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I’ve come to the conclusion 90% of HN has no experience raising children and what it entails. This is evident in the replies of people saying “just do x”. Never

• pfranz 5y ago
  I agree that before I had kids it was easy to be blind to how different life is even when having those close to me with them. But people have kids in cities without cars and inclimate weather all over the world. I moved from a car-centric city when I had kids because the thought of driving from work, to childcare or school, to soccer practice, then home made me incredibly miserable. Suburbs accommodate this better, but that seems to almost necessitate two cars. A decent city accommodates this, requires a lot less upfront cost, and just fewer resources all around. The comment you're replying to seems to think its not feasible.
• odessacubbage 5y ago
  not everyone has raised a child, but everyone has had the experience of being raised as a child.
• refurb 5y ago
  Absolutely, but I remember seeing a HN survey that showed most HN users were in their 20’s so no surprise there. When I lived in Singapore, it was very common for families to have cars despite the world class transit system. And despite the $50-70k for a permit to own a car and the 100% tariffs. That just demonstrates how much utility people get from cars. People are willing to pay a lot to have access to a car.
  • Symbiote 5y ago
    Isn't there a lot of prestige in owning a car? I remember discussing commutes with a developer in Singapore, she "had to" drive for an hour every day. We were looking at Google Maps to help me follow what she described, and I noticed a rail line. Was that an option? No! She couldn't be seen using the train.
    • refurb 5y ago
      Maybe among the very rich, but I worked with plenty of middle-upper class Singaporeans (~$100 to 150k SGD incomes) who spent money on cars. Keep in mind despite the rail lines, it's much cheaper to own a place that isn't within easy walking distance. For the same amount of money you'd get a much bigger place. But regardless, it was mostly just due to the demands of family. The train makes sense when it's you alone. When you're paying $20-30 per day for a family's transit costs (4 rides at $1.50 each times for 2 adults and 2 teens), then suddenly the $700-$1000/month to own a car doesn't seem so silly.
      • rdtwo 5y ago
        Yeah that’s also important math folks miss taking a family downtown it’s often cheaper to pay parking than bus fare both ways for a family of 4. Even at 2 it’s basically break even with 3$ fares
        • klipt 5y ago
          Parking is the obvious cost, but aren't you ignoring gas, maintenance, opportunity cost of capital put into a car, etc?
          • rdtwo 5y ago
            Yes and no. The cost savings from not using a car mostly is an all or nothing deal. You save a lot by not owning one all together but you don’t save much by not using one you already have
• rdtwo 5y ago
  Just do x never accounts for time spent doing x. Many times x is possible but does not meet time constraints. If you add another hour plus to your kids school commute then another hour to your own you might never actually see your kids