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Comment by knightofmars | Hacker News Reader

mathgeek, your sentiment is seconded.

Seeing people saying, "It's me time." is a bit disconcerting. Respectfully as an opinion, spending between 2 and 4+ hours a day sitting on a bus/train is not "me time". Why do I think that? Because of what I suspect the answer to this question would be: If you had 2 free hours at home would you spend it doing the exact same task that you would do for 2 hours on a bus?

I understand that a two plus hour commute is a choice and obviously there are people willing to accept it. But I am suspicious that the "me time" argument is in reality a rationalization to make what would generally be unacceptable appear acceptable.

And as an appeal to the emotional side, you have one life. Do you really want to spend 10% of your life on a bus every month?

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I occasionally take the train to travel larger distances. Between a 2 hour flight and a 6 hour train ride, I will take the train. Because a 2 hour flight is not just a 2 hour flight. It's a 2 hour "dealing with getting to and through airports" plus a 2 hour flight, with the whole experience microchunked into a plethora of annoyances and issues that I will not have any chance to sit down on my computer and do anything.

In comparison, when I take the train, I arrive at the station a leisurely 15 minutes early. And I sit in a gigantic chair (compared to the plane) for those six hours. And they have free coffee and wifi. And the desk at my chair is not a baby's highchair platform, but an actually usable work surface. So I work.

And while the food isn't high quality, it's better than anything I've ever had on an airplane. Burgers and pizza and beer. Or fresh salads and coldcut sandwiches. Candy, granola bars, teas, water. It's a small convenience store.

No, I don't spend my time commuting. I spend my client's time commuting. Working on the train is the closest thing to teleporting I think any of us will come to in our lifetime.

How I wish the US had more trains!

You can get to all the useful places on the East Coast.

You're spot on, but there is a use. It's sometimes handy to have a chunk of your life where you're forced to be idle for blocks of time. I loved taking the bus for that reason, because there was always a distraction at home, and I was busy at school. So the long (1.5 hour each way) bus commute was great for reading or just clearing out the mind (I'm an introvert, so long periodic stretches of isolation are nice).

Of course, I like being only 15 minutes from home. But I miss having that external crutch a bit.

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