4 ms·

Spending money at restaurants is great, way better than everybody sitting at home eating their own lunches. I suspect massive adoption of restaurants would be m

Spending money at restaurants is great, way better than everybody sitting at home eating their own lunches. I suspect massive adoption of restaurants would be more efficient too, if we cared about that primarily. Inner city areas full of people chatting in restaurants and cafes at lunchtime and after work are the best. > Then you get these articles about how unhealthy life is in the city. You know; mobile phone tumours - far more likely in the city. Well you know what, so is everything else! Including sex, coffee and conversation. - Dylan Moran

galleywest200 4y ago
Sure, it is fun. But the point of the article and discussion is not to be city-phobic like your quote suggests -- rather why do we need our economy to focus around people commuting? It is not only inner-city folks. A lot of these restaurants in cities rely on all of the people coming in for work.
- thundergolfer 4y ago
  I was replying to someone who said spending money in restaurants is undesirable. I was not replying to the article.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
lost_tourist 4y ago
Whose economy are we talking about though? I mean I understand what you're saying but most people I know still prefer eating at home most of the time and going to restaurants occasionally, mainly because meals out cost 3-10x as much as eating at home, unless you start every meal from scratch. this is really important for families.
- randomdata 4y ago
  > mainly because meals out cost 3-10x as much as eating at home If you are at a place that sells an experience that happens to come with food that may be true, but one in the business of selling food is going to beat your home kitchen every time. The big difference is that the home kitchen costs are largely front-loaded. This does mean you generally need less free cashflow when you are hungry, which is an appealing attribute to someone who budgets by looking at their bank account balance. However, it also means you sacrifice a fair amount of opportunity. That does not come cheap.
  - pillefitz 4y ago
    Home kitchens can be had for cheap, so I don't really get why paying 15 USD vs. 3 USD 2-3 times a day should be a better deal.
    - randomdata 4y ago
      $15 USD for a meal at a business in the business of selling food? Your local cost of living must be insane! I think you'd be hard-pressed to spend much more than $5 USD for a meal at a food business around here. In these parts, I can go to a restaurant in the business of selling an experience, with nice ambiance, a server who will wait on you hand and foot like you are some kind of king, etc. and can have nearly anything on the menu for $15 USD. At that price you're paying to get to act like a king for an hour or two, not for food. If your local cost of living is that high, what's the housing market like? High CoL and high rent often to go hand in hand. If you sold your appliances and offered your kitchen space as a bedroom rental, what kind of income are we talking here?
      - nomad225 4y ago
        Are you referring to fast food when you say that $5 USD is a meal?
        randomdata 4y ago
freetime2 4y ago
> Inner city areas full of people chatting in restaurants and cafes at lunchtime and after work are the best. It's fun, but spending time with my kids is the best. > I suspect massive adoption of restaurants would be more efficient too, if we cared about that primarily. Not sure I agree - I can whip up an inexpensive, healthy, and satisfying meal with food from the supermarket in less time than it takes to walk a couple blocks to a restaurant.
- em-bee 4y ago
  don't forget shopping and cleaning up too. the main problem with restaurants is lack of control of ingredients and fixed portion sizes. i can't adjust based on how hungry i am.
sw104 4y ago
YMMV
AllegedAlec 4y ago
YMMV. The 'hustle and bustle' of the city is something many people would rather avoid.

galleywest200 4y ago

Sure, it is fun. But the point of the article and discussion is not to be city-phobic like your quote suggests -- rather why do we need our economy to focus around people commuting? It is not only inner-city folks. A lot of these restaurants in cities rely on all of the people coming in for work.

thundergolfer 4y ago
I was replying to someone who said spending money in restaurants is undesirable. I was not replying to the article.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]

lost_tourist 4y ago

Whose economy are we talking about though? I mean I understand what you're saying but most people I know still prefer eating at home most of the time and going to restaurants occasionally, mainly because meals out cost 3-10x as much as eating at home, unless you start every meal from scratch. this is really important for families.

randomdata 4y ago
> mainly because meals out cost 3-10x as much as eating at home If you are at a place that sells an experience that happens to come with food that may be true, but one in the business of selling food is going to beat your home kitchen every time. The big difference is that the home kitchen costs are largely front-loaded. This does mean you generally need less free cashflow when you are hungry, which is an appealing attribute to someone who budgets by looking at their bank account balance. However, it also means you sacrifice a fair amount of opportunity. That does not come cheap.
- pillefitz 4y ago
  Home kitchens can be had for cheap, so I don't really get why paying 15 USD vs. 3 USD 2-3 times a day should be a better deal.
  - randomdata 4y ago
    $15 USD for a meal at a business in the business of selling food? Your local cost of living must be insane! I think you'd be hard-pressed to spend much more than $5 USD for a meal at a food business around here. In these parts, I can go to a restaurant in the business of selling an experience, with nice ambiance, a server who will wait on you hand and foot like you are some kind of king, etc. and can have nearly anything on the menu for $15 USD. At that price you're paying to get to act like a king for an hour or two, not for food. If your local cost of living is that high, what's the housing market like? High CoL and high rent often to go hand in hand. If you sold your appliances and offered your kitchen space as a bedroom rental, what kind of income are we talking here?
    - nomad225 4y ago
      Are you referring to fast food when you say that $5 USD is a meal?
      - randomdata 4y ago

freetime2 4y ago

> Inner city areas full of people chatting in restaurants and cafes at lunchtime and after work are the best. It's fun, but spending time with my kids is the best. > I suspect massive adoption of restaurants would be more efficient too, if we cared about that primarily. Not sure I agree - I can whip up an inexpensive, healthy, and satisfying meal with food from the supermarket in less time than it takes to walk a couple blocks to a restaurant.

em-bee 4y ago
don't forget shopping and cleaning up too. the main problem with restaurants is lack of control of ingredients and fixed portion sizes. i can't adjust based on how hungry i am.

sw104 4y ago

YMMV

AllegedAlec 4y ago

YMMV. The 'hustle and bustle' of the city is something many people would rather avoid.