362 karma · joined March 1, 2023
My point is the distances regularly covered in LA would be absolutely unthinkable in Manhattan and the more urban parts of the outer boroughs, let alone Paris which is a smaller city than San Francisco. So on the one hand we need better land use to reduce distance traveled and on the other improvements to overall speed.
By contrast New York has a built environment that is absolutely fantastic for transit but cannot build enough to fully capitalize on it. Their costs are astronomical and going up.
By contrast look at the Yamanote line in Tokyo for a great ring that provides tons of connections and gets tons of ridership.
Compare Seattle Link to the Vancouver sky train for one example. Or the 2nd ave subway in New York. Or all of the transit we’ve built in the middle of literal freeways (LA, DC, SF). And why oh why are we building light rail everywhere when regional or heavy rail would be a better fit? It’s tough to be optimistic.
interesting article/source: https://www.kqed.org/news/11339599/why-do-some-hate-the-nick...
We have no coherent strategy for how to increase the number of housing on a national level. To be fair, CA has removed quite a bit of local zoning control because the housing crisis is so acute.
The produce is amazing and there are places to get great quality produce at a reasonable price.
There are dozens of locally baked breads for sale in local grocery stores.
So what’s the point of making such a generalized assertion? America is a big country and in my America the food is fucking dank.
This is a shame because comprehensive metros would transform our cities, enable infill housing, and help abate the housing crisis that is at the root of so many issues we’re facing.
This is why I am not a fan of congestion pricing even though I want a more transit oriented US. The US across the board gets less transit for its money than the rest of the world. Until we get costs under control it’s hard to imagine our cities building enough of the right kind of transit.
Chicago in particular was frustrating as a tourist as I found pretty much any trip not involving the loop to be tedious and lengthy.
I recommend the NY Times rent vs buy calculator because there is no one size fits all answer.
Also like some people I know, they have paid off a house which is a steady stream of passive (ish) income before buying their current place. That can also pay off on a longer timeline.
Obviously we have some challenges, but my feeling is that we are at least taking baby steps in the right direction w.r.t. the kinds of policy solutions we need (even if the execution is not always perfect and things don’t happen fast enough).
the need for community hasn’t gone away, but I can’t help but wonder if we’re pursuing it in the wrong places.
Once you start making gains it does become addictive especially if (like me) you have some uh let’s call it mental health challenges.
After sustaining a number of injuries I finally learned to stop looking at the numbers, to stop comparing myself on exrx or symmetric strength. I just go to the gym and have fun. I still do the major movements but I always make sure to leave a little in the tank. I always listen to my body first and foremost. If it doesn’t feel right, it doesn’t feel right.
Society has become increasingly alienating and lonely, going into an office is just a way of papering over that.
Companies haven’t built strong cultures around communicating and mentorship, going into an office is just a way of masking that.
Personally I have worked with and felt camaraderie on distributed teams with people I’ve never met in person. I know it’s possible, but it requires doing things differently than business as usual.
CA also is walking with basic train service. The Pacific Surfliner (3rd most used Amtrak route) and the San Joaquin (5th most used Amtrak route). Literally the 2 most used Amtrak routes outside of the northeast.