From the NY Times:
In 1492, after an arduous voyage aboard Columbus’s vessel the Santa María, Rodrigo de Triana, a lookout, bellowed, “Tierra!”
This is pretty much how Corey Ferrell, a commuter, sometimes feels upon docking at his Manhattan office following a heroic three-and-a-half-hour, one-way commute — by bicycle, two trains, and on foot — from Oxford, Conn.
About 180 miles to the west, in Bethlehem, Pa., Scott Ubert, a corporate chef in Manhattan, starts his extended day at 5 a.m. An hour later, coffee in hand, he drives 10 minutes to an open-air bus stop where he catches the 6:20 to the Port Authority Bus Terminal — two hours if the stars align. From there, he has a leg-stretching 20-minute walk to work.
“The ride is pretty comfortable,” Mr. Ubert said. “But just hope you don’t get one of the old clunkers.” Like nearly all “extreme commuters” — defined here as people who commute a minimum of two hours each way, five days a week — Mr. Ubert settles in, pulls out his iPhone and laptop and gets to work answering emails, texting and planning menus. He typically logs a 10- to 12-hour workday, returning home at close to midnight.
“My wife always waits up, which is nice,” Mr. Ubert said. “Our little guy goes to bed at 9 p.m., which is not so cool, but he loves the backyard and neighborhood, so it’s completely worth it.”
At first Mr. Ubert thought he would hate the commuting life, but that soon changed. “It’s really not so bad, and what we get in return is amazing.” What they get in return is a 3,100-square-foot, five-bedroom, four-bath colonial on one rustic acre, for which they paid $375,000 last year.
“It’s true, we are living the American dream, with deer running around in our yard, and bald eagles, too.”
Escaping to the distant exurbs is not new, although the frontier for the New York area seems to be expanding deeper into regions like Bucks and Pike counties in Pennsylvania — even to Philadelphia; Dutchess, Rockland and Orange in New York; Sussex and Warren in New Jersey; and New Haven and Middlesex in Connecticut. These commuters are heeding the old real estate adage: “Drive until you qualify.” This suggests that you explore farther and farther out until reaching the off ramp where houses meet your style and budget.
It would be an overstatement to say extreme commuting is a major trend. After all, how many people can withstand 200 hours a month traveling back and forth? On the other hand, given the woeful state of New York City’s transportation network this summer, a five-mile commute can feel like hitchhiking to the Catskills.
For those who can, however, the motivations are similar: the need to leave an unaffordable city, expanding families, a search for better schools, tranquil environs and more real estate bang for the buck. And as employers become more open to flexible work hours, combined with technology that makes it easier to carry the office with you, the long-distance commute is expected to grow significantly.
“Technological changes have made it more possible to redefine the workplace,” said Mitchell L. Moss, director of the Rudin Center for Transportation at N.Y.U. “Even in New York City, which has been famous for not allowing people to work at home, there is now more tolerance of flexible time.”
Mr Ubert is an idiot
Grab beat me to it.
Wow…I guess if you can’t beat em…
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sears-to-sell-kenmore-brand-on-amazon-2017-07-20-12485539
Extreme commuting used to be 90+ minutes. Now it is 120+ at least according to The NY Times.
When the Portal Bridge or one of the two NJ Transit Hudson River tubes goes out, watch out! NJ will have many more extreme commuters.
My requirement when house hunting a few years ago: Walking distance to train and 60 minutes or less door-to-desk.
FYI I work in Manhattan close to Penn Station.
A few execs in our NY office do this. Also our local IT guy in the NY office commute from the Leghigh valley area everyday.
Very witty
Fabius Maximus says:
July 21, 2017 at 12:46 am
“Obama is a weakling. He’s the equivalent of a keyboard terrorist. He hid behind the pulpit and took measured jabs at the motivated and successful.”
Because only the truly great can bang it out in 140 characters or less!
Exurbs commute. Everything old is new again!!
Going to be interesting when Amazon buys Sears, primarily to gain access to Home Delivery, Installation, and Repair infrastructure.
Oops, did I say that in public?
SHLD – is pocket change for BEZOS.
The employees all 178,000 of them you would think it would be in their best interest to pony up around 5k a piece and buy the company.
There’s already talk of appliances that come powered by Alexa from Kenmore.
grim says:
July 21, 2017 at 9:13 am
Going to be interesting when Amazon buys Sears, primarily to gain access to Home Delivery, Installation, and Repair infrastructure.
Oops, did I say that in public?
Lenin’s central planning executed by Amazon
grim says:
July 21, 2017 at 9:13 am
Going to be interesting when Amazon buys Sears, primarily to gain access to Home Delivery, Installation, and Repair infrastructure.
Oops, did I say that in public?
Everyone in my neighborhood is using Alexa to play music. My coworkers were amazed when they saw that I was still playing mp3s on winamp.
Sears is the largest appliance retailer in America.
Sears has the largest appliance delivery, installation, and repair infrastructure in America, and it is arguable that their infrastructure is the most mature and most sophisticated compared to any other appliance manufacturer in the world. This is completely separate from the retail store operations.
The value of this logistical infrastructure is massive, and is massively undervalued. What Sears has is the equivalent of them being the Amazon of appliances.
LG and Samsung should be shaking in their boots today.
Best Buy retail footprint is slowly moving to 50% appliances, this is no accident, it is because Amazon can not compete in white goods.
I always had good luck with Sears appliance delivery.
They need to dump the K-Mart Brand asap.
I always said wake me when the Poconos get hot again. Guess we’re there.
Re: Alexa, I get it. But it’s insane that people are enthusiastically putting an open recording device wired to the Internet in the middle of their home. Waiting for that one high profile case where there is key evidence subpoenaed and used to convict from Alexa.
Alexa, where did I leave my gun?
DFENS, I just bought appliances from Sears(washer and dryer, had it delivered and installed Wednesday, they did for free what I would have had to pay another retailer for, second floor tight install under a counter), they are as good as any of the major retailers at delivering appliances and sometimes cheaper.
Had Sears come out and fix the icemaker leak on my $7k Kitchenaid fridge – they did a fantastic job and it only cost $200, despite the fact that they had to come back twice with additional parts.
What a sh!t show. How in the world does this guy run a global business when he can’t even run his small White House team without constant conflict. The answer is simple, just like most at the top, he is just an image of the brains behind the company. Take away all the good employees that manage and take care of the business, and trump would run it into the ground. He is a sham just like a good chunk of ceo’s out there, contribute nothing, but take all the glory. The writing is on the wall.
Sean Spicer Resigns as White House Press Secretary – The New York Times
https://apple.news/AVQrQBQaJQeeLAYkp_UqSLw
Shut up troll.
Fast, go idolize that loser you put in charge of our country.
Another winner from Florida.
“A 27-year-old man broadcast live on Facebook as he sped down a Florida beach, running over beach chairs and umbrellas while drinking from a bottle of Canadian Mist whiskey and yelling expletives about police cars chasing him.”
http://www.kcra.com/article/were-flying-brah-man-livestreams-beach-chase/10339480
Grim do you think amazon ultimately buys Sears?
Pumps so what who cares? Most of us here just don’t care anymore!
By no one caring is exactly how these corrupt ceo’s and politicians have a monopoly on the leadership landscape. Are there any good guys left at the top? Sad.
I guess Melissa mc McCarthy won’t be doing her snl routine any more.
Pumps nothing we can do about it. So who cares. You are supporting muphy for governor. You think he is any better? No!
F.uck you.
Check the freezer grim
Also I took the liberty of cleaning and lubricating it. Have a nice day!
Wet Dream (Pumpkin Edition):
https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/press-release/file/980071/download
Pumps no CEO s no jobs. That’s how it works.
Chgo what is it about long island?
if all you have is a hammer
http://www.startribune.com/body-camera-video-of-cop-who-shot-2-dogs-in-mpls-yard-is-released/435637703/
Pumps,
It’s detachment. Those that can afford to detach will. Those without children have it easier to detach also. Younger people are going to have to do the heavy lifting now. This is what you are left with and have to deal with.
Phoenix. I detached as you say because it’s futile. And just fyi I have adult children so I worry about them and their generation. And I have been outspoken in my belief that they are being screwed. I have tried for years on the local level to change things that needed to be changed. Can’t happen. The good people are beaten down and driven away. So yes I detached. Take care of you and yours that’s all one can do.
Almost zero coverage on the cop who shot the yoga instructor to death.
Almost zero coverage on the (Somali) cop who shot the (white) yoga instructor to death.
3b says:
July 21, 2017 at 3:43 pm
Almost zero coverage on the cop who shot the yoga instructor to death.
12 years ago, I commuted to NYC from Philly 3X a week on Amtrak. Shortly after, I commuted from Philly to Newark, daily by Amtrak. My door to door in NYC was usually under 2 hours, including the subway. My door to door to Newark was typically 90 min, if I walked to 3oth Street Station.
I’ll wager that my commute was likely shorter and possibly no more expensive than many of you in NJ, commuting into the city.
Happy Friday everyone. I’m spending the weekend in a flooded quarry in Allentown. On purpose.
Chgo exactly! And apparently he had prior complaints. But it does not fit the narrative so it’s ignored. And so it goes.
Bergen co starting to get that urban 80s look in quite a few towns. Just saying
@BillKristol
He may be amusing and colorful–but let’s not kid ourselves,
Scaramucci is another step in the 3rd-World-ization of the American presidency.
Chi that is a messed up situation, how does a cop kill the women who called them to report a disturbance while she is speaking to the other officer in the car, who is in her pajamas in a low crime neighborhood? They can’t even use the “I made a mistake” from fear Philando Castile argument, that he resembled a fugitive (quite the bs narrative, kill a motorist during a traffic stop when he’s got a small child in the car?).
The cop better get a murder charge and sentence for this…..
What is wrong with this country that I have to hear about Eric Garner(a guy who basically killed himself by being morbidly obese and resisting arrest) and mike brown(a thug terrorizing the community he lived in, and attacking police officers) for months like they are some kind of martyrs but the police cold blooded shoot a women who called them and we don’t hear sh*t? WTF
I welcome our president Berlusconi 2.0……
J c because that’s the world we live in now. And so we disconnect.
Trump is pretty impressive Eddie, where do you think he learned his management skills?
White lives matter!
All Lives Matter…..iffn you can afford an Attorney.
They said “all lives matter” is racist.
If I unloaded my two properties and leveraged them into a 3-4 million dollar income producing rental building, good idea or bad idea? I would have to rent(which I hate, but capital would be leveraged) for prob 4,000 or more a month, but would this make sense? Know you guys are tough critics, and want to hear your perspectives.
Our self-driving future will turn car companies into tech companies, disrupt freight, and serve you more ads, new report finds – GeekWire
https://apple.news/A9dxF7xeBRXO3oHuwTo80YA
Is the U.S. ready for self-driving cars? – CBS News
https://apple.news/A7XQq0dSQSfSV3OgS-yejdw
Just heard on late night TV:
“If I ever heard that I had six months to live, I would ask my ex-wife to come back and stay with me because it would be the longest six months of my life.”