it amazes me.

Do you live across the street from me? lol

With Amazon Prime i feel like we are getting packages all the time. We get almost everything from Amazon except for perishable food...with a family of 4 it seems like we are in constant need for something. The good thing is it saves us a ton of time and mileage on our cars by not needing to go to stores anymore.

 

[scrabbler1]

I drive about 3,000 miles a year so it is pretty common for me to go several days without driving. My car sits in a heated garage, well protected from the elements, so I don't worry about the car not being able to start if left alone.


I am usually able to combine my errands, most of them local, so it is better much than 50-50 I hit 2 or more stores in a single drive. Some of my destinations being close together are structural - my pharmacy is next to my supermarket. The post office is very close to the library. My local pizza joint is next to a mini-mart, near my ladyfriend's place, all a short walk away. Speaking of her, I often combine my errands with hers (she works FT and doesn't have a car any more).


I like being efficient and not going to and from my car all the time.

 

[Keim]

Truly a sign of retirement: Counting how many times the neighbors drive down the road.

https://goo.gl/images/Vk1QP3

 

[kgtest]

I had to turnaround twice today and return home. First time was when I realized I forgot work badge, second time was when I realized I forgot work computer.



We have a mix of young adults, teenagers, young kids and retired folks along with some SHM and home office people. My DW office out of our home and leaves 2-3x during the day for client meetings, sometimes another 1-2x for personal errands.


By the time I get home, she wants me to do all the driving. So I do the night time errands, she does the day time ones.



But then, occasionally I work from home so I am occasionally running to meet somene for lunch etc.



The neighbor kids have there high school and college friends come by.



I live on a dead-end street though and it's funny 9 out of 10 times I can tell the car that has no right to be on the street (This is excluding the fast driving contract uber and uber eats and amazon prime, pizza and other delivery people).




For the most part I can predict the traffic movement on my dead end street and the unpredictable s are usually not supposed to be there.



I've had multiple people comment oh wow I've lived in this city for years and never realized that was a street. GOOD, lets keep it that way.




EDIT TO ADD A Pet Peeve... When that Pokemon Go game was all the craze, I had literal zombies walking down my street, supposedly collecting "highly sought pokemons'. I even had a group of french teenagers wandering down the road with there eyes honed on the phone camera through the lens.



They were friendly and asked if I wanted to join the "hunt". I respectfully declined but they were jumping for joy so they must have found a good pokemon.

 

[NW-Bound]

Both my wife and I do not like to drive, so we run errands about twice a week.

When we drive up to the high-country home in the boondocks, we often park the car for a week or two, and only start it up to drive back to the main home.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

Another thing I notice is that these people seem to always be on the phone. Who do they talk to at 7:00 AM?

 

[brett]

We drive much less. No mileage for at least four months a year.

When we are home we tend not to plan any trips or shopping on the weekends or over long weekends. Love weekdays though for going to the mountains.

 

[NW-Bound]

ExFlyBoy's neighbors are going and coming. If they are really gone for good, then this song may explain it.

 

[ivinsfan]

I had to turnaround twice today and return home. First time was when I realized I forgot work badge, second time was when I realized I forgot work computer.



We have a mix of young adults, teenagers, young kids and retired folks along with some SHM and home office people. My DW office out of our home and leaves 2-3x during the day for client meetings, sometimes another 1-2x for personal errands.


By the time I get home, she wants me to do all the driving. So I do the night time errands, she does the day time ones.



But then, occasionally I work from home so I am occasionally running to meet somene for lunch etc.



The neighbor kids have there high school and college friends come by.



I live on a dead-end street though and it's funny 9 out of 10 times I can tell the car that has no right to be on the street (This is excluding the fast driving contract uber and uber eats and amazon prime, pizza and other delivery people).




For the most part I can predict the traffic movement on my dead end street and the unpredictable s are usually not supposed to be there.



I've had multiple people comment oh wow I've lived in this city for years and never realized that was a street. GOOD, lets keep it that way.




EDIT TO ADD A Pet Peeve... When that Pokemon Go game was all the craze, I had literal zombies walking down my street, supposedly collecting "highly sought pokemons'. I even had a group of french teenagers wandering down the road with there eyes honed on the phone camera through the lens.



They were friendly and asked if I wanted to join the "hunt". I respectfully declined but they were jumping for joy so they must have found a good pokemon.

It's a public road correct , even a one way is open to the public I don't know that they don't have a "right" to be on the street.Or that they are not supposed to be there.

 

[grasshopper]

Both my wife and I do not like to drive, so we run errands about twice a week.

When we drive up to the high-country home in the boondocks, we often park the car for a week or two, and only start it up to drive back to the main home.

Must be an Arizona out in the boonies thing.

 

[GrayHare]

Had a place like that nearby, a constant stream of high schoolers. Turned out to be the booze party house, as supported by mom. Loud music, bottles strewn everywhere. Eventually the mom got hauled into court, followed by them moving soon after, much to the relief of the community. I feel sorry for their new neighborhood.

 

[street]

I drive a lot and spend a lot of money on gas. I'm in the back country to my ranch fishing, hiking, hunting and just being in the outdoors. I drive and use gas because I can and at one time in my life I was to frugal to spend any extra on gas if at all costs. Now I just go fill it up and never even blink an eye. LOL