5 ms·

The top picture in the article said "You must own a car here" and likely most households own more than one, with at least one being an SUV. Living in Manhattan

by spodek 7y ago

The top picture in the article said "You must own a car here" and likely most households own more than one, with at least one being an SUV. Living in Manhattan, I sometimes go weeks without taking the subway or bus, years without taking a taxi/Uber/Lyft/etc, and I can't remember the last time I drove. My point is face-to-face walking community. I've found no substitute. Though the sea levels continued rising and everyone acting like other people should change factors in.

enobrev 7y ago
I've been working remotely for about 18 years, and I've consistently chosen to live in major cities throughout (NYC, LA, Seattle, and now back home to Chicago). I love being able to walk or take public transportation to everything. I have a car if I need it, but I like to not _need_ it. As far as I'm concerned, working remotely and living in a major city is the best of both worlds.
- larrywright 7y ago
  I work remotely (6 years) and I live in a small-ish town (130k). I have no desire to live in a big city. I get the appeal of being able to walk or take public transportation everywhere, but the tradeoffs are worth it. It’s quieter, more laid back, and I have a lot of space. I also have a family and a dog, and so maybe that plays a part.
  - criley2 7y ago
    I've gone from very rural, to suburban, to very urban and I'm the opposite. When you're freed from the commute grind, life becomes much more quiet and laid back. I do have a little less space, but I also have an endless variety of things to do and one of the best parts of the big city is the multiculturalism. We have so many neighborhoods of immigrants that the cultural variety from food to entertainment is incredible. I've found that I'm much happier in my smaller home than I was in a four bed suburban nightmare. Spent a lot of my free time and a chunk of my income just keeping it clean and maintained. That's not the life I want lol. I've never been as happy as when I could walk to my local soccer teams stadium and walk to my local grocery store. Although the massive international and farmers markets are very close too, so I always have every fresh ingredient I could ever need for every dish from every culture I've wanted to try. Especially if you don't get to travel much, being in a place where travel comes to you can be very rewarding and enriching.
    - larrywright 7y ago
      I definitely get the appeal for some people (and if I was young and single it would probably appeal to me). I just get annoyed when I see people saying that we should all want to live in dense urban areas. Not saying that happened here, but I've seen it several times lately.
- PKop 7y ago
  Do you have kids? Often times this is the differentiating factor. Lot's of moves between expensive cities for raising children seems like a challenge.
  - enobrev 7y ago
    My first is on the way in about 10 weeks!
    - PKop 7y ago
      Awesome congratulations. We are trying right now for kids... Has the prospect changed your outlook on where to live or the challenges / benefits thereof?
      - enobrev 7y ago
        Thank you! It hasn't changed too much. We have a house in the city, so the standing plan is to stick around for at least a few years. We both grew up in major cities (NYC, Chicago), so that preference isn't likely to change any time soon. Things like quality of schools may change what neighborhood we prefer, but we still have some time before then. If it turns out home-schooling is the best way, then we'll go that route.
- ajmurmann 7y ago
  Would you mind elaborating why you prefer working remotely given you already live in a big city? When I've worked remotely I've always found the lag of actual face-to-face interaction a huge downside and prefer a short, ideally walkable commute. I'd love to hear your experience. Thanks!
  - scottlegrand2 7y ago
    Not the person you're asking, but orthogonal to where I live, penny-pinching on open office floor plans ended my ability to do productive work in an office nearly a decade ago. And no I'm not going to put on headphones. IMO my work environment should naturally be conducive to getting s* done. But that seems to have become crazy talk.
  - enobrev 7y ago
    The short answer is quality of life, and freedom to live my life the way that is most comfortable for me and my wife. I love the city so I choose to live in the city, but that choice is completely irrelevant to my work, as I can live / work from anywhere. The long answer is below. I don't personally do well with the same schedule every day, which was a constant issue when I had regular jobs. The more I tried to fit into the day the world wanted me to fit into the less happy I became. It's not the work. I honestly love the work I do, but I abhor having a "job". I have a lot of other reasons I don't like working at an office. I'll try to list a few off the top of my head. - I don't like having "office friends". - I can't stand office politics - Scheduling meeting rooms is confusing and silly - It seems a lot of time is wasted in meetings and in between tasks - I don't enjoy being locked to a single place in order to get things done that I can do anywhere. - I spend a lot of time wandering around and staring in space while I try to work out a problem, and the office was never really conducive to that. - These days with the open plan offices, forget it. The last startup I worked with was acquired by a company you've probably heard of and as much as I truly liked the people there, I couldn't get a single thing done in that place. Headphones kind of helped, but I felt like I was at a lunch table in high school. I only had to work in that office for about a week per quarter, and it was my least productive week per quarter. So on to the pros of my situation - I can work wherever and whenever I want; This is generally in my office at my sit-stand desk with my three monitors and fancy chair, but if I want to fire up my fire-pit and break out my laptop, as I did last night, nothing stops me - besides maybe the weather. Coffee Shops, Shared Spaces, Airports, Other Cities, Seaside Towns, Cabins in the Woods, etc are all perfectly acceptable places for me to work upon my whim. - I generally allow my sleep schedule to change naturally, so sometimes I sleep days and work nights. I get tons more done when that happens, and without anyone to report to outside of a weekly stand-up, it's a total non-issue. - I can do a couple hours of work and then go run errands, and then a couple more, and then have lunch with a friend, and then a couple more and make some dinner and then answer a few emails, and my day is through. I've put the same amount of work in, but I've had a full, accomplished, and social day. - My time is rarely wasted. If I'm not able to focus for the day, I'll just leave my desk and come back to it later or the next day. - My friends are all my actual real friends who I like to see regardless of what industry they work in. I hang out with some of the people I work with, but that's entirely by choice, when we happen to be in the same city. - I probably set an alarm two or three times a year. I generally like to wake up whenever, take my time to make breakfast, make or go and get coffee/tea, sit on my front porch for a bit to read the news, and then kiss my wife, make my way into my office and shut the door. It's kind of like a commute, but it's just me making my way through the house "on the way to work". Obviously my way won't work for everyone, but after 18 years like this, I'm not sure I could ever go back.
- _delirium 7y ago
  For me personally, the ideal is the kind of good walkability and public transit you're talking about, but in a small town or city, somewhere in the 50k-500k range. Those are probably my favorite working arrangements. I like the smallness, less noise/congestion, and reasonable prices combined with the ability to still have a walkable downtown, and maybe hop on a train to get somewhere bigger a few hours away if I really need to. Easier to find those cities outside the USA though.
  - hunterloftis 7y ago
    After trying Charlotte, SF, and Seattle on for size, I’ve learned the same about myself. I work remotely for an SF-based company from Greensboro, NC: population 300k, with a highly walkable downtown. Bought a townhouse in the heart of everything with a commercially zoned office as the first floor. I go weeks without driving and share a single car with my wife for the times we need it.
staplers 7y ago
Living in NYC, your food, clothing, electronics, most resources are transported to you by giant boats or trucks. You don't get to act environmentally superior because you outsource your transport.
- lotsofpulp 7y ago
  How is that different from any suburb? You do get to act environmentally superior for using up less land to live, and using public transportation. Most pollution comes from the energy used by motors to move people from one place to another, which is obviously more in a suburb environment rather than an walking environment.
  - sologoub 7y ago
    Most pollution doesn’t come from “motors to move people”. Transportation is 14% globally and 28% for US, however that includes every kind of transportation - trucks, large ships, cars, trains, etc. https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/global-greenhouse-gas-emissions-data#Sector https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/global-greenhouse-gas-emiss... Largest sector globally is industry and heat, followed closely by agriculture. Big cities may be superior in some respects, but they are also the symptom of a larger problem - it’s a lot more of us on this planet than were pre-industrial.
    - throwawaysea 7y ago
      The downvotes for your comment makes no sense and highlights how ideologically sensitive HN has become. The biggest contributing factors to greenhouse gases and pollution more broadly are high per capita consumption (due to a modern standard of living that goes well beyond transportation) and population growth. And no, being in a city does not somehow make you magically more efficient to an extent that offsets the additional per capita impact.
      - lotsofpulp 7y ago
        The per capita consumption is hugely magnified for people living in single family homes with yards and garages. That type of low density housing makes it impossible to create mass transit options, or even cycling and walking, all at the same time increasing distances of travel for everyone and subsequently all the infrastructure that has to be installed along that distance.
onlyrealcuzzo 7y ago
Have you ever been in a bike-able city? When you're in a walking Utopia like Manhattan, it's hard to imagine anything other than walking. I thought I couldn't live without being in a walkable city. Then I moved to a city that's not very walkable but very bikeable. I miss walking sometimes, but biking is pretty awesome.

by spodek 7y ago

enobrev 7y ago

I've been working remotely for about 18 years, and I've consistently chosen to live in major cities throughout (NYC, LA, Seattle, and now back home to Chicago). I love being able to walk or take public transportation to everything. I have a car if I need it, but I like to not _need_ it. As far as I'm concerned, working remotely and living in a major city is the best of both worlds.

larrywright 7y ago
I work remotely (6 years) and I live in a small-ish town (130k). I have no desire to live in a big city. I get the appeal of being able to walk or take public transportation everywhere, but the tradeoffs are worth it. It’s quieter, more laid back, and I have a lot of space. I also have a family and a dog, and so maybe that plays a part.
- criley2 7y ago
  I've gone from very rural, to suburban, to very urban and I'm the opposite. When you're freed from the commute grind, life becomes much more quiet and laid back. I do have a little less space, but I also have an endless variety of things to do and one of the best parts of the big city is the multiculturalism. We have so many neighborhoods of immigrants that the cultural variety from food to entertainment is incredible. I've found that I'm much happier in my smaller home than I was in a four bed suburban nightmare. Spent a lot of my free time and a chunk of my income just keeping it clean and maintained. That's not the life I want lol. I've never been as happy as when I could walk to my local soccer teams stadium and walk to my local grocery store. Although the massive international and farmers markets are very close too, so I always have every fresh ingredient I could ever need for every dish from every culture I've wanted to try. Especially if you don't get to travel much, being in a place where travel comes to you can be very rewarding and enriching.
  - larrywright 7y ago
    I definitely get the appeal for some people (and if I was young and single it would probably appeal to me). I just get annoyed when I see people saying that we should all want to live in dense urban areas. Not saying that happened here, but I've seen it several times lately.
PKop 7y ago
Do you have kids? Often times this is the differentiating factor. Lot's of moves between expensive cities for raising children seems like a challenge.
- enobrev 7y ago
  My first is on the way in about 10 weeks!
  - PKop 7y ago
    Awesome congratulations. We are trying right now for kids... Has the prospect changed your outlook on where to live or the challenges / benefits thereof?
    - enobrev 7y ago
      Thank you! It hasn't changed too much. We have a house in the city, so the standing plan is to stick around for at least a few years. We both grew up in major cities (NYC, Chicago), so that preference isn't likely to change any time soon. Things like quality of schools may change what neighborhood we prefer, but we still have some time before then. If it turns out home-schooling is the best way, then we'll go that route.
ajmurmann 7y ago
Would you mind elaborating why you prefer working remotely given you already live in a big city? When I've worked remotely I've always found the lag of actual face-to-face interaction a huge downside and prefer a short, ideally walkable commute. I'd love to hear your experience. Thanks!
- scottlegrand2 7y ago
  Not the person you're asking, but orthogonal to where I live, penny-pinching on open office floor plans ended my ability to do productive work in an office nearly a decade ago. And no I'm not going to put on headphones. IMO my work environment should naturally be conducive to getting s* done. But that seems to have become crazy talk.
- enobrev 7y ago
  The short answer is quality of life, and freedom to live my life the way that is most comfortable for me and my wife. I love the city so I choose to live in the city, but that choice is completely irrelevant to my work, as I can live / work from anywhere. The long answer is below. I don't personally do well with the same schedule every day, which was a constant issue when I had regular jobs. The more I tried to fit into the day the world wanted me to fit into the less happy I became. It's not the work. I honestly love the work I do, but I abhor having a "job". I have a lot of other reasons I don't like working at an office. I'll try to list a few off the top of my head. - I don't like having "office friends". - I can't stand office politics - Scheduling meeting rooms is confusing and silly - It seems a lot of time is wasted in meetings and in between tasks - I don't enjoy being locked to a single place in order to get things done that I can do anywhere. - I spend a lot of time wandering around and staring in space while I try to work out a problem, and the office was never really conducive to that. - These days with the open plan offices, forget it. The last startup I worked with was acquired by a company you've probably heard of and as much as I truly liked the people there, I couldn't get a single thing done in that place. Headphones kind of helped, but I felt like I was at a lunch table in high school. I only had to work in that office for about a week per quarter, and it was my least productive week per quarter. So on to the pros of my situation - I can work wherever and whenever I want; This is generally in my office at my sit-stand desk with my three monitors and fancy chair, but if I want to fire up my fire-pit and break out my laptop, as I did last night, nothing stops me - besides maybe the weather. Coffee Shops, Shared Spaces, Airports, Other Cities, Seaside Towns, Cabins in the Woods, etc are all perfectly acceptable places for me to work upon my whim. - I generally allow my sleep schedule to change naturally, so sometimes I sleep days and work nights. I get tons more done when that happens, and without anyone to report to outside of a weekly stand-up, it's a total non-issue. - I can do a couple hours of work and then go run errands, and then a couple more, and then have lunch with a friend, and then a couple more and make some dinner and then answer a few emails, and my day is through. I've put the same amount of work in, but I've had a full, accomplished, and social day. - My time is rarely wasted. If I'm not able to focus for the day, I'll just leave my desk and come back to it later or the next day. - My friends are all my actual real friends who I like to see regardless of what industry they work in. I hang out with some of the people I work with, but that's entirely by choice, when we happen to be in the same city. - I probably set an alarm two or three times a year. I generally like to wake up whenever, take my time to make breakfast, make or go and get coffee/tea, sit on my front porch for a bit to read the news, and then kiss my wife, make my way into my office and shut the door. It's kind of like a commute, but it's just me making my way through the house "on the way to work". Obviously my way won't work for everyone, but after 18 years like this, I'm not sure I could ever go back.
_delirium 7y ago
For me personally, the ideal is the kind of good walkability and public transit you're talking about, but in a small town or city, somewhere in the 50k-500k range. Those are probably my favorite working arrangements. I like the smallness, less noise/congestion, and reasonable prices combined with the ability to still have a walkable downtown, and maybe hop on a train to get somewhere bigger a few hours away if I really need to. Easier to find those cities outside the USA though.
- hunterloftis 7y ago
  After trying Charlotte, SF, and Seattle on for size, I’ve learned the same about myself. I work remotely for an SF-based company from Greensboro, NC: population 300k, with a highly walkable downtown. Bought a townhouse in the heart of everything with a commercially zoned office as the first floor. I go weeks without driving and share a single car with my wife for the times we need it.

staplers 7y ago

Living in NYC, your food, clothing, electronics, most resources are transported to you by giant boats or trucks. You don't get to act environmentally superior because you outsource your transport.

lotsofpulp 7y ago
How is that different from any suburb? You do get to act environmentally superior for using up less land to live, and using public transportation. Most pollution comes from the energy used by motors to move people from one place to another, which is obviously more in a suburb environment rather than an walking environment.
- sologoub 7y ago
  Most pollution doesn’t come from “motors to move people”. Transportation is 14% globally and 28% for US, however that includes every kind of transportation - trucks, large ships, cars, trains, etc. https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/global-greenhouse-gas-emissions-data#Sector https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/global-greenhouse-gas-emiss... Largest sector globally is industry and heat, followed closely by agriculture. Big cities may be superior in some respects, but they are also the symptom of a larger problem - it’s a lot more of us on this planet than were pre-industrial.
  - throwawaysea 7y ago
    The downvotes for your comment makes no sense and highlights how ideologically sensitive HN has become. The biggest contributing factors to greenhouse gases and pollution more broadly are high per capita consumption (due to a modern standard of living that goes well beyond transportation) and population growth. And no, being in a city does not somehow make you magically more efficient to an extent that offsets the additional per capita impact.
    - lotsofpulp 7y ago
      The per capita consumption is hugely magnified for people living in single family homes with yards and garages. That type of low density housing makes it impossible to create mass transit options, or even cycling and walking, all at the same time increasing distances of travel for everyone and subsequently all the infrastructure that has to be installed along that distance.

onlyrealcuzzo 7y ago

Have you ever been in a bike-able city? When you're in a walking Utopia like Manhattan, it's hard to imagine anything other than walking. I thought I couldn't live without being in a walkable city. Then I moved to a city that's not very walkable but very bikeable. I miss walking sometimes, but biking is pretty awesome.