3 ms·

There is also the random negative event problem. Not owning a car and taking uber everywhere seemed okay when living in a dense city, until covid happened and

There is also the random negative event problem. Not owning a car and taking uber everywhere seemed okay when living in a dense city, until covid happened and Uber all but ceased operations for a while. The small condo in the city was a great choice when you went out most nights and worked at the office but it sucked terribly when circumstances changed and everyone was home all the time. The main blockers for me are transaction costs - sure I can rent a car when I want to drive to the mountains but the amount of extra time and effort required means I’d probably not bother. To be clear: it can work - I lived in central London and never bothered to own a car but, well, I don’t now because even something trivial like carrying around three car seats every time I wanted to take an uber would be so cumbersome I’d never do it.

admax88q 6y ago
Planning your life around once or twice in a lifetime events like a pandemic seems pretty wasteful. That's not paying for 95%, that's paying for 99.99%
- landryraccoon 6y ago
  I have to disagree. I think the stress and anxiety I’ve experienced in 2020 is on the order of the sum of the rest of my life combined. The math works out this way too - global economic impact from Covid is probably $16T in the US alone. If I could have spent half my yearly income in 2019 to have a normal year in 2020 I would take that deal in a heartbeat and feel really good about it.
  - admax88q 6y ago
    Sorry to hear that this year has been that bad for you. I don't think your math works though. First off we were talking about individual life choices, living small in a big city and paying to rent services/tools as you need them rather than living on a larger property, owning most of the tools/services you need. This isn't a one time cost, its not spend twice as much in 2019 for a normal 2020, its spend twice as much _every year_ in case a 2020 happens. As for the covid impact, the US GDP was $21T in 2019, there's no way the economic impact in the US is 75% of last years GDP. That's like a civilization collapse level of recession. Lots of business seem to be doing fine, lot's of people are back to work.
    - landryraccoon 6y ago
      It seems to me that renting a home isn't half the price of buying one, and taking an Uber every day can add up very quickly as well. I really doubt that's half as much cost as owning a car as well.
      - admax88q 6y ago
        This isn't about renting vs buying, its about living big and private or small and public. Renting/buying a small home and using public spaces like parks and transit/walking, or renting/buying a large home with your own yard, buying your own car, etc. The large home will serve you much better in a pandemic, cause many of those public options will be closed, but is that worth paying for when a pandemic will happen maybe once or twice in your lifetime?
- alasdair_ 6y ago
  >Planning your life around once or twice in a lifetime events like a pandemic seems pretty wasteful. It's not specifically a pandemic. It's the idea that it's worth being somewhat prepared to deal with things if a major event occurs.

admax88q 6y ago

Planning your life around once or twice in a lifetime events like a pandemic seems pretty wasteful. That's not paying for 95%, that's paying for 99.99%

landryraccoon 6y ago
I have to disagree. I think the stress and anxiety I’ve experienced in 2020 is on the order of the sum of the rest of my life combined. The math works out this way too - global economic impact from Covid is probably $16T in the US alone. If I could have spent half my yearly income in 2019 to have a normal year in 2020 I would take that deal in a heartbeat and feel really good about it.
- admax88q 6y ago
  Sorry to hear that this year has been that bad for you. I don't think your math works though. First off we were talking about individual life choices, living small in a big city and paying to rent services/tools as you need them rather than living on a larger property, owning most of the tools/services you need. This isn't a one time cost, its not spend twice as much in 2019 for a normal 2020, its spend twice as much _every year_ in case a 2020 happens. As for the covid impact, the US GDP was $21T in 2019, there's no way the economic impact in the US is 75% of last years GDP. That's like a civilization collapse level of recession. Lots of business seem to be doing fine, lot's of people are back to work.
  - landryraccoon 6y ago
    It seems to me that renting a home isn't half the price of buying one, and taking an Uber every day can add up very quickly as well. I really doubt that's half as much cost as owning a car as well.
    - admax88q 6y ago
      This isn't about renting vs buying, its about living big and private or small and public. Renting/buying a small home and using public spaces like parks and transit/walking, or renting/buying a large home with your own yard, buying your own car, etc. The large home will serve you much better in a pandemic, cause many of those public options will be closed, but is that worth paying for when a pandemic will happen maybe once or twice in your lifetime?
alasdair_ 6y ago
>Planning your life around once or twice in a lifetime events like a pandemic seems pretty wasteful. It's not specifically a pandemic. It's the idea that it's worth being somewhat prepared to deal with things if a major event occurs.