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Years ago I worked within walking distance to the office. It took only 10 minutes to walk there. I hated it. You spend all day and night in the same neighbourho

Years ago I worked within walking distance to the office. It took only 10 minutes to walk there. I hated it. You spend all day and night in the same neighbourhood. At lunch I went to the same places I would go to at the weekends. Life just felt so repetitive, seeing the same things every day. Today I drive 15-20 minutes to the other end of the town, with just moderate traffic, and for me that's perfect. Less stressful than public transportation, and more variety than in the old office.

hycaria 8y ago
For you that's perfect, but for others, between city pollution, traffic and plain GHG emissions, how perfect is that ?
- product50 8y ago
  Please stop making such ignorant comments. You may not realize it but a lot of folks have families and are on a schedule dropping off and picking up their kids - where driving cars/ride sharing is often the most practical way of commuting. Just because you have been able to find a place near to your office or have been able to plan your commute near train stations/shuttle stops doesn't mean everyone else can. Many times you have to optimize for other things such as schools, bigger house with a yard etc. and not all those will have great commuting options. Learn to empathize.
  - bkor 8y ago
    > a schedule dropping off and picking up their kids - where driving cars/ride sharing is often the most practical way of commuting This is mostly done on bike in The Netherlands. A normal bike supports 2 kids. There's also bikes to transport 4-5 kids. I regularly see those bigger bikes btw. It does take that your country plans things accordingly. Back in the 1960s there wasn't much of a bike infrastructure, though there were loads of cars and car accidents.
    - product50 8y ago
      Yeah - am not talking about Netherlands here. I would encourage to come to US and understand just how widespread things are. You often are working in an office which is 15 miles away from your house. No way you are biking on that regardless of how good your biking infra is.
      - KozmoNau7 8y ago
        Why not? I have had plenty of colleagues over the years who did upwards of 30km bicycle commutes, each way. If your job offers showers and lockers, it's no problem at all, once you've built up the bike stamina after a couple of weeks.
        product50 8y ago
        Yeah - and while we are it let us all become tri-athletes too and swim to our offices.
        KozmoNau7 8y ago
        You said it was impossible to bike 15 miles to work, regardless of available bicycle infrastructure. I said it is very much possible, and these were middle-aged people, not athletes by any measure. Biking is a very energy-efficient mode of transport, it really doesn't take long before you're able to ride 20 or 30km in a single stretch.
  - jessaustin 8y ago
    Relax, dude. Parent comment didn't have anything to justify that sort of response. Besides this almost reads as a parody, bringing up goofy stuff like "I want a bigger house" and "my kids will never ride the bus to school"...
    - product50 8y ago
      You may think it of as a parody but that was not my intention. Also, provide useful inputs that contribute to the discussion vs. just your observation of the nature of the comments. You obviously are not able to relate to the challenges which real families face.
Broken_Hippo 8y ago
See, I like that sort of distance. 10 minute walk? Yes please. I'll walk up to 30 minutes to work and back and be fairly happy, though with the upper limits I'm more likely to take a bus or drive on really cold days or days with heavy rain, especially if there is also wind. With these distances, taking the bus usually means I leave at the same time anyway. I have more free time that doesn't concentrate on work this way, which means I have more time for hobbies (I draw and paint). Plus bonus physical activity.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- bovermyer 8y ago
  My favorite commute ever was when it took me 30 minutes to walk to work. Most of that mile and a half was in the Skyway, so even in winter it was pleasant. As a result, I lost 40 pounds. Now that I don't do that walk anymore, I've gained half of that back.
  - Broken_Hippo 8y ago
    I've always rather enjoyed 20-30 minute walking commutes. So long as I dress correctly, winter is usually not a big issue. I had some weight loss at first, but I do gain a bit when I stop doing so much walking. I know I should just get out and walk anyway, but walking is so boring when I don't have somewhere to go.
yardie 8y ago
I work in a big city with my office being about 10 minutes trolley ride away. It's a big enough city that once I'm out the door I never have to interact with work or anyone from work for the rest of the day or weekend. If I lived in a smaller place I think I would feel the same as you. Too close to work to feel like I'm not at work. A 15-20 minute commute would be the ideal. I'd even say 30 minutes means I can finish a chapter of an audiobook daily.
bryanlarsen 8y ago
10-20 minute walk? I've found that's almost perfect. You walk to work, and you get there nice and relaxed and ready to work. You bike to work, and you get there all excited and sweaty, and need a few minutes to settle down before hitting the flow. Very close second, though. You bus to work, and you arrive with a headache trying to read on the bouncy bus. You drive to work, and you arrive all angry and stressed from the traffic.
- KozmoNau7 8y ago
  >"You bike to work, and you get there all excited and sweaty, and need a few minutes to settle down before hitting the flow." That depends on how hard you go at it. Sure, if I keep a 25kph average speed, I'm going to be sweaty quickly. But keep a more sedate speed, and it's no problem at all, and very relaxing.

hycaria 8y ago

For you that's perfect, but for others, between city pollution, traffic and plain GHG emissions, how perfect is that ?

product50 8y ago
Please stop making such ignorant comments. You may not realize it but a lot of folks have families and are on a schedule dropping off and picking up their kids - where driving cars/ride sharing is often the most practical way of commuting. Just because you have been able to find a place near to your office or have been able to plan your commute near train stations/shuttle stops doesn't mean everyone else can. Many times you have to optimize for other things such as schools, bigger house with a yard etc. and not all those will have great commuting options. Learn to empathize.
- bkor 8y ago
  > a schedule dropping off and picking up their kids - where driving cars/ride sharing is often the most practical way of commuting This is mostly done on bike in The Netherlands. A normal bike supports 2 kids. There's also bikes to transport 4-5 kids. I regularly see those bigger bikes btw. It does take that your country plans things accordingly. Back in the 1960s there wasn't much of a bike infrastructure, though there were loads of cars and car accidents.
  - product50 8y ago
    Yeah - am not talking about Netherlands here. I would encourage to come to US and understand just how widespread things are. You often are working in an office which is 15 miles away from your house. No way you are biking on that regardless of how good your biking infra is.
    - KozmoNau7 8y ago
      Why not? I have had plenty of colleagues over the years who did upwards of 30km bicycle commutes, each way. If your job offers showers and lockers, it's no problem at all, once you've built up the bike stamina after a couple of weeks.
      - product50 8y ago
        Yeah - and while we are it let us all become tri-athletes too and swim to our offices.
        KozmoNau7 8y ago
        You said it was impossible to bike 15 miles to work, regardless of available bicycle infrastructure. I said it is very much possible, and these were middle-aged people, not athletes by any measure. Biking is a very energy-efficient mode of transport, it really doesn't take long before you're able to ride 20 or 30km in a single stretch.
- jessaustin 8y ago
  Relax, dude. Parent comment didn't have anything to justify that sort of response. Besides this almost reads as a parody, bringing up goofy stuff like "I want a bigger house" and "my kids will never ride the bus to school"...
  - product50 8y ago
    You may think it of as a parody but that was not my intention. Also, provide useful inputs that contribute to the discussion vs. just your observation of the nature of the comments. You obviously are not able to relate to the challenges which real families face.

Broken_Hippo 8y ago

See, I like that sort of distance. 10 minute walk? Yes please. I'll walk up to 30 minutes to work and back and be fairly happy, though with the upper limits I'm more likely to take a bus or drive on really cold days or days with heavy rain, especially if there is also wind. With these distances, taking the bus usually means I leave at the same time anyway. I have more free time that doesn't concentrate on work this way, which means I have more time for hobbies (I draw and paint). Plus bonus physical activity.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
bovermyer 8y ago
My favorite commute ever was when it took me 30 minutes to walk to work. Most of that mile and a half was in the Skyway, so even in winter it was pleasant. As a result, I lost 40 pounds. Now that I don't do that walk anymore, I've gained half of that back.
- Broken_Hippo 8y ago
  I've always rather enjoyed 20-30 minute walking commutes. So long as I dress correctly, winter is usually not a big issue. I had some weight loss at first, but I do gain a bit when I stop doing so much walking. I know I should just get out and walk anyway, but walking is so boring when I don't have somewhere to go.

yardie 8y ago

I work in a big city with my office being about 10 minutes trolley ride away. It's a big enough city that once I'm out the door I never have to interact with work or anyone from work for the rest of the day or weekend. If I lived in a smaller place I think I would feel the same as you. Too close to work to feel like I'm not at work. A 15-20 minute commute would be the ideal. I'd even say 30 minutes means I can finish a chapter of an audiobook daily.

bryanlarsen 8y ago

10-20 minute walk? I've found that's almost perfect. You walk to work, and you get there nice and relaxed and ready to work. You bike to work, and you get there all excited and sweaty, and need a few minutes to settle down before hitting the flow. Very close second, though. You bus to work, and you arrive with a headache trying to read on the bouncy bus. You drive to work, and you arrive all angry and stressed from the traffic.

KozmoNau7 8y ago
>"You bike to work, and you get there all excited and sweaty, and need a few minutes to settle down before hitting the flow." That depends on how hard you go at it. Sure, if I keep a 25kph average speed, I'm going to be sweaty quickly. But keep a more sedate speed, and it's no problem at all, and very relaxing.