

Your Commute is Killing You? Move to New York - dblock
http://www.dblock.org/ShowPost.aspx?id=1588
This is a special message to fellow California or Pacific Northwest engineers following a Slate article entitled “Your Commute is Killing You”, which compared my commute with assembling IKEA furniture and called it a “migraine-inducing life-suck”. I commute 45 minutes, each direction, every day. Unlike most people described in this article I have taken complete control of this issue and have made my commute productive, enjoyable and one of those things to look forward to, both directions.<p>Keep Reading, then drop me a note at dblock[at]dblock[dot]org with a link to your Github account and I’ll help you get a job at a NY start-up.
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i386
I live in Sydney. My commute is pretty awesome: I live in Chippendale which is
behind Central Station. From the station you can get busses or trains to
pretty much anywhere in the city.

I can leave work and be home in 10 minutes via bus or train or 30 minutes if I
choose to walk (Although winter in Sydney can be a little reminiscent of
Seattle so its not really walking season). Unfortunately, traffic is horrible
because of poor planning. The city sort of just "happened" and you can trace
some main thoroughfares in the inner city back to the first roads when the
colony was just a camp. Your not a real Sydneysider until you've bitched about
CityRail and blamed the State Government. In my opinion, if you choose to live
in Sydney and you work in the CBD, ditch the car and rent in the inner
suburbs. Sydney is gigantic and paying more rent is more preferable than
commuting via bus, train or car for an hour just so you can live in a place
that has cheaper rent.

The Atlassian office in Sydney is great. Its a brick heritage listed building
with very high ceilings and even though its open plan its still mostly quiet.
When you leave the office you don't take your work home with you unless you
choose todo so (So there is no company subsidized Internet connections because
your supposed to have a life outside of work). Desks are huge and there is
more than enough space next to you to pair or have someone work on a laptop
beside you if the need arises (Did I mention that the people here are
enthusiastic and intelligent and the problems engaging? No, really!). Its
company culture to eat together in the staff area or go out to lunch as a
group.

Life in Sydney is really good - lots of great places to eat in China Town
(Australians in the capitol cities probably eat more Asian food than any other
Western country I am aware of) or Thai places in Newtown or Glebe (inner west
suburbs which are 20 mins bus or train away from the CBD).

Summer is the best time to be in Sydney. When daylight savings kicks in you
can wrap up at the office at 5 and still have three hours daylight at the
beach. I love my job but its great not to be your job all the time :)

~~~
te_chris
I live in Auckland and it feels the same as far as planning is concerned -
only worse! There's barely any useful rail here, everything is supposed to
happen by road and every time a good rail proposal comes by, the road/trucking
lobby mobilises and nothing every happens.

I live a good life though. Like you I live in an inner city suburb (St. Mary's
Bay) and can walk 20 minutes to my office. Also like Sydney, Auckland is one
of the fastest growing Asian cities in the world, so the food is fantastic.
It's also on a beautiful harbour and, despite questionable general planning
decisions, there are great parks and green spaces everywhere, plus
opportunities (well, if you know people I guess) to get involved with
activities like sailing (Auckland has one of the highest amounts of boats per
capita in the world).

Auckland's funny though, I'd say we're probably 20 years behind the levels of
development and confidence that Sydney is reaching now. We'll never be as big,
that's a given, but as far as interesting architecture and commercial
developments, everything is still quite under-developed here, but I think the
climate and pace of life make up for it - though I must admit I'm itching to
live in New York for a while, guess the grass is always greener :)

------
inkaudio
The author has a unique perspective, but for the majority of new yorkers this
is simply not the case. Internet and cell phone access is not available
underground, and most of the NYC subway line is underground. it's not safe to
use or show your expensive anything on most of the subway lines. Majority of
the stations are very dirty, cars are just tolerable. During rush hours NYC
subway riders are packed like sardines in the subway cars .... Here is a blog
that gives a different side of the story :
[http://gybria.blogspot.com/2007/10/packed-like-sardines-
in-p...](http://gybria.blogspot.com/2007/10/packed-like-sardines-in-public-
tin-can.html)

~~~
nupark2
_> Internet and cell phone access is not available underground, and most of
the NYC subway line is underground._

I have no trouble reading a book on my iPhone on the subway. The ride just
isn't long enough to make having internet access an issue.

 _> it's not safe to use or show your expensive anything on most of the subway
lines._

During the day, almost everyone has a smart phone out. I've never had a
problem, never expect to.

 _> Majority of that stations are very dirty, cars are just tolerable._

The cars are generally quite clean, and air conditioned. The stations can be
dirty, but no more than the street is. You're not supposed to be licking the
floor ...

 _> During rush hours NYC subway riders stuff like sardines in the...let me
find a picture_

Depends on the line and how much of a rush you're in yourself. Either way,
there's room to read.

~~~
dblock
3000$ laptop, are you crazy?! Mine is less than half that price, that is new.
Get a linux netbook for half the price of a cell phone if that's a concern.

Nobody steals anything from Russians on the subway because some Russians carry
guns :)

~~~
codenerdz
Russians that carry guns dont take subway.

~~~
dblock
+1 for speaking with a Russian accent omitting the "the" before "subway"

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WildUtah
I arranged my commute to be a 40 minute bike ride each way when I lived in
Mexico City.

Each day started with a pretty slice of happy city life, a hot tamale, and
orange juice or atole. Each evening I stopped mid ride at a different farmers'
market (each neighborhood has one on a different day) and picked up dinner
ingredients or munched on tacos.

Every day I looked forward to the ride both ways.

The advice from the op is fine and you can design your own fantasy commute how
you like, but Rule Number One is don't commute alone in a car.

Don't commute alone in a car.

Because that would stink.

~~~
corin_
While it can be a waste of time, and many people won't enjoy it, there are
also plenty of people who say they love a quiet time driving, and genuinely
enjoy it.

I've never driven so I can't say for sure, but I suspect that when I finally
bother to learn/get a car, I'll positively enjoy driving it. Plus, it doesn't
have to be a waste of time, you can either use it as thinking time, listen to
audiobooks/etc, or if you enjoy music, it can be a period of relaxing
entertainment.

~~~
rayiner
When I lived in Atlanta I did a reverse commute 25 miles to my office in my
car. I genuinely enjoyed it every day. Door to door in 30 minutes, listening
to some music, going 70 on the highway. Very pleasant.

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techiferous
I ditched my car in 2008 and moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, one of the
most walkable cities in the US. That was one of the best decisions of my life.
My daily commute is a few minutes of walking. The city is very compact,
meaning every place I go is within walking distance or a short subway ride.

~~~
dblock
+1 for ditching your car and moving to a place where you don't need one! huge
expense that traps you instead of giving you the supposed freedom

~~~
imajes
car ownership needn't be a huge expense that locks you in. I'm leasing one
with my wife and frankly, for the $250 a month I get to take day trips out of
nyc every weekend, which frankly is one of the few ways I've found to truly
survive city living :)

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warpwoof
Instead of your commute killing you, the gloomy, bitterly cold weather in the
Northeast will be killing you half of the year.

~~~
bengl3rt
Agree with this 100%. I'm a Californian in New York (arrived in January) and
it was too cold/gloomy until about a week ago, and now it's too hot.

One week of perfection? Really?

~~~
xxpor
This year has been crazy. We usually have more spring than this.

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lnanek
I commuted from near Berkeley to San Francisco for 5 days recently using their
BART train. It was a lot like the experience described in this article, even
though it was on the other coast.

I never had trouble getting a seat, both at the stations and at the train, so
it was easy to take out my laptop. Large portions are above ground, so
tethering worked for internet.

It does feel really good to get stuff done on your commute! I guess situations
where it is possible pop up in many places.

~~~
hc5
I commute from Pleasanton to SF every day, and it's basically the exact same
commute described in the article. 40-50 minutes each way, last stop so I get
to work on the train, farmers markets near my SF stop, etc.

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chrisaycock
I've been spoiled by Manhattan. I walk to my office (15 minutes away), I walk
to the grocery and drug stores (both one block away), and I take the subway
whenever I have to go somewhere "far away" (at most 20-minute commute). It
reminds me of living on a college campus.

~~~
rorrr
Yeah, I loved my commute when I moved to Manhattan from Jersey City (40 min ->
15 min). That until I started working remotely. No commute. I can work in my
underwear from my bed, when I feel like it. There's so much stress working
from the office, I don't want to do that ever again.

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kemiller
There is more to California than Silicon Valley. Lots of places in the Bay
Area you can have exactly this experience, except your mobile data connection
keeps working even underground. (Under the bay, even!) Don't get me wrong, I
love New York, and its subway, but the particular experience you're describing
is available here too. (But with a larger tech industry and better weather. ;)

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Aloisius
I simply live near where I work and walk to work. It is pretty easy to do in
San Francisco proper.

~~~
dblock
Man, all those hills! :)

~~~
ivankirigin
I bike in SF a lot and the hills don't really matter so much

~~~
yakto
If you have a bike with gears, they don't. If you're sporting a fixie, you
probably don't like hills so much.

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papercruncher
Yes, the NYC subway in the summer is lovely. Extra points if the train air-
conditioning is broken.

~~~
dblock
The sweaty people don't bother me -
[http://2dayblog.com/2011/05/19/thinkpad-x1s-keyboard-is-
spil...](http://2dayblog.com/2011/05/19/thinkpad-x1s-keyboard-is-spill-proof-
to-a-certain-degree-of-course/)

~~~
wuster
OK, what about the mixed smell of sweat and urine in the subway stations in
the still, humid air of July. Yikes.

~~~
dblock
OK, I'll give you that. It can get real hot and sweaty instantly on the
platforms. The change of temperature with the air-conditioned subway cars is
brutal. Still beats traffic - I never feel like murdering the guy in front of
me because of this.

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T-R
My commute in Tokyo was usually fairly nice - As long as I avoided rush hour,
I could get a seat and spend the trip reading. It was even better when I moved
to Yokohama (longer commute, but more space and fewer stairs). The commute
ended with a view of Tokyo Tower, an Egg McMuffin, and a ridiculously
expensive coffee. Not to mention the trains were spotless, and there were
vending machines everywhere.

Still, I'd have happily given up my nice commute for a shorter one any day.
Particularly since catching it at the wrong time meant not only that I had to
worry about being late, but that I'd be crammed like a sardine against the
door.

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codenerdz
Id imagine the excellent weather that this author enjoys only happens few
months out the year in Brighton Beach. Because my memory of the area was that
of gloomy weather and gloomy people :)

Whereas in California its in reverse, bad weather if it happens, it happens
only few times year. Where I live(San Mateo -- 20 minutes south of San
Francisco), the weather varies between spring and summer and a mild one at
that

P.S. The thing I like about San Mateo is that its right smack in the middle
between san francisco(Zynga) and Mountain View(Google). Its 20 minutes either
way by CalTrain or car.

~~~
fragsworth
Living in Los Angeles adjusts your perception of bad weather. Here, we
consider 60 degrees Fahrenheit unusually cold. Rain makes headlines.

I think it is worth it. Commutes don't have to be bad if you move closer to
where you work.

~~~
Aloisius
Having lived in LA, I can confirm this, but nothing mangles your perspective
like living in Hawaii. I would put on a sweater if it dipped below 70.

------
pnathan
I live in a fairly rural area. My commute by car is 20 minutes each way. There
is no traffic jams. No smog. If I travel by back roads, I can avoid all
traffic lights. Leaving early, I might see some wildlife.

~~~
dblock
we got plenty of wildlife in the NY subway

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leafydirt
I used to live in Seattle, where I had a 45-minute bus commute, and now live
in SF, where I have a 20-minute BART commute.

Strangely, I much preferred the Seattle commute -- in fact, I actually enjoyed
it, whereas I hate my current commute. I think it has something to do with the
fact that in Seattle, the buses are pretty clean/new/comfortable and you get
to look outside (my particular route was very nature-y), but I hate being
stuck underground in SF's crowded subway trains.

~~~
dblock
+1 = me carpool

but seriously, 520 must be the most expensive route in the world, if you count
the dollars wasted per qualified engineer

------
rayiner
Commuting in New York blows. There is a layer of filth on everything. I spend
my whole commute just on the verge of having an "ick" breakdown.

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mixmastamyk
Believe it or not I do something similar in Los Angeles. First I don't usually
go into work, I work from home. When I do go, I take the metro and catch up on
my podcasts, though I may work when necessary.

Also, there are plenty of sunny days, great restaurants in walking distance,
and the beach and Griffith park are not too far away when I need a break.

------
matdwyer
NYC Subway >>>>>>>> TTC (Toronto Subway)

Any YYZ folks know exactly how brutal our transit is!

~~~
thomasgerbe
And if a TTC train is stuck, there's like no alternatives (outside of taking a
bus). At least with NYC, I've been able to take alternate lines when something
happens.

That said, the TTC subways are far cleaner and much more spacious.

------
eegilbert
Absolutely. The commutes are the worst part about living in the valley.

~~~
juiceandjuice
If you leave after ~9:30 am, you can get to or from San Francisco in about 45
minutes from San Jose.

Of course, if you leave before that, it's almost twice as long.

I lived on the Menlo Park/EPA border and commuted to SLAC and it took me about
30-35 before 10am, and about 25 minutes otherwise (unless it's the middle of
the night, then only about 20). The inner city traffic in all of those cities
is abysmal, especially if you have to cross the tracks for Caltrain.

Moving to SF, I can commute to SLAC on the 280 from Noe Valley and get there
in 35 minutes, as long as I leave after 9:15, same thing leaving after 6:30.
My commute is almost the same amount of time and I'm traveling 27 more miles.
It's nuts.

So, I think 30-35 minutes is reasonable, sometimes it creeps up to 40 or 45 if
there's a wreck, but I don't mind the commute, especially because the 280 is
beautiful.

~~~
nupark2
That's 1 to 1.5 wasted hours, every single day. That's not what I would call a
reasonable (or productive) use of time. I'd rather spend that time somewhere
more pleasant than the freeway, doing something more pleasant than driving a
car.

I used to do a similar commute from SF to Cupertino, before I moved to NYC. I
felt an awful numbness of mind and spirit every time I got into my car to
commute to work.

Now, my commute takes 15 minutes door-to-door; I use the brief time on the
train to read a book. I actually look forward to it.

~~~
xxpor
>doing something more pleasant than driving a car.

Driving is, for me, one of my favorite things to do. You're right, it's not
productive, but I don't want to be 100% productive 100% of the time, I want to
take some down time each day as well. What kind of car do you drive? Perhaps
you could upgrade, and/or take a more scenic route.

~~~
nupark2
Driving the exact same commuter route day after day is a very different
experience than driving for fun.

I do enjoy driving for fun, but no more than I enjoy other activities. What I
don't enjoy is the incredible commitment and mental involvement required to
own, park, insure, fuel, and maintain a car -- so I don't just own one.

~~~
xxpor
I guess you could see it that way. I just don't ever get bored driving, but
that might be just because I'm weird :D

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callmeed
I assume he's talking to "Bay Area California Engineers" ... my commute is a
20 min drive up the 101 into SLO, listening to podcasts and looking at the
pacific ocean.

~~~
krobertson
I think he's just making a sensationalist title.

I work in SF and ride Bart for an hour. Like in his post, I work most of the
way, have internet access most of the way, and find I get a lot done.

Public transit isn't unique to New York. They just have more of it.

He's just trying to turn it into a Silicon Valley vs rest of the world thing.

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danneu
Podcasts have really made my commute a lot of fun.

~~~
wuster
Me too! I look forward to 20-30 minute commutes (Bay Area) during which I can
finish one half hour podcast. iTunes syncing, or Stitcher Radio app does
wonders here.

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rawsyntax
how about telecommuting instead?

~~~
mgarfias
Here! Here! I currently commute up the stairs to get to my office. Much more
sane than spending 2 extra hours in the car every day.

~~~
dblock
Do you have kids? Try to telecommute with a child at home even a few hours a
day.

~~~
mgarfias
I do have a 2yro. The stairs are gated off and mom knows that when I'm in
there I'm working and unavailable.

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D_Alex
dblock - moving to the largest metropolis in the country cannot be a great way
to improve the commute!!! You found what seems like a pretty small niche that
makes your commute okay, but if enough people imitate you, will that niche
become overcrowded, and your commute turn into 45 minutes of suck?

~~~
dblock
Commute is a considering for where we live. If my commute were to become 45
minutes of suck, I'd move. All I am trying to say is that it's possible to
commute a long distance and look forward to it.

~~~
D_Alex
I agree it is possible. It is probably possible in California also. But the
title of your post says "...Move to New York"!

~~~
dblock
Commute is just one reason. Don't get me started :)

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alnayyir
Are you kidding me? My commute is shorter in Cali than it was in NYC.

