What's Going on with Everyone's Lives

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

Finally got news. The turbocharger disintegrated. 2,500€ repair costs and praying that no debris made it elsewhere into the system. Funtimes. An entire monthly wage gone. I just hope there's no secondary damage that only reveals itself after the repair. 🫣

Got to love cars. They cost a ton to own, cost so much to drive on a daily basis and cost so much to maintain.

You get a lot of autonomy with personal transportation.

[Madner Kami]

The autonomy is what I value the most. I've been stuck with public transportation for a significant amount of time of my life and I am thoroughly sick of it. You need to put too much planning in, have zero flexiblity, can mainly only rely on reliable travel between hubs with very limited and time-constrained travel to areas away from the hubs and if I decide I'd like to stay a bit longer, I'm fucked because the cheapest options are also bound to being paid for in advance, so not only will I loose whatever money I already put into the travel, but also having to pay elevated prices for needing the transportation on short term.

My car is expensive, but my car means freedom and flexibility. Also, bonus points for allowing me to transport expensive and voluminous camera- and drone-gear without being a hassle. And if push comes to shove, I also have a home away from home that easily beats sleeping on a bench in a park with my luggage standing next to me by miles.

Besides, my recreational travels are of the "there's a road I never traveled and I'd like to know where it leads"-nature. An interest that is antithetical to public transportation, since those only travel trodden paths and I don't like going where everyone has gone before.

[Riedquat]

The value of a car in terms of what it gives you probably depends on where you are, what's in your immediate area. And that's more than just about practicality (I'd hate being stuck in a city with everything on my doorstep but hardly ever able to leave it).

As the world's reshaped itself around cars it's got more and more restricting to not have one. There's no sinister "car-centric" plan involved there, it's just what the pursuit of economic efficiency leads once cars are a thing most people can have.

[Madner Kami]

The value of a car in terms of what it gives you probably depends on where you are, what's in your immediate area. And that's more than just about practicality (I'd hate being stuck in a city with everything on my doorstep but hardly ever able to leave it).

As the world's reshaped itself around cars it's got more and more restricting to not have one. There's no sinister "car-centric" plan involved there, it's just what the pursuit of economic efficiency leads once cars are a thing most people can have.

Most everything I do on a day to day basis can be accomplished by walking or using a bike and I really appreciate it. In fact, for most every day things the car is the least practical way to do it. It's when it's something I don't do every day and that I can not easily plan or just flat out do not want to (e.g. meeting friends outside my immediate home area), that a car is just a so much better option. Economically, it probably is the worst solution, but some things can not be measured in coin.

[clearspira]

The value of a car in terms of what it gives you probably depends on where you are, what's in your immediate area. And that's more than just about practicality (I'd hate being stuck in a city with everything on my doorstep but hardly ever able to leave it).

As the world's reshaped itself around cars it's got more and more restricting to not have one. There's no sinister "car-centric" plan involved there, it's just what the pursuit of economic efficiency leads once cars are a thing most people can have.

Most everything I do on a day to day basis can be accomplished by walking or using a bike and I really appreciate it. In fact, for most every day things the car is the least practical way to do it. It's when it's something I don't do every day and that I can not easily plan or just flat out do not want to (e.g. meeting friends outside my immediate home area), that a car is just a so much better option. Economically, it probably is the worst solution, but some things can not be measured in coin.

There is unquestionably an America V Europe divide on this one.

The first is just the sheer size of the place. I never understood that until I holidayed there for the first time. TV just doesn't convey it properly. This is a place where you can drive for 12 hours and still basically get nowhere whereas in a lot of places in Europe you are an hour's walk or bike from basically anything that you'll ever need. It actually really makes you appreciate the first settlers - imagine travelling America on a horse with nothing else but a disease and a bag of cured meat. No thanks.

The second though is that America's public transport system is terrible. And in the same way I had to travel to America to fully understand how gigantic it is, I think Americans may need to travel in order to understand fully just how behind the rest of the world it is. The only place in America that I would say even comes close to what we have is the NY Subway.

Certainly outside of cities a car will never be replaced. But that does not mean that cities have to be so appallingly designed for pedestrians.

Incidentally, the country with the best public services I've ever seen is Japan. Their trains are rarely more than a minute late. If it is five minutes late they give you a note to hand to your boss to apologise!

[Riedquat]

The value of a car in terms of what it gives you probably depends on where you are, what's in your immediate area. And that's more than just about practicality (I'd hate being stuck in a city with everything on my doorstep but hardly ever able to leave it).

As the world's reshaped itself around cars it's got more and more restricting to not have one. There's no sinister "car-centric" plan involved there, it's just what the pursuit of economic efficiency leads once cars are a thing most people can have.

Most everything I do on a day to day basis can be accomplished by walking or using a bike and I really appreciate it. In fact, for most every day things the car is the least practical way to do it. It's when it's something I don't do every day and that I can not easily plan or just flat out do not want to (e.g. meeting friends outside my immediate home area), that a car is just a so much better option. Economically, it probably is the worst solution, but some things can not be measured in coin.

For the everday stuff modern society simply relies on a large proportion of people using a car. Not everyone, some can manage, and generally speaking a significant number of individuals could adjust, but not overall.

[Madner Kami]

For the everday stuff modern society simply relies on a large proportion of people using a car. Not everyone, some can manage, and generally speaking a significant number of individuals could adjust, but not overall.

Remember, I'm a European, specifically a German. Public transportation and walkable distances are still the norm here, luckily. Though increasingly, rural Germany feels a lot like the US. If you are lucky, there's one bus line driving through twice a day and most "Aunt Emma Stores" (as we called the ubiquitous small shops for everyday needs) have closed loooong ago. Urban and semi-urban areas are still fairly well supplied and connected though.

As a consequence, a lot of people did and do not understand why I want and maintain a car. And I think I got a bit defensive in that regard over time. *I* need a car and prefer a car for *my* sparetime activities. *I* like traveling along paths that few people go. *I* like to drive into the Harz (a mountainous region covered in forests, ruins and spares population centers), drive along a rarely used roar, park my car at some forestry way and just walk through nowhere for a few hours. Maybe I find a nice place to sit down and relax or share with other people through photography and then go home at the end of the day. That's how *I* regenerate. Far away from everyone else, just me and my impressions. And that doesn't work with public transportation. People often have a hard time wrapping their head around that for some reason and keep arguing over whether I need a car or not.

Certainly outside of cities a car will never be replaced. But that does not mean that cities have to be so appallingly designed for pedestrians.

Very true. Walkable cities are good for the economy and society at large. Meeting people, having to interact with people, something that comes naturally with "walkable cities" is important. When all the people you meet are a cashier and a million cars when you do your weekly groceries, then something is wrong and I feel this immensely influences the general societal health in the US. The more distant people are to each other, the less empathy, the less community, the less society. Why that is bad, should be obvious.

Plus, walkable cities means more smaller shops, means more jobs, means healthier economy. It's been proven time and again: If Walmart comes to your area, your area dies.

Incidentally, the country with the best public services I've ever seen is Japan. Their trains are rarely more than a minute late. If it is five minutes late they give you a note to hand to your boss to apologise!

I weep for the time, when you could literally set the clock after the arrival of the Deutsche Bahn. I still remember it. Today you're lucky if the train comes at all...

[clearspira]

I weep for the time, when you could literally set the clock after the arrival of the Deutsche Bahn. I still remember it. Today you're lucky if the train comes at all...

Hey, could be worse. You could be the country that invented the train, invented the railway, can lay claim to geniuses like Isambard Kingdom Brunel who helped power the industrial revolution and the Empire thanks largely to the power of our cutting-edge trains... and then that's kind of where it ended. He was an amazing man, but even he could not count on the destructive power of post-WW2 recession and Margaret Thatcher slicing it to bits.

I know I was just bragging about our public transport - but I was referring more to buses and the Underground. Our railways are friggin' terrible.

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

I weep for the time, when you could literally set the clock after the arrival of the Deutsche Bahn. I still remember it. Today you're lucky if the train comes at all...

Hey, could be worse. You could be the country that invented the train, invented the railway, can lay claim to geniuses like Isambard Kingdom Brunel who helped power the industrial revolution and the Empire thanks largely to the power of our cutting-edge trains... and then that's kind of where it ended. He was an amazing man, but even he could not count on the destructive power of post-WW2 recession and Margaret Thatcher slicing it to bits.

I know I was just bragging about our public transport - but I was referring more to buses and the Underground. Our railways are friggin' terrible.

The Uk seemed to have put a little too much attention towards specific industries while Germany focused on more general public development of energy and infrastructure, which is why in turn Germany ended up with a more robust railway system. UK's approach is pretty consistent for developing economies on a discrete systemic level, but a strong central system is what carries you through the sophomore seasons.

[McAvoy]

For me I drive 150 miles round trip each day. I might be able to save money if the train was closer to me but I would also lose time as typically using a train would be slower than driving. I mean it takes me about 75-80 minutes one way to drive from home to work or work to home. Taking a train could easily make it a 2 hours or more.

Whereas I can just take I-295 all the way down to Delaware. And it only slows down where they are doing heavy construction around Exit 26.

Can't even take a train anyway because I could have to drive to the nearest train station which is still 20 minutes away to get on the train. I know some people take the train to get to their job in NYC because driving to and through that city is horrible.