Author Topic: Overheard at Work  (Read 13253021 times)

Emilyngh

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4150 on: September 12, 2014, 08:20:24 PM »
Here is a heard at work:

Co-worker K was complaining about the traffic and stated it took her 2 hours to get to work the other morning because there was so much traffic. I commiserated, but said that is why I like riding my bike.

Later today she was gone for a few hours. Comes back, said she and her husband were looking at houses.

K: We're going to be moving!
Me: Congratulations! How much shorter will your commute be?
K: Oh, it will be longer. We are moving to [names town 10 miles farther away than her current town]. It will probably add 40 min to my commute.
Me and CW J: O.o
J: I couldn't stand to be in the car for an hour and a half a day (obviously referring to her entire round-trip commute of 40+40 min)
K: Oh, no, it will be more like 3 hours. It already takes me over an hour on a good day.
Me: OMG!
J: [sound of disbelief]
K: Oh, it's not that bad. I have a hybrid

This is hard to even believe. The longer she talks the worse it gets!

I hear this from Silicon Valley workers all the time. They want to "buy the dream" of a huge house, and are willing to sell their lives (and pocketbooks) on a huge commute from a place where such a house is actually purchasable. It's nonsensical.

I can emotionally get this.   I used to live in a very high COL area.   Houses were very close to unaffordable there for us, even though we had high salaries.   I was in my late 20s, and renting, and looking at friends and family and people on tv in their homes, and it was hard not to feel like I wasn't a real adult until we owned.   Plus, I really like home projects and decorating, and stability (esp with kids), and felt like I needed to own (and own a bigger home with many different rooms for different activities).    And anything affordable close to work would have been a dump, and probably what I would have felt like was too small, and it *still* would have a huge mortgage, which would have gnawed at me.

Luckily, we knew we wanted to move to a lower COL area, so we were able to resist buying (good thing too, would have had to sell right when the market was crashing).   And then we did move to our lower COL and I was in heaven looking at largish (2000 sq ft), with land, in good conditions at affordable prices.   And we bought right away and worked on making things perfect.

And, only after owning what I had long dreamed of, do I see how it's really not that great or important.   We don't need that much room, and I'm not more of an adult, and diy stuff and yard work is a PITA.  So, we'll probably be down-sizing, and I might even consider a condo.....

...but, if we were still living in our old area, I probably would have broken down and gotten a house that was not a dump, that was not tiny, and had a long commute to do it.   And even if I realized later that it was a bad idea, without MMM I don't know if I would have had enough courage to sell it and down-size.   Who wants to give up the big sign that they have made it after all ;)

Wolf_Stache

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4151 on: September 12, 2014, 10:31:56 PM »
Here is a heard at work:

Co-worker K was complaining about the traffic and stated it took her 2 hours to get to work the other morning because there was so much traffic. I commiserated, but said that is why I like riding my bike.

Later today she was gone for a few hours. Comes back, said she and her husband were looking at houses.

K: We're going to be moving!
Me: Congratulations! How much shorter will your commute be?
K: Oh, it will be longer. We are moving to [names town 10 miles farther away than her current town]. It will probably add 40 min to my commute.
Me and CW J: O.o
J: I couldn't stand to be in the car for an hour and a half a day (obviously referring to her entire round-trip commute of 40+40 min)
K: Oh, no, it will be more like 3 hours. It already takes me over an hour on a good day.
Me: OMG!
J: [sound of disbelief]
K: Oh, it's not that bad. I have a hybrid

This is hard to even believe. The longer she talks the worse it gets!

I hear this from Silicon Valley workers all the time. They want to "buy the dream" of a huge house, and are willing to sell their lives (and pocketbooks) on a huge commute from a place where such a house is actually purchasable. It's nonsensical.

Yep, that is what they are doing - moving even farther from Seattle to get a bigger house. She was going on about how the house was 600 sq feet bigger. I asked her why she needed the extra space, since their only child JUST moved out of the house (like last week, we gossip alot...) She couldn't really answer it, and evaded by talking about how much nicer the nice is and how the payment will be so much less than current house. *facepalm*

fartface

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4152 on: September 14, 2014, 08:18:42 AM »
Here is a heard at work:

Co-worker K was complaining about the traffic and stated it took her 2 hours to get to work the other morning because there was so much traffic. I commiserated, but said that is why I like riding my bike.

Later today she was gone for a few hours. Comes back, said she and her husband were looking at houses.

K: We're going to be moving!
Me: Congratulations! How much shorter will your commute be?
K: Oh, it will be longer. We are moving to [names town 10 miles farther away than her current town]. It will probably add 40 min to my commute.
Me and CW J: O.o
J: I couldn't stand to be in the car for an hour and a half a day (obviously referring to her entire round-trip commute of 40+40 min)
K: Oh, no, it will be more like 3 hours. It already takes me over an hour on a good day.
Me: OMG!
J: [sound of disbelief]
K: Oh, it's not that bad. I have a hybrid

What a fucking moron.

cdub

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4153 on: September 14, 2014, 08:46:21 AM »
Here is a heard at work:

Co-worker K was complaining about the traffic and stated it took her 2 hours to get to work the other morning because there was so much traffic. I commiserated, but said that is why I like riding my bike.

Later today she was gone for a few hours. Comes back, said she and her husband were looking at houses.

K: We're going to be moving!
Me: Congratulations! How much shorter will your commute be?
K: Oh, it will be longer. We are moving to [names town 10 miles farther away than her current town]. It will probably add 40 min to my commute.
Me and CW J: O.o
J: I couldn't stand to be in the car for an hour and a half a day (obviously referring to her entire round-trip commute of 40+40 min)
K: Oh, no, it will be more like 3 hours. It already takes me over an hour on a good day.
Me: OMG!
J: [sound of disbelief]
K: Oh, it's not that bad. I have a hybrid

What a fucking moron.

Well she makes a good point... she does own a hybrid. ;)

My commute is 45 to an hour each way now but it's only for 7 weeks. My last job was a quick 20-30 minute. It's impossible to be where I can bike to work as my work location changes every two months - but at least I live a quick 20 minute drive from where most of my jobs are. Especially when I can use the carpool lane since I have an Nissan Leaf.

Elderwood17

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4154 on: September 14, 2014, 08:13:49 PM »
At the time he said something about how he can make dumb financial decisions now when he's .

I have heard this sentiment a lot lately.  Two of my sins graduated from college this year and repeatedly I heard their friends or friends parents explaining taking a huge overseas vacation or buying a high end car by saying " you gotta do these things while your young".   Really?  While nt even having started to pay off those student loans you go to Europe for a month or buy the BMW because you have to do those things while young?

Nords

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4155 on: September 14, 2014, 09:06:36 PM »
I didn't overhear this at work (because I don't have a job), but I read this link title on the Dollar Stretcher newsletter:
"Finding A New Car Loan While In Bankruptcy"
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/auto/car-loan-in-bankruptcy.aspx
Quote
Dear Dr. Don,
Where can I get a car loan for a new vehicle while in bankruptcy?  My trustee has advised me to look for a vehicle and I have done that.  But the dealers won't work with lenders in my case and they all want a cashier's check or cash.  So do you have a name of a lender that would be willing to finance me?

The columnist gently pointed out that a new car is a bad idea when you're in bankruptcy...

PloddingInsight

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4156 on: September 15, 2014, 06:54:30 AM »
Two of my sins graduated from college this year

I see what you did there.

infogoon

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4157 on: September 15, 2014, 08:52:43 AM »
Two of my sins graduated from college this year

I see what you did there.

Did it twice, apparently.

Threshkin

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4158 on: September 15, 2014, 10:44:53 AM »
Here is a heard at work:

Co-worker K was complaining about the traffic and stated it took her 2 hours to get to work the other morning because there was so much traffic. I commiserated, but said that is why I like riding my bike.

Later today she was gone for a few hours. Comes back, said she and her husband were looking at houses.

K: We're going to be moving!
Me: Congratulations! How much shorter will your commute be?
K: Oh, it will be longer. We are moving to [names town 10 miles farther away than her current town]. It will probably add 40 min to my commute.
Me and CW J: O.o
J: I couldn't stand to be in the car for an hour and a half a day (obviously referring to her entire round-trip commute of 40+40 min)
K: Oh, no, it will be more like 3 hours. It already takes me over an hour on a good day.
Me: OMG!
J: [sound of disbelief]
K: Oh, it's not that bad. I have a hybrid

This is hard to even believe. The longer she talks the worse it gets!

I hear this from Silicon Valley workers all the time. They want to "buy the dream" of a huge house, and are willing to sell their lives (and pocketbooks) on a huge commute from a place where such a house is actually purchasable. It's nonsensical.

Yep, I have co-workers who live in Tracy and commute to Redwood City. 75 miles and 2.5 hours or longer each way!  I work from home.  My commute is 15 feet in slippers.

dragoncar

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4159 on: September 15, 2014, 10:56:22 AM »
Here is a heard at work:

Co-worker K was complaining about the traffic and stated it took her 2 hours to get to work the other morning because there was so much traffic. I commiserated, but said that is why I like riding my bike.

Later today she was gone for a few hours. Comes back, said she and her husband were looking at houses.

K: We're going to be moving!
Me: Congratulations! How much shorter will your commute be?
K: Oh, it will be longer. We are moving to [names town 10 miles farther away than her current town]. It will probably add 40 min to my commute.
Me and CW J: O.o
J: I couldn't stand to be in the car for an hour and a half a day (obviously referring to her entire round-trip commute of 40+40 min)
K: Oh, no, it will be more like 3 hours. It already takes me over an hour on a good day.
Me: OMG!
J: [sound of disbelief]
K: Oh, it's not that bad. I have a hybrid

This is hard to even believe. The longer she talks the worse it gets!

I hear this from Silicon Valley workers all the time. They want to "buy the dream" of a huge house, and are willing to sell their lives (and pocketbooks) on a huge commute from a place where such a house is actually purchasable. It's nonsensical.

Yep, I have co-workers who live in Tracy and commute to Redwood City. 75 miles and 2.5 hours or longer each way!  I work from home.  My commute is 15 feet in slippers.

Wait, so they have the option to work from home and choose not to?

Threshkin

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4160 on: September 15, 2014, 11:16:29 AM »
Here is a heard at work:

Co-worker K was complaining about the traffic and stated it took her 2 hours to get to work the other morning because there was so much traffic. I commiserated, but said that is why I like riding my bike.

Later today she was gone for a few hours. Comes back, said she and her husband were looking at houses.

K: We're going to be moving!
Me: Congratulations! How much shorter will your commute be?
K: Oh, it will be longer. We are moving to [names town 10 miles farther away than her current town]. It will probably add 40 min to my commute.
Me and CW J: O.o
J: I couldn't stand to be in the car for an hour and a half a day (obviously referring to her entire round-trip commute of 40+40 min)
K: Oh, no, it will be more like 3 hours. It already takes me over an hour on a good day.
Me: OMG!
J: [sound of disbelief]
K: Oh, it's not that bad. I have a hybrid

This is hard to even believe. The longer she talks the worse it gets!

I hear this from Silicon Valley workers all the time. They want to "buy the dream" of a huge house, and are willing to sell their lives (and pocketbooks) on a huge commute from a place where such a house is actually purchasable. It's nonsensical.

Yep, I have co-workers who live in Tracy and commute to Redwood City. 75 miles and 2.5 hours or longer each way!  I work from home.  My commute is 15 feet in slippers.

Wait, so they have the option to work from home and choose not to?
It depends on the role and your attitude.  We have a pretty flexible workplace and a highly distributed workforce.  If you want to be noticed and advance your career it is better to work in the office.  Some managers can get pretty insistent and some jobs cannot be done from home.  I had one manager who quit because she wanted everyone on her team to work in the same office.

I have been told several times that it would be better for my career to move back to California.  No way!  My mental and emotional happiness is much more important to me than being a rat in a maze just to make more money.

coffeehound

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4161 on: September 15, 2014, 12:54:11 PM »
"Guess who just ordered a new iPhone 6?" followed by cheers from coworkers.  This is the one who bought a house for 5% down, is paying PMI, but is *positive* the real estate market will go up, so PMI isn't a big dea

Beric01

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4162 on: September 15, 2014, 04:08:48 PM »
Relatively frugal co-worker has a friend who is "definitely" buying an Apple Watch. Apparently he wants it for "exercise". It doesn't make sense to either of us. $350 for a first generation device that will most likely do less than one of the countless other wearable exercise devices out there? But it's an Apple device...

Nudelkopf

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4163 on: September 16, 2014, 12:14:39 AM »
CW. We are moving to [names town 10 miles farther away than her current town].
I can't believe people live in a different TOWN to which they work!!

boarder42

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4164 on: September 16, 2014, 07:00:16 AM »
I live in a different town. Not mustachian but unbelievable not at all. I basically have a vacation home on a lake as my primary residence. Its 15 miles from where I work. I have a wakeboarding hobby and made it as affordable as possible. Used boats under valued cheapest lake to live on in my area.  I probably spend less wakeboarding than most do golfing.

But back to point living hours away to me seems insane. But in a different city. Not a big deal.

RWD

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4165 on: September 16, 2014, 09:19:51 AM »
CW. We are moving to [names town 10 miles farther away than her current town].

I can't believe people live in a different TOWN to which they work!!

Depends a bit on the town. There are some areas where it's hard to tell where one begins and the other ends. For example, you could live in Beaverton and work in Portland (Oregon) and your commute could easily be under 10 miles (20-25 minutes).

AlanStache

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4166 on: September 16, 2014, 09:23:44 AM »
Coworker: Nothing in life worth having is cheap!
Me: That's not true!
Coworker: NAME ONE THING!
Me: Ummm...love?
Coworker: LOVE ISN'T CHEAP.

Then everyone laughed. I've been married for years. It's been pretty cheap for me.

Great now Huey Lewis will be suck in my head all day.

innkeeper77

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4167 on: September 16, 2014, 09:25:12 AM »
This is true! My commute by bike is 5.8 miles, and goes out of my town, through another, and then back into my town.. if I take the car (6 miles) it passes through two different other towns before coming back to the town I live in.

I suspect that towns near large US cities are smaller and more oddly shaped than most Australian towns.

MandalayVA

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4168 on: September 16, 2014, 09:36:13 AM »
CW. We are moving to [names town 10 miles farther away than her current town].
I can't believe people live in a different TOWN to which they work!!

I am one of the very few in my office that actually lives in the city of Richmond.  Most live in the two suburban counties that wrap around the city, but there are some who choose to live over an hour away one way so they can have "country homes."  Oy.

Elderwood17

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4169 on: September 16, 2014, 09:48:35 AM »
CW. We are moving to [names town 10 miles farther away than her current town].
I can't believe people live in a different TOWN to which they work!!
I lived in a different STATE than the one I worked in.  Crossed several city limits and a state line on my 14 mile, 30 minute commute. 

Timmmy

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4170 on: September 16, 2014, 10:03:26 AM »
CW. We are moving to [names town 10 miles farther away than her current town].
I can't believe people live in a different TOWN to which they work!!
I lived in a different STATE than the one I worked in.  Crossed several city limits and a state line on my 14 mile, 30 minute commute.

In the Detroit area it's not uncommon for people to live in a different city, state and COUNTRY.  How people are willing to deal with an international border crossing everyday is beyond me. 

eyePod

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4171 on: September 16, 2014, 10:11:59 AM »
"Guess who just ordered a new iPhone 6?" followed by cheers from coworkers.  This is the one who bought a house for 5% down, is paying PMI, but is *positive* the real estate market will go up, so PMI isn't a big dea

Jeez. I hate the fact that we're paying PMI but we are paying about an extra $500-1000 per month to get out of the range. I also want to pay off the mortgage in under 10 years, so the PMI really isn't that big of a deal. And I don't have an iPhone 6... So thanks for making me feel better!

Jane

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4172 on: September 16, 2014, 10:13:20 AM »
CW. We are moving to [names town 10 miles farther away than her current town].
I can't believe people live in a different TOWN to which they work!!
I don't think this is all that unbelievable, particularly in large sprawling suburban areas where towns just meld together. My commute (when I do go into the office, which is rare) is only a few miles. So is my husband's. There are actually a lot of valid circumstances where it might not be the best choice to live closer to work, such as a household with two working spouses who travel in different directions. I do think what the OP's coworker said is crazy though.

frugalnacho

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4173 on: September 16, 2014, 10:17:55 AM »
CW. We are moving to [names town 10 miles farther away than her current town].
I can't believe people live in a different TOWN to which they work!!
I lived in a different STATE than the one I worked in.  Crossed several city limits and a state line on my 14 mile, 30 minute commute.

In the Detroit area it's not uncommon for people to live in a different city, state and COUNTRY.  How people are willing to deal with an international border crossing everyday is beyond me.

Yeah that always blew my mind.  I hate dealing with the border.  I can't imagine doing it twice every day.


Apples

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4174 on: September 16, 2014, 11:22:49 AM »
I have a coworker who wants to own a shop and be a racing mechanic someday (he has worked on traveling race teams).  I am in management on our farm and know how much he makes, and it's fairly typical for a guy a few years out of high school with no further certificates working full time for those years.  So basically, not much.  He always talks about how he's going to have a shop, but at other times says that he has an extra $xxx in his bank account, so he's started looking at four wheelers.  And gets breakfast at Sheetz every morning, then goes for fast food for lunch several times a week.  I mentioned that it would be cheaper to eat at home and then he could save for that shop.  He informed me he's on his way b/c he used a 50% off coupon for some tools brand that's really good, so he "bought $12,000 worth of tools for only $6,000!" I was surprised that he had managed to save money, but then: "And the payments will be pretty easy to make!"  I didn't ask further, but I'm betting by the time he's done paying for them he'll pay close to $12,000. Oh my.

Also, I technically live in a different town (zip code) than where I commute to work, and it's a 2 minute drive in my company-bought work truck.  In fact, I live on the farm, but that side of it sits in a different "town".  I'm just glad we don't cross county lines like our neighbor does.  That would be a headache.

LennStar

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4175 on: September 16, 2014, 11:23:48 AM »
This is true! My commute by bike is 5.8 miles, and goes out of my town, through another, and then back into my town.. if I take the car (6 miles) it passes through two different other towns before coming back to the town I live in.

I suspect that towns near large US cities are smaller and more oddly shaped than most Australian towns.
Ever heard of the term gerrymandering?
Thats what I think of when I hear the words "USA" and "odd shape" in one sentence ;)
Here are 3 WTF examples:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:California%27s_23rd_congressional_district.png
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Carolina%27s_12th_congressional_district
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois%27s_4th_congressional_district




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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4176 on: September 16, 2014, 11:29:20 AM »
I have a co-worker that just had his first child.  He had an extended cab Tacoma.  One day he mentioned that the Tacoma was not cutting with the baby and needed supplies it so he was thinking about a Suburban.  He then asked me if I knew what type of milage they got.  I said "about 15".  He replied with "Cool, I thought they only got 10 or so".  The next week, he shows up with a Tahoe, I guess the Suburban was just a little too much for him;)  Later on, I asked how long his commute was (probably 20-25 miles one way).  He replied that he didn't know. 

Another former coworker bought a 4-runner.  I asked him what type of milage it got.  He said he didn't know and it didn't matter, because that's what he wanted.

Both of these fellows have IQs north of 130 and work in finance.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4177 on: September 16, 2014, 11:44:24 AM »
CW. We are moving to [names town 10 miles farther away than her current town].
I can't believe people live in a different TOWN to which they work!!
I lived in a different STATE than the one I worked in.  Crossed several city limits and a state line on my 14 mile, 30 minute commute.

Easterners! Out in the west that would be much harder...

galliver

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4178 on: September 16, 2014, 11:45:16 AM »
CW. We are moving to [names town 10 miles farther away than her current town].
I can't believe people live in a different TOWN to which they work!!

I used to walk to high school in a different town. It took 10 minutes or less. The other town was right across the street, because I grew up in suburbia(s). (I realize this is the nth story of this variety...)

Le0

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4179 on: September 16, 2014, 11:58:51 AM »
Had a meeting with the finance people at work.

They were explaining different situations that could happen, or situations that they have seen happen in regards to our pay. They told us to pay attention to our pay stubs. Good advice.

However the head finance person in the middle of this explanation announced that;

"I can't believe the people who don't notice that they didn't get paid, I wish I had that kind of money!"

I couldn't help but think ... If I had her wage I'd be so much closer to FI!

Zamboni

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4180 on: September 16, 2014, 12:27:04 PM »
^Basically she's just saying she lives paycheck to paycheck.  Otherwise one might not notice right away.

I would notice, of course, because I religiously track the ticking up of my retirement accounts via the monthly contributions.  It's that money not showing up in Vanguard that would catch my attention first.

frugalnacho

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4181 on: September 16, 2014, 01:38:10 PM »
Easterners! Out in the west that would be much harder...

I have a Canadian friend who asked me "What happens when you cross the border into another state in your car?" I guess Canadian provinces are so big that many people just fly from one city to another. I answered in confusion, "Ummm, there's a little sign on the side of the road?" I grew up so close to the NY state border that my parents would cross the state line at least once a week in the course of running errands.

Unless you are crossing into California, in which case you might have to stop for agricultural inspection, and at certain points in the Southwest you might have to answer immigration questions..

To put the Canadian thing into context, if you are in Toronto, it is closer to drive to Florida than certain other parts of  Ontario.

I have traveled from michigan to florida, michigan to wyoming, and michigan to maine and back and never encountered anything other than a sign at any borders.  Never been to california or the south west.

Travis

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4182 on: September 16, 2014, 01:46:42 PM »
CW. We are moving to [names town 10 miles farther away than her current town].
I can't believe people live in a different TOWN to which they work!!
I lived in a different STATE than the one I worked in.  Crossed several city limits and a state line on my 14 mile, 30 minute commute.

Easterners! Out in the west that would be much harder...

I was stationed in Georgia for training years back and we just came back from a 4-day weekend.  Someone commented how they drove north for 10 hours and crossed 6 states (like it was a huge deal).  I did the math and replied "Starting from the same latitude in California, I'd still be in California."  I liked to give them a lot of crap about being from a much bigger state.  I live in WA now and regularly drive 12 hours south to visit home on long weekends and vacations.
 
There are agriculture checkpoints just inside the CA border coming from Oregon, Nevada, and the Mexico border. There might be one between AZ and CA. I haven't driven that route in years.

Albert

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4183 on: September 16, 2014, 01:47:50 PM »
In the Detroit area it's not uncommon for people to live in a different city, state and COUNTRY.  How people are willing to deal with an international border crossing everyday is beyond me.

Depends what kind of border you are crossing. I know one guy who is crossing an international border 8 times (three countries) a day just to commute to work (ca 40 min total). Of course there is no real border where someone cares about your documents.

AlanStache

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4184 on: September 16, 2014, 01:55:30 PM »
In the Detroit area it's not uncommon for people to live in a different city, state and COUNTRY.  How people are willing to deal with an international border crossing everyday is beyond me.

Depends what kind of border you are crossing. I know one guy who is crossing an international border 8 times (three countries) a day just to commute to work (ca 40 min total). Of course there is no real border where someone cares about your documents.

In Europe we did a road trip and hit 5 countries in one day with a long lunch stop.  Barely had a sign at a few of the crossings, could see people easily going back and forth daily.

RWD

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4185 on: September 16, 2014, 01:57:34 PM »
CW. We are moving to [names town 10 miles farther away than her current town].
I can't believe people live in a different TOWN to which they work!!
I lived in a different STATE than the one I worked in.  Crossed several city limits and a state line on my 14 mile, 30 minute commute.

Easterners! Out in the west that would be much harder...

There are agriculture checkpoints just inside the CA border coming from Oregon, Nevada, and the Mexico border. There might be one between AZ and CA. I haven't driven that route in years.

There are.

Albert

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4186 on: September 16, 2014, 01:58:25 PM »
Living in the same town as your job is sometimes virtually impossible when you have a wife/husband and you both have advanced (=rare) jobs.

Albert

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4187 on: September 16, 2014, 02:02:14 PM »
In Europe we did a road trip and hit 5 countries in one day with a long lunch stop.  Barely had a sign at a few of the crossings, could see people easily going back and forth daily.

I often cycle to Germany. Sometimes for exercise, sometimes for shopping (much cheaper). Takes about 20 min from my place.

To hit 5 countries you have to plan well. Something like France, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg and Germany would be possible. To go from one corner of EU to the other takes about as long as from NYC to LA.

Albert

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4188 on: September 16, 2014, 02:12:05 PM »
A week or so ago few of us including myself were"promoted" to the next work level. Nothing consequential except a slight salary increase (ca +300$ net per month). I was laughing with one of the others affected about it and he said yeah it's peanuts but still half a payment for the new car he bought few weeks earlier. Many of my co-workers are spending 500-600 $/month in gas alone. To be honest they don't have a good alternative, but still…

Beric01

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4189 on: September 16, 2014, 03:29:03 PM »
I often cycle to Germany.

If that statement in itself isn't amazing, I don't know what is. Props to you!

gimp

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4190 on: September 16, 2014, 04:25:55 PM »
In the Detroit area it's not uncommon for people to live in a different city, state and COUNTRY.  How people are willing to deal with an international border crossing everyday is beyond me.

They have special fast-pass lanes for people who make the border crossing very often. It turns a delay into a slight annoyance.

With some planning, you could drive from Denmark through Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Austria, Italy, and Slovenia in one day. That makes 11. I don't know European geography that well so I assume you could do quite a bit more than 11 in a single day.

Albert

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4191 on: September 16, 2014, 04:57:04 PM »
With some planning, you could drive from Denmark through Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Austria, Italy, and Slovenia in one day. That makes 11. I don't know European geography that well so I assume you could do quite a bit more than 11 in a single day.

Just for fun I put that route in Google maps. Starting in Padborg, Denmark (border town with Germany) you could do all that and end up in Croatia in about 22 h. If you push it maybe you can get into Bosnia as well before your allotted 24 h are over. I bet someone has chased a Guinness record of that sort.

Of course calculating like this you can drive from Vancouver to Tijuana in one day as well.

Beric01

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4192 on: September 16, 2014, 05:20:21 PM »
With some planning, you could drive from Denmark through Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Austria, Italy, and Slovenia in one day. That makes 11. I don't know European geography that well so I assume you could do quite a bit more than 11 in a single day.

Just for fun I put that route in Google maps. Starting in Padborg, Denmark (border town with Germany) you could do all that and end up in Croatia in about 22 h. If you push it maybe you can get into Bosnia as well before your allotted 24 h are over. I bet someone has chased a Guinness record of that sort.

Of course calculating like this you can drive from Vancouver to Tijuana in one day as well.

With a quick search I found http://www.18in24.co.uk/, which mentions that 17 countries in 24 hours is the current record (yes, in Europe). Not sure if they made 18...

EDIT: appears they did
« Last Edit: September 16, 2014, 05:21:59 PM by Beric01 »

gimp

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4193 on: September 16, 2014, 05:49:42 PM »
Just for fun I put that route in Google maps. Starting in Padborg, Denmark (border town with Germany) you could do all that and end up in Croatia in about 22 h. If you push it maybe you can get into Bosnia as well before your allotted 24 h are over. I bet someone has chased a Guinness record of that sort.

Of course calculating like this you can drive from Vancouver to Tijuana in one day as well.

You might be sarcastic, but I've done about 21.5 hours straight before. It's really not that bad. That was Anchorage to Seattle in two days, with an 18-hour then 21-ish-hour drive with about five hours of sleep, and I would have went farther if I wasn't meeting someone in Seattle. Though I must admit, the 1425 or so miles would be a new day record for me. I'm at 1250, admittedly through mountains and such, no interstates, and my speed was often limited by the road and my car's ability to corner more than anything else.

The only issue with driving from Vancouver to Tijuana in one day is that you're taking I-5 the whole way, instead of 101-then-1, so you're really missing out on the beautiful pacific coastline. Now, if you go cross-country on I-80, it's been done non-stop with a single driver, though even non-stop with two drivers like my friends did is brutal, so I can't imagine being awake and in an acceptable driving condition for two days straight. I know I start to hallucinate after being awake for three, and in pretty bad shape after two...

MgoSam

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4194 on: September 16, 2014, 06:11:53 PM »

johnintaiwan

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4195 on: September 16, 2014, 06:36:28 PM »
Easterners! Out in the west that would be much harder...



Unless you are crossing into California, in which case you might have to stop for agricultural inspection, and at certain points in the Southwest you might have to answer immigration questions..


You might be asked immigration questions, but you are not required to answer them.

resy

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4196 on: September 17, 2014, 12:25:15 AM »
CW. We are moving to [names town 10 miles farther away than her current town].

I can't believe people live in a different TOWN to which they work!!

Depends a bit on the town. There are some areas where it's hard to tell where one begins and the other ends. For example, you could live in Beaverton and work in Portland (Oregon) and your commute could easily be under 10 miles (20-25 minutes).

haha! This is me! Except I live in portland and commute to beaverton. 25 mins.

dandarc

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4197 on: September 17, 2014, 07:14:35 AM »
Driving through Europe you say?

Viola: http://www.buzzfeed.com/ellievhall/gps-error-sends-belgian-woman-on-a-900-mile-drive
Drove for 2 days instead of ~2 hours cause the GPS says so - that's a different level of 'distraction' than I've ever had.

Joggernot

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4198 on: September 17, 2014, 07:23:27 AM »
Easterners! Out in the west that would be much harder...



Unless you are crossing into California, in which case you might have to stop for agricultural inspection, and at certain points in the Southwest you might have to answer immigration questions..


You might be asked immigration questions, but you are not required to answer them.
If you don't answer them you get your car searched.  I lived in NM for 14 years and passed through their checkpoint between El Paso and Carlsbad a few times each year.  Nice people, but consider answering their questions nicely.

infogoon

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4199 on: September 17, 2014, 08:22:12 AM »
I often cycle to Germany. Sometimes for exercise, sometimes for shopping (much cheaper). Takes about 20 min from my place

I'm about the same distance from Canada -- I'll occasionally bike there if I have to run errands on the other side of the border. Pedestrians and bicycles are handled separately from automobiles or trucks, so I can cross the border in a few minutes rather than waiting for a half-hour or more in a car.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!