5 ms·

Quality of life is always important. I've taken a lower paying contract within a 10 minute cycle ride from hom rather than one paying 15% more but over an hour

by awjr 10y ago

Quality of life is always important. I've taken a lower paying contract within a 10 minute cycle ride from hom rather than one paying 15% more but over an hour by train away.

M_Grey 10y ago
Short of a bad marriage or a chronic illness, few things can ruin a life like a long, bad commute. I see your choice as being very rational.
- douche 10y ago
  And a long, bad commute can contribute to those first two. I already wish I could have back all the hours I've wasted sitting behind the wheel, and I'm not that old yet...
  - M_Grey 10y ago
    Absolutely. It doesn't help that I feel like I'm "the worst version of me" in a traffic jam either. At best, I'm battling against my worst impulses of judgmental anger... at worst I'm just fuming. The view of driving is going to be very different from the perspective of people who never had to do it, whenever that generation is born. Clean, automated cars are going to make our era look like Victorians living with coal fires in their homes.
  - grillvogel 10y ago
    long commute where you have to drive yourself vs long commute on mass transit are pretty different
    - closeparen 10y ago
      Indeed. I get into a pretty pleasant mental place behind the wheel, even in traffic, while standing on mass transit is pure misery. Never imagined I would care about climbing the corporate ladder until I realized it could mean cutting mass transit out of my life and living close enough to walk. The rent is at least $1000 more, but $300 less in fares will help, and not being on mass transit is priceless.
cafard 10y ago
Indeed. A co-worker left last year because the effects of WMATA's Safe Track program on his commute.
StavrosK 10y ago
If you spend 100 more minutes every day going to work on the second job, and work 8 hours, you're spending 20% more of your time for work and only getting paid 15% less. That's bad ROI, even without considering the adverse psychological impact of a long commute.
- pdelbarba 10y ago
  Having gone from a 1hr commute to about 15min/30 by bike, I can say just the difference in psychological impact is well worth it.
- nickez 10y ago
  Commuting more than 60 minutes a day (in total) is not acceptable for 8 hours of work. I simply cannot understand why you would spend your spare time commuting. I have 15 minutes by bike to work right now which gives me a lot of time to do what I love
  - sbov 10y ago
    I could also say choosing where to live based upon where you work is unacceptable, but many people do it. In reality there are many conflicting priorities in our lives, and each person chooses how much each matter to them. E.g. we chose where to live because of the schooling and it's close to family. But I work from home so it doesn't matter that it's a suburb. However if I ever got an office job I could be met with a daily total commute of 90 minutes. Should I sacrifice family and schooling so I can be closer to the job centers? Why is doing so any less unacceptable than a 90 minute commute?
  - closeparen 10y ago
    Because if your industry centralizes in expensive cities, you think roommates are worse than a long commute, and you are not in the top 0.1% by income available for rent, 60+ minutes is what you're going to get.
  - grillvogel 10y ago
    >Commuting more than 60 minutes a day (in total) is not acceptable for 8 hours of work. according to who? my commute is a combination of bus and walking and takes about an hour each way, but i actually kinda prefer it to when i lived close in the city. living in the city is not pleasant for me anymore, i can live somewhere i actually like, have time to myself on the bus to read/listen to music/whatever, and also get in several miles of walking every day.
vkjv 10y ago
William Shatner feels the same way. > I don't think of favorite roles like 'This was my favorite thing to do, and that isn’t.' I just wish they hadn't cancelled Shit My Dad Says because I could bicycle to work. https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/11/10/17/150212/william-shatner-answers-in-826-words https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/11/10/17/150212/wil...

by awjr 10y ago

Quality of life is always important. I've taken a lower paying contract within a 10 minute cycle ride from hom rather than one paying 15% more but over an hour by train away.

M_Grey 10y ago

Short of a bad marriage or a chronic illness, few things can ruin a life like a long, bad commute. I see your choice as being very rational.

douche 10y ago
And a long, bad commute can contribute to those first two. I already wish I could have back all the hours I've wasted sitting behind the wheel, and I'm not that old yet...
- M_Grey 10y ago
  Absolutely. It doesn't help that I feel like I'm "the worst version of me" in a traffic jam either. At best, I'm battling against my worst impulses of judgmental anger... at worst I'm just fuming. The view of driving is going to be very different from the perspective of people who never had to do it, whenever that generation is born. Clean, automated cars are going to make our era look like Victorians living with coal fires in their homes.
- grillvogel 10y ago
  long commute where you have to drive yourself vs long commute on mass transit are pretty different
  - closeparen 10y ago
    Indeed. I get into a pretty pleasant mental place behind the wheel, even in traffic, while standing on mass transit is pure misery. Never imagined I would care about climbing the corporate ladder until I realized it could mean cutting mass transit out of my life and living close enough to walk. The rent is at least $1000 more, but $300 less in fares will help, and not being on mass transit is priceless.

cafard 10y ago

Indeed. A co-worker left last year because the effects of WMATA's Safe Track program on his commute.

StavrosK 10y ago

If you spend 100 more minutes every day going to work on the second job, and work 8 hours, you're spending 20% more of your time for work and only getting paid 15% less. That's bad ROI, even without considering the adverse psychological impact of a long commute.

pdelbarba 10y ago
Having gone from a 1hr commute to about 15min/30 by bike, I can say just the difference in psychological impact is well worth it.
nickez 10y ago
Commuting more than 60 minutes a day (in total) is not acceptable for 8 hours of work. I simply cannot understand why you would spend your spare time commuting. I have 15 minutes by bike to work right now which gives me a lot of time to do what I love
- sbov 10y ago
  I could also say choosing where to live based upon where you work is unacceptable, but many people do it. In reality there are many conflicting priorities in our lives, and each person chooses how much each matter to them. E.g. we chose where to live because of the schooling and it's close to family. But I work from home so it doesn't matter that it's a suburb. However if I ever got an office job I could be met with a daily total commute of 90 minutes. Should I sacrifice family and schooling so I can be closer to the job centers? Why is doing so any less unacceptable than a 90 minute commute?
- closeparen 10y ago
  Because if your industry centralizes in expensive cities, you think roommates are worse than a long commute, and you are not in the top 0.1% by income available for rent, 60+ minutes is what you're going to get.
- grillvogel 10y ago
  >Commuting more than 60 minutes a day (in total) is not acceptable for 8 hours of work. according to who? my commute is a combination of bus and walking and takes about an hour each way, but i actually kinda prefer it to when i lived close in the city. living in the city is not pleasant for me anymore, i can live somewhere i actually like, have time to myself on the bus to read/listen to music/whatever, and also get in several miles of walking every day.

vkjv 10y ago

William Shatner feels the same way. > I don't think of favorite roles like 'This was my favorite thing to do, and that isn’t.' I just wish they hadn't cancelled Shit My Dad Says because I could bicycle to work. https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/11/10/17/150212/william-shatner-answers-in-826-words https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/11/10/17/150212/wil...