4 ms·

>I think the biggest evil of suburbs is the commute. I think part of the reason there's no social activity in suburbs is because, honestly, who wants to do anyt

>I think the biggest evil of suburbs is the commute. I think part of the reason there's no social activity in suburbs is because, honestly, who wants to do anything after spending an hour in traffic after getting off your 8-5 job and knowing you need to be out the door by 6:30 the next day? Takes me an hour+ to get home 6 miles outside of the city (still in the City, but not downtown) on the bus. Not a great argument you have there unless you ignore everyone that isn't privileged enough to live in the city downtown proper.

fiblye 7y ago
It also depends on the city. I can travel 30KM in 15 minutes on a train, or drive that distance in 2 hours if I’m lucky. Many cities are planned well and easy to get around. But this isn’t really true for most American cities. Although if you’re working in a city and living outside of it, you’re almost certainly wasting more time than anyone in it during your commute.
- entropea 7y ago
  I dream for an American city with public transit as good as some European countries. Hopefully some infrastructure projects will come through, but I really don't see it happening any time soon with the amount of corporate lobbying making sure everything stays exactly the same: profits for oil.
- perl4ever 7y ago
  You can go 30 km on a train that travels over 120 km/hr and still be in the same city? I just wouldn't take a job where I have to commute 2 hours. I don't think most people do that, although some may.
perl4ever 7y ago
It's debatable whether I am in a suburb or not at the moment - I am barely technically within the city limits, about 3.5 miles from the middle. But anyway, per Google Maps, I'm about 8 minutes drive from work, 54 minutes bus ride, and 62 minutes walk! Bicycling is estimated at barely over 20 minutes. When I lived 10 minutes walk from work, the bus took about the same time, but waiting for its schedule meant practically speaking it was more like 30 minutes. It felt a little safer than scrambling across three highways, but after a bit, I couldn't stand the wait, so I went back to walking, and then to driving. If I lived in a popular suburb further to the north, then I wouldn't be able to ride the bus at all (although that's too far of a commute for me by car) So, across the whole range of commute distances, I can't see any situation where riding the bus makes sense. It either takes essentially as long as walking, or isn't available at all.

fiblye 7y ago

It also depends on the city. I can travel 30KM in 15 minutes on a train, or drive that distance in 2 hours if I’m lucky. Many cities are planned well and easy to get around. But this isn’t really true for most American cities. Although if you’re working in a city and living outside of it, you’re almost certainly wasting more time than anyone in it during your commute.

entropea 7y ago
I dream for an American city with public transit as good as some European countries. Hopefully some infrastructure projects will come through, but I really don't see it happening any time soon with the amount of corporate lobbying making sure everything stays exactly the same: profits for oil.
perl4ever 7y ago
You can go 30 km on a train that travels over 120 km/hr and still be in the same city? I just wouldn't take a job where I have to commute 2 hours. I don't think most people do that, although some may.

perl4ever 7y ago

It's debatable whether I am in a suburb or not at the moment - I am barely technically within the city limits, about 3.5 miles from the middle. But anyway, per Google Maps, I'm about 8 minutes drive from work, 54 minutes bus ride, and 62 minutes walk! Bicycling is estimated at barely over 20 minutes. When I lived 10 minutes walk from work, the bus took about the same time, but waiting for its schedule meant practically speaking it was more like 30 minutes. It felt a little safer than scrambling across three highways, but after a bit, I couldn't stand the wait, so I went back to walking, and then to driving. If I lived in a popular suburb further to the north, then I wouldn't be able to ride the bus at all (although that's too far of a commute for me by car) So, across the whole range of commute distances, I can't see any situation where riding the bus makes sense. It either takes essentially as long as walking, or isn't available at all.