Originally Posted by
Six jours
I sweat when walking, unless the temp. is below 60 degrees or so. And here in SoCal, 80 is more typical.
Sorry to hear that... I was born in the desert... It wasn't that unusual for me to be walking home from elementary school in 100 degree heat.
Originally Posted by
Six jours
I'd have to walk a mile down a steep hill to the bus stop and a mile back up after work, carrying a baby. All for the privilege of paying to take a slow ride in a smelly barge filled with homeless people. Pass.
Sucks that someone twisted your arm and forced you to buy a house so far from decent transportation.
And talk about "worst kind of stereotyped and simple minded ideology"... while I have met a lot of interesting 'characters' on the bus, by far most of the people were middle classed business people going to/from work and kids going to school. The type of people varies a lot depending on what line you're riding on and which neighborhoods it goes through, obviously.
Originally Posted by
Six jours
I don't.
Not sure where you live, but there are several cleaners downtown here, as well as scattered around the Tech Center, the only time I didn't work VERY close to one was when I worked in the industrial area of the city.
Originally Posted by
Six jours
Sure you would. Because good day care is available on every street corner and you have your choice of any of them because there are never any waiting lists. Right?
The only major road near us is I-25 ... again, I chose the location for convenience considering the fact that I don't have a car. I know of 4 daycares within blocks, as well as having the possibility of arranging to pay my best friend's wife (A stay at home mom with two kids) to watch my kid (if I had one!) during the day. (They live 4 blocks away... again, that was deliberate! Part of the reason for looking for a house in this neighborhood was so I could be closer to them)
Originally Posted by
Six jours
Your wife is different than mine -- and different than most. You're not going to find too many grown-up females that will enjoy riding around in a dress and heels on a Friday night -- let alone a nice walk down a steep hill to catch a bus. And while a cab is fine, it's a lot less "simple" than simply hopping into your car, and the typical cab ride around here is 20-30 bucks. Doesn't take much of that before you're spending as much for cab fare as you would on owning a car.
True enough... funny how that works when you try to find someone reasonably compatible with your lifestyle.
Originally Posted by
Six jours
You should have traded your Ferrari for something a bit more reasonable. I bought my then-six year old Mercedez for $5000 cash. I do routine maintenance myself -- which realistically only saves me one or two hundred dollars a year compared to taking it to Jiffy Lube -- and spend $200 a year at the dealer for annual maintenance. Insurance, smog, and registration total less than $500 a year. I don't know what's up with these claims of $800-$1000/month costs. You can drive a very nice, very reliable car for a fraction of that.
Figured out more realistic numbers... it was very close to $600/ month that I was paying (Includes the cost of the vehicle(cash), repairs and upgrades I made to it, gas, insurance, registration averaged over the three years I owned it) I believe the latest study showed that American's spend around $8000 a year on cars.
Originally Posted by
Six jours
I'm guessing 3x as long as normal for a driver is still quite a bit faster than normal for a cyclist. And while your route home may be pleasant to ride, mine is not. Riding any conceivable route between home and work would be uncomfortable if not outright dangerous. And yes, I know all about "You should have just chosen a better place to live and work" which, as has been pointed out by other posters, can only be the suggestion of someone young, without family, and having no particular career.
You'd be guessing wrong. My commute to work by bike/train is about 45 minutes each way. If I were to bike the whole way (Which I'll do most of the time as the weather improves) it's about an hour and 10 minutes each way. Several of my coworkers complained of 2 1/2 - 3 hour drive times to get home in the snow last Thursday... All told, including my stop at the store to go grocery shopping, it took me an hour and 5 minutes. Only two of my coworkers didn't complain about the drive home... one lives less than a half mile away... the other one stayed more than three hours after everybody else left and waited for the roads to clear of other traffic.
Originally Posted by
Six jours
I personally prefer a quick drive home and then a leisurely ride through pleasant countryside.
Can't find any fault with that, that's for sure!
Originally Posted by
Six jours
Funny that "disagreement" and "We're not all in the same boat, so don't assume that 'car free' automatically simplifies everyone's lives" is "trying to stir up trouble" with you.
I never said that car free automatically simplifies everyone's lives... but living in a totally car-centric country definitely complicates everyone's lives, including those that have tried to break out of the 'norm'. This forum is more to encourage those that have decided to check to see if there's another option out there.