1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Commuting is the least pleasant activity for most

Discussion in 'Environmental Discussion' started by chogan2, Apr 11, 2008.

  1. chogan2

    chogan2 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 12, 2008
    1,066
    756
    0
    Location:
    Virginia
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius Prime
    Model:
    LE
    Here's a nice little fluff piece about a systematic study of what makes people happy or less happy.

    Yahoo! Personal Finance: Calculators,Money Advice,Guides,& More

    I quote the environmentally interesting part below. This is an economist, looking at a systematic survey of 4000 people, and concluding that the data suggest that people would on net typically be happier if they'd trade shorter commutes for smaller houses. Based on how those people rated the pleasantness and unpleasantness of various activities. Not hard science, and as an economist you're never to question people's tastes, but an interesting tidbit nonetheless.

    "One of the worst activities for all the people we survey is commuting. The only thing that ranks below commuting is commuting with your boss." says Schkade.


    His advice for someone deciding between a 30-minute commute from a tiny, expensive house, and a 90-minute commute from a McMansion: "Commuters are not masters of life, their schedule is. If you can transfer two hours to something more pleasant, that can make a big structural difference in how good life is. We don't have the causal thing nailed down completely, but certainly our research begs for people to make that tradeoff."
     
    #1 chogan2, Apr 11, 2008
  2. mingoglia

    mingoglia Member

    Joined:
    Oct 25, 2007
    846
    10
    0
    Location:
    Gilbert, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    I'm certainly the very smallest of the minority here but I actually like commuting. It allows me to debrief from a day at the office. When my office was within 10 mins of the house I found that I was very on edge when I got home and the kids were running around and the wife was asking various things. I was still in "work mode". Now I'm 45 minutes from the office. That extra 30 minutes allows me to clear my head and when I get home I'm in a great mood and we continue on the evening.

    Mike
     
    #2 mingoglia, Apr 11, 2008
  3. tripp

    tripp Which it's a 'ybrid, ain't it?

    Joined:
    Oct 23, 2005
    4,717
    79
    0
    Location:
    Denver, CO
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    I built a "cost of commuting" calculator to show people that buying the cheaper house farther from work isn't always cheaper than the more expensive house close to work. You can check it out at this Boulder Colorado Real Estate site where it's installed.
     
    #3 tripp, Apr 11, 2008
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)