You think your commute is bad, Part 2

I was on my 10 mile commute to work two weeks ago on the Interstate and was hit from behind by a hit and run driver. My car was turned 180 degrees facing oncoming rush hour traffic. Fortunately I was not hit by one of the tractor trailer trucks behind me. It was a bad commute.
 
   186 miles each way?  What is that, a 6-hour commute? I think I'd be getting weekly rates at a hotel and go home for weekends...  gotta be cheaper.
 
Especially when you think he puts 50k miles on his car every year just for work. I would definitely be buying 3 year old Hyundais!
 
From a Newsweek article on 'extreme commuters':

"Extreme commuters" who travel more than 90 minutes to work, one way, are the fastest-growing group of commuters, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. More than 3.4 million commuters take that long road to work every day, double the rate of extreme commuters in 1990. And the fastest-growing departure time is now between 5 and 6 a.m. Even $3-a-gallon gas and growing gridlock aren't slowing the rise of this group, which is changing the way we live as we spend more time in our cars and less time in our communities. This endless commute is becoming the defining characteristic of the 21st-century working stiff. So much of what we worry about today—volatile real-estate prices, sleeplessness, our overstressed lives—all merge together on the road, as we search for the elusive simple life in some suburban Shangri-La.

..."How much is it worth to own your own home if you end up spending four hours on the road and not playing with your kids, not sleeping enough and rotting in traffic?"

It's apparently worth plenty, because more people than ever are willing to trade time in their car for the American Dream: big house, big yard. Nearly 10 million people now drive more than an hour to work, up 50 percent from 1990.

:p :p :p
 
I told my husband the other day that the most dangerous part of my job was my commute. It's the one thing I won't miss at all!!
 
REWahoo! said:
From a Newsweek article on 'extreme commuters':

"Extreme commuters" who travel more than 90 minutes to work, one way, are the fastest-growing group of commuters, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. More than 3.4 million commuters take that long road to work every day, double the rate of extreme commuters in 1990. And the fastest-growing departure time is now between 5 and 6 a.m. Even $3-a-gallon gas and growing gridlock aren't slowing the rise of this group, which is changing the way we live as we spend more time in our cars and less time in our communities. This endless commute is becoming the defining characteristic of the 21st-century working stiff. So much of what we worry about today—volatile real-estate prices, sleeplessness, our overstressed lives—all merge together on the road, as we search for the elusive simple life in some suburban Shangri-La.

..."How much is it worth to own your own home if you end up spending four hours on the road and not playing with your kids, not sleeping enough and rotting in traffic?"

It's apparently worth plenty, because more people than ever are willing to trade time in their car for the American Dream: big house, big yard. Nearly 10 million people now drive more than an hour to work, up 50 percent from 1990.

:p :p :p
Click to expand...

Wow! The American Dream is now a nightmare. Time to re-evaluate our priorites. How much is that job really worth? Time to downsize and have a life.
 
I'm climbing up on my soapbox, so you may want to leave now...

If we as a country did more to discourage suburban sprawl and live a little more densely, we'd save time, money, and natural resources. We'd also have a helluva lot more open space to enjoy and a helluva lot less air pollution. Maybe we wouldn't need quite as many freeways that are 12 lanes wide.

Does anybody disagree with me?
 
SLC Tortfeasor said:
If we as a country did more to discourage suburban sprawl and live a little more densely, we'd save time, money, and natural resources. We'd also have a helluva lot more open space to enjoy and a helluva lot less air pollution. Maybe we wouldn't need quite as many freeways that are 12 lanes wide.
Click to expand...

Questions & comments:

How would you discourage suburban sprawl? Increase taxes based on how far you live from the center of the city? Good luck in getting voters to approve that.

Not all of us are wired for high density living. Haven't you seen what happens to people rats who live in NYC densely packed environments? ;)

You might still need "freeways that are 12 lanes wide" to get people in and out of the rat warren city on weekends when they head for those open spaces to enjoy a little breathing room.
 
SLC Tortfeasor said:
I'm climbing up on my soapbox, so you may want to leave now...

If we as a country did more to discourage suburban sprawl and live a little more densely, we'd save time, money, and natural resources.  We'd also have a helluva lot more open space to enjoy and a helluva lot less air pollution.  Maybe we wouldn't need quite as many freeways that are 12 lanes wide.

Does anybody disagree with me?
Click to expand...

Yes, I disagree with you... have you lived in a city like London or New York? Packed in like sardines!!! There are some advantages to this kind of living, but there are also disadvantages...

I could not walk down the street without getting hit by someone not paying attention to where they were walking... and there were so many people to dodge... and a trip of a few miles took a long time as you had to walk to the subway, wait for a train, maybe change lines once or twice.... and then there were the SMALL living spaces that cost a LOT..

Another thing is that the people that live in these dense areas do not want to be there.. I was on a train in England once and was talking to a city planner.. they were having a difficult time as they had a lot of sprawl... I told them they did not know what it meant... take a look at Houston if you want to know what sprawl is...
 
REWahoo! said:
Questions & comments:

How would you discourage suburban sprawl?  Increase taxes based on how far you live from the center of the city?  Good luck in getting voters to approve that.

Not all of us are wired for high density living.  Haven't you seen what happens to people rats who live in NYC densely packed environments? ;)

You might still need "freeways that are 12 lanes wide" to get people in and out of the rat warren city on weekends when they head for those open spaces to enjoy a little breathing room.
Click to expand...

Oh, I could think of a million ways to discourage sprawl, and I don't think I would ever favor a direct tax based on how far away you live from a city center.  Some cities have done a better job of discouraging sprawl than others.  It's too big an issue to delve into it in this little post.  

I also happen to be one of those people who needs elbow room.  I sure wouldn't want to live in a high-rise, and I don't blame anyone for wanting a big house with a big lawn in the 'burbs.  I just think that those big houses in the burbs impose costs (greater pollution, less open space, greater infrastructure costs, less energy independence) than smaller houses closer to an urban core.  Under our current system, those costs are unnecessarily high, and they're not fairly distributed.  

Maybe the more fundamental problem is that we just have too many people!  But I guess that's a whole 'nother ball of wax.

Texas Proud: I hear what you're saying. I don't think everyone should live in a London or a New York. But we've got to do more to slow the virus-like growth of strip malls and cookie-cutter housing developments that is devouring our open spaces.
 
SLC Tortfeasor said:
Does anybody disagree with me?
Click to expand...

density issues are simply distractions and their so-called solutions are temporary at best. if we as a people and a planet did more to control population growth, density wouldn't be an issue at all.
 
SLC Tortfeasor said:
...we've got to do more to slow the virus-like growth of strip malls and cookie-cutter housing developments that is devouring our open spaces.
Click to expand...

I-10 in West Texas: Devour 'till your heart is content... :)

WestTexasI-10.jpg
 
SLC Tortfeasor said:
But we've got to do more to slow the virus-like growth of strip malls and cookie-cutter housing developments that is devouring our open spaces.
Click to expand...

But these are the exact things that people want (based on their consumption patterns). Affordable, attractive neighborhoods and convenient retail outlets offering a variety of goods and services.
 
Yeah, but people with good intentions know better than everyone else what everyone else wants... ;)
 
Folks get real. The main thing causing sprawl in the USA is middle class people trying to get themselves and their kids away from inner city problems. That probably can't be fixed, but if it were fixed, people would very quickly return to the cities, especially with today's gas prices.

Ha
 
HaHa said:
Folks get real. The main thing causing sprawl in the USA is middle class people trying to get themselves and their kids away from inner city problems. That probably can't be fixed, but if it were fixed, people would very quickly return to the cities, especially with today's gas prices.
Click to expand...
I agree with that, Ha. Ironically, there are still quite a few spots in most major cities which are close in, really attractive, and offer pretty decent safety, neighborhood associations, diversity in the best sense. We have always looked for those, but I must admit that it is hard if you have kids in school and want to use the public school system.

Our nest has been empty a long time so schools are not an issue for us. We find that the cost is high - similar to the more expensive suburbs. The houses and lots are smaller for the dollar, but the convenience and lifestyle suits us very well.

I predict a resurgence in most cities over the next few years. The problems will still be there (probably grow) but they will be displaced one way or another. If the city has downtown water or big parks, so much the better.

The burbs can be great, too, but in a different way.
 
I had a 4 hour/day commute for 7 years. Three legs (bus, ferry, and shuttle). The good news for me was that I wasn't driving like this poor guy. I didn't have to pay attention. I could sleep, read, talk to friends, or just hang out on the deck of the ferry on a nice day. Heck, I even wrote a book one year during my commute. I found that I just spent the time doing things that I would normally do at home (read, sleep, etc...). If I had to drive 4 hours/day I don't think I would last very long but using mass transit can be a little more tolorable. It can also be more affordable (With my company paying for most of my bus/ferry pass, it only cost me $1/day to commute).

My reason for doing the 4 hour/day commute is that it initially allowed me to work downtown (making more money) and live were there was less traffic and lower cost housing. Unfortunately, after 7 years, housing went up substantially and the heavy traffic extended its reach. I guess this was also fortunate as I did pretty well in selling the house :D .
 
i live and work in the city, i can walk to work in 10 - 15 mins, i love it, i couldnt go back to getting in a car and driving every day.
 
1.6 mile commute for me. Sometimes I walk. Living near the center of town is very nice when you live in a small town. I would not chose to be near town in the last city I lived in. My commute used to be 35 miles each way. It took 40 min. at 5:45 am and at least 1 hour 20 mintues at 6 pm. I do not plan on ever doing that again.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom