Hacker News Reader

Comment by Mystrl | Hacker News Reader

Do most people actually have short commutes? I think I've grown so used to commuting an hour + each way doesn't faze me at all. In high school it was 45 mintues on a bus each way. University was bus bus skytrain bus for about an hour and 45 minutes and work now is bus bus train skytrain taking about 80 minutes. Honestly I would rather spend 80 minutes on transit than 45 minutes diving since I can sleep on the train in the morning and I'm usually reading on the way back not to mention the cost of owning a car.

View on HN

It depends. For me, I prioritize it because a long commute adds zero value to my life, just costs (monetary, mental and time). I moved years ago to where mass transit could cover anywhere I needed to go, and could often get me there in 20 minutes or less. Granted, everyone's priorities are different, so for some they'll take a longer commute to facilitate other things.

Most of my early jobs were 15-25 minutes each way via car. Later on as I moved towards increasingly urban areas it did increase to around 45-60 minutes each way. Then I moved, and shrunk it to 15-20 minutes again via mass transit. Then I started working for myself, and that's anywhere from 0 minutes (remote) to 35-40 minutes each way -- with a few extreme cases being 90-100 minutes each way because I choose not to drive (I have a car, but it exists for fun, not commuting, though I'll use it for a commute or meeting in a pinch) and to minimize cost.

I walk 30 minutes up a steep hill every day. Walking out of my apartment to the garage, driving to the parking lot, and walking from there to my office actually takes closer to 40 minutes.

I love every step of my daily uphill walk, especially in the winter. I love the endorphins boosting my start to the day, and I love knowing I can pretty much eat as I please (excluding alcohol) and end the day at a caloric balance.

Side note: I previously lived further than practical for walking, but with my car in a driveway it was much faster to drive. Wouldn't go back for any reason.

Maybe this is the way that I've been lucky, but I was always either a 10min drive or a 5min walk from school as a boy, depending on which building (elementary/middle/high school). At college, I was on campus, and a 10min walk from anything. First job was a 45min subway ride, second job is a 30min subway, including walking. My mother was 15min from her job her whole life.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com