Commuting

 August 29th, 2011
commuting
People who spend a lot of their day commuting, especially by car in traffic, are less happy. By itself, this is not surprising: everyone knows commuting sucks. What is surprising is that people don't treat it as a big enough downside when considering potential houses or jobs. This is known as the "Commuter's Paradox", and I just read a (kind of technical) economics paper on it (via lesswrong).

If I'm looking at a decision where I'm weighing more or less commuting against something else, how can I do better at predicting which will make me happier? I can remind myself that "enjoyment of a large house fades but the pain of a bad commute wears you down every day," but I'm not sure that's enough. Thoughts? How can we spend less of our time on the least pleasant daily activity?

Referenced in: Internal Statistics

Comment via: google plus, facebook, substack

Recent posts on blogs I like:

Linkpost for September

Regular announcements: did you know you can hire me for life coaching and general consulting? You can also buy my novella Her Voice Is A Backwards Record wherever fine books are sold (except Google Books).

via Thing of Things September 8, 2025

Against the Teapot Hold in Contra Dancing

The teapot hold is the most dangerous common contra dancing figure, so I’ve been avoiding it. The teapot hold, sometimes called a "courtesy turn hold,” requires one dancer to connect with their hand behind their back. When I realized I could avoid put…

via Emma Azelborn August 25, 2025

Little Puppy

She's very little and she likes to do stuff with me. She also likes to bark around and run around and jump around. She also likes to go to places with me and that's all I have.

via Nora Wise's Blog Posts August 23, 2025

more     (via openring)