8 ms·

I've never lived in the US, so I can't comment on the commute situation there, but I live and work in Paris proper and one of the main reasons "I don't want to

I've never lived in the US, so I can't comment on the commute situation there, but I live and work in Paris proper and one of the main reasons "I don't want to go to the office" is the commute. I need 30-45 minutes to get there, and our public transit system is supposedly good. But the metro's still too crowded, dirty, smelly, etc. And I even usually avoid rush hour and take an automated, hassle-free line. Commuting by personal motorized vehicle is hell, so you can forget that. I'm contemplating buying an electric bike, but only because I'm lucky I have a place to keep it secure both at the office and at home. The situation may be better in smaller cities, but I think that this consideration still affects a quite sizable bunch of people (20% of the country's population lives in the Paris region).

sneak 5y ago
> Commuting by personal motorized vehicle is hell, so you can forget that. This is the standard way of commuting in most of the US.
- SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago
  Hell is well-populated.
  - ProdigalFilio 5y ago
    Lmao, underrated comment
aiisjustanif 5y ago
I’d take a crowded train any day over driving, though I get why some people loathe it. I miss taking the train when I was in Europe compared to driving in the US. I had the option to read a book some days or play a game. Definitely more options to find joy when compared to driving when I can only choose from podcasts, music and audiobooks The main difference for me is the mode of transport provides different possibilities for joy or benefit. While the cons of biking or walking maybe be sweating and climate, there’s a lot of joy and health benefits to be had if the times are comparable (e.g., 20 minute walk, 20 minute bike ride)
touisteur 5y ago
Take advantage of the 500eur subsidy for ebikes if you can. And... Well it's Paris, so be prepared to shout and push your way to work... I went recently in a crowded miced car+bicycle place in Paris, and it was pure pandemonium, I don't know how no one got terribly hurt in the half hour I was there.
jorblumesea 5y ago
This is fairly similar to the US commute in terms of time and annoyance.
Talanes 5y ago
I'm actually wondering what you consider not a long commute if 30 minutes hits the threshold. I've known plenty of people who have longer commutes driving directly from home to work.
- krageon 5y ago
  I consider a five-minute commute to be short. Ten can be okay too, if the route is nice (e.g. you live in a pretty place and you travel through it to get to work). That is door-to-door.
  - Talanes 5y ago
    Five minutes doesn't even feel quite like I've left home.
    - krageon 5y ago
      It's fair to say that I prefer it that way :)
- ProZsolt 5y ago
  For me the ideal commute(pre Covid) was an under 20 mins walk/bike ride. That is still nearly 3.5 hours a week not counting dressing up / getting ready for the commute.
- vladvasiliu 5y ago
  It's not only a question of time, but also of how that time is spent. For example, I would much rather prefer to walk 30-40 minutes instead of taking a crowded, smelly metro for 20. I actually used to regularly walk 50 minutes to get home in the evening because I didn't want to deal with the transit. There's also the fact that this is the time it takes when everything works well. Again, I take an automated line, which is fairly reliable. But most of the other lines have "incidents" going quite often (more than once a week). In this case, if the delay isn't extreme (less than 30 minutes) people will just wait and stuff themselves in the even-more-crowded trains when they do show up. Or they'll try taking another line, adding to that train's usual crowd. When there are too many people, trains usually have delays, because they have to deal with people literally not fitting in the train at the stops. So even if you're OK with riding a train packed to the brim (say you ride from end to end, so you're guaranteed to have a seat and won't have to fight your way off the train), you still can't count on getting at your destination on time.
baby 5y ago
I’d take your commute, in exchange I’ll give you my daily 3 hours in a shaky shuttle round trip I used to do at fb
TeMPOraL 5y ago
Seconding. I live in Kraków, Poland, which has a great public transit infrastructure. For all jobs I had, I could always get into the office in 20 to 40 minutes. That's still 20 to 40 minutes too much - it's 40 to 80 minutes per day, out of my very limited free time. I hated it, and I prefer WFH. A threshold for me is probably around 5 minutes, counting from my apartment's door to the office door. Anything more feels like wasting time, so I'll avoid it for as long as I have the option.
- KptMarchewa 5y ago
  Calling Kraków's transit great is a long stretch.
mediascreen 5y ago
I live in Stockholm and have a beautiful 20 minute walk to the office. It takes about the same by bus or metro. On the other hand I have an 45m2 apartment, since I would rather have a small place in the center of Stockholm than having a bigger one in the suburbs.
- ionwake 5y ago
  Have you considered moving to another city if so where? I’ve always wanted to work in Stockholm
  - mediascreen 5y ago
    Well, I'm spending the fall in Barcelona right now, but I don't think I'll move somewhere else permanently. As I get older I seem to get more attached to Sweden and have hard time imagining building a permanent life somewhere else.
  - mensetmanusman 5y ago
    Do you want to take his apartment?
    - ionwake 5y ago
      Lmao

sneak 5y ago

> Commuting by personal motorized vehicle is hell, so you can forget that. This is the standard way of commuting in most of the US.

SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago
Hell is well-populated.
- ProdigalFilio 5y ago
  Lmao, underrated comment

aiisjustanif 5y ago

I’d take a crowded train any day over driving, though I get why some people loathe it. I miss taking the train when I was in Europe compared to driving in the US. I had the option to read a book some days or play a game. Definitely more options to find joy when compared to driving when I can only choose from podcasts, music and audiobooks The main difference for me is the mode of transport provides different possibilities for joy or benefit. While the cons of biking or walking maybe be sweating and climate, there’s a lot of joy and health benefits to be had if the times are comparable (e.g., 20 minute walk, 20 minute bike ride)

touisteur 5y ago

Take advantage of the 500eur subsidy for ebikes if you can. And... Well it's Paris, so be prepared to shout and push your way to work... I went recently in a crowded miced car+bicycle place in Paris, and it was pure pandemonium, I don't know how no one got terribly hurt in the half hour I was there.

jorblumesea 5y ago

This is fairly similar to the US commute in terms of time and annoyance.

Talanes 5y ago

I'm actually wondering what you consider not a long commute if 30 minutes hits the threshold. I've known plenty of people who have longer commutes driving directly from home to work.

krageon 5y ago
I consider a five-minute commute to be short. Ten can be okay too, if the route is nice (e.g. you live in a pretty place and you travel through it to get to work). That is door-to-door.
- Talanes 5y ago
  Five minutes doesn't even feel quite like I've left home.
  - krageon 5y ago
    It's fair to say that I prefer it that way :)
ProZsolt 5y ago
For me the ideal commute(pre Covid) was an under 20 mins walk/bike ride. That is still nearly 3.5 hours a week not counting dressing up / getting ready for the commute.
vladvasiliu 5y ago
It's not only a question of time, but also of how that time is spent. For example, I would much rather prefer to walk 30-40 minutes instead of taking a crowded, smelly metro for 20. I actually used to regularly walk 50 minutes to get home in the evening because I didn't want to deal with the transit. There's also the fact that this is the time it takes when everything works well. Again, I take an automated line, which is fairly reliable. But most of the other lines have "incidents" going quite often (more than once a week). In this case, if the delay isn't extreme (less than 30 minutes) people will just wait and stuff themselves in the even-more-crowded trains when they do show up. Or they'll try taking another line, adding to that train's usual crowd. When there are too many people, trains usually have delays, because they have to deal with people literally not fitting in the train at the stops. So even if you're OK with riding a train packed to the brim (say you ride from end to end, so you're guaranteed to have a seat and won't have to fight your way off the train), you still can't count on getting at your destination on time.

baby 5y ago

I’d take your commute, in exchange I’ll give you my daily 3 hours in a shaky shuttle round trip I used to do at fb

TeMPOraL 5y ago

Seconding. I live in Kraków, Poland, which has a great public transit infrastructure. For all jobs I had, I could always get into the office in 20 to 40 minutes. That's still 20 to 40 minutes too much - it's 40 to 80 minutes per day, out of my very limited free time. I hated it, and I prefer WFH. A threshold for me is probably around 5 minutes, counting from my apartment's door to the office door. Anything more feels like wasting time, so I'll avoid it for as long as I have the option.

KptMarchewa 5y ago
Calling Kraków's transit great is a long stretch.

mediascreen 5y ago

I live in Stockholm and have a beautiful 20 minute walk to the office. It takes about the same by bus or metro. On the other hand I have an 45m2 apartment, since I would rather have a small place in the center of Stockholm than having a bigger one in the suburbs.

ionwake 5y ago
Have you considered moving to another city if so where? I’ve always wanted to work in Stockholm
- mediascreen 5y ago
  Well, I'm spending the fall in Barcelona right now, but I don't think I'll move somewhere else permanently. As I get older I seem to get more attached to Sweden and have hard time imagining building a permanent life somewhere else.
- mensetmanusman 5y ago
  Do you want to take his apartment?
  - ionwake 5y ago
    Lmao