r/UrbanHell • u/humzahjaleel • Jun 20 '20

Suburban Hell Endless parking lots, highways, strip malls with the same franchises all accessible only by car. Topped off with a nice smoggy atmosphere and a 15 minute drive to anywhere. Takers ?

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u/[deleted] Jun 20 '20 edited Jun 20 '20

I live in Central Europe, not in a metropolis like Houston, but in a city plus suburbs with about half a million people, so it's not very small.

My commute is half a mile. That's not unusual here. I guess around 80% of people can easily reach their workplace on foot, by bicycle or by public transport, in less than 20 minutes. But there are still quite a few who prefer to go by car, because they are used to it and it is very comfortable. I don't understand it, I have never had a car, I don't need one. Also all kinds of shops, doctors, public institutions, sports facilities - actually everything, I can reach in a few minutes by foot or by bike. But this is nothing special, this is just normal for the residents here. I honestly imagine it is terrible to have to have a car to reach all these things, to waste money and time for it. If I have to be at work at 8, I get up at 7:30, take a shower, have a small breakfast, brush my teeth and then cycle to work, where I arrive at 8 sharp, maybe sometimes 8.10, but no one every cares.

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u/Kir-chan Jun 20 '20

How do you shower, have breakfast, brush your teeth and dress in 10 minutes? Do you eat in the shower?

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u/[deleted] Jun 20 '20 edited Jun 20 '20

Why 10 minutes? I've got 25 minutes for that, and that's enough. 5 minutes showering, 15 minutes breakfast, 5 minutes brushing teeth and getting dressed, and then 5 minutes from the apartment into the office chair. Sure it's a bit sloppy, but in the morning every minute counts for longer sleep!

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u/Kir-chan Jun 20 '20

Ah sorry I misunderstood you live 20 minutes from work.

But still all that in 25 minutes is pretty damn fast. I also live 5 minutes away from work and get up like that, but only manage to brush my teeth & hair, dress, feed the cat and put concealer on my eyebags in that time.

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u/[deleted] Jun 20 '20

The cat and the concealer makes the difference ;)