4 ms·

Well, picking a shorter commute is a reasonable choice to make. Longer commutes don't take time from work, they take time from family, and are associated with h

by lars512 12y ago

Well, picking a shorter commute is a reasonable choice to make. Longer commutes don't take time from work, they take time from family, and are associated with higher divorce rates, at least amongst Swedes. In a city like Melbourne, where I live, there's a lot of development which could still be done to reach a reasonable medium-density of 3-4 story apartment buildings in the suburbs immediately circling the CBD. It is being done, but not to such an extent that housing prices will stop rising. I really wonder what this city will look like in another 20 years, as people are pushed further and further out but the work is still centralised.

Omniusaspirer 12y ago
My personal opinion is that the need to physically be at your job will only diminish in the future. I honestly believe that VR will eventually offer a lot of potential for virtual office spaces that give you the illusion of being there but let you sit comfortably at home. Of course I may just be a dreamer and we'll continue to see housing prices skyrocket as we try to cram 10's of millions of people into small geographical areas- I'm certainly not dismissing that possibility.
- amirmc 12y ago
  We were promised paperless offices decades ago and we're still nowhere close. Right now we can barely get video-conferencing done properly. Hence, I doubt VR will help us anytime soon.
  - ptaipale 12y ago
    I don't think it was a promise, more like a prediction. And it is becoming true, I think. At least in my line of work (engineering, software, telecoms, security) shuffling papers has decreased a lot over the past 15 years. National legislation sometimes slows this development, e.g. by insisting on having a paper with a signature and possibly even a stamp. As usual, we tend to overestimate how quickly the changed happens in short-term (hence "the broken promise"), but we also underestimate the social impact this change has (we don't just replace paper with electronic forms, we change the way we work and it changes businesses profoundly.)
- prawn 12y ago
  I agree with you about virtual offices, but I think social lives will still mean that people want to live near their family or friends. In an office with desk jobs, physical contact is almost never required, and so virtual spaces will be realistic far sooner. When it comes to friends and family where there is far more nuance in our interactions, I think it will take longer.

by lars512 12y ago

Omniusaspirer 12y ago

My personal opinion is that the need to physically be at your job will only diminish in the future. I honestly believe that VR will eventually offer a lot of potential for virtual office spaces that give you the illusion of being there but let you sit comfortably at home. Of course I may just be a dreamer and we'll continue to see housing prices skyrocket as we try to cram 10's of millions of people into small geographical areas- I'm certainly not dismissing that possibility.

amirmc 12y ago
We were promised paperless offices decades ago and we're still nowhere close. Right now we can barely get video-conferencing done properly. Hence, I doubt VR will help us anytime soon.
- ptaipale 12y ago
  I don't think it was a promise, more like a prediction. And it is becoming true, I think. At least in my line of work (engineering, software, telecoms, security) shuffling papers has decreased a lot over the past 15 years. National legislation sometimes slows this development, e.g. by insisting on having a paper with a signature and possibly even a stamp. As usual, we tend to overestimate how quickly the changed happens in short-term (hence "the broken promise"), but we also underestimate the social impact this change has (we don't just replace paper with electronic forms, we change the way we work and it changes businesses profoundly.)
prawn 12y ago
I agree with you about virtual offices, but I think social lives will still mean that people want to live near their family or friends. In an office with desk jobs, physical contact is almost never required, and so virtual spaces will be realistic far sooner. When it comes to friends and family where there is far more nuance in our interactions, I think it will take longer.