4 ms·

I'd far rather go for a long drive in a comfortable car with scenic views than go to a bar. My closest (in both meanings of the word) friend is three hours awa

I'd far rather go for a long drive in a comfortable car with scenic views than go to a bar. My closest (in both meanings of the word) friend is three hours away through a scenic mountain pass and when we go there its for an entire weekend. This gives time to help with things like building a shed or swapping an engine in a car.

throwaway22032 4y ago
Heh. I live in a city and more and more I feel this. The whole idea behind urbanism seems to be - give up the outdoors, give up hobbies that require tools and space. Go to the bar. Or a "makerspace" where you can have controlled use of someone else's tools. Rent this, rent that, take an uber here and there. It's just so commercialised.
- tormeh 4y ago
  I get it, to a certain extent. But it’s not quite that simple. Many rural hobbies have pretty intense initial capital outlays, while urban ones tend to have higher running costs. Making tools that end up basically unused in suburban sheds is a big industry.
- hackernewds 4y ago
  Why not both? Except in the city, you can meet your friend and go together in the outdoors instead of 3 hour solo commute time, where there's no real interaction with them.
  - cpursley 4y ago
    The great irony, with well designed dense cities, there’s actually more nature available to go explore. And closer.
- pantalaimon 4y ago
  I don’t see how having to buy all the tools yourself is any less commercial. In a hackspace you often get to access tools that you wouldn’t want to afford yourself.
  - throwaway22032 4y ago
    With restricted access, at controlled hours, in a shared space subject to the whims of others. You're renting them. There are very few tools I can think of at least woodworking wise that I wouldn't "want" to afford myself. Particularly in the context that an urban home costs hundreds of thousands more than a suburban or rural one. Metalworking or something like that, maybe, I wouldn't know.
    - yunwal 4y ago
      Maybe it’s just me but I quite like the community that’s built up around most makerspaces. People helping each other out, giving classes, showing off their projects. Seems absolutely worth the occasional misplaced tool.
    - abrugsch 4y ago
      So I'll caveat this with "every makerspace is different" so it's definitely a YMMV situation, however hackspaces or makerspaces that have properly gone all in on the "movement" are typically not-for-profit organizations. (not all of them by any means, hence the caveat) but in my experience (as a UK'er with a typical UK family home) very few people can afford the dedicated space even a modest wood workshop requires. Most (average sized) homes here barely have garages, let alone a shed bigger than 6'x 4'. the best I can hope for in those situations is a small collection of hand tools and a rickety folding workbench. In contrast to that I have a local makerspace that has more facilities than I could ever afford to own, along with actual space to DO the work on projects I want to do with <GASP!> actual solid workbenches and fixed tools like pillar drills (press), table saw/router, band saws. and that's just on the wood side. They also have a CNC router, metal and wood lathes, welding kit/space, [FRICKEN] laser cutter, 3D printers, electronics workbench with a 'scope more expensive than my car. A whole host of things I would never be able to afford either the cost or space to host. And they have a phase of membership which permits 247 access (not extra cost, just a bit of familiarity) which by design also means it's a social space, so bringing back to the context of the OP, has meant good friendships are formed as new skills are acquired/shared. Yes it's a monthly cost, but even if I added up the total cost since I've been a member, it doesn't add up to how much even one of the major tools would set me back. Even taking all that into account, it's given me an opportunity to learn things I would never have considered doing on my own. I joined for the 3D printing and stayed for the laser cutting, CNC milling, PCB designing/surface mount soldering, microcontroller learning, welding and friendships.
- btgeekboy 4y ago
  That's kinda why I like living in the suburbs now. My commute into the city is ~30 by transit. But I have a garage to tinker in (recently added a 3d printer to the workbench), and I store my car there for driving beyond the reach of the transit system. Though I will admit, I do miss being able to walk downstairs to one of many bars, have a few drinks, maybe end up at the local greasy spoon, and walk home. Can't have it all, I suppose.
- herbst 4y ago
  I live far remotely in a big house and can confirm. Things that came naturally to me: - Way more time in and with nature - New hobbies, lot of space to try things - Plenty of tools. My 'Makerspace' is what takes up most of my house at this point
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
- mrguyorama 4y ago
  I grew up in the boonies. I didn't care for the outdoors, and in exchange I had no access to computer groups, accelerated learning opportunities, and other nerdy things that I did want. In fact, I would wager a guess that different people like and prioritize different things. Making cities better and healthier and happier will not prevent you from living in the boonies and enjoying ATVs and hunting and nature walks.
Symbiote 4y ago
There's plenty of opportunity to live towards the edge of a city (or even in the city) and drive out to the mountains at the weekend. I like hiking, so I often choose to take a train out (sometimes followed by a bus), since then I'm not restricted to walking a circular route. I can also be utterly exhausted (far too tired to drive) on the way home. However, there are a lot more options when driving.

throwaway22032 4y ago

Heh. I live in a city and more and more I feel this. The whole idea behind urbanism seems to be - give up the outdoors, give up hobbies that require tools and space. Go to the bar. Or a "makerspace" where you can have controlled use of someone else's tools. Rent this, rent that, take an uber here and there. It's just so commercialised.

tormeh 4y ago
I get it, to a certain extent. But it’s not quite that simple. Many rural hobbies have pretty intense initial capital outlays, while urban ones tend to have higher running costs. Making tools that end up basically unused in suburban sheds is a big industry.
hackernewds 4y ago
Why not both? Except in the city, you can meet your friend and go together in the outdoors instead of 3 hour solo commute time, where there's no real interaction with them.
- cpursley 4y ago
  The great irony, with well designed dense cities, there’s actually more nature available to go explore. And closer.
pantalaimon 4y ago
I don’t see how having to buy all the tools yourself is any less commercial. In a hackspace you often get to access tools that you wouldn’t want to afford yourself.
- throwaway22032 4y ago
  With restricted access, at controlled hours, in a shared space subject to the whims of others. You're renting them. There are very few tools I can think of at least woodworking wise that I wouldn't "want" to afford myself. Particularly in the context that an urban home costs hundreds of thousands more than a suburban or rural one. Metalworking or something like that, maybe, I wouldn't know.
  - yunwal 4y ago
    Maybe it’s just me but I quite like the community that’s built up around most makerspaces. People helping each other out, giving classes, showing off their projects. Seems absolutely worth the occasional misplaced tool.
  - abrugsch 4y ago
    So I'll caveat this with "every makerspace is different" so it's definitely a YMMV situation, however hackspaces or makerspaces that have properly gone all in on the "movement" are typically not-for-profit organizations. (not all of them by any means, hence the caveat) but in my experience (as a UK'er with a typical UK family home) very few people can afford the dedicated space even a modest wood workshop requires. Most (average sized) homes here barely have garages, let alone a shed bigger than 6'x 4'. the best I can hope for in those situations is a small collection of hand tools and a rickety folding workbench. In contrast to that I have a local makerspace that has more facilities than I could ever afford to own, along with actual space to DO the work on projects I want to do with <GASP!> actual solid workbenches and fixed tools like pillar drills (press), table saw/router, band saws. and that's just on the wood side. They also have a CNC router, metal and wood lathes, welding kit/space, [FRICKEN] laser cutter, 3D printers, electronics workbench with a 'scope more expensive than my car. A whole host of things I would never be able to afford either the cost or space to host. And they have a phase of membership which permits 247 access (not extra cost, just a bit of familiarity) which by design also means it's a social space, so bringing back to the context of the OP, has meant good friendships are formed as new skills are acquired/shared. Yes it's a monthly cost, but even if I added up the total cost since I've been a member, it doesn't add up to how much even one of the major tools would set me back. Even taking all that into account, it's given me an opportunity to learn things I would never have considered doing on my own. I joined for the 3D printing and stayed for the laser cutting, CNC milling, PCB designing/surface mount soldering, microcontroller learning, welding and friendships.
btgeekboy 4y ago
That's kinda why I like living in the suburbs now. My commute into the city is ~30 by transit. But I have a garage to tinker in (recently added a 3d printer to the workbench), and I store my car there for driving beyond the reach of the transit system. Though I will admit, I do miss being able to walk downstairs to one of many bars, have a few drinks, maybe end up at the local greasy spoon, and walk home. Can't have it all, I suppose.
herbst 4y ago
I live far remotely in a big house and can confirm. Things that came naturally to me: - Way more time in and with nature - New hobbies, lot of space to try things - Plenty of tools. My 'Makerspace' is what takes up most of my house at this point
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
mrguyorama 4y ago
I grew up in the boonies. I didn't care for the outdoors, and in exchange I had no access to computer groups, accelerated learning opportunities, and other nerdy things that I did want. In fact, I would wager a guess that different people like and prioritize different things. Making cities better and healthier and happier will not prevent you from living in the boonies and enjoying ATVs and hunting and nature walks.

Symbiote 4y ago

There's plenty of opportunity to live towards the edge of a city (or even in the city) and drive out to the mountains at the weekend. I like hiking, so I often choose to take a train out (sometimes followed by a bus), since then I'm not restricted to walking a circular route. I can also be utterly exhausted (far too tired to drive) on the way home. However, there are a lot more options when driving.