a serious question (Minneapolis, St. Paul, Bloomington: sales, apartment, house)

[nick is rulz]

why is it that generally the people I hear whine and complain the most about commute times and/or the price of gas are ALWAYS the ones who made the conscious decision to live 30-45 minutes away from the city? Why would you put yourself in that situation if its a serious inconvenience?

[MNNative]

Nick, I think this is a complicated situation. You have to account for the many reasons people pick the places they choose to live. Be it safety, schools, local attractions, proximity to work (maybe it's far from one person's work but not the other), affordability...it's all about priority.

Yes, I agree it's sorta annoying to hear people complain about gas or commuting times --I do it too though, for the simple fact that it is utterly ridiculous, and I don't drive much but still find it shocking.

The fact is when they purchased that home or chose to live in that area they knew very well how long their commute time was going to be and that it would inevitable take money and time, yet because of whatever other factors they chose to face it. But does that make them immune to being able to gripe about gas prices or congestion?

I'm not disagreeing with you but I'm not agreeing whole-heartedly either.

[Minnehahapolitan]

I want to know why so many of them are Republicans. Since Carver County just voted down the sales tax increase, I don't even want to hear a little quip out of anybody from Chanhassen or Chaska.

[nick is rulz]

oh I forgot to add:

Generally they drive SUVs as well.

[MNNative]

Originally Posted by nick is rulz

oh I forgot to add:

Generally they drive SUVs as well.

lol too funny!

[Simple Living]

I disagree with the comment about Republicans complaining. Minneapolis is full of staunch Democrats and I hear them complaining, too. So, I don't think it's a party issue.

I think nick is rulz and MNNative are both correct. It is a matter of choice. No matter what decisions led someone to live where they do, they live there by choice. We are all where we are in life because of the choices we made in the past. To change our futures, we have to make different choices now.

I made a choice to live without a car, within walking distance to a grocery store (and work) and near a bus line. There are days I'd like to have a car to do a bunch of errands, but I can't complain about the time it takes to wait for buses and travel zig-zag down side streets to get anywhere because I made my choice.

People have a choice to change what they're doing and modify their lives, but most people won't do it because it's "hard" and it requires sacrifice and change. It's a lot easier to complain. Most folks don't want to give up anything. We hate the idea of subtracting or dividing and love adding and multiplying. We don't want less, we want more. Adding, multiplying and "more" costs more but we aren't willing to pay for it. We want what we want without any inconveniences and gas prices are a huge inconvenience that cuts into our "more."

There are plenty of expenses people could cut out if they wanted to, but they won't. Do you really need cable tv? Do you need high-speed internet? Do you need NetFlix? Do you need a land-line telephone and a cell phone? Do you need to eat out so often? Do you need to go to Starbucks/Caribou or the bakery every day? Do you need all those magazines you subscribe to? Do you need all the other monthly subscriptions that you have, like GPS, XM Radio, TiVo, etc.? Do you need anymore DVDs or video games? Can't you use the library to check out free DVDs and books instead of buying them all the time? Do you need all the "stuff" in your house that you could sell and pay down your debt? Do your kids need to have most of what they want? Do they need to have high allowances? Do they need to wear expensive major labels? Do you need more clothes? Shoes? Is taking the bus to work, or carpooling, really that bad? Can you bike or walk more? Do you need to go to movies? Can you go without a vacation this year? Do you really need to go to WalMart and impulse shop? Do you need to buy so much junk and pre-packaged food? Do you really need text messaging? Expensive cell phones that access the internet or play videos? (More monthly subscriptions.) Could you live in a less expensive apartment? Can you cut back on drycleaning? Babysitting expenses for when you go out? Can you drive a more efficient vehicle?

This list goes on and on... We think doing without is deprivation or losing face, or status, with other people. What will they think of us? Why worry about that? If they think less of you, are they really your friends or are they just being shallow and more worried that you'll start getting ahead financially when they're still in bondage to all of their "stuff," debt, and expenses? (Without which, we'd all have plenty of money for gas.)

[Slig]

Originally Posted by nick is rulz

why is it that generally the people I hear whine and complain the most about commute times and/or the price of gas are ALWAYS the ones who made the conscious decision to live 30-45 minutes away from the city? Why would you put yourself in that situation if its a serious inconvenience?

I agree wholeheartedly. Longer commute times are what go along with the territory of living on the outskirts. Some day people will learn and move back into the city.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by Slig

I agree wholeheartedly. Longer commute times are what go along with the territory of living on the outskirts. Some day people will learn and move back into the city.

The funny thing is that of all of our friends that live out in the 'evil' suburbs only a handful of them actually work in Minneapolis. Some people seem to forget that there are jobs outside of Minneapolis. If we moved to Minneapolis our commute would be LONGER then it is living in the suburbs. Most of our friends work in Eagan, Apple Valley, Rosemount and Bloomington. One person we know works in St. Paul and one 'work' in Oakdale but he is in sales and works out of his home most of the time.

The REALLY funny thing is the people I know that live in Minneapolis or St. Paul proper all commute out to the suburbs, with a much longer commutes then we have from the suburbs to our jobs. My commute is all of 1.2 miles. I walk when I can but since I usually have to leave work to run kids here and there, nice to be able to do that, I drive.

I complain about gas prices all the time. I don't have a long commute and I don't drive an SUV so is that ok?

[MNNative]

I see Golfgal's point. There's this weird perception for most people who live in the city that the world revolves around the city...and maybe for them it does, but there's a whole world outside of there (albeit perhaps not the "right" world for them) and to expect the city is right for everyone is kind of...pompous? I can't stand going downtown and my life is perfect without whatever they offer down there (ok, I make exceptions for very infrequent occasions).

Simple Living I completely agree with you as well. Wow, we cut our cable tv (and basic cable) service when we moved back to the cities over a year ago and to this day people are still astonished to find out we don't have it. lol It's as if the thought of not watching tv is enough to put people into cardiac arrest! I guess having kids young has kept us from getting into the lifestyle that most people our age acquire (clubbing, partying, drinking, eating out with friends or catching shows every other night). Despite our financial frugality, I can't stop myself from the shock of $3.15 at the pump! I think it's just human.

[Slig]

I work in Eagan right now with a 4 mile commute. It will increase to 7 miles when I move to Minneapolis but the amount of time it will take will be the same since I'll be going against traffic. Plus I'll be WAY closer too school and pretty much everything else.