acidfast7

seems like my top options for future employment are:

Copenhagen, Denmark


Honolulu, Hawaii, USA


Basel, Switzerland


I'm leaning toward taking to position in Copenhagen because the daily commute would be the best of the three, especially once they finish the Cycle Superhighways surrounding the city:

https://www.cykelsuperstier.dk/concept

Everything else with the positions is somewhat similar with minor pros/cons to each.

thoughts/comments?

Ridefreemc

My experience with Honolulu was that the bus was a lot easier than biking. Also, if you live outside of the city (like I did on the North Shore) biking in was simply not an option as the roads were very narrow and there was not anyone doing that. Things may be better now though.

As an aside, the weather was always beautiful, but I hate to say it I missed cold now and then (also, you might get "rock fever" which is what sometimes happens when you are limited to an island).

I'd pick Denmark so you could ride a bakfiet and fit right in

acidfast7

Wow! Thanks for the response. I'm visiting in a few weeks to make the final decision, but I was hoping to live on the North Shore and ride across the island to work everyday as it looks to be only roughly 30km RT.

Not being able to do that would be a major downer and would be a strong strike against the position

the other would be:

Lubbock, Texas

GrouchoWretch

Texas! You will probably be hit by a car now and then, but... Well, that's all I've got.

acidfast7

yeah, when I lived in Texas before, I lived only 10k from the university and commuted a total of 0 times. i also used public transport a total of 0 times. I used a taxi twice and it was more expensive than anywhere else on the planet per km traveled (2km was almost 10 USD).

i don't hold high hopes for the Lone Star State.

dramiscram

I was thiking the same. If I want to change my commute I'd have to move or change job. Not much of a choice so I just put up with it.

Ridefreemc

Not sure the route you'd take, but if you go through the middle of the island (the shortest by far from the North Shore) it can be tough. Go to google maps and zoom in on the road (Kam Highway) until it drops down to car level. You'll see a shoulder, but it is filled with debris and red clay. Also, lots of fast traffic (and trucks accessing the cane fields). Again though, the bus service ("theBus") is (was) great so maybe a folder on the bus into town and then two wheels. They have two and three rack front loading buses, but again they might get filled up quickly. Folders are allowed on (under the seat or in your lap).

One thing that we always were careful of is if you had the option, never depend the last bus to the North Shore. All the service staffs from the hotels and restaurants take that and if it is full the driver will blow right past you. Then you are stuck in the middle of town and no way to get home.

I lived across from Sunset Beach on the Kam Highway (King Kamehameha) and could walk 15 minutes to Pipeline.

PatrickGSR94

Wow man, what is it you do that you have all these options all over the world? Are these all positions within the same company?

I've heard that some Texas cities are pretty good for cycling these days, like maybe Austin? Not sure, though. I would have to agree about Hawaii, too. I'd love to visit but not sure I would want to live there, having to fly anywhere else just to travel anywhere (not really any option to do a road trip, or bike tour).

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the bike superhighway stuff in Denmark. I wish SO BAD that there was something like that here in the Memphis area. Even something to connect the two towns where I live and work, which are about 12-14 miles apart.

RidingMatthew

i agree i think denmark would be such an interesting experience. I am not sure I would want to mess with a bike on the island it sounds like some busy roads according to other posts.

What type of job do you have? is the job for the same company spread all over like that? some different options. when will you or do you have to chose?


what in the world happened to my signature? all the formatting is gone?

AusTexMurf

The first time I have ever heard anyone say that.........in fact makes me lmao........

Have you been to Austin, Tx ?
Or downtown Houston.....especially the Heights area ?
Or Trinity River Trail in Ft. Worth ?
Or Chaparral Rails to Trails east side of Dallas ?
Or used the public bikes in San Antonio ?
Or ridden through the Hill Country down into Mexico ?
MS 150 ?
Ride for the Roses ?
Hill Country Aids Ride ?
Rosedale Ride ?
Lance Armstrong ?
Lance Armstrong Veloway ?
Lady Bird Johnson Hike and Bike trail ?
RAAM qualifying ride ?
Critical Mass in ATX ?
Thursday Night Social Rides through Central Austin ?
Mountain biking in Big Bend ?
Barton Creek Greenbelt ?
Austin City Limits music festival ?
Austin Veloway ?
Yellow Bike Project ?
Frankenbike ?
Texas Custom Bike Builders show ?
Austin Bicycle Zoo ?
Bike in Movies @ Mueller ?
Violet Crown trail system ?
Ridden in a pedicab through central Austin for SXSW or ACL music festivals, bar hopping, or farmers' market ?

Not so sure that you are qualified to talk about cycling in Texas. Doesn't seem as if you tried it.

You should.

But, best of luck in your cycling city choices. They are all amazing. Think I would have to pick Copenhagen, myself.

ThermionicScott 

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...-photos-vanish

acidfast7

Yeah, I was looking at the North Shore and hoping that there was a unmarked cycle path across the middle of the island somewhere. I read that The Bus is quite good and cheap.

They're all professorships at different universities. To really advance up the academic ladder, one has to move. In the US, usually state to state, in Europe, country to country. Most positions are in English and you get an automatic visa with a PhD, so one can really apply globally. Once you become senior enough, the competition for positions becomes more difficult (fewer positions available), so you really start applying global. I think my split was 50% North American, 30% European, 10% Asian and 10% Middle East (if you consider Lebanon/Israel in the ME rather than Mediterranean/European). Yeah, I think Austin is bike friendly but see below.

Yeah, CPH looks quite nice. I am saddened a lot my Hawaii not being very bike-friendly. I also imagine theft is a serious problem.

The academic world offers ridiculous (in both the good and bad sense) opportunities.

I have about 150 apps running right now. The first positive responses are coming in. I'd expect a roughly 5-10% positive rate, so hopefully, I'll have a few more as time progresses. I'd like to see Singapore/Hong Kong/more UK options. I'm not sure how it will go with selection or when it would be necessary to make a decision.

My picture is gone as well

Yeah, I made the classic mistake of extrapolating my experience to all of Texas. Austin is "strange", which IMHO is a great thing compared to the rest of Texas. However, to be fair, I didn't see many commuting friendly areas when I traveled the state, which is what I meant. I can tailor my living arrangements to a local bike path, but that doesn't change motorist perception

GrouchoWretch

Yeah, I mean I am kidding a bit when I say you will get hit by a car here.

But only a bit.

There is definitely cycling here in SA, and a community that's pushing for more, with friends in high places, including the mayor. So it's by far not the worst. I'm daring to try a bike commute again for the first time in several decades.

You do of course get the definite sense of a city that is "planned" (ie sprawled haphazardly) around private automobile use, so that a cyclist frequently gets that NONE SHALL PASS feeling when looking for a route that crosses a freeway or other hazard to mental and physical welfare. But here's a list of metro areas that I've found worse for cycling:

Baton Rouge, La; New Orleans; Dayton, Ohio; and Balto-DC.

Lubbock is probably a lot more cyclist-friendly and bikable than the Texas stereotype would have us think. It's a mid-sized city with a very large university. So a lot of people bike. And though the bike routes are fragmented and half-stupid as usual, at least the city is trying.

Of course everyone is going to say Copenhagen. No kidding. So I vote for Lubbock.

GrouchoWretch

Oh, I forgot to mention Hartford, Ct as a bad metro to cycle in. Awful. I didn't dare.

You would think, oh, New England is going to be all rich and progressive and have bike lanes and stuff, while Texas is going to be all banjo music and oil derricks and Cadillacs with longhorns on them. Ain't like that. Well, not totally.

acidfast7

Actually, I was in Maine for 8 days in January (born and raised in Maine) and they had a 1M USD bridge for the "East Coast Trail" over I-95 just north of Biddeford. I've never heard people complain so much about wasted money. A few times at the bar, I busted out this video (see below) and asked them if this was a waste of money, when they answered "hell no, that rocks!", I told them that their bridge was the first step toward that.

new bridge: https://www.pressherald.com/life/outd...011-08-07.html

that bridge is a step toward this (the little kid is badass at 0:23):

ThermionicScott 

Oh snap, and the Texan was already riled up.

tjspiel

I'm guessing you're not talking about a permanent move. If it's for a few years I wouldn't rule out Hawaii. Commuting by bike isn't everything. If your work schedule and compensation allow you to spend some time exploring the other islands I don't think you'll regret it. An amazing variety ecosystems all with a short distance of each other, - especially on the Big Island.

I won't dispute anything Ridefreemc said and I will also add that it's a very expensive place to live so keep that in mind.

My brother lives in Kaneohe and does commute by bike at least once in awhile to the University where he works. He rides the bus more often. I'm not sure what route he takes. I wouldn't recommend the same route we use when driving through the mountains. That would be scary.

I believe Honolulu itself has made some strides. There is certainly a desire to do so. If you're interested I could ask my brother what his commute is like.

The last time I was there I saw stuff like this around town all the time:



How bad could it be?

GrouchoWretch

That bike roundabout is too cool.

The perverse thing about bike infrastructure in the USA is that by the time most of us realize how much we NEED it, I suspect the country will be too poor to afford it.

If the petro economy really takes a nosedive, maybe all these superhighways will just become bike superhighways by default. Without upkeep, they'll soon go to pieces, but maybe the intervening period will be a brief and shining moment where bike is king of the road.

henkie327

I like my current commute better. Holland with mostly dedicated rural biking lanes, no traffic lights only roundabouts. Don't think I would like commuting in a busy city with too many stop and go's.

treadtread

Sigh. You just remind me of how stupid I was to not try for a Phd when my thesis advisor was willing to help me
I'd definitely choose Hawaii, but I am definitely tempted more by the weather than the commute. I really don't like cold weather.

fietsbob

Warm weather and dangerous, car dominant infrastructure ,

or Cooler climate and superior non motorized Transportation infrastructure..

TheHen

In the early '90s, my spouse took a position at Texas Tech in Lubbock. My major professor allowed me to continue my graduate program from afar, so we moved from Davis, CA to Lubbock.

It was a remarkably easy city to ride a bike in. We lived eight miles from the university and happily rode in daily. The city is set up on a grid and only pedestrians and cyclists can cross through the squares that are marked out by major roads every dozen blocks or so. The result is that we rode on quiet residential streets with no traffic at all until we had to cross the major streets, which was actually quite easy. The only problem was the Beltline Freeway; we had to go under that on a major road. (Okay, the Beltline and the thorns.)

I'm pleased to hear that there are now some folks riding in Lubbock. We were the only bikes we saw while we were there. We didn't last long because of two things: the racism and the Autumn tar cloud. The city was still racially segregated at that time and showed no promise of ever integrating. Even other university faculty used extremely racist epithets in a casual fashion. When the tar cloud descended upon the city in late September, we had had enough and returned to Davis.

Oh, and it is funny to see a Texan defend Lubbock. All our Texan friends were amazed that we gave Lubbock a go and none of them considers Lubbock to be truly part of Texas. It was a bit like time-traveling to live there, even briefly.

Ridefreemc

Yes, if the answer/decision hinges on riding a bicycle from the North Shore you have my input, but as said above it is an incredible place to live. I truly appreciate the time I stayed there and would not change a thing. To be able to get around without a car was awesome (I took the Bus most everywhere, but did ride a beach cruiser to do my laundry or buy a hamburger (on the gravel shoulder).

THere are so many things that you can do, but they just aren't geared towards what you asked about.

acidfast7

It's an interesting decision as it's 5 years minimum and lifetime maximum.

I still find Hawaii inexpensive compared to Stockholm (2000USD/mo for 300sq. ft place).

Biking to work is a big quality of life quality issue for me. One of the biggest. I'm so frustrated that Hessen (German state) is a sheet of ice and essentially not commutable by bike right now.

What I am trying to wrap my head around is do I need to live in Hawaii to understand it? Would a 2-3 month vacation be enough? Just camp on the beach and see all the islands? (I've done it in Italy and Ukraine, Hawaii should be similar in terms of safety?) Do I really need to move there?

acidfast7

Yeah, CPH seems to be the best option. Perhaps not monetarily, but for overall lifestyle, including family and work-life balance.

I didn't expect Hawai'i to introduce itself into the conversation as a pleasant, albeit distracting, surprise.

Perhaps it's time to sell the CUBE for a Christiania boxbike