THE COMMUTING AND RENT THREAD

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Ice Cream Jonsey
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THE COMMUTING AND RENT THREAD

Post by Ice Cream Jonsey »

Here is how it was when I was in my 20s - mid 30s.

There were lots of well paying jobs in cities. Being younger and less experienced, I did not have the ability to get a high paying job at a desirable company in a city. I had to learn stuff.

So you can:

1) Get a job in a town nobody lives in and then rent there. I did that in Longmont, Colorado. Nice town. No night life.
2) Get a job in a town that's got slightly more going on and rent or buy a home and have a commute. I did that when I was working in Denver but I lived in Thornton, Colorado. Thornton, Colorado also has no night life but by this age I was happy that that was the case. I just wanted a quiet suburb.
3) Get a job in a town that has a lot going on, make little money because you don't know shit and then choose to live with 3 other people to afford the rent in this town. If you do that it is now your mission to complain about it on social media as loudly as possible. Blame everyone else for the natural order of things. "Rent is $1500! WAAAAAAAH" because god forbid commuting from a more-boring town be an option.

But actually I think all of this is going to go away as people work from home more. If I'm not mistaken, the only regulars driving or walking to work on most days is me, Aardvark , gsdgsd, CGG and who knows what Billy's situation is. The rest of you - you guys all work from home, right?
the dark and gritty...Ice Cream Jonsey!

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Flack
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Re: THE COMMUTING AND RENT THREAD

Post by Flack »

Oklahoma doesn't have the traffic snarls that Colorado and many other major cities have, which makes commuting much different (and much more viable) here. The guy who sits next to me at work lives 45 miles away from work and Google Maps says it should take 46 minutes to get there. Very few people I know live in OKC proper; they live in one of the many surrounding suburbs, and drive 30 minutes each way to and from work.

Teleworking isn't mandatory at my job, but it's coming. Some of our new facilities are being built to 75% size; in other words, if 1,000 people work at a regional office, when they build a new one, they are only building them to hold 750 people. Basically the idea is that people can do cube sharing and telework and so the building will never be at capacity. This also means we're only spending 3/4 on utilities, savings that are passed down to taxpayers. Employees are not reimbursed for working from home -- we don't get money toward our cable modem bills, no money for home office equipment, etc. The trade off of being able to work from home is enough for most people not to care.

I think if the government had its way, only the top managers in DC would go into an office. They would love to outsource all of our server hosting and help desk employees, and all other employees can work remotely. It's a definite trend they're pushing for. There are definitely advantages and disadvantages to teleworking. If I were single, I would have an RV or Tiny House and I would be driving all around the country, working from a different state every week.
"I failed a savings throw and now I am back."

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gsdgsd
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Re: THE COMMUTING AND RENT THREAD

Post by gsdgsd »

I pretty much take the train all the time now. It's great - five minute walk if I'm in a hurry/20 minute walk if I want exercise, 20 minute train ride and I just listen to music/read my Kindle. My stress has gone way down now that I don't have to deal with Atlanta traffic, and the only drawbacks are breakdowns (pretty rare) and people vomiting on the train (even more rare, very memorable).

It doesn't work for everyone here -- there are large quadrants of metro Atlanta that aren't served by the train -- but it does for me so hooray. A lot of my job involves me having to talk to people on a fairly prompt basis, so I'm not in a spot where I can work from home regularly. But this isn't too bad.

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Flack
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Re: THE COMMUTING AND RENT THREAD

Post by Flack »

There are certain cities I visit for work -- DC, Boston, sometimes Chicago, depending on where I stay -- where riding the train/metro makes sense. As someone who lives in a city that offers embarrassingly few mass transit solutions (and none at all if you live in the suburbs), I always enjoy the experience. The first time or two there's always that nervousness that comes with being unfamiliar with the process (did I slide my card the right way? Which exit do I leave through?), but once you get over that, I find it fun and relaxing. I've never been to the point where I can sit back and fully relax -- I'm always counting how many stops are left before mine, and anxiously checking the map to make sure I haven't missed mine. (I'm sure people can spot me as an out-of-towner a mile away.) But if I rode the train for half an hour every morning, I'd listen to podcasts or read or work and I think I'd greatly enjoy the time. Unless someone vomited.
"I failed a savings throw and now I am back."

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Flack
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Re: THE COMMUTING AND RENT THREAD

Post by Flack »

Flack wrote: Sun Sep 23, 2018 2:53 pmIf I were single, I would have an RV or Tiny House and I would be driving all around the country, working from a different state every week.
Two months ago, we bought a new house. I've spent the past 4-6 weeks packing, moving, and unpacking stuff, and I/we are nowhere near done. 99% of our possessions (save for two motorcycles, a golf cart, and all our Christmas decorations) are now at the new house, but I feel like I haven't made a dent in the unpacking process. The entire adventure has been as mentally grueling as it has been physically. I really had no idea how much stuff I owned until I was forced to touch every single item.

I just wanted to call myself out in advance for the next time I mentioned that I would like to live in a Tiny Home. The only way I could do it would be to blow up my house and all my possessions and start over.
"I failed a savings throw and now I am back."

Casual Observer
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Re: THE COMMUTING AND RENT THREAD

Post by Casual Observer »

Flack wrote: Wed Nov 07, 2018 5:56 pmThe only way I could do it would be to blow up my house and all my possessions and start over.

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