The other commuting thread got me thinking. It takes me 15 minutes to get to work and home everyday which includes the walking time to and from the Metro. All of you guys who wait or drive any longer than 30 minutes one way do yourself an injustice because that is an hour a day you just lost that could be spent to yourself. Assuming you take about two weeks off with vacation/sick/holiday time that means you still means that you have 120 hours a year spent wasted in traffic. Three whole work weeks. Imagine what us short commuters do or have time to do that you would never get done. That is about 20 good sized books read in that time for me, an extra tv show and a half, a time to take a hot bubble bath, more time with my pussy, and even time to make a good meal.
20 minutes walking distance. I live 8 blocks away from downtown DC (metro center). Even in the winter it’s not bad at all- just bundle up!
The down side: My boss knows this. That means I can get to work in six feet of snow when the city is officially closed (except for parking enforcement personnel who are busy issuing citations to old ladies that are stuck in 12 foot snow drifts). And since I work for a major public utility, it is all that much more important for me to be there when 95% of the workforce calls in due to inclement weather.
I’ll be hard at work while all you driving people are stuck at home drinking brandy by the fireplace.
As I posted in the other thread, it’s about a 20-minute walk from my apartment to the university. After (if) the rain forest season ends, it’ll be a very pleasant walk; unfortunately, right now it’s usually sweltering or wet or both. But at least it beats driving.
Like I mentioned in the earlier thread, it’s a two-minute walk at the most. I actually decreased it from a five minute walk when I moved last year.
I have no idea how people can cope with such a long commute on a daily basis. At law school, the firm I clerked for was an hour away (an a different time zone to boot). I would usually just bring a good tape or play books on tape, but I usually only went into the office once a week. I would have gone crazy (and probably broke from the gas $$) if I had to drive there and back daily!
Mine’s about 20 minutes, including walk to and from the subway. If the trains are late, then obviously I have to wait on the platform a bit longer. I am willing to pay higher rent just to have more time to myself during the day. If I lived off of Manhattan, I would have to communte considerably farther, because anything close already boasts high rents.
Short commuter? Hell ya, it’s fabulous being a short commuter! I can squeeze into small spaces, and I don’t have to worry about leg room. I don’t know how anyone who’s any taller than I am can deal with airplanes and…
Oh. You meant short commuting time. That’s not me (1hr 20 min from bus to Metro to Capitol South.) Carry on.
80 seconds per block? Are you jogging? Do you use stilts? Big springs? I walk at a pretty good pace, passing almost everybody else on the old shoeleather express but it still takes me ~20 minutes to go from O street to G Street (8 blocks). You’re doing one block more in about half the time. The only way I could do better time would be if I was speed walking and didn’t stop for any lights.
You’re one of those guys that sprints up & down the escallator, aren’t you?
I’ll recheck my numbers on the way home today but I don’t expect much improvement.
In any case being a college student my “commute” basically entails a two minute walk from Dorm(A) to Class Building (B). However, this advantage is lessened by the fact that I have to get there at the absurdly early hour of 8:30 AM.
I used to drive 50 minutes into work and back again, but now I drive 10 minutes to and from work and love it. I even go home for lunch. It’s great, and I wouldn’t go back to the old travel time for anything.
