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I agree that commute minimization is a game changer for freeing up time. But it is a privilege. Unless you happen to be very secure in your quickly-commutable

by danans 8y ago

I agree that commute minimization is a game changer for freeing up time. But it is a privilege. Unless you happen to be very secure in your quickly-commutable job, or located a short commute distance from a variety of different job opportunities, you are at high risk of losing that short commute. This is exacerbated in places like SV that have disparate job and housing centers, and extremely steep housing costs near those job centers. > Even when I was taking the train and could read, listen to music, play games, etc, those were always compromise activities and didn't contribute to my personal happiness. I've found that my short train commute (25 min) is a great time to memorize the compositions for an instrument that I play, with the help of a metronome app while viewing the sheet music on my phone. It's far more relaxing than reading the news, for certain.

tonyedgecombe 8y ago
But it is a privilege. I suspect that it's mostly down to undervaluing our time. Although we all complain about the hell of driving in traffic or riding on a busy train very few people are willing to compromise their income to avoid it. We probably get what we deserve.
- danans 8y ago
  I agree that we undervalue our time ... until we start to value it more, and then often it's too late (or expensive) to make a change to free more of it, and then the complaining commences. I also think that this may have more to do with housing costs than income potential, given that there is a steep cliff of decreasing housing affordability associated with proximity to work, especially in knowledge-sector dominated areas. This is usually the opposite in manufacturing industry dominated areas (i.e. the Rust Belt), where people often pay more to live farther away (and upwind/upstream) from the environmental externalities created by manufacturing facilities.

by danans 8y ago

tonyedgecombe 8y ago

But it is a privilege. I suspect that it's mostly down to undervaluing our time. Although we all complain about the hell of driving in traffic or riding on a busy train very few people are willing to compromise their income to avoid it. We probably get what we deserve.

danans 8y ago
I agree that we undervalue our time ... until we start to value it more, and then often it's too late (or expensive) to make a change to free more of it, and then the complaining commences. I also think that this may have more to do with housing costs than income potential, given that there is a steep cliff of decreasing housing affordability associated with proximity to work, especially in knowledge-sector dominated areas. This is usually the opposite in manufacturing industry dominated areas (i.e. the Rust Belt), where people often pay more to live farther away (and upwind/upstream) from the environmental externalities created by manufacturing facilities.