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Comment by dagw | Hacker News Reader

Because 'we' prefer it? I like going into the office. The morning walk to the office with its clear demarcation between work and not work, the ritual of grabbing a coffee in the morning with some colleagues and catching up on what's happening in their projects even if they're not directly related to anything I'm working on, having a dedicated space and a dedicated computer that's just for work, all those little things and more makes working at the office far more productive for me.

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I don't believe your "commute" constitutes a commute in the sense of what this article is about. Your commute is just a walk.

People traveling for 30-90 (or more!) minutes to and from work, particularly the ones driving in traffic, are the commuters. And the ones I know that fall into that category hate it.

Good for you that you have such a nice situation, though!

I commute 60 minutes each way (give or take depending on traffic). I wish the commute was shorter but I personally wouldn't work from home regularly even though I technically could.

Between a chatty wife, active kids, and unfinished projects around the house, I don't have the willpower or ability to avoid distractions at home. I'm more productive going into work even if you factor in the time spent driving.

Plus, my drive gives me some down time to listen to audiobooks or podcasts. I do look forward to self-driving cars though (adaptive cruise control helps a lot in the meantime...)

Ah that is a point I forgot to mention on my other post of CONs with remote work - when friends/family in close proximity don't respect your need for space and quiet. But really, it's not much different from co-workers who do the same (except that with your children it's expected behavior, but with colleagues you would think they could learn after a while!)

Commutes are not all bad. But the bad ones can be miserable. Self driving cars (for all drivers!) would make it so much better...

Although when we get self-driving cars your employer will start expecting you to work during the commute.

You have options here. You can set aside a room as your quiet office, you can find a cafe or rent a coworking space to work in...it doesn't necessitate commuting 45 minutes into an office to solve.

I actually commute by public transport. The 30 minute walk is something I do because I find it a nice way to start the day. Instead of changing busses, I just walk the last 2-3 km.

That sounds like a good situation (and apparently your weather is tolerable). Unfortunately, this just wouldn't work in Texas, for example, because even 10 minutes of walking when it's 100+ leaves you very uncomfortable and not very presentable when you arrive in the office.

When it's 100f+ I prefer to wear shorts and change when I arrive, but aside from that, my ~10min bike ride in great. (Austin TX)

Generally it's not bad in the morning, and it's going home that's worse, but at that point, it matters less if I get sweaty.

I used to bike 30-45 minutes each way to work, and, yeah, I got very sweaty. I always wished there were a shower I could use there. It's not ideal biking (or walking) weather, for sure.

One additional anecdote I'd like to share: my coworker just moved to be under a mile from the office. His first time biking to the office from his new place was under five minutes. The other day he had to drive home. He messages me afterwards: "Took me 31 minutes to drive 9 blocks". (5:30pm and raining.)

So I love my bike, even in the Texas summer. :-)

I'd fall into that category. While I dislike the amount of time I spend travelling, I'd much rather do that than sit at home all day by myself. Honestly, I'm far more productive in the office where I can communicate face to face, explain things on whiteboards, ask quick questions and get some social interaction.

Any commute is a commute. And if the only possible commute is driving 60+ minutes, citizens should seriously consider changing their city (in both meanings of the verb), rather than pretending a virtual workspace is as good as real one.

This is an extremely naive view of living situations and how "easy" it is to just move somewhere.

I worked for a company in NYC for years and lived 8 miles from work. It took me a minimum of 90 minutes to get to work.

You seem to think I can either just uproot my family and move to some sort of utopia city with short commutes, good public schools, and well-paying jobs; OR I can just change New York City itself.

The fact is that most people in the US have commutes of 25+ minutes. Folks who walk to work are not the norm, and city schools across the US are a complete failure and joke. Don't assume your situation applies to everyone.

* According to the US Cencus Bureau: https://project.wnyc.org/commute-times-us/embed.html

Well, working remotely doesn't mean you can't commute!

I used to walk with my wife to her office and back when I started full remote work (it's been 6 years, in a fully remote company).

Also, you're free to rent coworking space or shared office space if you like to. Working remote means you have a choice - not that you have to work from home :)

you can commute to the cafe and get to hear focusing sounds of the cafe, like this https://www.coffitivity.com/

Yes, that is exactly the same thing.

> Because 'we' prefer it?

A majority of people don't have to prefer something for it to become standard. It's possible for only a minority of influential or vocal people to prefer commuting for it to be widespread.

In that case, 'they' prefer it, not 'us'.

For many of us, the preference isn't down to liking the commute itself but because we choose to work in a different town to where we live. In my case I like living in a rural village even if it means a 1.5 hour commute into London each morning. It's still worth it for the tranquility I get on evenings and weekends. Plus the commute still works out significantly cheaper than buying a comparable place closer to the city.

So while I don't like the commute, I do still prefer it to living closer to London.

You're certainly lucky to be able to walk to your office. Most people in my company need to drive at least 50 minutes to get to the office.

I actually take the bus to the office now, but get off ~3km before my stop so I can get a 30 minute walk in.

I live in the city centre as well as work in the city centre. One of the benefits of living in a small capital city like Tallinn. I walk to and from work for about 20 minutes (total 40 minutes each day). The thing is, I would prefer this to be a bit longer because often times it's the only time I don't actually sit behind a screen. When I worked in Barcelona and lived there, I walked about 40 minutes to work and back, which was perfect.

> The thing is, I would prefer this to be a bit longer because often times it's the only time I don't actually sit behind a screen.

I lived 10 mins away on foot from my job. It was all fine and dandy for some time, but then things got seriously tense in the workplace and it meant the super short commute gave me no time to unwind. It ended up being mentally taxing to live so close to my workplace, even when I was not working since I ended up being near or walking in front basically anytime I got out. Nasty. Too long a commute and you're wasting so much time and energy in our life, but too close and it can have deleterious effects too.

I've been to Tallinn for the first time last week. When leaving, I walked from the historical center to the airport. It's great that this is feasible, and it was interesting to see how the character of the city changes as one moves outwards.

(took some photos... https://gallery.tasuki.org/2017/10-few-hours-in-tallinn)

Indeed. I have also come to like it for the same reasons you describe. I like getting home, taking off my work clothes and doing what I like. I also get to see people other than my wife every day. But, like you, I walk to the office. If I was travelling a long way on congested roads or public transport I don't think I would prefer it.

I'm so relieved to see I'm not the only person here who likes work to remain at work! Unless you live more than an hour away, or REALLY love your job, I just don't see the attraction to working from home.

When I'm at home I'm specifically not at work, which means I don't do any work, I don't think about work, I don't talk to anyone from work (unless there's an emergency that someone else can't fix).

What I think would be an awesome balance between this, is very small regional shared offices. Just shared office spaces that offer usage of their space as a 'subscription' to businesses, and as part of that subscription you get 24/7 access, a desk, internet, a kitchen etc. That way you don't have to have dirty dirty work things in your house, AND you only have to "commute" to a potentially very local office.

> The morning walk to the office

This is not quite a commute.

That's a remnant from days past when I lived within walking distance of my office. These days I take public transport, but I still get off a few stops early so I can walk ~30 minutes before reaching the office. Even a short while when was driving to work I'd park ~2.5 km from the office. Mainly because I could park for free, but also again so I wouldn't miss out on my morning walk.

That's closer ;-)

Still, sounds more like a daily walk that happens to be to the job than a commute.

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