Busses, Trains and Automobiles

Perhaps I'm mistaken in my perception overall, but in the past year and a half that I've been telecommuting, it's often seemed like the vast majority of other telecommuters I've come into contact with (whether it be in the companies I've worked for or just random others) reside in urban areas. Places like Washington DC, New York City, San Fransisco... To the point where if someone says they do web development and telecommute I almost automatically assume they live in the city. Maybe it's just the crowd from which I hail, but I somewhat have considered myself an anomaly because I don't live in the city.

I live in New Hampshire. I was born and raised here. I assure you, there is nothing urban about New Hampshire, and the most urban patches of our cities can be walked through from one side to the other in probably about an hour, if not less. I live in an area considered to be within the metropolitan statistical area of Boston... In practical terms, the probably one of the Northern most points where most quasi-sane people might still consider commuting to Boston for work (aka I live south of the toll booth).

The only thing that perhaps is urban about where I live (and by live I mean in the immediate surrounding area which I can travel by foot) is perhaps the population density and the fact that there's a bus stop.

Not that having a bus stop is much of a benefit when the bus only runs hourly, weekdays and last bus starts it's route at 5:30 PM... and to go anywhere useful other than downtown requires transferring downtown which makes getting across town a two hour project... Meanwhile, jumping in a car and driving to wherever you needed to go takes you 15 minutes. Provided you have access to a car.

In my case, if I need a car during the day it means getting up at 7 AM and driving my husband to work and then going back and getting him at the end of the day... when you try to sleep 3 AM to 11 AM, to give you some perspective of the way I see it, is like telling a person who sleeps normal hours (11 PM to 6 AM or thereabouts) to get up at 2 AM, drive around for an hour, come home and go back to bed. Dare I say, annoying. Such is life only having one car (currently investigating financing to buy a second because I'm tired of this and will pay thousands of dollars to make it stop).

It's that sort of situation which makes that damn bus a proverbial cocktease.

But, it's also the sort of thing that you can't really expect to get any better than it is, either. It's not really cost effective to run the busses any more than they already do because as it is, they're mostly empty (actually, I don't know that for a fact... I'm mostly assuming, but I doubt I'm wrong) but at the same time anyone who drives who might consider the bus occasionally doesn't because the bus runs so infrequently and for such a limited time that it becomes a ridiculous hassle to be avoided... and this is why in less than urban areas with public transit, the public transit is for the unemployed poor who can't afford a car and the elderly who don't drive. They're the only ones who have the time to deal with the public transit and no other choice, really.

When you drop me in a real city, I really like public transit. When I decided to go to Boston for Drupalcon, one of the biggest things I looked forward to was getting to ride the T to the closest spot I could (or in some cases not the closest spot I could) and walk. I find the whole process somewhat empowering, actually... I like plotting my course when I don't know exactly how to get from point A to point B, I'm surprised and delighted with myself when I start being able to navigate the system by memory instead of consulting the map every five seconds. The whole process of riding the T is so novelty to me that I'm not really all that bothered by when it becomes a sardine can on wheels or the fact that I have to change lines twice to get where I'm going. All I know it's better than my choices back home.

I suppose it's a rather long drawn out way of saying it, but this entire week back at home has been an gigantic depressing letdown compared to spending a week in Boston. Of course the reasons for that aren't solely busses, trains and automobiles, a lot of it has to do with just not being around people... but part of the reason I don't often get out of the apartment and do things is because of transportation.

I'm not a fan of driving. If I don't have a fairly strong incentive to drive somewhere to do something... like I spent cash to participate in something (i.e. music lessons) or someone is dependent on me driving to go somewhere, I generally opt out of going just because I can't bring myself to do the driving.... it doesn't matter how much fun the event is, that whole having to drive thing gets in my way.

Which, I suppose, is probably why I have somewhat of an affinity for public transit... I don't have to do the driving and I'm still empowered to go places.

I suppose, to some degree or another, I was made to live in the city... and well, it's probably something that will never happen.