"One of my coworkers told me it seemed very European, taking the train into the city every day... The novelty wore off fast."
Posted by Torontoist on Wednesday, March 23, 2016
I saw a huge problem with her math, unless I missed something. If she lived in the city, she would still be paying car insurance and some gas (maybe not as much).
So, apartment + TTC metropass + car insurance + some gas = more than what she is paying for GO + car insurance + gas.
Besides, some exaggeration is there. If she gets home by 7pm, still plenty of time to go out and do stuff in the evenings. I catch a train that is a whole lot earlier and still manage a social life. You just know that you need to be in bed by X time to wake up at Y time and still function as an adult. And Adulting is hard to do.
But then again, I chose to move out of Toronto. And my commute on the GO train is shorter than when I lived in the city. More expensive, but I get home quicker on the GO train/bus than when I ttc'd it. Without any delays on either system factored in.
Without reading the article... it is perfectly possible to live in the city sans car. TTC plus bike with panniers plus carshare membership (for occasional out-of-town trips).
Personally, since moving down here from Barrie, I've been on the TTC 3 times, taken the GO and VIA for trips outside of my biking comfort zone, and used the bike for everything else.
I get into work before most of my "TTC coming from Etobicoke/Scarborough" colleagues who leave home 10 minutes before I arrive at Oshawa GO Station. Unless you live within a 15 minute car-ride radius of Union Station, ain't no one having it better than those on GO
But she doesn't mention giving up the car, so I assumed she kept it.
In that case, her math is wrong. But she doesn't factor in time either. Time does have value that needs to be factored in as well. For me, my time spent commuting is about the same (well a little less) from where I live now to when I lived in the city.
I commuted from Hamilton for 6 years and it damn near killed me! It's not just the time you lose - about 3 hours a day in my case - it's the grind of it - the repetition, the lack of human interaction. I changed to VIA after a couple of years and shaved a few minutes off my commute. More importantly I developed some good commuting buddies so we could chat.
The 7pm home time is significant. It meant it was harder to do the extra things - keep fit, help the wifey with the kids and the chores, build a social life. I was often stressed when I got home and the weekends were spent sleeping. It's no life. My marriage was affected. In the end we scraped together a down payment for a small house in Toronto just to save our sanity and we haven't looked back.
I haven't done the numbers but we no longer have a car and I bike or walk most places now. We managed to make the new mortgage payments without too much difficulty.
I couldn't go back. I think some folks are more cut out for the commute but it didn't suit me at all. If I liked owning a big house, or if I had family ties in another town maybe that would have altered my experience, but I doubt it. I just find the whole experience stressful, unpleasant and a monumental waste of time.
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I saw a huge problem with her math, unless I missed something. If she lived in the city, she would still be paying car insurance and some gas (maybe not as much).
ReplyDeleteSo, apartment + TTC metropass + car insurance + some gas = more than what she is paying for GO + car insurance + gas.
Besides, some exaggeration is there. If she gets home by 7pm, still plenty of time to go out and do stuff in the evenings. I catch a train that is a whole lot earlier and still manage a social life. You just know that you need to be in bed by X time to wake up at Y time and still function as an adult. And Adulting is hard to do.
But then again, I chose to move out of Toronto. And my commute on the GO train is shorter than when I lived in the city. More expensive, but I get home quicker on the GO train/bus than when I ttc'd it. Without any delays on either system factored in.
Without reading the article... it is perfectly possible to live in the city sans car. TTC plus bike with panniers plus carshare membership (for occasional out-of-town trips).
DeletePersonally, since moving down here from Barrie, I've been on the TTC 3 times, taken the GO and VIA for trips outside of my biking comfort zone, and used the bike for everything else.
I get into work before most of my "TTC coming from Etobicoke/Scarborough" colleagues who leave home 10 minutes before I arrive at Oshawa GO Station.
ReplyDeleteUnless you live within a 15 minute car-ride radius of Union Station, ain't no one having it better than those on GO
True enough Jesse.
ReplyDeleteBut she doesn't mention giving up the car, so I assumed she kept it.
In that case, her math is wrong. But she doesn't factor in time either. Time does have value that needs to be factored in as well. For me, my time spent commuting is about the same (well a little less) from where I live now to when I lived in the city.
I commuted from Hamilton for 6 years and it damn near killed me! It's not just the time you lose - about 3 hours a day in my case - it's the grind of it - the repetition, the lack of human interaction. I changed to VIA after a couple of years and shaved a few minutes off my commute. More importantly I developed some good commuting buddies so we could chat.
ReplyDeleteThe 7pm home time is significant. It meant it was harder to do the extra things - keep fit, help the wifey with the kids and the chores, build a social life. I was often stressed when I got home and the weekends were spent sleeping. It's no life. My marriage was affected. In the end we scraped together a down payment for a small house in Toronto just to save our sanity and we haven't looked back.
I haven't done the numbers but we no longer have a car and I bike or walk most places now. We managed to make the new mortgage payments without too much difficulty.
I couldn't go back. I think some folks are more cut out for the commute but it didn't suit me at all. If I liked owning a big house, or if I had family ties in another town maybe that would have altered my experience, but I doubt it. I just find the whole experience stressful, unpleasant and a monumental waste of time.
How do you kids do it???