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From the byline: >Darlena Cunha is a former television producer turned stay-at-home mom to twin girls. ...maybe someone from the Boston area can chime in on t

by xrange 12y ago

From the byline: >Darlena Cunha is a former television producer turned stay-at-home mom to twin girls. ...maybe someone from the Boston area can chime in on the state of public transportation.

Jtsummers 12y ago
This article is about their situation from 2008/2009.
ohashi 12y ago
You must be confused. Stay-at-home mom doesn't mean can't leave the home. In many parts of America, you cannot go or get anywhere without a car. That includes basic things, like grocery shopping.
- xrange 12y ago
  I guess I don't want to belabor this too much, and maybe this tags me as an old geezer, but I have personally known families with children, who only owned one automobile. One person can drive the other person to work, and then drive the car around for the rest of the day, and then pick them up after work. Of course we don't know their particular details, like maybe they've got a 50 mile one way commute (which in itself would be crazy for a $25k/yr job).
  - Jtsummers 12y ago
    2 children, just born, underweight. So really, let's just disturb them twice a day so Dad can take Mom to work and home again. Oh, and this is 2008/2009 when lots of people were truly happy to have any job, especially after one of their two incomes just disappeared unexpectedly (layoff, not firing). Mom can't take the car to work herself because Dad might need it for errands or medical issues with the kids. They owned the Mercedes (and no debt was mentioned for the unreliable Honda). Why sell assets that are paying for themselves in terms of actual money (getting her to work), and relieving emotional/financial stress (confidence that they aren't totally fucked if one car fails).
  - HeyLaughingBoy 12y ago
    maybe they've got a 50 mile one way commute (which in itself would be crazy for a $25k/yr job). There are many people here in Minnesota who drive comparable distances to make less money. When you live in the sticks and the closest job is a gas station 30 miles away that pays minimum wage, you're pretty much screwed.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
GabrielF00 12y ago
The husband had a job in Hartford (about 100 miles from Boston), so I'm assuming that they lived somewhere between Hartford and Boston. I've lived in both cities. Boston itself has very good public transportation for a US city. Hartford has mediocre public transit - it would be very difficult to live in Hartford without a car. If you're living in a suburb between the two cities you absolutely need to have a car.

by xrange 12y ago

From the byline: >Darlena Cunha is a former television producer turned stay-at-home mom to twin girls. ...maybe someone from the Boston area can chime in on the state of public transportation.

Jtsummers 12y ago

This article is about their situation from 2008/2009.

ohashi 12y ago

You must be confused. Stay-at-home mom doesn't mean can't leave the home. In many parts of America, you cannot go or get anywhere without a car. That includes basic things, like grocery shopping.

xrange 12y ago
I guess I don't want to belabor this too much, and maybe this tags me as an old geezer, but I have personally known families with children, who only owned one automobile. One person can drive the other person to work, and then drive the car around for the rest of the day, and then pick them up after work. Of course we don't know their particular details, like maybe they've got a 50 mile one way commute (which in itself would be crazy for a $25k/yr job).
- Jtsummers 12y ago
  2 children, just born, underweight. So really, let's just disturb them twice a day so Dad can take Mom to work and home again. Oh, and this is 2008/2009 when lots of people were truly happy to have any job, especially after one of their two incomes just disappeared unexpectedly (layoff, not firing). Mom can't take the car to work herself because Dad might need it for errands or medical issues with the kids. They owned the Mercedes (and no debt was mentioned for the unreliable Honda). Why sell assets that are paying for themselves in terms of actual money (getting her to work), and relieving emotional/financial stress (confidence that they aren't totally fucked if one car fails).
- HeyLaughingBoy 12y ago
  maybe they've got a 50 mile one way commute (which in itself would be crazy for a $25k/yr job). There are many people here in Minnesota who drive comparable distances to make less money. When you live in the sticks and the closest job is a gas station 30 miles away that pays minimum wage, you're pretty much screwed.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

GabrielF00 12y ago

The husband had a job in Hartford (about 100 miles from Boston), so I'm assuming that they lived somewhere between Hartford and Boston. I've lived in both cities. Boston itself has very good public transportation for a US city. Hartford has mediocre public transit - it would be very difficult to live in Hartford without a car. If you're living in a suburb between the two cities you absolutely need to have a car.