Hacker News Reader

Comment by ashtonkem | Hacker News Reader

Commutes also cost the one thing we can't get back; time.

Sometimes people say they're making a time trade off for more money, and plan to use that money to buy more time.

While money is fungible, time is not. You can't buy more time with your kids while they're young if they're already grown. You can't buy more time with someone who has passed away. And you can't buy your way out of missed opportunities in your personal life, once they've gone they're gone.

I would rather pay the maid to spend 5 hours to clean the whole house once a week, while I take the kids to the park or to the beach.

Same thing applies to cooking, groceries, errands, etc.

We talk about the time-value of money; perhaps there’s also a time-value of time.

Chap at work (at his home,rather!) has spent the last 15 months making and eating breakfast with his children every day.

He's not coming back to the office. No way, no how. He's seen a better life.

If you use public transport, you can regain that time. In the UK you can get a seat on most rush hour trains, and even standing up on the Tube you can read a book, listen to a podcast, do your email etc. It's also good thinking time.

Driving a car yep you're absolutely right, but if you commute via car a long distance for a considerable amount of time I think you're crazy.

No commute made me unsubscribe from almost all podcasts and read fewer books indeed.

Not to mention sleeping on the train.

Depends, public transport outside of London is often a complete joke in the UK. I switched to cycling after getting pissed off at a bus that came once every hour and a half, was often 30-40 minutes late and occasionally didn't bother to turn up at all.

Yep. My commute in London is basically the only time I get to read books.

Disagree strongly. I commuted solely via public transit for years, and it isn’t time you’ve regained in a meaningful way. Reading a book on a crowded train is superior to driving, and vastly inferior to reading a book in my hammock before working hours start. I also can’t work out, hang out with my family, or do all kinds of activities when I’m on public transit.

For the record, I’ve commuted via public transit (both bus and train), bike, and foot for long stretches of time. All beat driving, all are much worse than just not commuting at all.

> In the UK you can get a seat on most rush hour trains

I don't what commuter line you're coming in on but it must be one with seats on the roof.

Many UK Cities. I guess you're in London? Certainly wasn't easy to get a seat there, but then London is only a small part of the UK's pop.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com