BellaOnline Forums Relationships Married No Kids Being CF helps with shortening the commute...

Ok, so the words "CF" were not mentioned specifically, but this quote from this article, about moving to shorten the terrible commutes into the Washington DC area, got my attention today:

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I guess being CF shortens my commute in that I don't have to drop a child off at daycare or school or make sure he/she gets on a school bus before I go to work. I know it shortens my morning "getting ready" time, because I don't like getting up any earlier than I have to, and I'm doing good to get myself up, ready and out the door in the mornings without having to worry about getting another human (who would probably be resistant to my efforts, at least at times) ready, fed and to wherever he/she needed to go. I'd need to get up an hour earlier if I had to do that, and I don't do well when I don't get enough sleep!

Cindy

Even here in little old NZ the commuting hassles are getting bad. And I hear about so many stressful commutes that parents have. The worst bit is trying to get to the daycare at the end of a working day. Inevitably something goes wrong at work or there is an accident on the motorway. I couldn't bear knowing that my little one was waiting alone and I was late. I am so over all the "juggling" in this society - never catching up and always feeling stressed/tired. I just don't want to add to it with children.

I agree, Duane, that being CF makes us so flexible - that's one of the bonuses. Being cat-free would make me even more flexible, but hey, I get so much joy from her...

Being cat-free would make me more flexible, too. But I don't really have to worry too much about getting home in time for Beastie's dinner. She rations her food when we're not home (most likely related to her abandonment issues). She won't finish her daytime ration until there's a person here to replace it. She just sleeps until someone gets home. So we can run a couple of hours late in the evening without worry. Unfortunately, kids don't work that way.

I think it shortens our commute because we can afford to buy a house closer to the city that still has a yard big enough for our dogs. If we had a child to support or one of us wasn't working, our commute would take double the time. Plus, we take public transport at the moment, which we couldn't do if we had to drop a child off to daycare.

The companies that I'm looking to work for are located all over Houston. Once I'm done with school, I'll be able to work wherever I want because my DH and I can just pick up and move to an area that will minimize our commuting distance. If we had kids, we'd have to worry about changing schools.

It's kinda weird, because DH and I were talking to our neighbors this weekend, and both expressed that a 1600 square foot house is ample room for their families (I think both have 2 kids). Yet DH and I live in a 2000 square-foot home and don't really think we'd be comfortable downsizing. Are we just space hogs or something? We felt like we needed to get a bigger house because there aren't basements or attics here. You have to store your stuff in the house. If we put stuff in the garage, it'll melt in the heat.

We're in Dallas, and we have a 1500 sq. ft. house. It's just the two of us and three dogs, and though it's a bit tight on room sometimes, it would be fine if I could convince DH to get rid of some old stuff! We do have an attic, which is pretty full, and we park our cars in the garage so the only stuff stored there is lining the walls, so we still have room for two cars. There's stuff we have to store in the house (such as DH's old record albums) which can't be stored in garage or attic due to heat concerns. My dad has said if we insulated the garage doors it would keep the temperature cooler in the summer (our garage faces west, so it gets HOT in there on summer afternoons). But I still want to keep cars in the garage, no matter what we store in there. Sometimes our neighbors open their garage, and it's floor to ceiling crammed with JUNK! Their kids can't even keep their bikes in the garage, there's no room. Their house can't be much larger than ours, and they have three young kids, and up until not too long ago, Grandma lived there too. I don't see how they do it...

Cindy

LOL, that's probably the most interesting way of looking at it!

I totally know where you're coming from cookiecody!

We live in an 1800 sq ft house with a two-car garage and a walk-out basement. It's just enough room for the two of us. Our neighbours however, who I believe have slightly smaller sq footage, have 3 kids, 1 large dog and 6 vehicles! I have no idea how they cram everyone into that house!

I guess being CF shortens my commute in that I don't have to drop a child off at daycare or school or make sure he/she gets on a school bus before I go to work. I know it shortens my morning "getting ready" time, because I don't like getting up any earlier than I have to, and I'm doing good to get myself up, ready and out the door in the mornings without having to worry about getting another human (who would probably be resistant to my efforts, at least at times) ready, fed and to wherever he/she needed to go. I'd need to get up an hour earlier if I had to do that, and I don't do well when I don't get enough sleep!

I am so over all the "juggling" in this society - never catching up and always feeling stressed/tired. I just don't want to add to it with children.

Right on target, Cindy and FeebeeGeebee. As usual during the ski season, I am working a 10 hour day today so I can work a six hour day on Friday and be able to enjoy some runs at the local ski area. Most Mondays I work my 8 hour day, go home and then return to the office in the evening. Tonight I have a condo assoc. meeting to attend, so I won't be able to break up the work day. Last night, I was quite tired when I got home after my usual active ski weekend. After about 30 minutes of surfing the internet, I went to bed. I hadn't made my lunch or got my clothes ready. I packed my lunch this morning after a good night's rest. My commute is a 10 min walk to my office. I was at the office at 7:30 this morning. The thought of having to get little munchkins dressed, fed, fixing their lunch in addition to my own and off to school/daycare makes me sick to my stomach.